[DATAGOV Core] Collaborating on DATAGOV kick-off event

Thu Feb 19 10:20:22 CET 2026

On 18/02/2026 18:26, Jiska Koenders wrote:

Dear Giulia,

Thanks for the inspiring conversation and this summery.
For this moment I'm focussing on the short term possibilities. Marissa will get in touch about the long term collab, which she's very exited about.
In the attachment you'll find quotes for the discussed projects for the DATAGOV dinner and the conference the day after.

Please note that not all program components are suitable for the dinner, but might be a fit for the second day, and vice versa.
An installation could always be accompanied by a talk as well to give it context and perspective.

We look forward working together one way or another!

Let us know what you think.

Best wishes,

Jiska

--

[https://www.setup.nl/setup.png]
Jiska Koenders

Programmamaker Community

jiska at setup.nl<mailto:jiska at setup.nl>
+31 (0)6 53353593<tel:310653353593>
Aanwezig op maandag, dinsdag & woensdag

Meer dan een medialab — setup.nl<https://www.setup.nl/>

Op 16-2-2026 om 16:49 schreef Giulia Campaioli:
Dear Jiska and Marissa,

Once again thank you very much for making the time for this meeting, I am thrilled about all the possible collaborations.

To bring it down to earth, and recap the main points of our meeting:

1) Shared vision (critical tech literacy, everyday impact of techs, territoriality), research approach (citizen science, artistic research) and topic of interest (data infrastructures and their impact on everyday lives, medical and health data infrastructures, data ownership and governmental accountability, mobile dating and datafication of intimacy*)
2) Short-term possibilities: off-the-shelf introducing Setup-led activity at one of DATAGOV's events; e.g. Cuddle King - dating, data and intimacy frictions; and Med Tech; health and sports data-tracking youtside the medical field; --> define budget and expectations, discuss, update :)
3) Long-term possibilities: more structured collaboration, development of an original project (e.g. exhibition, game, activity for Living Lab), also in terms of funding (both DATAGOV and Setup could search funding). -->define budget and expectations, discuss, update :)

*I forgot to mention, as this is one of our main lines of inquiries at DATAGOV, but Sruthi and I share the interest on mobile dating, the platformization of intimacy and its entanglements with digital identity systems and digital citizenship, just to keep in mind.

As discussed, this email is also to share more info about our project. Here is a brief presentation of the DATAGOV project and team members:

DATAGOV is an interdisciplinary research project funded by the European Research Council that investigates the politics of governance by data infrastructures—the growing shift of decision-making systems toward algorithmic, data-driven architectures. Based at the University of Amsterdam, the project examines how regulatory data infrastructures operate across countries, sectors, and technologies, and how they reshape citizenship, sovereignty, and inequality in post-pandemic democracies in Europe and the Global South (Brazil, India, and South Africa).

DATAGOV identifies three interrelated trends: first, digital infrastructures and the data they generate increasingly act as agents of governance; second, the expansion of largely privatized infrastructures corresponds to diminishing control for public institutions and individuals; and third, automated data collection and decision systems shape polities by nudging, sorting, and classifying populations, potentially producing new forms of harm.

Through a mixed-methods approach, the project focuses on three consumer technologies—biometrics, digital identity systems, and health technologies—to analyze how governance by data infrastructures transforms liberal democracy. It asks: (1) how governance by data infrastructure reconfigures democratic institutions and practices; (2) how these technologies reshape citizenship, state sovereignty, and inequality; and (3) how post-pandemic societies renegotiate norms surrounding regulatory data infrastructures.

Central to DATAGOV is a dialogue between the arts and sciences. Participatory methods—including a Living Lab, interactive artworks, playable citizen science tools, codesign policy workshops, and democratic data governance ateliers—foreground everyday engagement with data systems. By combining critical inquiry with civic participation, DATAGOV advances both scholarly understanding and public debate on the democratic implications of data-driven governance.

        Our interdisciplinary team:

MATTÉO BARD (he/him) Matteo studies the politics of data and technology, with a particular interest in how actors use them to govern, secure, and reimagine social order. He is a PhD candidate in the DATAGOV project, where he investigates biometric data infrastructures in Europe and their implications for governance and society.

CARINA R. NASSER (they/them). Carina’s research focuses on Brazil’s new ID infrastructure, which turns ID information into data, digitizes physical procedures, and grants more control to federal and private actors. Carina will explore how Brazilians seeking changes in their (or others') ID information grapple with this new infrastructure.

SRUTHI VANGURI (she/her). Sruthi is a PhD researcher with a background in economics, political science, and public policy. Her doctoral project is focused on governance through digital ID infrastructures in India and the EU, building on her earlier research on Digital Public Infrastructures (DPIs) in India.

JONAR BREUER (he/him). Jonas is a postdoctoral researcher with a passion for how digital technologies shape cities, rights, and collective futures. He completed his PhD at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where his doctoral work examined privacy, data protection, and citizen participation in datafied urban environments, focusing on how digital infrastructures influence public space and fundamental rights. He also co-directs the Computer, Privacy & Data Protection (CPDP) conference series in Brussels.

GIULIA CAMPAIOLI (she/her). Giulia is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the DATAGOV team. She holds a PhD in Anthropology and Communication from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain). Her research sits at the intersection of digital technologies, gender, and online safety, with a focus on technology-facilitated gender-related violence. For her PhD, she carried out feminist multimodal ethnography in collaboration with organizations engaged in digital care, an approach to holistic digital safety that foregrounds the political dimensions of technology use.

MEG KITAMURA (she/her). Meg is a recent graduate of the Research Master’s in Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and is currently serving as Research Assistant for the DATAGOV project. Originally from Japan, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Media, Culture, and Communication (MCC) from New York University (NYU) and has research experience on platform labor, data infrastructure, and data justice.

FEDERICO BONELLI (he/him). Federico (伯弗瑞) is artist-in-residence at DATAGOV. An independent researcher and creative director specializing in media-rich projects and generative art, he is the founder and director of the Trasformatorio artistic laboratory and foundation. With a background in philosophy of science and dynamical systems, his work explores the intersection of art, technology, and open culture.

STEFANIA MILAN (she/her). Stefania is the PI of the DATAGOV project. Full professor of Critical Data Studies at UvA, Media Studies, working at the intersection of political participation, technology, and governance. Before joining the UvA, she worked at Universität Luzern, Central European University, the University of Toronto, and Tilburg University. She has a background in political and social sciences, participatory and computational methods.

Here you can check out more about our work:

Datagov website<https://datagovlab.net/>, particularly the Blog<https://datagovlab.net/blog.html> section
Datagov Linkedin Page<https://www.linkedin.com/company/datagovlab/posts/?feedView=all>
Our DMI project report <https://www.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/WinterSchool2026DissectingDigitalIDeas> on Digital ID systems across 5 countries;
Stefania Milan<https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=85pB3YoAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate>'s theoretical framework for DATAGOV: on the shift of governance by data infrastructure<https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/cja/42/1/cja420108.xml>

Below and attached, the invitation to our Kick-off event.

Dear colleague,

You are cordially invited to the kick-off event of the DATAGOV project in Amsterdam, hosted by the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and partner venues.

🗓️ Date: March 27, 2026
🕦 Time: 9:30 - 15:00, tentative program available below
📍Location: Framer Framed<https://framerframed.nl/en/> <https://framerframed.nl/en/> (Oranje-Vrijstaatkade 71 1093 KS, Amsterdam)
📃 Sign up link here<https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/bVASYCqQn1NXYq2c7lLXLya2YPousvA0lnYRgHfEFUU/>

DATAGOV<https://datagovlab.net/> investigates the impact and social costs of regulatory data infrastructures: data-grabbing systems that actively shape the polity, from monitoring and automated decision-making to mediating access to public services, rights, and welfare. The project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC), takes a comparative approach investigating the European Union, Brazil, India, and South Africa, to examine how these infrastructures transform governance and what they mean for the future of democracy in an era of pervasive datafication. To start with, our empirical focus is on four technology families: biometrics, digital identity, and health and education technologies, and how these reconfigure citizenship, sovereignty, and inequality.

The kick-off will feature keynotes, workshops, and a borrel, bringing together a diverse group of participants from academia, policymaking, industry, civil society, and the arts. The event will also leave ample time for conversation, (net)working, and enjoying each other’s company. All programming is free of charge.

While the program is still taking shape, we already have an exciting list of speakers who will be joining us from around the world: Louise Amoore (Durham University), Fernando Filgueiras (Federal University of Goiás), Mirca Madianou (Goldsmiths, University of London), Rocco Bellanova (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Cecilia Passanti (University of Paris), Mansi Kedia (The World Bank Group), Rob van Kranenburg (Universiteit van Tilburg), and others.

Please also forward this invitation to anyone who may be interested in joining us — this event is open to everyone free of charge.

If you would like to keep up to date with our work and activities, please consider signing up to our mailing list<https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/community>.
You can also keep up to date with our activities on our website<https://datagovlab.net/> and LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/company/datagovlab>.

Let me know if you have any other question or idea.

Look forward to working together!

Best regards,
Giulia for DATAGOV

On 16/02/2026 10:36, Jiska Koenders wrote:

Hi Giuilia and Marissa,

I sent you an invite for a meeting. Thanks!

Best wishes,

Jiska

Op 12-2-2026 om 00:02 schreef Marissa Memelink | SETUP:
Hi all,

I might be at the break down of our exhibition (very welcome to hop by at Hightlight Festival in Delft the upcoming days! One of our works is exhibited - project DODO)

<http://www.highlightdelft.nl/>
[logo-web.jpeg]
HIGHLIGHT<http://www.highlightdelft.nl/>
highlightdelft.nl<http://www.highlightdelft.nl/>

But I think I can squeeze in a video chat.
So for me Monday 3PM is ok!

Best!

[https://www.setup.nl/setup.png]
Marissa Memelink

Artistiek Ontwerpend Onderzoek

marissa at setup.nl<mailto:marissa at setup.nl>
06 44 585 166<tel:0644585166>
Afwezig op donderdag

Meer dan een medialab — setup.nl<https://www.setup.nl/>

On 11 Feb 2026, at 19:47, Giulia Campaioli <g.campaioli at uva.nl><mailto:g.campaioli at uva.nl> wrote:

Dear Jiska,

Monday at 3 pm works for me, if that works for Marissa.

I'll see your email on Monday, and thanks again for the availability!

Best,
Giulia

On 11/02/2026 17:25, Jiska Koenders wrote:

Hi Giulia,

Thanks for your enthousiastic e-mail. I would love to plan an online meeting, but I like for Marissa to join the meeting.
I could meet at 3pm on monday, but I have to check if she's available too.

So, if you're availble, let's add it to our schedules as an option. As I'm not working on Thursday and Friday for SETUP, I will let you know on monday morning if we have a go :)

Best wishes,

Jiska

Op 4-2-2026 om 11:33 schreef Giulia Campaioli:
Hi Marissa, Jiska, and Niels,

Thank you for your email, and nice to meet you.

I am glad to hear you are interested in discussing these ideas further.

Happy to organize a meeting, I would be available next week on the 11th or 12th, otherwise also the following week, on the 16th or 18th. Let me know if any of these work, or when is a good time :)

Regarding the event, we will soon have the invitation, which I'll be happy to share with you. While some of the details are still being defined, we eventually decided to have a arts-focused event in April, rather than as part of the kick-off event; this is where I think our collaboration could be most exciting :)

But, as I mentioned, there's still room to reshape details of the kick-off event and I am really curious to discuss how we may collaborate!

Best,
Giulia

On 03/02/2026 15:08, Marissa Memelink | SETUP wrote:
Hi Giulia,

Thank you for your email and great hearing from you again!
Hoping you’re doing well :)

Yes I remember! Very interesting project, also curious about the programme for the event.
Happy to discuss further where we could collaborate. I’ve tagged my colleagues Jiska and Niels along, who might be the right people to talk to.

@Jiska or Niels could you plan a meeting with Giulia and Stefania to explore this?

Best!
Marissa

[https://www.setup.nl/setup.png]
Marissa Memelink
Artistiek Ontwerpend Onderzoek

marissa at setup.nl<mailto:marissa at setup.nl>
06 44 585 166<tel:0644585166>
Afwezig op donderdag

Meer dan een medialab — setup.nl<https://www.setup.nl/>

On 29 Jan 2026, at 16:20, Giulia Campaioli <g.campaioli at uva.nl><mailto:g.campaioli at uva.nl> wrote:

Dear Marissa,

I hope this email finds you well.

This is Giulia, from the project DATAGOV. We met at Geert's book launch, where you presented Setup and the Facebook museum. We exchanged a few words after the presentation, and I mentioned that the DATAGOV team would be thrilled to collaborate with Setup. We are finalizing the organization of our kick-off event and we wanted to inquire whether Setup would be interested in collaborating with us for an activity.

Working with art and artists is one of our central axes for citizen science and knowledge dissemination. DATAGOV, funded by the European Research Council, is an interdisciplinary research project that investigates the politics of governance by data infrastructures. By this, we refer to the current shift of governance and decision-making systems toward algorithmic, data-based infrastructures. Our research group based at the University of Amsterdam works across countries, sectors, and case-study technologies to explore how these regulatory data infrastructures affect citizenship, sovereignty, and inequalities.

DATAGOV's kick-off event will take place on March 26th and 27th in Amsterdam. On day 1, we have a closed workshop with experts in the field, ending with a dinner. Day 2 involves a day-long event of keynotes and thematic panels, ending with drinks.

Specifically, we would love to discuss the possibility of co-creating with Setup a participatory activity on Day 1 during or right before the dinner/standing dinner, which will be held at TerreLente<https://www.terrelente.com/>.

We do not have a clear idea yet, but we are thinking of a game situation or an engaging activity, where guests are invited to recount their "Data Stories" of encounters with Regulatory Data Infrastructures (specifically, digital ID systems, biometric recognition, educational and health technologies). The idea would be to collect stories of love&friction with these infrastructures, while provoking critical reflection on their massive deployment in our everyday lives.

We are also open to discuss other possible games or activities that could be co-constructed together. Of course, we realize that we are quite late, and if there is not enough time to organize a collaboration for this event, we would be happy to keep the dialogue open for future events.

If you are interested in discussing this collaboration further, we would be happy to meet online or in person (we can come visit you in Utrecht!).

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
Giulia from DATAGOV

--
[https://www.setup.nl/setup.png]
Jiska Koenders
Programmamaker Community

jiska at setup.nl<mailto:jiska at setup.nl>
+31 (0)6 53353593<tel:310653353593>
Aanwezig op maandag, dinsdag & woensdag

Meer dan een medialab — setup.nl<https://www.setup.nl/>

--
[https://www.setup.nl/setup.png]
Jiska Koenders

Programmamaker Community

jiska at setup.nl<mailto:jiska at setup.nl>
+31 (0)6 53353593<tel:310653353593>
Aanwezig op maandag, dinsdag & woensdag

Meer dan een medialab — setup.nl<https://www.setup.nl/>

--
[https://www.setup.nl/setup.png]
Jiska Koenders

Programmamaker Community

jiska at setup.nl<mailto:jiska at setup.nl>
+31 (0)6 53353593<tel:310653353593>
Aanwezig op maandag, dinsdag & woensdag

Meer dan een medialab — setup.nl<https://www.setup.nl/>

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