2026-07-10 –, Decentralized Hardware @ Hackers Lab
A fishbowl-style discussion bringing together hardware geeks, solidarity activists, and infrastructure nerds, to explore how community networks can navigate the jump from "underground" projects to officially recognized infrastructure. We’ll swap strategies on securing formal support and resources without losing our decentralized soul or grassroots autonomy.
For years, the community network movement has thrived in the "gray areas" of the digital landscape. But how do we move from being "underground" experiments to becoming recognized, essential infrastructure?
"The Art of Not Being Invisible" is an informal, peer-to-peer Talking Circle focused on the difficult, often messy balance between achieving official legitimacy and maintaining grassroots autonomy.
We’ll dive into the tension of "fitting in" versus "selling out." How do we access government subsidies and get official recognition while keeping our decentralized, community-first ideology intact?
Senka Hadzic is a telecom engineer, researcher and public interest technologist working on affordable connectivity solutions for remote areas and disadvantaged populations. She is part of the iNethi team, a Cape Town based project enabling decentralized content distribution in community networks.