I remember back in 2019, when the handful of dreamers organizing “DWeb Camp” were imagining the potential impact of this event. We dreamed big: to inspire and re-energize people around the world, moving our community to take the actions needed for our times; building an archive of open-source knowledge about decentralized technologies, translating and transmitting our knowledge to many sectors beyond tech; and above all, we dreamed of supporting new global networks, building local capacities around the world through a truly decentralized approach.

Fast forward to today, and our community has come together for DWeb Camps in 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Over the years, more than 2000 campers have journeyed to Northern California to connect, learn, share, and play as we build better, more decentralized network technologies. What started as an event has formed an emerging movement — informed by a set of shared principles about how we shape the web. A web that actualizes principles of trust, human agency, mutual respect, and ecological awareness.

But, what’s next? Where should we put our energies in 2025?

After community surveys, consultations, and much deep thought, the core organizers of DWeb Camp (myself, mai ishikawa sutton, Ese Ojo, Kev Nguyễn, ngoc trieu, Ian Davis, Iryna Nezhynska, Andi Wong, and Arkadiy Kukarkin, with input from Boris Mann and Will Howes) have decided that it is time to put put our energy into truly decentralizing DWeb. We want to nurture this movement in a way that empowers nodes around the world, especially those outside of the United States. We want to focus our energies in 2025 on helping local networks build capacity and grow.

So rather than host a DWeb Camp in Northern California in 2025, we will be using our resources to support regional events hosted by our DWeb partners.  Some of our early ideas and plans:

• RightsCon: February 24-27, 2025 in Taipei, Taiwan — A one-day DWeb event before the main conference, 50+ people with an Internet freedom focus. 

• Web Summit: May 27-30, 2025 in Vancouver, Canada — 100-200 people in downtown Vancouver, hosted by 221A and Internet Archive Canada / The Permanent, with a hackathon, talks/workshops, and art exhibits.

• DWeb Institute: Summer 2025 in San Francisco — A 5-day intensive workshop to bring together researchers and software developers to share insights and collaborate towards the sound and sustainable development of efficient eventually-consistent (offline-first) peer-to-peer systems. Led by the team that runs P2P Basel.

• Branding Workshop: Summer 2025, location TBD — A 5-day intensive on communications, branding, fundraising, and UX to help startups and bootstrappers reach the next level with their ready-to-use tech.

• DWeb Camp Brazil: November 2025 in Brazil, location TBD — a 5-day Camp for 100-200 people, primarily in Portuguese with a focus on regenerative agriculture.

And we want to hear from you. How can the DWeb community help you reach the next level? What are your dreams, goals, and needs? What ideas do you have that need support? Come join us at our next virtual DWeb Meetup — What’s Next? An interactive discussion on Thursday, November 14 at 5 PM PT / 8pm ET, to discuss where the DWeb community should focus in the coming, surely tumultuous year. REGISTER HERE.

Thanks for caring, contributing, and helping us chart the course of the DWeb community.

And mark your calendars: We’ll be back with another DWeb Camp in 2026!