WECHANGE

WECHANGE is a German open-source digital collaboration platform designed for activists, initiatives, and organizations working toward social and ecological change. Operated by a cooperative of the same name, the platform provides a suite of integrated tools—including file management, real-time document collaboration, team messaging, video conferencing, calendars, task boards, polls, forums, and microsites—all accessible through a single login. The platform emphasizes data sovereignty, hosting all services on its own servers in Germany, and is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It is free of advertising and does not use user data for AI training. The idea for WECHANGE emerged in 2012 within the Wachstumswende association, and the tool was created in 2014 as an internal project of the Berlin-based media agency Sinnwerkstatt. A prototype was built in 2015, and the cooperative that now manages the platform was founded in 2016. Since 2015, WECHANGE has also worked with local partners on projects in Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. The platform is available in multiple languages, including German, English, Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, French, and Polish. As of the official website, WECHANGE hosts more than 88,000 people across over 4,000 groups and 11,000 projects. The platform is used by numerous organizations, including Wachstumswende, Unternehmensgrün, MokWi, Suniversum, Netzwerk N, and the German-Polish Youth Office (Deutsch-Polnisches Jugendwerk). WECHANGE also offers its software to organizations for building their own portals, such as TRIYOU and Civil Society for Cooperation. The platform's code is open source, with the source available on GitHub, and it is built using Python and Django.

The idea for a network platform for activists originated in 2012 within the Wachstumswende association. Together with partner organizations such as Brabbl, GreenNetProject, platform cooperativism, and Kombüse, a working prototype of the platform was launched at wechange.de. WECHANGE as a tool was created in 2014 with the goal of supporting activists, software developers, visionaries, and volunteers to collaborate online, united by a clear purpose: to actively support social changes that foster a more sustainable, socially responsible, and ecological future. Initially, WECHANGE was an internal project created by the Berlin-based media agency Sinnwerkstatt. The prototype of the platform was built in 2015, while the cooperative that now manages the platform was founded a year later, in 2016. Since 2015, WECHANGE has been working with local partners on projects in Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. The platform is available in English, German, Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, French, and Polish. Today, the platform is used by numerous organizations and is constantly evolving in close collaboration with its users.

• 2016

  WECHANGE cooperative founded to manage the platform.

• 2015

  Prototype of the platform built; work begins with partners in Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

• 2014

  WECHANGE tool created as an internal project by Sinnwerkstatt.

• 2012

  Idea for a network platform for activists originates in the Wachstumswende association.

Open-source, data-sovereign, cooperative-run collaboration platform for social and ecological change-makers.

• wechange.de platform

  Main collaboration platform with integrated tools.

• wechange.eco

  Free-to-use version of the platform.

• Mobile app for Android

  Free mobile app available on Google Play.

1. 1wechange.de - Gemeinsam den Wandel gestalten.wechange.de
2. 2WECHANGE - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3WECHANGE - Wikipedia (Ukrainian)uk.wikipedia.org