[digital.global] in dialogue

The AI for Good Global Summit highlighted the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the common good. The conference in Geneva, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), provided a platform for exchanging knowledge, best practices, and collaboration in the field of open AI technologies. The summit aimed to promote health, climate protection, gender equality, sustainable infrastructure, and global prosperity through the use of AI.

FAIR Forward organized a session on the topic “Unleashing the power of open-source AI: Transforming digital public services for a better tomorrow”, which took place on May 31 from 8:30 AM to 12:15 PM. This session shed light on the role of open-source AI in public administration and presented concrete use cases from countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, and Kazakhstan. Noémie Bürkl, Head of Unit, Head of Unit for Digitalisation at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)  gave the closing remarks at this event.

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The official launch of the GovStack Knowledge & Learning Hub was recently announced at the WSIS Forum (World Summit on the Information Society) in Geneva. This hub aims to equip digital teams with the necessary knowledge and skills to reshape the landscape of digital government. As part of this event, a comprehensive range of eLearning courses were presented to give digital experts the tools they need to succeed in an increasingly complex ecosystem.

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Empowering women, driving innovation: The best projects of the ‘Women in GovTech Challenge 2023-24’  

The best projects of the first Women in GovTech Challenge 2023-24 were also presented at the event. Participants Aparajita Dubey, Rupal Jain, Michelle Grell-Bereaux and Yessenia Duran presented the projects, which reflect the diversity of the GovTech landscape.

The Women in GovTech Challenge gathers 139 women working in digital government teams from 59 countries. Led by experienced professionals from the global GovTech ecosystem, the participants worked closely with mentors and developed projects to pave the way for a more inclusive and efficient framework for digital government.

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The eLearning Africa annual conference and exhibition, which was established in 2005, is the largest and most comprehensive knowledge sharing event for digital education, training and skills on the African continent.It is a global forum for everyone with an interest in education, training and skills development in Africa. In the past years it has offered thousands of professionals in education, training and development invaluable insights into the evolving world of technology learning.

The 17th Edition of eLearning Africa was held from 29 – 31 May, 2024 in Kigali, the booming capital city of Rwanda at the Kigali Convention Center.

The overall theme for the 17th edition of eLearning Africa was:
“Education Fuels Innovation, Investment Amplifies Skills: Africa’s Vibrant Leap Forward” 

atingi took part in the session ‘Let Us Lead: Data Upskilling for Africans, by Africans’  and hosted an exhibition stand during the conference to give visitors the possibility to learn more about our digital learning platform and how we’re empowering learners and educators across Africa and beyond.

Our partners FAIR Forward and the Agri-Business Facility for Africa (ABF) joinend atingi at the booth, collaborating to amplify its impact and reach. As a platform committed to empowering learners and educators in Africa and beyond, atingi took the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, organizations, and thought leaders to drive meaningful change in education.

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The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, initiated by the initiative Digital Innovation Pandemic Control (DIPC), took place in Geneva.

The MoU was signed by PAHO Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa and Tessa Lennemann from DIPC. It emphasises the joint commitment to the use of digital technologies to improve accessibility, efficiency and equity in the health sector.

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How can we use digital public goods to improve the future of young people around the world? This was the topic of the panel “Digital (Re:) Public Goods: Putting the Next Generation in Charge” organised by UNICEF at this year’s re:publica.

In addition to physical infrastructure such as water pipes, power grids or roads, digital infrastructure is becoming increasingly important – for example, to be able to reach people quickly with financial aid in the event of a disaster or to give them access to medical care even in remote regions: “A strong digital public infrastructure allows us to empower and support millions of people, especially women, can reduce poverty, build resilience and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” emphasised the BMZ

Together with moderator Lea Gimpel (Digital Public Goods Alliance), Sunita Grote (UNICEF Ventures), Antonella Paola Perrone (Xcapit) and Katharina Mänz discussed, among other things, the crucial role of young people in shaping digital public goods (DPGs).

Sunita Grote (UNICEF Ventures) emphasised the importance of digital public goods in fostering inclusive digital ecosystems and Antonella Paola Perrone (Xcapit) explained why digital public infrastructure facilitates collaboration and promotes positive social outcomes.

The four participants agreed on one thing: international dialogue and cooperation are crucial in order to use the opportunities offered by digital technologies for the benefit of society.

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About re:publica

re:publica Berlin is the most important conference for the digital society in Germany. It focuses on the exchange of knowledge and networking of people on digital policy issues. This promotes innovation and synergies between civil society, (net) politics, (traditional) companies, technology, science and (pop) culture. Participants include representatives from politics, NGOs, start-ups, media & marketing as well as well-known bloggers, activists, hackers, artists and social media experts. This year’s conference will take place under the motto ‘Who cares?’ from 27 – 29 May 2024 at STATION Berlin.

Session with UNICEF ‘Digital (Re:) Public Goods: Putting the Next Generation in Charge’

The UN estimates that 70% of the Sustainable Development Goals are based on digital solutions. It is therefore important that young people have a say in their digital future. Digital public goods (DPGs), including open source software, open AI systems, open data and open content repositories, are key to sustainable development and better digital inclusion of young people. DPGs promote transparency, local participation and collaboration. They help countries worldwide to develop a digital public infrastructure for health, education and other important areas.

Our experts from the UNICEF Venture Fund, Xcapit (a UNICEF-supported startup from Argentina) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) offer exciting insights into the international processes, the development of open ecosystems and the alignment of digital transformation with the SDGs. Learn how these efforts are paving the way for a sustainable, equitable digital future for all.

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The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum in Geneva is one of the central venues for international digital policy and internet governance. It is organised by the International Telecommunication Unit (ITU) and other United Nations organisations (including UNESCO, UNCTAD, UNDP).

It brought together various interest groups, including representatives of government, civil society, the private sector and international organisations, to discuss the development of the information society. The WSIS focuses on policy dialogues, networking and thematic sessions on international digital policy issues. Through its WSIS Action Lines, the forum aims to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Head of Division of the BMZ Digital Division Noémie Bürkl spoke at the following sessions:

“DPI High-Level Session & Award Ceremony for WSIS Digital Service Design Prize 2024”: Following Noémie Bürkl’s welcome address, country representatives* from different regions of the world shared their experiences in DPI implementation and discussed how global frameworks such as GovStack, advocacy efforts – such as the DPGA’s “50 in 5” campaign – and organisations such as ITU, UNDP, World Bank and others can accelerate DPI implementation at scale. The Sesseion also included the WSIS Digital Service Design Prize 2024 award ceremony.

“Leaders TalkX: ICT Applications Unlocking the Full Potential of Digital – Part II”: Head of Unit Bürkl on the importance of digital transformation for achieving sustainability goals.

“The future of Digital Public Infrastructure for environmental sustainability”: As an active panel participant, Noémie Bürkl shed light on the potential of digital public infrastructure for environmental sustainability in this session organised by the United Nations Environment Programme.

“GovStack Digital Leaders Forum”: The GovStack Digital Leaders Forum is a unique meeting place for public administration CDOs and leaders of the global GovTech ecosystem to learn from each other’s digital experiences. At this exchange format, Head of Division Noémie Bürkl met Chief Digital Officers from BMZ partner countries to share their experiences and lessons learned from the digitalisation of government services.

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With more people heading to the polls than ever before in the 2024 super election year, global democracy is under increasing pressure due to a drastic increase in disinformation and rising political polarization. Against this backdrop, our new report „Mitigating the Risks of Political Microtargeting – Guidance for Policymakers, Civil Society, and Development Cooperation“ provides an overview of the risks of political microtargeting (PMT) – tailored political advertising online. The report analyzes context-specific factors and case studies from the Global South and provides a detailed overview of different courses of action as well as concrete recommendations for policy makers, civil society and international development cooperation. The report is the result of a working group of the “Information Integrity” cohort as part of the “Summit for Democracy” process and has been produced by GIZ together with numerous non-governmental organizations from various regions of the world.

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The Global Solutions Summit (GSS) is an international conference aimed at addressing key policy challenges facing the G20 and G7 and other global governance fora. Digital policy is one of the 2024 focus topics of the GSS.

Since 2017, the Global Solutions Summit has provided an intense, two-day forum for the world’s leading minds to propose expert-based policy recommendations for the G20, G7 and beyond. Distinguished experts from think tanks, research organisations, governance, business, and civil society come together each year in the middle of every G20 Presidency to work on concrete policy solutions. German Development Minister Svenja Schulze (BMZ) takes part.

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The International Women and Girls in ICT Day draws attention to the significant problem of a widening gender digital divide. Despite progress, women and girls worldwide are more likely to face barriers in accessing and using digital technologies than men. As a result, women are more likely to be deprived of economic opportunities, leading to social marginalization. Especially new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence present a major risk of exacerbating existing inequalities. That’s why the Connected Africa Summit is dedicating its entire program at April 25 to closing the gender digital divide and fostering leadership opportunities for women and girls in ICT. Leaders from Africa and TeamEurope engage in inspiring sessions.

The motto is crystal clear: we must empower women and we must learn to live with empowered women!

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A step into the Future with the Connected Africa Summit 2024!

On April 21-25 partners from Africa and Europe assemble in Nairobi to shape Africa’s digital future and enable sustainable growth beyond current connectivity. The forum brings together around 200 participants to discuss on investments in Africa’s digital infrastructure and economy for a human-centric, inclusive, and sustainable digital transformation. The summit is orchestrated by the dynamic collaboration of the African Union with Smart Africa and Team Europe through the Digital for Development Hub.

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As leaders from government, private sector, civil society, and academia converge in Washington D.C. for the 2024 World Bank Group – IMF Spring Meetings, they are discussing solutions to tackle global development issues end explore what’s needed to scale up the solutions and investments. The World Bank’s Digital Development Partnership (DDP) helps developing countries leverage digital innovations to solve their most pressing challenges. Being core partner of DDP, BMZ and GIZ will meet with world bank leaders to discuss the increasingly role of DDP for contributing to a sustainable and inclusive digital transformation in our partner countries.

Ready to Amplify Impact? Join Us for the Grand Unveiling of the Scaling Toolkit!

Dive into the world of scaling digital innovation like never before! Our toolkit is your go-to guide for turning tested digital solutions into impactful, sustainable success stories. Join the event and be part of the movement towards high-quality, context-driven impact. Let’s scale it up together!

Mark your calendar to be at the forefront of digital innovation scaling. 🚀

Date: 15.04.2024

Time: 15:30 – 16:30 (CET) + 30 minutes interactive session (16:30-17:00 CET)

Location: Online

Dial-in link: Click here to join the meeting

Preliminary agenda

01 | Welcome – Scaling at GIZ

Insights from Arlette Stojanovic, Head of Competence Centre Innovation (GIZ)

02 | Diving into Scaling Impact

Interview with John Gargani co-author of the book “Scaling Impact: Innovation for the Public Good”

03 | Scaling Toolkit – The grand unveiling

Launching the scaling toolkit together with Eva Scholtes and Debarun Dutta from the Smart Africa Digital Academy

04 | Interactive Session: Tools for Scaling Impact – The next level

Open exchange with participants

The Scaling Toolkit, thoughtfully curated from practical experience and profound insights gleaned from real-life projects, is the result of a collaborative endeavor by the #SmartDevelopmentFund team at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in partnership with Endeva and minds & makers. Supported generously by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, this resource signifies a united commitment to empower and grow impact across diverse initiatives.

Panel dicussion: “Smart Earth, Smart Tech: A Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age”

The digital transformation in the context of the global sustainability agenda

The bitkom Digital Sustainability Summit, a conference for the green and digital twin transition, is taking place for the second time this year and brings together innovators from the digital industry, the sustainability community, science and politics.

The panel discussion “Smart Earth, Smart Tech: A Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age”  looks at the digital transformation in the context of the global sustainability agenda and discusses how digital innovations can be used worldwide for environmental protection and sustainability and what Europe can learn from its partner countries.

Participants:

• Prof. Dr. Dirk Messner (President, Federal Environment Agency)
• Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven (Managing Director, German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ))
• Werner Neubauer (CEO, aconnic / albis-elcon system)
• Geraldine de Bastion (Co-Founder & CEO, Konnektiv Kollektiv)

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The United Nations are underway to develop a Global Digital Compact (GDC): an international framework to ensure an open, free and secure digital future for all. On April 05, Sweden and Zambia, who are leading the negotations, are presenting the draft of the document to member states and interested stakeholders. The GDC sets out to accelerate progress across the SDGs and close all digital divides.

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