October 2023 marks the fist year of the Grassroots of Digital Europe COST Action. It has evolved into a robust network of members interested in both the history and current development of digital infrastructures, and their artistic and cultural implications.
As witnessed during a host of coffee breaks and joint dinners, members of the action share not just vast amounts of knowledge, but also a diverse set of direct memories about the onset of creative computing and the mood of digitalisation in their respective regions. Within these discussions, there is space for tracing the incremental development of technologies through the years, as well as more postmodern views of creative computing as cyclical (re)production of micro-narratives and localised personal expression.
Challenges for the upcoming year include expanding the network, publishing the first open materials created by the working groups, and sharing the action’s resources through a variety of social media tools.