On June 14, the Netherlands, France, Estonia and Germany announced their intention to establish a new European initiative. It is a so-called European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC) in the field of digital commons (digital commons). This is a partnership aimed at developing, maintaining and expanding digital commons in Europe.
Digital community assets are characterized by shared ownership and a specific management and maintenance structure. Examples of digital community assets include open source software and hardware, open data, open educational resources and open standards.
Digital community assets are open, transparent and created in common. They are therefore an alternative to existing non-value-driven providers.
By working together on digital community assets, European countries can strengthen their digital sovereignty. They can also shape the digital world in a way that is consistent with European values such as privacy, transparency and equality. The Netherlands, France, Estonia and Germany are joining forces to support and advance this important work.
The Digital Commons EDIC aims to coordinate existing initiatives and provide support to the European community. This includes technical assistance, legal help and support in fundraising for projects. One of the most important activities is setting up a central place (a physical place as well as an online platform) where projects can go for help. In the coming months, the participating countries will continue to work on the establishment of the Digital Commons EDIC and submit an official application to the European Commission.
On Tuesday, July 2, from 4 to 5 p.m., the Ministry of the Interior (BZK) is hosting an online meeting on the Digital Commons EDIC. During this meeting, the project leader will give an update on the plans and the follow-up process. In addition, BZK would like to discuss the future participation of the Digital Commons EDIC. What are the criteria and what do projects have to meet? Everyone is welcome to share their ideas. These will be taken into account in the further process.
