Winter Substrates 2026

A one-day workshop at Newspeak House bringing together researchers and practitioners exploring 'substrates' — computer systems people can truly own and adapt.

Winter Substrates 2026 is a one-day workshop exploring what it takes for people to be able to adapt the computer systems they use, gathering past and present research directions under the term 'substrates'. The programme draws on the malleable systems and local-first communities, and touches on ideas from integration domains, open authorship, data feminism and ecofeminism, framing substrates as a political project that puts a system's full capabilities at the user's disposal. The day features a reviewed track of talks and demos of up to 20 minutes (submitted in advance via EasyChair), plus on-the-day lightning talks of up to 5 minutes, with remote participation supported. The organisers explicitly welcome participants from academia, industry and independent scholarship, aiming to broaden participation beyond traditional academic researchers.