Fighting Technologies of Domination was a workshop on grassroots technologies and decentralised open-source software.

How can we find alternative ways of sharing information and events beyond big tech and commercial social media platforms? Do we have a ‘right to analogue’? Should we, as citizens, have the freedom to choose not to own a smartphone, without this choice causing significant friction in our daily lives? These were some of the questions explored in the first half of the workshop Fighting Technologies of Domination. The right to analogue was not seen as a rejection of technology, but as a call for autonomy, as another tool in the toolbox of digital rights activists, alongside using alternative, decentralised softwares. The second half of the workshop was dedicated to learning to use Gancio, an alternative, Italian free software for event publishing. The website Balotta.org was used as a case study to show how Gancio can be employed by local communities and organisations who consider users to be active content creators and not passive consumers.

Roberta Barone (IT/DE) works as an expert in AI ethics and governance, and is an advocate for a critical approach to technology.

The Balotta Collective (IT) maintains a shared board (website) for events and activities in Bologna and the surrounding area. The website is based on the free software Gancio.

Agnese Trocchi (IT) is a writer, artist and social media manager. 

Part of Re-Imagine Europe: New Perspectives for Action. Co-funded by the European Union. Supported by Hauptstadtkulturfonds, and Reva and David Logan Foundation.