Cooperation launched for open source chat system

On April 2, 2025, the city of Jena and the Smart City project Amt Süderbrarup signed a cooperation agreement for the joint development and procurement of a multifunctional chat system.

The aim of this collaboration is to develop an innovative chat system that can be used in a variety of ways and enables different application scenarios - both for external communication with citizens and for internal support for employees. The plans include the use of chatbots that provide targeted information and data: externally for easy publication in the city network, internally to support data processing and knowledge transfer within the administration.

A central element of the development is the consistent focus on open source software. This means that the finished system can be used and further developed not only by the two project partners, but also by other cities and municipalities.

The cooperation is taking place within the framework of the "Smart City Model Projects" funding program, which explicitly stipulates the use of open source. Although this requirement represents a certain challenge, it also shows that both cities are now well on the way to practical implementation.

With this partnership, Jena and Süderbrarup are sending a strong signal for inter-municipal cooperation, digital sovereignty and sustainable, open solutions in administrative digitization.