In just 25 years, the internet and the world wide web have drastically changed the way we connect and organise. Groups and communities with access to the technology become more open and creative in finding new solutions to their problems.

They become less dependent on big institutions and are more capable of organising themselves. We see a rise of open organisations; a globally expanding mesh of networked community initiatives. Their common ideology is to share: knowledge, information, tools, and data.

At the same time, we see new threats to empowerment and sharing, new means of surveillance, oppression and violence. We therefore have a growing need for national and international policies and legislation to safeguard access, openness and sharing for the benefit of all, including those not (or not yet) connected.

The Open Development Camp 2014 will explore:

• how (and even if) open works to empower local communities;
• how to overcome challenges and stay away from the dark sides of open;
• how open should be anchored in rights, rules and responsibilities;
• how we shape open technology, and how open technology shapes us;

For more information see here.