Day 1 - Wednesday 15 February
9.00 Opening Plenary
The event was called to order with words of welcome from hosts, brief participant introductions, along with overviews of the agenda, participation guidelines and meeting logistics.
9.30 Lenses on Digital Policy Leadership
We kicked off the program with interactive small-group storytelling that invited a number of participants to share their lived experiences, analyses, and perspectives on a broad range of policy leadership topics, including:
- Empowering people and collectives in hostile policymaking spaces
- Building equitable coalitions and partnerships
- Engaging constructively with those who disagree with you
- Envisioning an inclusive policymaking space
- Understanding how privilege and power are intersectional
- Applying intersectional feminist principles to digital policy
- Centering citizen engagement and representation in Europe
- Straddling corporate and civil society public policy
11.00 Exploring our collective vision for digital policy leadership
Building on stories shared and the conversations started, the group considered the digital policy leadership we want to realize. What could meaningful participation look like, and what are positive future visions for the work we are doing? How might we posit and collectively work toward more radical and inclusive goals? What is the emerging field we can collectively build? Outcomes from these discussions helped to refine and shape the balance of the Summit agenda.
12.30 Lunch
13.30 Collaborative Working Sessions
These breakout sessions invited participants to explore and share knowledge on topics identified in pre-event engagement.
- Dealing with the invisible labor of being a good leader
- Building vibrant organizations: avoiding burnout and making work rewarding
- Envisioning the professional development we need and deserve
- Manifesting ourselves as powerful and empowered when taking on Big Tech
- Practicing intersectional and distributed leadership
- Cultivating an abundance mindset when working with scarce resources and time
- Centering care as we build our movements: practices, processes, and partnerships
15.15 Learning from our wins, our non-wins and our journeys
We rounded out Day 1 of the Summit with dialogue-driven case studies, with facilitators sharing key learnings from specific campaigns, initiatives, and dossiers.
- Applied principles for elevating voices of marginalized groups
- How our narratives on data protection, privacy and related rights have evolved
- How we are engaging a diverse coalition on climate justice
- How a broad coalition on AI and justice have enhanced our impact
- Focusing on the process and not just the outcome: Decolonizing the Digital Rights Field
- Intersectional perspectives on technology law: The DSA
16.30 Closing Plenary
The closing session invited participants to weigh in on what has been most useful during the course of Day 1, and refine their goals and priorities for the agenda of Day 2.
17.00 Adjourn to Apéro
Day 2 – Thursday 16 February
9.00 Opening Plenary
The day started with a summary of Day 1 outcomes and a Day 2 Agenda Overview.
9.15 Doing the Work: Exploring the skills of digital policy leadership
Focus at the start of Day 2 turned to the day-to-day aspects of digital policy leadership.
- Naming and dismantling white supremacy culture in the workplace
- Prioritizing issues and campaigns when “everything is on fire”
- Refining narratives and building presence in Brussels, and beyond
- Navigating the Brussels maze with confidence and creativity
- Establishing bonds and boundaries: who to work and not work with
- Negotiating for better legislation and overall outcomes
- Raising the resources to support the work
11.00 Participant Peer Skill Share
Participants both requested and shared skills they considered relevant to the meeting scope. The session was structured so as to minimize group size and maximize 1-on-1 sharing opportunities.
12.30 Lunch
13.30 Collaborative Working Sessions
The final round of collaborative learning dialogues were populated with topics proposed by participants during the event. Some discussions went deeper on topics already explored, while others moved in new and different directions.
- Practical and equitable approaches to revolution
- The Brussels Effect: Taking a global perspective on EU policy
- Leadership in external contexts
- Professionalizing the revolution
- Reflecting on the language we use as we do the work
- A holistic approach to campaigning and advocacy
15.15 Mapping Where From Here
The group paused before the closing session to take stock of the progress made to this point in the week and to identify next conversations and other bridges to post-event collaboration.
16.15 Closing Plenary
Participants summarized key outcomes from the event, discussed next steps for continuing collaboration after the meeting, and shared appreciations and closing reflections.
17.00 Adjourn