If the software industry is “eating the world,” then its first course was its own home: the Bay Area itself. Communities in Oakland, San Francisco, and all around the Bay Delta have felt the impact of an industry that treats their homes like mines to be extracted from, and regards people as flat datapoints rather than full human beings.

The people that preserve the soul of the Bay are always rolling with the punches, adapting to new tools and algorithmic demands year over year, but they are often dependent (or think they are!) on the same platforms that often drive people apart in the first place. And when we do try to organize critical work outside of surveilled digital spaces, we’re often thwarted by tools that are slow, clunky, or downright inaccessible.

What if we could make technology that served our community's unique needs and could be held in our collective trust?

On October 1, we’ll take the first steps towards building a grounded technology movement that respects our collective autonomy, and supports the critical work of those who dare to dream of technology that supports people, communities, and living systems in the Bay and around the world. Together with other organizers, technologists, and artists, we’ll:

Hear from people who have built more autonomous, joyful, community-oriented technology across the generations
Learn practical skills including: data privacy for organizers, self-hosting, and more
Refine a shared practice for technology built on care, attentiveness, and solidarity
Build relationships across the Bay Area that can sustain this movement

Hope to see you there :) Priority given to those actively working on projects to support communities in the Bay Area, technology-related or not.

Contact the host of Community-Owned Tech Conference