Nicosia, Cyprus. The Cyprus Free/Libre and Open Source Software Association, Ellak, has announced the launch of Cyprus Open Digital Futures Week, a programme of civic, technical and policy events aimed at helping citizens shape digital policy as the Republic of Cyprus continued work tied to its Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The association said the initiative was designed to ensure digital policy discussions were not only hosted in Cyprus but also co-created by citizens and the wider local ecosystem.
Community-led digital policy space
The initiative, known as Open Digital Futures Week or ODFW, was presented as a parallel, community-led space focused on questions including who should shape the technological future, how public digital infrastructure should serve democracy, education, culture, autonomy, the right to repair and the common good, and how Cyprus could move from hosting conversations to helping build responsible innovation.
Ellak said the week connected EU-level debate with the realities of local digital life, including schools, procurement decisions, cultural tools, public platforms, communication habits, civil society and everyday technology use.
Focus on implementation gap
While the official EU agenda focused on artificial intelligence, sovereignty and investment, the association said the Cyprus programme aimed to close the implementation gap between high-level policy and public life.
It said this gap included issues such as transparent procurement, school platforms that protected children’s rights, interoperable public infrastructure and code, and wider use of Free/Libre and Open Source Software as a basis for democratic resilience.
Statements from organisers
“Technology can begin to sound like something developed for states and markets, rather than something that is already organising childhood, education, culture, and everyday life,” said Chrystalleni Loizidou, organiser of the event and representative of Ellak Cyprus.
“These conversations are too important to leave entirely to politicians and big tech vendors. We need to connect the scattered technical capacity that exists locally and ask what digital transformation would look like if guided by public value and the common good,” she said.
Link to wider European debate
The week was described by Ellak as a bridge between Cyprus’ local ecosystem and the broader European policy landscape on digital affairs, artificial intelligence and open source.
Ellak said the programme was intended to culminate in direct civic participation at the two-day Shaping the Next Digital Frontier conference, organised by the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy on June 17, 2026, and June 18, 2026.