About us

OpenSlides Initiative and Team

OpenSlides is more than just a software product. It is a vibrant initiative supported by a dedicated community of over 50 people. A key part of this is the professional development team at Intevation GmbH. In addition, a team with broad expertise ensures reliable operation, professional advice, and support. Our entire team is continuously working to improve the platform and integrate new features to meet the growing demands of our users. Our vision is to revolutionize digital collaboration in organizations and associations worldwide.

Intevation as a service provider for OpenSlides

Intevation GmbH is an independent IT service provider based in Osnabrück, Germany, which has been consistently committed to free software since its foundation in 1999. In addition to services related to OpenSlides, another focus is software development with IT security and cooperation with various federal authorities. Intevation works closely with the Free Software Foundation Europe and is a member of the Open Source Business Alliance (OSBA).

The idea behind the open source solution

From the outset, OpenSlides was consistently developed as an open source solution. In addition to the well-known advantages of free software—such as free availability, use, and adaptability—the following aspects are particularly important to us:

The openness of the source code and development processes (see GitHub and transifex) gives all interested parties full insight into the structures of the software. All development steps are public and transparently traceable. This is a decisive advantage, especially with regard to elections: the functionality can be transparently verified and guarantees maximum reliability.

Furthermore, publishing it as free software makes users independent of individual manufacturers and protects them from vendor lock-in. Even smaller associations and clubs benefit from the option of self-hosting OpenSlides.

Our vision goes beyond the pure open source concept:
With OpenSlides, we want to contribute to a more transparent, democratic, and fair world.

• Transparency: By making all processes openly traceable, we strengthen trust in decisions and institutions.
• Democracy and participation: OpenSlides enables organizations of all sizes to conduct fair and secure elections and open discussions—regardless of financial resources.
• Sustainability: Through open source code, we promote reusability and collaborative development instead of creating dependencies on individual providers.
• Accessibility: We lower the barriers to entry for small associations, clubs, and initiatives that would otherwise not have access to professional tools.

The result is a platform that not only provides software, but also creates real social value and makes the world a little bit better.

History

Driven by the idea of optimizing presentations and projections for meetings and avoiding the need to work with PowerPoint in live mode, Emanuel Schütze developed the first prototype in PHP in 2005 specifically for the federal meetings of the Federal Association of Protestant Student Communities (Bundes-ESG). At the end of 2010, Oskar Hahn, Emanuel Schütze, and Norman Jäckel began a complete redevelopment in Python/Django and built a free software product called “OpenSlides,” which was released in version 1.0 on September 12, 2011, under the GNU GPL v2+.

The three founders of OpenSlides are still actively involved in its development today. OpenSlides is now backed by the service provider Intevation GmbH, based in Osnabrück, which is responsible for its professional operation and further development.

Since then, OpenSlides has evolved from a simple projection and organization platform into a comprehensive web-based solution. Initially offered as a mobile version on a USB stick with on-site installation, OpenSlides is now an internet-enabled solution available as a cloud and SaaS service.

OpenSlides offers features for motions, candidate lists for elections, agendas, speaking lists, and, since 2019, an electronic voting module. With the severe restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic (2020/2021), the demand for digital work options and virtual meeting formats increased enormously. Many associations and organizations sought out efficient solutions for digital collaboration. During this time, OpenSlides was a pioneer in the transition to digital assemblies, meetings, and party conferences. OpenSlides now impresses hundreds of organizations with thousands of users thanks to its extensive features and user-friendliness.