How public code can transform the digital future of cities: a visionary discussion

Why should government digital transformation be open? How does open source software help power this? What are cities doing to ensure that digitally implemented policies are democratic, transparent, and just? These questions will be discussed in this interactive discussion with Ben Cerveny (President & co-founder, Foundation for Public Code) and Ger Baron (Chief Technology Officer, City of Amsterdam). The session explores the potential of public code in revolutionizing digital government, and why collaboration and openness are key in this process. Public code is both, computer source code (software & algorithms), and public policy executed in a public context, by humans or machines. It is explicitly distinct from regular software because it operates under fundamentally different circumstances and expectations. Ger & Ben will discuss innovative examples from Amsterdam’s digital agenda, and how the Foundation for Public Code helps public organizations collectively develop and maintain software. Laura Scheske is the session facilitator.