Government and public sector organisations face shared digital challenges, from public facing websites to intranets, case management, complaints, and reporting systems. Initiatives like LocalGov Drupal demonstrate the value of collaboration, but Drupal can do more across the sector.
Local, national and European level government organisations have common requirements and an increasing need for digital sovereignty and open source technologies to power publishing and service provision, a perfect opportunity for Drupal based solutions.
This dedicated Government Summit creates a focused space to explore these common needs, share existing solutions, and connect organisations working on similar digital transformation challenges across local, national and international government organisations.
Sachiko Muto is the Chair of OpenForum Europe and a senior researcher at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. She originally joined OFE in 2007 and served for several years as Director with responsibility for government relations and then as CEO. Sachiko has degrees in Political Science from the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics; she received her doctorate in standardisation policy from TU Delft.
Teun van der Vorm is the General Director (Algemeen Directeur) of the Dienst ICT Uitvoering (DICTU), which is the IT service provider for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and other government organizations. He officially assumed this role on September 1, 2025
Esmeralda Tijhoff is Product Owner of GovNL CMS, the Standard Drupal Website for governments, and the Standard Drupal Intranet for governments at DICTU, the IT provider of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. As Open Source Officer for Web & App Services, she helps drive the adoption of open source within the Dutch government and fosters collaboration between public sector organizations. Beyond her work at DICTU, Esmeralda is one of the initiators of the Network of European Drupal Associations (NEDA), connecting Drupal communities across Europe to strengthen collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the use of Drupal in the public sector. She is a passionate advocate for open source, digital government, and building sustainable solutions through collaboration.
Gina is a member of the Dutch government OSPO, board member of F-Droid, founding board member of the Fosstodon foundation, and a prominent advocate for the open source community. Her work focuses on strengthening national and European collaboration around open source alternatives through policy, projects and people.
Mike Gifford is CivicActions’ Open Standards & Practices Lead and a pioneering thought leader in open government, digital accessibility, and sustainability. A W3C Invited Expert and recognized authority on authoring tool accessibility, Mike has consulted for governments across North America and Europe.
