PDF Europe 2010

We came home from Barcelona but the conversation hasn't stopped and we hope it will keep going on.

Some of the attendees said we are (ideally) building a movement.   PdF Europe speaker and friend Alberto Cottica explains what it feels like attending PdF:

Internet tech conferences are legion on this side of the Atlantic, but PdF Europe is a pretty unique place. Firstly, it is not dominated by business: tech corporations are there (Google is an important sponsor), but they take care not to upstage the activists and public servants that constitute the backbone of the PdF community. You don’t hear much about branding or marketing: this year’s hit was the story of how Croatian blogger Marko Rakar exposed electoral fraud in his country with a dataset on a couple of CDs, a hard look at raw data and his blog (he even got arrested for it).

PdF is a lot about building networks and, even more than this, a community. In the words of another speaker, Nicolas Vanbremeersch:

The network you can build is that of a common ground, a common practice. Something you do together, and people you can ask for expert advice, inspiration. It is Europe, after all : markets are still very national, and local political cultures make it a non-free market. But this network is powerful. The european youth moves from one country to another, and we know that, in the long term, a common european public space is going to happen. It will take time, but this small network is nice, friendly, a great source of help and inspiration. And some become friends. Which is nice.

We are looking forward to meet new friends and talk with the old ones: this is a community and it is open to the contribution of every one. We hope to hear suggestions and opinions from you: keep in touch - we are just a click (and an email) away!