The [digital.global] network brings together more than 100 stakeholders from politics, the private sector, civil society and academia in Germany, our partner countries and our multilateral partner system.
As a platform for all stakeholders driving a socio-ecological and feminist digital transformation, the network thrives on its strong partnerships and continuous exchange. Its aim is to harness the innovative power of the digital economy for development policy goals by responding to the needs of partner countries. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is in constant dialogue with its initiatives and partners to adapt technical and financial cooperation to the constantly changing challenges of the ongoing digital transformation in all areas of life.
UNDP and BMZ are organizing a side event called “Towards the Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs” at the AI Action Summit in Paris on 11 February.
Join key stakeholders and innovators at this pivotal side event to explore how AI can drive progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This interactive session is your opportunity to shape the upcoming Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs, ensuring AI is leveraged responsibly and inclusively for sustainable development.
This event is a follow-up to the ‘Responsible AI’ session at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference (7-8 October 2024). It is an informal convening bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders to exchange ideas and identify concrete inputs for the Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs. It aims to foster a shared understanding of how AI can be responsibly and inclusively leveraged to support the SDGs.
The discussion will focus on gathering concrete inputs aligned with the five key areas of action — People, Prosperity, Planet, Peace, and Partnership — of the 2030 Agenda, which form the foundation for sustainable development. A draft declaration will be shared in advance, which will allow participants to review and provide informed comments during the discussion. Participants will therefore have the opportunity to actively contribute to shaping the Declaration.
The event serves as a pivotal steppingstone leading up to further discussions (possibly at the Global AI Summit in Africa in April in Rwanda) and the adoption of the declaration at the next Hamburg Sustainability Conference in June 2025.
UNDP and BMZ cordially invite interested stakeholders from all sectors to participate in the side event. Committed to diversity and inclusivity, we encourage active engagement, particularly from stakeholders from the Global South.
For inquiries, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].
The 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will take place from January 20 to 24 in Davos, Switzerland, under the theme ‘Collaboration for the Intelligent Age’. This annual event brings together around 3,000 leaders from politics, business, academia, and civil society to address global challenges and explore pathways for positive change.
Anna Sophie Herken, Managing Director of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, will open the launch event of the ‘FemAI Leaders for Africa Initiative’. This initiative is a collaboration between GIZ and the global network Women Political Leaders (WPL) with the aim to empower African women political leaders with the tools, knowledge, and networks needed to drive inclusive and ethical artificial intelligence (AI) governance, to bring diverse perspectives to global AI discussions, and to promote innovative solutions.
Panelists include:
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2024 will take place from 15 to 19 December in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and online under the theme of ‘Building Our Multi-Stakeholder Digital Future’. As the most important multi-stakeholder platform for dialogue on internet governance, the IGF brings together representatives from politics, business, academia and civil society to discuss key issues at the intersection of digitalisation and society.
A special highlight this year: UNDP and BMZ will launch the consultation process on the Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs on 15 December from 11:30 to 12:30 CET. After further consultations, the declaration will eventually be presented at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference 2025 on 2 and 3 June. The aim of the declaration is to develop common principles and concrete commitments for the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI). Topics such as justice, inclusion and sustainability are at the centre of this action. All stakeholders are kindly invited to join the consultation process.
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Digital labour platforms are a growing form of work, offering new opportunities for income generation but also posing challenges to achieving universal social protection (SDG 1) and decent work for all (SDG 8). The first webinar in the series on Social Protection and the Platform Economy, organised by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the International Social Security Association (ISSA) underscores the importance of shaping policies that balance economic growth with worker protection in the rapidly evolving platform economy.
The digital labour platform economy is transforming labour markets and economic structures globally. Digital Platforms contribute significantly to GDP in many countries, with recent studies estimating the global value in 2023 to be worth 455 billion US dollars. These platforms offer new income-generating opportunities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, being attractive drivers of economic and social transformation. However, the lack of adequate labor and social protections for platform workers presents significant challenges. It is estimated that both location-based and online platform workers present low rates of social protection coverage.
This first webinar will provide a comprehensive overview of the platform economy’s development, exploring its potential as a driver of economic growth while examining the inherent challenges it poses, particularly in terms of labour rights and social protection. Discussing how governments can harness the platform economy’s potential while addressing the regulatory gaps to safeguard workers’ rights.
“AI is no longer a dream of the future – it is happening now and we need to be prepared. Those who don’t adapt to AI will be left behind by those who do”.
Lacina Koné, CEO of Smart Africa at the BMZ Digital Forum
Artificial intelligence is also a hot topic for Smart Africa at the moment – which is why Lacina Koné, CEO of Smart Africa, gave an inspiring speech at the BMZ Digital Forum on 26 November in Berlin, passionately promoting African AI solutions. Koné’s appearance also marked the start of the Smart Africa delegation’s visit to Berlin and Brussels to deepen the partnership between Germany, Europe and Africa in the field of digital transformation. Smart Africa is an association of 40 African countries committed to digitalisation and is one of the most important contacts for German development cooperation in this area.
Further Information: BMZ Digital Forum: AI revolution in development cooperation?
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Smart Africa, Nice Budani
Smart Africa, Nice Budani
Smart Africa, Nice Budani
After intensive and successful talks in Berlin, Smart Africa travelled on to Brussels, where it met with the EU and the Digital for Development Hub to exchange ideas for an African digital single market and closer cooperation between Africa and the EU. The concrete result: the signing of an agreement to support the digital transformation on our neighbouring continent. With: Koen Doens, Director General of DG INTPA of the European Commission and Renate Nikolay, Director General of DG CONNECT.
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“This ground-breaking collaboration with the European Commission is a powerful alliance that combines the strengths of both organisations. This agreement will open up significant opportunities to improve digital infrastructure, skills development and digital innovation across Africa. Our combined commitment and resources will create concrete pathways to digital inclusion and ensure that every African community can participate in and benefit from the digital economy.”
Lacina Koné, CEO Smart Africa
Back to Berlin: Development Minister Svenja Schulze invited Lacina Koné to the conference Rethinking Development Policy: How to deal with coloniality. The aim of the BMZ’s current process of overcoming colonial continuities is to learn from the legacy of colonialism and to build on this to create fair, partnership-based relations with the countries of the Global South.
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“Whether you speak Portuguese, French or English, digitalisation is a cross-cutting issue that you don’t necessarily learn from the colonial power, because the colonial power itself is usually too late. That is why we take digitisation in Africa very seriously. Colonial development affected the whole physical infrastructure. It will be difficult to tackle technology. I think the decolonisation of development and knowledge is crucial.”
Lacina Koné, CEO Smart Africa
Smart Africa, an alliance of 40 African heads of state and government, aims to transform Africa into a knowledge-based economy through affordable broadband access and the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). The aim is to create a digital single market on the African continent by 2030. The main players: African member states, private companies such as Google, Orange and Huawei, political partners such as the German Development Ministry (BMZ), the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), the World Bank and the European Union.
The German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport cordially invites you to the first International Digital Dialogues Conference under the theme “Shaping digital policy together”. It will take place on 21 and 22 November 2024 in Berlin.
The conference will convene over 100 selected representatives from all Digital Dialogues’ partner countries – from the public and private sector, civil society and academia. The event will stimulate an international dialogue on current digital policy issues. Focus topics include sustaining a free internet, digital public infrastructure (DPI), the digital economy and artificial intelligence (AI) in the super election year 2024.
The GovStack initiative will be part of the working group “Digital Public Infrastructure for Social Inclusion”. Katharina Mänz, Deputy Head of Division – Digital Technologies, is taking part in the working group as a panellist.
The Tallinn Digital Summit 2024, hosted by the Prime Minister of Estonia, will take place on 19-20 November at the Tallinn Creative Hub (Kultuurikatel) under the theme “Securing the Digital Tomorrow”. This annual event brings together political leaders, representatives from international organisations, academia, and the private sector to advance the vision of a connected, digital future.
GovStack will be hosting the session “Bridging the Digital Divide: GovStack as the DPI Implementation Stack for Global Interoperability and Digital Governance”, exploring how open, modular digital building blocks can create interoperable, inclusive, and scalable digital ecosystems to bridge the global digital divide. The session will be held on 19 November, 1-2:30 CET in the small hall.
As the adoption of digital public infrastructure (DPI) grows, a key question emerges: Can global frameworks like GovStack become the standard for DPI, fostering secure, cross-border collaboration that strengthens digital governance and empowers communities? We will dive into this question, sharing insights into GovStack’s innovative building-block approach and its impact on sustainable digital transformation in regions from Rwanda to India. We are excited to announce that Katharina Mänz, Deputy Head of Division for Digital Technologies at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) will kick off the GovStack session with her opening remarks on the power and potential of DPI.
Join the discussion with the following experts:
The aim of the UN World Data Forum is to promote data innovation, strengthen partnerships, mobilize political and financial support for data, and create a pathway to better data for sustainable development.
This year’s Forum will take place from November 12 to 15, 2024, in Medellín, Colombia. The BMZ Data Lab will participate at the advisor level and moderate the panel “Empowering Vulnerable Entrepreneurs: DataDriven Business Strategy for Inclusive Digital Transformation” organised by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Colombia.
From 11-12 November 2024, the seventh edition of the Paris Peace Forum will take place in Paris, this year under the theme “Wanted: A Functioning Global Order”. In addition to topics such as global crises, political tensions and multilateralism, future shaping digital topics of will also play a decisive role. These include global governance on artificial intelligence and digital public goods and their influence on cooperation between the global North and South.
The global programme Data2Policy will showcase the Data to Policy Navigator at a dedicated stand alongside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). As the first GIZ project selected for the SCALE-Up programme by the Paris Peace Forum, Data2Policy will present the Navigator as a certified digital public good, highlighting its role in fostering North-South collaboration and advancing evidence-based policymaking. This milestone underscores the Navigator’s unique contribution to bridging data and policy for sustainable global development.
The 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) is crucial for addressing the intersection of climate action and digital development cooperation. As the global community works to limit warming to 1.5°C, digital solutions play an essential role in achieving sustainable development goals. Technologies like IoT, AI, and data analytics can optimize energy use, reduce emissions, and enable climate-smart infrastructure.
For digital development cooperation, COP29 offers an opportunity to align technological initiatives with climate priorities. Investments in digital infrastructure, particularly in underserved regions, can promote green growth, enhance resilience, and ensure equitable access to climate information. Furthermore, fostering international partnerships at COP29 can accelerate the adoption of digital innovations in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and urban planning.
By integrating digital solutions into climate strategies, development cooperation can drive transformative change, making COP29 a pivotal moment for leveraging technology to address climate challenges while promoting sustainable global development.
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This roundtable session explores how ethical data practices can drive innovation and value in the digital economy while safeguarding labor rights, privacy concerns, transparency, and sustainable business models.
Together with our partners from NIC.br, Research ICT Africa and the Oxford Internet Institute, we will discuss best practices for data-driven innovation and value creation, challenges for workers in the gig economy and the impact of AI on employment.
Join us for an exchange with the following experts:
Between November 05 and 06 senior government officials, representatives from the private sector, civil society and academia from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and the European Union (EU) and its Member States gathered at the EU-LAC Digital Alliance High-Level Policy Dialogue on Connectivity and Inclusion in Santiago de Chile.
Co-hosted by the European Commission and the Government of Chile and co-facilitated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and other key partners of the EU-LAC Digital Alliance, such as the Government of Ecuador and the Government of Mexico, the policy dialogue in Chile forms part of a set of EU-LAC Digital Alliance Policy Dialogues that have been organized following the Digital Alliance Days in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, in November 2023.
During the dialogue, the EU-LAC Female Digital Policy-Makers Network (Red de Mujeres Líderes en Políticas Digitales UE-ALC) was launched, as proposed by the Vice Minister of Information and Communication Technologies of Ecuador, Vicenta Macías, together with the German Ambassador to Chile, Susanne Fries-Gaier. This bi-regional network aims to strengthen women’s leadership and representation in the formulation of digital policies to promote gender equality in the digital realm.
As a key outcome of the dialogue, participants began formulating actionable conclusions to support concrete activities ahead of the EU-CELAC Summit in 2025, focusing on four key connectivity cooperation areas as outlined in the EU-LAC Joint Declaration on a Digital Alliance and the Cartagena conclusions:
The dialogue took place in parallel with the EU-LAC Digital Alliance Policy Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and concluded with a joint stocktaking session to reflect on a year of cooperation since Cartagena. Both dialogues preceded the 9th eLAC Ministerial Conference in Chile on November 7-8, strengthening collaboration and synergies between the EU-LAC Digital Alliance and the Digital Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean (eLAC).
The EU-LAC Digital Alliance Policy Dialogues are one of the four pillars of the EU-LAC Digital Alliance and are co-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Under the theme ‘Digital Germany – Innovative. Sovereign. International’, this year’s Digital Summit of the German Federal Government will bring together more than 1,500 participants from politics, business, science, and civil society on 21 and 22 October 2024 in Frankfurt am Main. Key topics such as digital innovation, digital sovereignty and international cooperation will be discussed together.
The summit is being organised by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Government representatives such as Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Federal Digital Minister Dr Volker Wissing and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Dr Robert Habeck will highlight the challenges and opportunities of German digital policy and discuss the future of digital transformation in Germany with the participants.
Freedom of religion or belief is under increasing pressure worldwide. Four out of five people are unable to freely practise their religion or belief, often in combination with restrictions on other human rights such as freedom of expression and assembly. Women are particularly affected and face additional discrimination in many contexts.
New technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and social media play an important role. They can accelerate disinformation, repression and polarisation – but they can also serve as catalyst for knowledge, dialogue and peaceful exchange. The task of our time is to harness the potential of these technologies to promote peace and diversity, while taking decisive action against their misuse. To this end, a deeper understanding of the links between today’s AI revolution and freedom of religion or belief is essential.
On 10 October, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), together with the Federal Government Commissioner for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Frank Schwabe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA), will lay the foundation for international networking and joint work on new approaches:
The International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief brings together leading decision-makers, civil society organisations, religious actors and participants from all regions of the world in Berlin. In the midst of the challenges of our time, the conference will explore solutions to strengthen freedom of religion or belief worldwide – for a digital world where freedom and diversity are the basis for peace and social cohesion.
Key topics:
On 10 October 2024, we successfully held the “Data and Artificial Intelligence for Climate” co-creation workshop in Dakar. This key milestone builds on ongoing support for digital innovation in climate strategy and data governance across Africa.
The government, through the Ministry of Environment, Ecological Transition, and Green Finance (DCCTEFV), is positioning the country as a leader in climate action and sustainable development. In close collaboration with the GIZ initiatives Data Economy and Fair Forward, we are harnessing the potential of data and artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate climate action and strengthen the capacity for targeted climate measures in line with Senegal’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Promising results of the workshop include:
Together, through close collaboration, we are shaping innovative solutions to promote sustainability and strengthen climate resilience.
Stay tuned for further updates.
