---
title: Charter of the Civil Society Technology Foundation
date: 2025-07-06
weight: 100
summary: The foundational document establishing the purpose, vision, mission, principles, and strategic focus of the Civil Society Technology Foundation.
showDate: true
---

## Purpose

To empower civil society through equitable access to technology, digital literacy, and responsible innovation, advancing human rights and sustainable development in the digital age.

## Vision

A sustainable, decentralized ecosystem of people-centered technology. A world governed by user agency, not technocracy, where digital sovereignty enables rather than undermines democratic participation, personal autonomy, and collective action.

## Mission

To advance digital self-determination through the development and dissemination of open-source, self-hosted technologies. We aim to reduce structural dependency on centralized corporate or governmental platforms by enabling individuals and institutions to operate their own digital infrastructure.

Through accessible tools, educational resources, and community engagement, we cultivate practical autonomy: the capacity of users to understand, modify, and maintain the technologies they rely on.

## Core Principles

1. **Sovereignty by Design**  
   Users own their data and control their computing environment. Consent is explicit, revocable, and informed.

2. **Tools Before Policy**  
   We build alternatives rather than asking for permission. Reform is irrelevant where autonomy is possible.

3. **Open Source, Always**  
   Software must be libre — free to use, study, modify, and share. This is the foundation of digital freedom.

4. **Self-Hosting Infrastructure**  
   Individuals and aligned collectives should run their own infrastructure. Central hosting creates capture risks.

5. **AI for the People**  
   AI must be open, efficient, and serve civil society. Closed models and centralized control are unacceptable.

6. **Transparent Governance**  
   All governance must be visible, accountable, and auditable. Influence is earned through contribution.

7. **Healthy Ecosystems Win**  
   Projects are judged by their value to communities and civil society, not popularity or funding.

8. **Forkability is Freedom**  
   Divergence is a right. Balkanization is not failure — it is resilience.

9. **Interoperability via Consent**  
   Standards emerge from alignment, not imposition. We will propose, not enforce.

10. **Contribution Defines Membership**  
    Participation is earned through action. Identity is contextual and optional.

11. **Critical Adoption over Blind Use**  
    Pragmatism means understanding trade-offs. Users should know what rights they give up — and why.

_Expanded explanations of these principles can be found in our [Core Principles](/foundation/core-principles) document._

## Strategic Focus

The Civil Society Technology Foundation pursues its mission through five interconnected areas of work:

### 1. Infrastructure Development

- Building and distributing personal cloud infrastructure
- Creating efficient, user-friendly self-hosting solutions
- Developing reference implementations of sovereign technologies
- Ensuring solutions work on commodity hardware

### 2. Education and Capacity Building

- Creating accessible learning resources on digital sovereignty
- Educating individuals and organizations on self-hosted alternatives
- Building technical literacy and maintenance capabilities
- Documenting best practices for independent technology

### 3. Community Support

- Facilitating knowledge sharing among practitioners
- Creating spaces for collaborative development
- Supporting civil society in adopting sovereign technologies
- Connecting technologists with community needs

### 4. Standards and Interoperability

- Developing open standards that respect user sovereignty
- Promoting interoperability between independent systems
- Documenting protocols for federation and cooperation
- Encouraging critical adoption of standards

### 5. Research and Advocacy

- Documenting the impacts of centralized vs. sovereign technology
- Researching sustainable models for independent infrastructure
- Identifying barriers to digital sovereignty
- Advocating for enabling conditions for technological independence

## Organizational Structure

The Civil Society Technology Foundation is structured to reflect our principles in practice:

### Governance

- Permanently non-profit structure
- Contributors have meaningful voice in decision-making
- Transparent processes for strategic and operational decisions
- Regular public reporting on activities and finances

### Funding and Resource Allocation

- Funding accepted from diverse sources with full transparency
- No single funding source should create dependency or control
- Resources prioritized for maximum impact on digital sovereignty
- Sustainability takes precedence over growth

### Membership and Participation

- Contribution-based participation model
- Multiple pathways for meaningful involvement
- Recognition of diverse forms of contribution
- Commitment to inclusive participation

## Amendment Process

This charter establishes the foundation of the Civil Society Technology Foundation. It may be amended through a transparent process that includes:

1. Public proposal of amendments
2. Community discussion period of at least 30 days
3. Consideration of all substantive feedback
4. Formal adoption through established governance processes
5. Public documentation of changes and rationale

The core purpose and principles may only be modified when necessary to better fulfill our fundamental mission of advancing digital self-determination and sovereignty.
