[digital.global] in dialogue

The GSMA MWC brings digital, connectivity and policy leaders together, hosting the debates that define society’s relationship with technology, showcasing cutting-edge technology demos that enable socio-economic growth and driving innovation by introducing investors to visionary startups. Sustainable impact for good is only possible when the entire technology ecosystem joins forces.

Experts from the digital policy initiative Digital Transformation Centers participate in roundtables on artificial intelligence for development and building resilience in times of climate and humanitarian crises to share proven approaches like the FairForward project and the experiences from the local digital ecosystems of the Digital Transformation Centers.

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The two-day Kick-off and Technical Exchange for the EU-LAC Digital Alliance in Central America “Towards a Human-Centered Digital Transformation in Central America and the European Union” in El Salvador will bring together technical experts from partner organizations, such as government institutions, private sector, civil society and academia from Central America as well as EU representatives (EEAS, DG INTPA) and European implementation and project partners (Expertise France, FIIAPP, eGA, GIZ, EUreCA, ITU) to introduce the new TEI EU-LAC Digital Alliance component for Central America. A crucial part of the component will be the set-up of a Central American Secretariat in Costa Rica facilitated by an additional EU funding and executed by GIZ as part of the TEI “Policy Dialogues” component. The aim of the event is to introduce the new component and align the thematic areas of the partners (FIIAPP, eGA, Expertise France, GIZ) with sub-regional stakeholders. Ideally, the event should result in the identification of potential intervention areas for common reference frameworks and further policy dialogues.

Speakers: Carlos Vargas, e-Governance Expert, eGA; Jean-Marie Chenou, Cybersecurity Expert, Expertise France; Maria Rosario Heras Carrasco, Data Governance Expert, FIIAPP; Leonel Tapia, Inclusive Connectivity Expert, GIZ.

“The Internet We Want – Empowering All People” – this was the title of the 18th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) held in Kyoto, Japan, from 8 to 12 October 2023. As part of the multi-stakeholder forum for political dialogue on internet management and governance issues, around 8,000 participants addressed the topics of artificial intelligence, disinformation, human rights and data governance. In his opening speech, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasised the importance of the IGF, which is one of the most important forums for international digital policy. He formulated three priorities in the area of internet governance: firstly, bridging the digital divide, including the digital gender gap; secondly, bridging the governance gap by improving coordination and alignment between the IGF and other digital governance formats; and thirdly, taking human rights into account and promoting a people-centred approach to digital cooperation.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) at the IGF

The BMZ hosted an Open Forum entitled “Planetary Limits of AI – Governance for Just Digitalisation?”. Martin Wimmer, Head of Division G 1 – Principles of Development Policy at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), opened the panel, which discussed the interaction between climate change and artificial intelligence (AI). One of the central questions was how framework conditions can be created to mitigate the adverse effects of AI on the climate. It was emphasised that environmental and climate considerations must be included in the development of AI: AI should not create new problems, but serve people and the planet.

The BMZ was also involved in presenting the African Union’s (AU) policy framework at the African Union Commission’s forum “The African Union Approach on Data Governance“. The framework is intended to promote the use of the potential of digitalisation and data in and between African countries and at the same time mitigate the risks of cross-border data flows. It is also intended to help African countries participate more actively in global discussions on data with a common agenda and help shape them.

The BMZ also contributed to the event “Transforming Technology Frameworks for the Planet“, which highlighted cooperative approaches to digital inclusion in the technology sector and opened the panel “African AI: Digital Public Goods for Inclusive Development” with the presentation of the BMZ initiative FAIR Forward, which promotes a more open and sustainable development and use of artificial intelligence. The panel presented how AI applications can be used as digital public goods and discussed the opportunities and risks of AI for the African continent.

Links to the sessions with BMZ participation

1. IGF 2023 Day 0 Workshop Room 7 Transforming technology frameworks for the planet 1 – YouTube
2. IGF 2023 – Day 1 – Workshop Room 5 – African AI: Digital Public Goods for Inclusive Development – YouTube
3. IGF 2023 Day 2 Workshop Room 8 Planetary Limits of AI Governance for Just Digitalisation – YouTube
4. IGF 2023 Day 3 Workshop Room 7 The African Union Approach on Data Governance – YouTube

The conference also served as a platform for sharing knowledge, experiences, and best practices with digital technologies and innovations for regional integration with the aim to enable leapfrogging to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals and to foster a human-centric digital transformation in East Africa.

“Our goal is to maximize the impact of digitalization as a driver for social and economic growth while working towards the achievement of the SDGs in our partner countries,” said H.E. Christine Grau, Ambassador of the European Union to Tanzania and EAC.

EAC Secretary General, Dr Peter Mutuku Mathuki, who opened the two-day conference was keen to create a single regional digital market comprising of an online market, a data market, and a connectivity market. “This is underpinned by digital skills, innovation, infrastructure, financing, and a conducive legal and regulatory environment. Achieving this requires digitalization in various sectors and integration platforms,” said Dr. Mathuki.

In total, more than 90 people took part in the event, both in person and online. Participants included representatives from the EAC Secretariat and other EAC Institutions, ICT Ministries of EAC members (Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania), the European Union, and EU Member States – including Germany, which played an important facilitation role during the conference.

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The Digital Summit also served as a platform for sharing knowledge, experiences, and best practices with the goal of fostering digital transformation and economic growth in the Western Balkans. “The Summit will help to create preconditions that are more favorable for investments, development of start-ups and exchange of knowledge,” said Edin Forto, Minister of Communications and Traffic of BiH.
A highlight of the Summit was the launch of the Digital for Development (D4D) Hub for the EU Neighboring Countries with the aim to foster multi-stakeholder collaboration and knowledge sharing between the public sector, civil society, academia, and private sector actors.

Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, made the announcement during the opening plenary of the Summit. “We are launching a new branch of the D4D Hub for the EU neighboring countries to strengthen cooperation and coordinate engagement between the European Union, its Member States and our partner regions,” he said. He also stressed the commitment of the EU to boost joint investments and strengthen digital cooperation with EU neighboring countries.

To mark the launch, the D4D Hub also hosted a side event with the purpose of having a first exchange with partners in the Western Balkans to discuss opportunities and expectations for regional engagement. D4D Hub members Italy, Estonia, Slovenia, and Germany were represented at the event.

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With the aim of developing an international digital strategy, the Federal Government has been heavily involved in the field of internet governance at the organisational level in recent years with the organisation of the IGF-D and the Internet Governance Forum 2019, the third annual conference of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network and the commitment to the ICANN78 meeting in Hamburg.

The German Internet governance community would like to have a regular exchange with representatives of the ministries involved in the various bodies (ICANN, ITU, etc.).

The eco association takes up this wish: Together with the BMDV, the Roundtable: “The Future of the National Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue” is to give the starting signal for the revival of a regular multi-stakeholder dialogue.

Participants of the roundtable:

• Hans Peter Dittler, Deputy Chairman of the Board, ISOC.DE.e.V.
• Manuel Höferlin, Member of the Steering Committee, IGF-D
• Peter Koch, Senior Policy Advisor, DENIC eG.
• Mirjam Kühne, Chair, RIPE
• Katharina Morasch, Legal Trainee European Commission DG CNECT / IGF-D Youth
• Thomas Rickert, Director Names & Numbers, eco-Verband der Internetwirtschaft e.V.
• Dr. Irina Soeffky, Head of National, European and International Digital Policy,, BMDV
  Oliver J. Süme, Chairman of the Board, eco-Verband der Internetwirtschaft e.V.

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This panel discussion kicks off this year’s LABOR.A Digital event of the Hans-Böckler-Foundation. Along with Elke Hannack (DGB) and Birgit Steinborn (Siemens), PStS Dr. Bärbel Kofler will be discussing Germany’s position in global labor contexts. The panel focuses on the international dimension of socio-ecological transformation and the future of global production processes characterized by unequal power dynamics.

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Partners in Transformation – New Networks for Business and Development

From 2024, the BMZ will realign its cooperation with the private sector. Under the guiding principle of the socio-ecological transformation towards greater sustainability, all offers to the private sector will in future be oriented towards the political priorities of German development cooperation and focus on the needs of partner countries. On 26 September, the BMZ launched its new strategy for more effective and efficient cooperation with business partners through Federal Minister Svenja Schulze and invited guests from politics, business, associations, trade unions, implementing organisations, civil society, academia and the media.

Development Minister Svenja Schulze: “Our economic cooperation should become more social, sustainable and effective. It is important to me that women and trade unions are given a greater role in the planning and implementation of the projects. Because the goal is that more people benefit from the results – especially those who are economically deprived. In the future, we will also check all projects for climate protection, social and environmental standards. And for the first time, there will be an area-wide impact evaluation for economic cooperation.”

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development  will integrate the potential of the private sector for the global socio-ecological transformation even more strongly in the future and create networks to jointly develop solutions. In doing so, the BMZ is also taking up critical assessments of previous cooperation with the private sector. Under the new brand “Partners in Transformation – Business & Development Network”, BMZ’s business cooperation will in future be more social, sustainable, efficient and effective:

• More social through a broader understanding of the economy and the inclusion of additional actors: Trade unions as partners, more women entrepreneurs and women in business, participation of international civil society and academia in our networks and steering groups.
• More sustainable by focusing projects on decarbonisation and higher environmental and social standards in companies.
• More effective through better linkages between business cooperation and government development cooperation
• More effective through the Agency for Economic Affairs (AWE) as a one-stop shop with communication, advice and networking for all economic actors in Germany, Europe and the partner countries of German development policy, as well as an overarching monitoring and evaluation system for all programmes.

BMZ launched its new strategy for more effective and efficient cooperation with economic partners through Minister Svenja Schulze. Approximately 250 – 300 guests from politics, business, associations, trade unions, implementing organizations, civil society, science and research, and the media came together in Berlin.

The [digital.global] network was also represented: At the event, the initiative”FAIR Forward – Artificial Intelligence for All” showcased a long-standing collaboration with the Mozilla Foundation: Together they are promoting openly available AI training data for African languages. As digital public goods, these datasets are crucial building blocks for spurring local innovation with speech technology.

The Sao Paulo State Court has just sentenced the company Uber in Brazil to pay a 2 Mio. USD because Uber did not correctly classify its drivers as employees but as self-employed despite work requirements.

This incident, among other topics, was the discussion basis for the exchange at the International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil attended by the political initiatives Gig Economy and SADA at the end of September.

Leonardo Fabri, former Coordinator for Reputation and Empowerment of Delivery Drivers at the food delivery service iFood, explained that the discussions around classifications do not properly represent the concerns of workers. They are more interested in understanding how the app’s algorithms work and how they affect the blocking of drivers or the allocation of jobs.

Katrine Scomparin, founder of a delivery service for favelas, reiterated the need for the workers’ perspective and shared her company’s approaches to reducing road hazards or violence on the streets.

Moreover, the research of Prof. Matheus Braz from the Federal University of Minas Gerais highlighted that platform work does not only affect workers’ physical but also their mental health. Especially in cloud work, i.e. non-location based platform work, people suffer from tasks such as e.g. reviewing potentially harmful content and the lack of institutional support to cope with processing these images and the influence on their mental health.

All participants concluded that increased collaboration between private sector, governments and regulatory authorities is needed to contribute to creating a safer and better environment for people relying on platform work.
This is where the SADA and Gig Economy initiatives come in, as they provide learning content and exchange opportunities on platform work for policymakers. On this basis, participants can advocate for better policy and regulatory frameworks for platform work.

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Africa’s population is currently around 1.4 billion and projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050. Africa will comprise 26% of the world’s working age population, with an economy that is estimated to grow twice as rapidly as that of the developed world. Thus a trusted and resilient digital environment is required.

There are ongoing efforts on the continent to transform Africa into a Single Digital Market (SDM). Africa’s SDM will be the world’s largest market and will build growth in an African Digital Economy. However, some key challenges remain to unlock the potential of Africa’s SDM such as lack of cybercrime strategies harmonization between African countries, limited capacity of national cybersecurity institutions and limited trust on both sides of a digital transaction nationally and across borders.

The session Securing Africa’s Data: Insights fromthe Smart Africa-GIZ Cybersecurity Blueprint will provide insights into the work of different actors on cyber threats, solutions for harmonized cybersecurity regulations, and recommendations for making data economies safe for citizens and societies.

Speakers:

• Dr. Martin Koyabe, Senior Manager AU-GFCE Project, Global Forum on Cyber Expertise
• Folake Olagunju, Program Officer Internet and Cybersecurity, ECOWAS
• Aretha Mare, Projet Manager – Data Governance, Smart Africa
• Theoneste Ngiruwonsanga, Project Manager for Cybersecuirty and Data Privacy, Smar Africa
• Adama Konate, Director General, Ecole Supérieure Africaine des TIC (ESATIC)

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The SDG Summit marks the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda and is intended to herald a new phase of accelerated progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Digital technologies are essential for this, as Secretary General of the United Nations, Guterres has repeatedly emphasized. In this backdrop, and on the sidelines of the SDG summit, UNDP, together with UN Office of South South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and GIZ on behalf of Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) hosted the panel Data-Informed Policymaking: A Catalyst for SDGs. The panel stressed on the importance of data-informed policymaking together with the launch of the Data to Policy Navigator, a tool developed by UNDP and GIZ that caters to policymakers needs in systematically integrating data in their decision making processes.

Through data-driven and data-informed decision-making, governments can develop more efficient, sustainable, and inclusive policies across all sectors. To this end, UNDP’s Digital Office, in collaboration with GIZ, has developed the Data to Policy Navigator – a global resource, specifically designed for government officials with limited prior data science knowledge and experience. It aims to give policymakers the know-how to systematically integrate new data sources into their decision-making and policy development processes, as well as provides specific use cases or practical resources to learn from.

Top-line Messages of the panel:

• The recent surge in data puts more power into the hands of people and policymakers as they work to achieve the SDGs.
• Yet, limited access, resources, tech know-how, and complex governance hinder policymakers around the world from using new data.
• The biggest challenges lie not in technical aspects but in changing the data culture. A strong data culture entails a high level of political will to listen to evidence, a mainstreamed understanding of using data by default, and clear roles and responsibilities for all steps along the data value chain.
• In this ever-changing data landscape, the private sector is also up against learning curves.
• Initiatives like the Data to Policy Navigator Tool and Data to Policy Network are pivotal in breaking past the data culture roadblocks. These tools are tailored for mid and senior-level government executives, the data consumers, rather than the data producers, like the data experts in National Statistics Offices.

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The day’s objective was to demonstrate how data and digital technologies can be leveraged to reach the SDGs and their targets. It showcased 17 digital solutions – one for each SDG – with game-changing potential to accelerate progress on the SDGs. Three BMZ-initiatives were among these game-changing solutions: our global e-learning platform atingi for SDG 4 (high quality education); Audiopedia, an Open-Source e-learning platform targeted at women and girls, for SDG 5 (Gender Equality); and Mobile Innovation Hub, an accelerator programme to support local and digital innovation ecosystems, for SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth).
Noémie Bürkl, Head of Division “Digital Technologies” at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, presented atingi as a game-changing solution for SDG 4 during the session”Showcase: Game-changing digital solutions”:

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The event  was supported by our partners UNICEF, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Health Organization (WHO).

On September 13, the Internet Governance Forum Germany (IGF-D) took place for the 14th time at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. The IGF-D offers a discussion platform for Internet governance issues to various stakeholders from government, parliament, academia, civil society and the German Internet governance youth. The aim of the event is to raise awareness of these issues among German policymakers and the public, as well as to develop national positions and key messages for this year’s global IGF 2023 in Kyoto, which is considered one of the most important forums for international digital policy.

At this year’s IGF-D, representatives* from the BMDV and AA participated. In addition, stakeholders from academia and civil society were represented by BMDV, FemAI, AlgorithmWatch, re:publica, Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V., Centre for European Policy Studies, Wikimedia Deutschland, dot Berlin gmBH, ISOC.de and IGF-D Youth. The importance of a multi-stakeholder approach to promote a digital policy supported by all stakeholders was repeatedly emphasized at the IGF-D. Specifically, the BMDV invited the resumption of open consultation rounds on digital policy issues to drive improved participation of different stakeholders. Participants repeatedly mentioned the priority of creating a free, secure and fair Internet as well as impulses for a sustainable digital economy.

The [digital.global] network has been virtually represented by two GIZ representatives in preparation for the IGF Kyoto from 8-10 October 2023.

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A key objective of this session is to discuss the urgent need to enhance the sustainability of the digital sector and leverage digital innovations for climate action. The session will present newly developed the Green Data Centre investment guidelines developed jointly by the World Bank and ITU with the support from the BMZ/GIZ Global Digital Transformation program. Furthermore, the session will include a panel to discuss the opportunities and challenges to enhance investments in sustainable digital and green infrastructure.

Specific objectives include

• Share the guide’s findings and initiate a debate on the enablers, barriers, and quality aspects of promoting green data centres in Africa and beyond.
• Create awareness about the report’s findings and highlight the importance of adopting environmentally sustainable practices in the data centre industry
• Engaging stakeholders from various sectors, including government representatives, industry experts, and environmental organizations, the discussion

Speakers: John Tanui Permanent Secretary, MoICT, Kenya, Golestan Rawan, Chief Digital Technology Officer, UNEP, Thelma Quaye, Director of Digital Infrastructure, Smart Africa, Bodo Immink, Country Director, GIZ Kenya, Sara Ballan, Senior Digital Specialist, World Bank, Dan Kwach, MD East Africa for Africa Data Centers Association, Nkem Onwuamgegbu, Africa Director MIGA, Lucas Amollo, Manager, ICT and Smart City Solutions, KONZA, Osman Issah, Manager, Resilient and Inclusive Digital Infrastructure, Smart Africa, Aida Ndiaye, Senior Digital Program Leader, East Africa, AFD

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This official side event of the Kenyan government is hosted by the Permanent Secretary, MoICT.

The main objective of the round is to bring together partner countries (Kenya, South Africa), the EU, Development Finance institutions (World Bank, EIB, AFDB) and international donors (BMZ, MFA Finland) to discuss opportunities, mechanisms, and challenges on how to accelerate investments into sustainable and secure data and digital infrastructure in Africa bases on the European Union’s Global Gateway Strategy. A specific objective is to seek alignment amongst key stakeholders such as African governments, public and private project promoters, and Development Finance Institutions to foster impact-driven investments in trusted and sustainable data and digital infrastructure in Africa.

The panel will address these key issues:

• What are the main reasons for the current underinvestment in sustainable digital infrastructure like data centres in the Africa region?
• What role do government regulations and incentives play in boosting investments into green and secure data infrastructure to support local economic and social development?
• What opportunities and risks do green and secure data centres offer for sustainable development and technology adoption in Africa?
• How can International and European Development Finance Institutions collaborate on co-investment programs that share risks and pool funding for achieving increased impact?
• How can the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) and other financing mechanisms be leveraged to attract private investments for green and secure data centre projects?
• What steps can enhance the access to finance for infrastructure promoters in the region?
• How can African partners leverage technical cooperation with international partners?
• How shall capacity building initiatives be designed to support the growth of local stakeholders and a workforce with expertise in green and secure data centre regulations and technologies?

Moderation: Thelma Quaye, Director of Digital Infrastructure, Smart Africa

Speakers: Dr. Heike Hamgart, Managing Director EBRD, Pasi Hellman, Under-Secretary of State, MFA Finland, Wendy Hughes, Senior Regional Director, Infrastructure Department, Africa World Bank, Carla Montesi, Director, Twin Transition, DG INTPA, John Tanui Permanent Secretary, MoICT, Kenya, Nicolas Williams, Director Digital Infrastructure, AFDB, Christian Elias, Head of Unit Public Sector, East Africa and Southern Africa EIB, Philipp Knill, BMZ