--- title: "In between" subtitle: "What is Political Tech and why joining its Summit, in the words of the founder" author: "Lorenzo Ancona" date: 2025-11-04 language: en words: 1152 canonical: https://artifactstech.substack.com/p/in-between license: CC BY 4.0 cite_as: "In between by Lorenzo Ancona, Artifacts, 2025-11-04. https://artifactstech.substack.com/p/in-between (CC BY 4.0)" --- # In between One of the reasons why Artifacts was born is to look into the people and organisations building tech products not just for consumers, but also for citizens. **How technology can enable a better democracy and participation.** **Which is not just digital public services,** as we discussed [with the former Head of Design of the Italian Government](https://artifactstech.substack.com/p/services-that-serve), but **any artifact aimed at citizens and their public and political life.** That’s why talking to **[Josef Lentsch](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlentsch/)**, the CEO and Founder of the **[Political Tech Summit](https://www.politicaltech.eu),** has been so interesting. It opened up the concept of ***“political tech”,*** how we can make it work, and what they’re already doing and will be discussing further on **23–24 January 2026 in Berlin.** ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UM5i!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F70bcb993-d822-421c-a9bb-bd39bc44f5ce_730x178.png) **[A lot more info on their website here!](https://www.politicaltech.eu)** If you’d like to join, there’s a **discount code reserved for Artifacts readers!** [Join the Political Tech Summit!](https://pretix.eu/partisan/pts26/redeem?voucher=PEF5FMBM2ARTIFACTS) And if you want to read and know more, **you can read Josef’s own words below.** *See you in Berlin, I hope!* > ### The Interview *For clarity and readability, the transcript has been reviewed and lightly edited.* > ***What exactly is “political tech”?*** In democracies, governments and citizens each have their own technologies: GovTech digitizes public services and administration, while CivicTech empowers citizens. In between sit intermediaries - political parties, unions, associations, NGOs - operating in a distinct political sphere with its own needs. **Political tech is the specific software, data, and tools used by these organizations, reflecting that unique space.** [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5JQn!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fceda1135-1f05-40fd-9ba2-adfe0b749669_1024x1024.png)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5JQn!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fceda1135-1f05-40fd-9ba2-adfe0b749669_1024x1024.png) Well, a bridge…bridging > ***What was the spark moment behind creating the Political Tech Summit - and why now?*** It wasn’t one moment but many. Working with political organizations, we kept seeing the potential to elevate their work through technology, yet **too many relied on in‑house tools that weren’t up to the task - hurting mobilization and communications.** As someone told me, *“there’s so much money being burned… there’s a mismatch between what’s being used in political organizations and what should be used.”* The summit addresses this by creating a **marketplace** - of ideas, products, and services - **so people and solutions can connect and improve outcomes for politics and citizens.** > ***What’s your elevator pitch for someone unsure whether to attend?*** We create connections where none existed and offer the only comprehensive market overview in the space. By **linking peers across political families and sectors and facilitating new business relationships**, we deliver both impact and scalability. The model works economically - we capture some of the value we create - and attendees keep returning because they see that value. > ***So, what will one get from coming?*** **Exhibitors, partners, and vendors meet political professionals actively seeking methods, tools, and analysis**. The result is tangible adoption and new collaborations that wouldn’t happen otherwise. Most partners are returning year over year, new ones are joining, **the event has grown to two days**, and we’re building a year‑round networking platform to extend that value beyond the summit. > ***Who should attend?*** **The primary audience is political professionals - staff, operatives, executives, department heads, and directors. Citizens are welcome too**, and they’ll find a counter‑narrative to tech dystopia: practical examples of technology improving politics by making democracy more agile, faster, and more inclusive - think AI‑assisted citizen dialogues and assemblies. **It’s also highly international, with participants from 40+ countries.** > ***From a tech perspective, what solutions are there?*** You can get **a broad mix:** CRMs for activist and constituent data, content moderation, data analysis, monitoring of political processes, and more. > ***What will we be talking about this year?*** There will be 3 key themes: - **Power**: Everything about winning and governing with legitimacy - campaign tech stacks, rapid-response content, field ops, and measurement. Like voter data integration, message testing, targeting, and the workflows that turn volunteers into repeat mobilizers. - **Protection:** Keeping institutions, campaigns, and communities safe - Trust & Safety, incident response, threat intelligence, and counter-disinformation. And so content moderation tooling, deepfake detection/labelling, and narrative monitoring across platforms. - **Participation:** Broadening who gets heard - youth engagement, AI-assisted citizen dialogues, digital assemblies, and inclusive product design. This covers onboarding funnels that meet young people where they are (TikTok/YouTube/Discord), trust-building content, and feedback loops that convert attention into sustained participation. > ***Top sessions to watch?*** A returning favorite is the **hands‑on masterclass on the power of newsletters** (“The Power of Newsletters: Lessons from Journalism for Political Parties in the Anti-Social Media Age”) in a small group, 15–20 people, pre‑registration required. Expect equally practical main‑stage sessions, including participation from the Parliamentary State Secretary for Digitization, Thomas Jarzombek (Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport). > ***If someone wants old‑school “policy talk,” what won’t they find?*** You won’t find endless discussions - **sessions are capped at 45 minutes** - and you won’t see the usual suspects. Instead, you’ll see new faces and **plenty of practitioners who want to dig into how things actually work.** > ***Magic wand for next year’s edition: what’s the one thing you’d do?*** I’d bring **all the international officers from political organizations into the same room.** Those cross‑party, cross‑country exchanges are where the energy and the potential really are. [Join the Political Tech Summit!](https://pretix.eu/partisan/pts26/redeem?voucher=PEF5FMBM2ARTIFACTS) > ### **Save for Later** How much [energy](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/03/inside-the-data-centers-that-train-ai-and-drain-the-electrical-grid) do you have today? What’s up with advertising on social media [and why we should care?](https://link.newyorker.com/view/5ea2648ca77739493f39f592p3s9l.13ke/01c14e85) Is the one of AI [a real bubble?](https://www.ft.com/content/ae4d7961-cf59-4369-8e64-8a9c9da956d1) Or [maybe not?](https://www.ft.com/content/834487ce-2357-40c4-bf45-34562e522755) Well, [money is flowing](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/10/31/technology/openai-fundraising-deals.html) in an unusual way. How different business models are [fighting.](https://www.economist.com/business/2025/10/30/google-v-microsoft-the-battle-of-ai-business-models) Grammarly is [no longer Grammarly.](https://www.theverge.com/news/808472/grammarly-superhuman-ai-rebrand-relaunch) And [this is not Wikipedia](https://grokipedia.com/), it’s probably worse. Meanwhile, please stop going to touristic [restaurants](https://link.newyorker.com/view/5ea2648ca77739493f39f592p3s9l.13ke/01c14e85) [Only God](https://www.noemamag.com/only-god-can-save-us/) can save us? And why catholic voters care about [AI in elections](https://www.ft.com/content/544a5c3b-3142-4d0e-935b-29f7555fe50b) The Internet is getting *enshittified?* [\[Embedded media — view original\]](https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Ntf6wXx2Phs?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0) > ### **Where next?** Well, as clear, Artifacts will be at the Political Tech Summit in Berlin 🇩🇪 in January. But before that, we could also meet: - **Barcelona 🇪🇸** — this weekend (7–9 November) at the **[Mozilla Festival](https://www.mozillafestival.org/en/)** [](https://www.mozillafestival.org/en/) - **Lisbon 🇵🇹** — next week (10–13 November), for the **[Web Summit](https://websummit.com/?gad_campaignid=21890036570&gbraid=0AAAAADmjBMBUenMZChBZd7G7Cz6OPz5s2)** If you’re around, drop me a line and we’ll grab a coffee together :) > ### **The Bookshelf** [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BUuw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F692b6186-1ff8-4719-b07c-893aebbc10ed_1620x1620.png)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BUuw!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F692b6186-1ff8-4719-b07c-893aebbc10ed_1620x1620.png) Not exactly Political Tech, but for sure one of the first attempts of calculating and measuring (and maybe skewing) how voters think and how to influence their decisions. ***“If then”*** by Jill Lepore is a great journalistic reportage into *Simulmatics,* the American company that had tried to compute large scale behaviours. 📚 **All the books** I’ve read and recommended in Artifacts are [here.](https://airtable.com/appK7fMPX1DMkQYzL/shrRh8TgI7GtmgBxM) > ### **Nerding** [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I4LZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F451d431e-2ab8-49a6-8623-52b4ab77f6fa_1620x1620.png)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I4LZ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F451d431e-2ab8-49a6-8623-52b4ab77f6fa_1620x1620.png) Finder for Mac isn’t always super intuitive, but [Bloom](https://bloomapp.club/?ueid=dca445e23e26114858a48ad35040e287) can make it better and more usable. If you struggle with finding that old document or organising your digital archive, it can help you a lot. > ### **☕?** If you want to know more about Artifacts, where it all started, or just want to connect... [Let's grab a virtual coffee ☕](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ2ibxlzyU7rgnuoTgqXb_DFc19dfHmJeu1OAu17IY0_oHrtcJtvtctAJnMabirgZNx5Z5NAPGs0)