Time: Monday 14 April at 11:00-12:30
Place: Tampere University centre campus, Main building, YO Restaurant
Register for the event by 8 April: https://forms.office.com/e/QNbGXtkScG
Digital sovereignty has been defined by Falkner et al. (2024) as the need for control of the digital comprising several layers: the physical, the code, and the information. The World Economic Forum has defined it as the ability to have control over your own digital destiny – the data, hardware and software that you rely on and create (Fleming, 2025). With the current geo-political challenges, the questions of digital sovereignty are topical in European and Nordic policymaking, as well as in personal decisions on which platforms and software to use.
In this April lunch seminar, we gather to discuss the timely topics of digital platforms, flow of information and the power structures surrounding digital infrastructures. Through the seminar we hope to look beyond the current problems and challenges and envision more sustainable alternatives for the next 5–10 years. Ideating and discussing the steps needed for the sustainable transitions regarding digital sovereignty will be inspired by brief expert talks. DigiSus will provide lunch for participants.
Expert talks
(Pseudo)anonymity as a means to control personal information
Tuomas Harviainen, Professor in Information studies and interactive media
Harviainen’s key areas of expertise relate to various forms of information sharing in both creative industries and among marginalized communities, as well as ethnographic research in general, information literacies, instrumental gaming and gamification, and service design done in and with libraries.
Tools against information disorders
Reeta Pöyhtäri, Senior Research Fellow in Communication sciences
Pöyhtäri’s research concerns challenges of public discourse and journalism in the digital media environment. Pöyhtäri is especially interested in questions of freedom of expression, hate speech and online harassment, plurality and dialogue, and human rights/prevention of violence in public discourse.
References
Falkner, G., Heidebrecht, S., Obendiek, A., & Seidl, T. (2024). Digital sovereignty – Rhetoric and reality. Journal of European Public Policy, 31(8), 2099–2120. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2024.2358984
Fleming, Sean (10.1.2025), What is digital sovereignty and how are countries approaching it?, World Economic Forum https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/europe-digital-sovereignty/