Hi everyone!
I’m Emilie, an MSc student at the Oxford Internet Institute. Last year, I had the chance to work with ThreeFold, which sparked my interest in digital sovereignty and autonomy, now the focus of my MSc thesis.
I’m looking to speak with people from the ThreeFold community in short interviews about how you experience and think about digital sovereignty in your everyday lives. ThreeFold is the case study for my research due to its global reach and commitment to building an alternative, people-powered internet infrastructure.
The project aims to explore:
- How digital sovereignty is understood and practised by different actors in the ThreeFold ecosystem
- How these interpretations intersect across geographies
- How different stakeholders in the Zanzibar partnership conceptualise digital sovereignty in the context of building the first regionally owned internet on the ThreeFold grid
Digital sovereignty is often discussed in the context of governments, but less is known about how it plays out in community-led initiatives like ThreeFold, and that’s where your insights come in. This study is interested in understanding how bottom-up approaches to digital sovereignty work in practice and how they offer alternative ways of thinking about the future of digital infrastructure.
If you are interested or would like to learn more, please reply here or contact me directly at: emilie.ouwerx@sant.ox.ac.uk
Important: This research is independent and is not affiliated with ThreeFold or any other organisation. Participation is entirely voluntary, and all responses will be kept confidential. The study aims to gather diverse perspectives and does not seek to promote or critique any particular stance. Interviews will take place in May.
Looking forward to hearing from you—thank you for considering!