Nextcloud Awards 2026: Movers and shakers in digital sovereignty

What happens when, in times of geopolitical uncertainty, our most sensitive data is not under our own control? When critical infrastructure relies on a handful of corporations and legal systems abroad? Digital sovereignty has become one of the most widely discussed issues in technology and policy during the last year.

But the term also became vulnerable to misuse. More and more initiatives began to market themselves as “sovereign” while they are clearly not. A trend described as “sovereignty washing”.

With the Nextcloud Awards, we want to highlight projects and individuals who are not simply adopting the language of sovereignty, but who are actually making a difference: by implementing real alternatives, building trustworthy infrastructure, and driving systemic change. Like last year, there will be two categories:

Implementation Role Model Award: Nextcloud Award for digital self-determination

This award is for the doers. The ones who turn political ideals into working infrastructure. It honors people and institutions who don’t just talk about independence from Big Tech – but build it.

Whether it’s a public administration switching to open source, a school creating self-hosted learning tools, or a civil society project that refuses to compromise on privacy, this category highlights individuals or organizations who lead by example and show that sovereignty can be implemented.

Through bold decisions, long-term strategies, and a clear commitment to open source. It honors those who turn digital sovereignty into action. An award for pioneers who lead by example and shape a more sovereign digital future.

Digital Sovereignty Awareness Award: For those who raise their voices

This award highlights those who defend privacy, promote resilience, and raise awareness about digital sovereignty in challenging times. Whether through advocacy, education, journalism, or public policy, this category recognizes the power of voice, values, and visibility in a shifting global landscape.

In times of geopolitical uncertainty, this award honors those who advocate for resilient digital infrastructure and sovereign decision-making. Not only by informing and educating, but by taking a stand, shaping discourse, and contributing to political and institutional change.

Policy, journalism, education, or foundation work: this category celebrates organizations or individuals who move the idea of digital sovereignty to public attention.

Nominate a changemaker for the Nextcloud Awards 2026

Now it’s your turn!

Do you know a project, organization, or person who’s shaping the future of digital sovereignty?

Are you working on an initiative that deserves to be in the spotlight?

Then let us know! Nominations are now open until 20th March.

In 2025, we recognized the German state of Schleswig-Holstein with the Implementation Role Model Award for its consistent and concrete steps towards digital sovereignty, including the migration of its public administration to open source tools.

The Digital Sovereignty Awareness went to the Signal Foundation for providing a secure, ethical, and open communication infrastructure, and to CódigoSur, a Latin American collective supporting civil society actors with privacy-respecting, open-source infrastructure.

Meet the jury

Anke Domscheit-Berg, former digital policy MP at the Bundestag (2017-2025), is an independent publicist and digital policy advisor as well as an activist for basic rights in the digital society. She promotes digital democracy and independence from the Tech Bro oligarchy e.g. by platform regulation, grassroot initiatives, open everything strategies and public procurement policy. She also works on climate impact of digitalisation, ethical AI and cyber security.

Pernille Tranberg is a journalist an independent speaker and advisor in data and AI ethics and digital sovereignty. She speaks to school kids, teachers, politicians, officials, NGOs, business leaders, and multinationals. She is the co-founder of the European thinkdotank DataEthics.eu.

Björn Staschen is co-founder of Save Social – Networks For Democracy. The initiative grew out of a petition signed by a quarter of a million people calling for the democratic power of social media to be preserved. Save Social also coordinates Digital Independence Day (DID), a call to switch to privacy-friendly, transparent digital services on the first Sunday of every month. Björn Staschen is a media scientist, journalist, and author (“In der Social Media Falle”) and lives with his family in Hamburg.

Frank Karlitschek is the founder and CEO of Nextcloud GmbH. He studied computer science at the University of Tübingen and has worked as a head of unit and managing director for various IT companies. Frank has been developing open source software for over 25 years and is involved in various projects such as KDE. He founded Nextcloud to create a decentralized, open source, and European alternative to the large cloud services from the US and China. He is a fellow of Open Forum Europe, an invited expert at W3C, and advises the United Nations on open source.

About Nextcloud

Nextcloud is the world’s most popular privacy-focused collaboration platform. It is used by tens of thousands of private and public organizations and tens of millions of private individuals to stay in control of their sensitive data and ensure privacy compliance.

With Nextcloud, users can edit and share documents, chat and hold videoconferences, and manage emails, contacts, and calendars via easy web and mobile apps. The open-source software has a modular design and can be extended with hundreds of apps. It runs on premises in a private cloud or with a trusted provider.

Founded in 2016, Nextcloud is fully employee-owned and has grown organically ever since. Learn more at www.nextcloud.com.