CJ
Carla Jedani
— On the schedule —
Securing the Next Generation: An OpenSSL Youth Outreach Strategy
OpenSSL secures an enormous share of the world's digital infrastructure, yet remains somewhat invisible to the public it protects. Conversations about OpenSSL's sustainability typically focus on maintainer capacity, funding, and governance. A sustainable open-source security ecosystem also needs informed users: people who understand, at a basic level, what cryptography does for them and why open, auditable implementations matter more than closed, opaque ones. This talk proposes a youth education pathway, structured as a scouting or award-scheme badge, to introduce youth to core cryptographic concepts (ie what a certificate is, what encryption actually protects against, why transparency in the underlying code matters, and what it means when that trust breaks - using real, age-appropriate incidents as teaching moments). The speaker, a lawyer and scout leader with a long-standing interest in open source, presents this as an invitation to the OpenSSL community to help shape what such a badge/program could look like, what it should teach, and which organisations might be willing partners in building it. Attendees will leave with a concrete starting framework for youth outreach, and an open invitation to help design it.
— Compositor's note —
Carla Jedani is an Australian lawyer, founder and researcher based in Munich, working at the intersection of technology, governance and social impact. Her interest in open source began more than two decades ago, when she published on open-source software and its legal and broader societal implications. More recently, her work has explored emerging technologies, digital infrastructure, privacy and new models of participation and cooperation. Alongside her professional work, Carla has extensive experience working with young people, including as a scout leader and former board member of a youth charity. She is particularly interested in how complex technologies and the infrastructure underpinning our digital lives can be made understandable and relevant to people outside specialist technical communities. Her current interests include how younger generations can become more informed participants in the digital world, and how open-source communities can create accessible pathways for young people to understand, engage with and ultimately contribute to the technologies on which they increasingly depend.