Objective Observer Initiative

Open Data Days 2026

Block Builds with Steven De Costa, Link Digital and Guests

The State of Being Open

This year, we are 'going around the country, virtually. We are anchoring a Block Build in each capital city, connecting with the people and relevant contexts of each location.

But consider this: Open is a state of being, not just a property of data, systems or communities. It is a state that can be carried and held to define your autonomy. One can be open without the need to be included; it is your inalienable agency as an Odious Xer.

You are the lead character in this sandbox edition of life. Go North, South, East, West, or join one of the block builds below.

📅 Block Builds Calendar 🌱 Join OdiousX Group
7 March 2026 | 06:00 (2 hours)

Island Sovereignty: Waking Up from the Hype

Block Builds for Open Data - Day 1
Spirit Locale: Canberra — Barbecue spot on Springbank Island — reachable only by kayak/boat, tiny island BBQ in the middle of West Lake.
Format: Online Over Google Meet
Host: Steven De Costa & The New Vanguard

We kick off by isolating ourselves from the establishment mainland. This session is about planting the flag for Sovereign Data and Local AI. We will discuss why the 'Multinational Tech CEO' is obsolete and how we begin constructing the infrastructure for true digital autonomy. We are stepping out of the digital hall of mirrors to lay the first blocks of our cooperative.

đź“… Join Event / Add to Calendar
8 March 2026 | 08:00 (2 hours)

The Wrecking Ball: Smashing the Soft Culture

Block Builds for Open Data - Day 2
Spirit Locale: Sydney — The “Petersham Bowling Club Gig” — an urban bowling club known for hosting surprise gigs and community events.
Format: Online Over Google Meet
Host: Steven De Costa & Decentralized Builders

Sydney is the corporate HQ, but we are at the grassroots bowling club. To build the new, we must break the old. Today we discuss disrupting the polite, 'soft culture' enterprise models of the past decade. We are converting our passive network of altruistic followers into highly activated, mature operators ready to deploy decentralized, co-constructive cooperatives.

đź“… Join Event / Add to Calendar
9 March 2026 | 10:00 (2 hours)

OKFN AU Reboot: Layering the New Intent

Block Builds for Open Data - Day 3
Spirit Locale: Melbourne — Hosier Lane Street Art Gallery — world-famous for constantly changing murals — live graffiti as a “museum” in the city.
Format: Online Over Google Meet
Host: Steven De Costa and OKFNAU old schoolers

A focused session on the Open Knowledge Australia 'Reboot'. Like the walls of Hosier Lane, we are unapologetically sketching out and layering new intent over existing foundations. We explore the revival of OKFNAU through the lens of modern Reality Engineering—shifting from passive networking to building the hardened systemic structures needed by the communities still fighting the good fight today.

đź“… Join Event / Add to Calendar
10 March 2026 | 12:00 (2 hours)

Mooring the Truth: The Objective Observer Initiative

Block Builds for Open Data - Day 4
Spirit Locale: Brisbane — The Ship Inn Sundowner on the River — heritage pub literally on the Brisbane River, perfect for quirky “urban river boat mooring + beer” feels.
Format: Online Over Google Meet
Host: Steven De Costa & Ecosystem Architects

Data flows like a river, but without an anchor, it’s just noise in the digital hall of mirrors. Today is the formal introduction of the Objective Observer Initiative. We will discuss how to moor our data securely against the currents of centralized corporate narratives, ensuring our mature operators hold the baseline for truth and objective reality.

11 March 2026 | 14:00 (2 hours)

Post-Civilization Baselines: Rewiring the Familiar

Block Builds for Open Data - Day 5
Spirit Locale: Adelaide — Glenelg Jetty Tearooms — historic seaside tearooms at a jetty, a Victorian-era throwback in a beach suburb of Adelaide.
Format: Online Over Google Meet
Host: Steven De Costa & Reality Engineers

We sit in the relics of Victorian-era polite society to talk about retiring our own 'polite era.' We dive deep into the philosophy of civil, ethical, and moral 'familiarization'. We explore how Reality Engineers will construct systems that serve the local neighborhood rather than the distant shareholder, establishing a new baseline for the productive pursuit of freedom.

12 March 2026 | 16:00 (2 hours)

Game Over, Tech CEOs: Owning Your Compute

Block Builds for Open Data - Day 6
Spirit Locale: Perth — The Nostalgia Box — Australia’s interactive video game museum showcasing retro gaming history, a fun quirky tech cultural stop in Perth CBD.
Format: Online Over Google Meet
Host: Steven De Costa & Bare-Metal Builders

Retro games represent an era of true ownership: they ran entirely locally and you physically held the cartridge. Today, multinationals want to rent you access to your own tools. Surrounded by the hacker ethos of retro tech, we discuss the imperative of Responsible, Sovereign, and Local AI. We are taking a sledgehammer to cloud dependency.

13 March 2026 | 18:00 (2 hours)

The Art of Disruption: Engineering Reality

Block Builds for Open Data - Day 7
Spirit Locale: Hobart — Mona Ferry Terminal — “The Dead Ups” painted ferry departures — with a dive into the Moorilla funky vibe before you even reach the museum.
Format: Online Over Google Meet
Host: Steven De Costa & The Odious Xers

Mona was built to shock the system; so is this next era of Link Digital. This session is about fully breaking the innocent, people-pleasing persona of legacy open data and introducing the assertive, intentful action required for the future. We are dissecting the exact, constructed profile shifts required to force the market to respect open sovereignty.

14 March 2026 | 20:00 (2 hours)

Sunset on the Monoliths: The Reality Engineer Co-op

Wrapping up Open Data Days 2026
Spirit Locale: Darwin — Mindil Beach Sunset Markets — iconic quirky Darwin vibe with food stalls, performers, and sunset crowds right on the beach.
Format: Online Over Google Meet
Host: Steven De Costa & The Mature Operators

As the sun sets on the event, we look toward the sunset of the multinational corporate monopolies. This final wrap-up is a call to arms. The 'digital hall of mirrors' has been shattered. The network is active. We synthesize this 8-day journey into a concrete, executable roadmap for the Objective Observer Initiative. It is time to build.