The [digital.global] network brings together more than 100 stakeholders from politics, business, civil society and science 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 ongoing exchange. Its goal is to harness the innovative power of the digital economy for development policy goals, while focusing on the needs of partner countries. In order to adapt technical and financial cooperation to the constantly changing challenges of the ongoing digital transformation of all areas of life, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is in an ongoing dialog with its initiatives and partners.
Preview of the next dialogue events
Keynote by Federal Minister Svenja Schulze followed by a panel discussion at re:publica: Click, Hire, Fire? Improving the Global Reality and Future of Platform Work.
07.06.2023
The Federal Minister’s keynote, which will highlight the lack of regulation, unfair pay and lack of social protection for platform work, will be followed by a panel discussion focusing on approaches to increase transparency and improve labor standards in digital work. Participants include the Federal Minister as well as experts from Oxford University and the Digital Opportunity Trust Kenya.
Digital Ethics Working Group of Initiative D21
14.06.2023
Initiative D21 is committed to promoting the digital society and the digital transformation. As a cross-sector network that brings together players from politics, business, science and civil society, D21 aims to promote the potential of digitization and digital participation in Germany. Digital-ethical guidelines are provided by its Ethics Working Group, which is made up of an interdisciplinary group of digital-savvy stakeholders from academia, business, civil society, network policy and ministries. The next meeting of the working group will include impulses and contributions to the discussion from Prof. Dr. Andreas Lob-Hüdepohl (German Ethics Council) and the BMZ.
GreenTech Festival
14-16.06.2023
The GREENTECH FESTIVAL CONFERENCE, with its keynotes, panel discussions, boot camps and immersions, is for everyone who wants to bring about sustainable change. Together with courageous pioneers and outstanding global leaders, a stage is set there for an inspiring exchange of ideas driven by the need for sustainable business solutions. On June 15, BMZ will be represented with a keynote at the session The “UN World Food Programme’s Climate X Hunger Pitch Slam: Innovating for a World in Crisis” hosted by partner World Food Programme (WFP).
Global Solutions Summit
15-16.05.2023
The Global Solutions Summit is the world’s leading forum for translating research-based evidence into policy recommendations for the G7/G20. Its goal is better global governance for the common good. The meeting brought together senior government officials with academic researchers, NGO leaders and international CEOs. Martin Wimmer participated in several sessions of the Global Solutions Summit, such as the Advisory Board meeting and the sessions “High-Level Forum on Climate”, and “Digital Architecture for the Public Good”.
BMZ Board Meeting at GovTech Campus
16.06.2023
BMZ exchanges with the Board “Digital Transformation” on 16.06.2023. Participating institutions and organizations in the meeting include: Engagement Global, German Development Cooperation Evaluation Institute (DEval), German Institute of Development and Sustainability gGmbH (IDOS), Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), KfW, and Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). BMZ’ participants will be: Martin Wimmer, CDO; Dirk Meyer, Head of Division, Global Health, Economy, Trade and Rural Development; Dr. Iliya Nickelt, Head of the BMZ Data Laboratory; Andreas Kottwitz, Sub-Department Head, Central Services and IT; and Dr. Ariane Hildebrandt, Head of the Principles, Data and Effectiveness Division.
BMZ and Bundestag webinar on “Standards, norms and regulation in the context of international digital policy”.
20.06.2023
Initiated by MPs Tobias Bacherle (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen) and Armand Zorn (SPD), the webinar will be attended by 30 representatives from the Bundestag and BMZ. Dr. Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary for Development, will give a presentation on standards of international digital policy in times of change and system competition, as well as on global technological challenges – and the resulting problems for the Global South.
Review of the last dialogue events
Regional Forum Mexico
24-26.05.2023
The panel “Twin Transition in Latin America” at the Mexico Regional Forum served as a platform for exchange on sustainable, fair and inclusive digital transformation in the Latin America region. Participants included various representatives from politics and the digital economy, such as Adriana Servin, Director of Government Relations at SAP, Daniela Correa, founder of SinCarbono, and Dr. Augustin Avila Romero, Head of the Office of the General Directorate of the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC), Mexico City.
Sovereign Cloud Stack Summit
23-24.05.2023
Organized by the Open Source Business Alliance (OSB Alliance), the Sovereign Cloud Stack Summit aimed to promote exchange on open source technologies, especially in the cloud space. The focus was on digital sovereignty and European core values in the digital space, which were significantly advanced by SPRIN-D. For the panel discussions and speeches, the broad ecosystem of open source stakeholders from politics, the private sector, academia and civil society was included. BMZ highlighted the international perspective on digital sovereignty and open source through the policy initiative GovStack and the [digital.global] network.
Visit of the Egyptian Minister of Digital at the BMZ
11.05.2023
With the aim of exploring strategic priorities for digital cooperation between Germany and Egypt, a strategic dialogue took place between the BMZ and Khaled El-Attar, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, Automation and Administrative Development.
Blockchain Breakfast Baden-Württemberg with KfW
10.05.2023
Together with KfW, BMZ participated in the Blockchain Breakfast and presented the TruBudget tool with Piet Kleffmann, Department Director of KfW Development Bank.
UNDP Strategic Dialog at the BMZ
08-10.05.2023
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is a long-standing partner of German development cooperation, while UNDP and BMZ share a long-standing cooperation in the digital sector. The aim of the exchange in May was to highlight synergies in the field of innovation and digitalization. The United Nations Development Programme, represented by Robert Opp, Chief Digital Officer and Gina Lucarelli, Team Leader Accelerator Labs, met with the following representatives of the BMZ: Dirk Meyer, Head of Division Global Health, Economy, Trade and Rural Development; Martin Wimmer, CDO; Noemie Bürkl, Head of the Digitalization Unit.
World Bank GovTech Global Forum in Washington
03-04.05.2023
The event was organized by the World Bank’s Governance Global Practice and was entitled “Governance in the Digital Era.” BMZ participated in the forum as a co-host through a logo partnership. A recorded video message from Dirk Meyer, Department Head, Global Health, Economy, Trade and Rural Development was broadcast during the first plenary, which addressed the guiding question of how GovTech implementation can contribute to economic and social development.
Keynote by Federal Minister Svenja Schulze at the Bitkom Digital Sustainability Summit.
19.04.2023
In April, the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development participated in the Digital Sustainability Summit of bitkom e.V. In her speech, she emphasized the crucial factor of digitalization for achieving the SDGs and the importance of framework conditions for the digital transformation of partner countries in the Global South.
Handelsblatt GovTech Summit
17-18.04.2023
As part of the GovTech Summit, Nele Leosk, Estonian ambassador for digital affairs, and Yolanda Martinez, global head of the GovStack policy initiative and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), joined BMZ to discuss digitization in development cooperation.
Side event: GovStack – a lighthouse project of the digital strategy
17.04.2023
The GovStack side event, hosted as part of the Handelsblatt GovTech Summit, aimed to present GovStack as a lighthouse project of Germany’s digital strategy and to connect the international GovStack ecosystem with the German GovTech community, including policy makers, GovTech companies and startups, as well as networks, think tanks and civil society.
