At the Summit of the Future, UN member states will adopt the Global Digital Compact, a comprehensive framework that will set the course for digital governance based on shared principles and global priorities. Here’s how we contribute to a bright digital future for all.

In an increasingly digital world, the divides in access, safety, and innovation are becoming more pronounced across countries and communities. At this summit, representatives from 193 UN member states will work together to shape a future where digital technologies are harnessed to drive sustainable development and bridge global divides. The Global Digital Compact aims to address critical issues such as connectivity, digital literacy, data governance, and trust. It also seeks to protect freedom of speech and promote a trustworthy internet by introducing accountability measures for discrimination and misleading content. The Compact is not just a framework; it's a vision for a digital future that is open, free, secure, and human-centered—a future that contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age.

“We can't build a future for our grandchildren with a system built for our grandparents.”
Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General

Keep an eye out on our social media channels and this page to learn more about the Global Digital Compact and our related projects.

Coming Up

Summit of the Future Action Days Side Event: Sept 21, 17:15-18:30 CET

"The Power of the Commons: Digital Public Goods for a More Secure, Inclusive, and Resilient World"

Ahead of the 2024 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), world, industry, and civil society leaders will convene at the United Nations for the Summit of the Future. There, they will vote on the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact, guiding documents that offer an important opportunity to shape our digital world. Two Action Days will precede the Summit of the Future, offering an opportunity for multi-stakeholder discussion on the future of global digital governance.

We invite you to join the livestream for "The Power of the Commons: Digital Public Goods for a More Secure, Inclusive, and Resilient World" — a side event during the Summit of the Future Action Days at the United Nations. Hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia, this event explores the transformative potential of Digital Public Goods (DPGs) such as Wikipedia and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPIs) in fostering sustainable development worldwide.
This event is co-sponsored by the UN Member State Delegations of Germany, Mexico, and Poland, and the UN Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology, as well as the organizations Access Now, Network of Centers, Wikimedia Deutschland, Wikimedia Czech Republic, Wikimedia Polska, Wikimedia Europe, and us here at the TUM Think Tank.

This event will delve into the critical role DPGs and DPIs play in:

• Enabling civil society and communities globally to have a voice in how technology is developed and governed;
• Bridging digital divides to ensure equitable access to information and resources; and,
• Advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by harnessing the power of open and inclusive digital systems.

Event discussions will explore:

• How online communities are impacted by different digital governance models;
• What is needed for DPGs and DPIs to succeed, focusing on community involvement, literacy, funding, and governance;
• Success stories from around the world in tackling pressing governance challenges;
• Paths toward a digitally inclusive future for all.

Find more information on the event here.

Livestream

Our Role in Shaping the Digital Future

At the forefront of this global effort, the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy (HfP) and the TUM Think Tank are driving innovative projects that contribute to the pillars of digital spaces, digital governance, and digital sustainability.

“The GDC should focus on accelerating progress toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals by addressing the following areas: 1) ensuring the equitable distribution of digital benefits across all nations, not just those in the Global North, 2) promoting digital accessibility and diversity, while enhancing interoperability between digital systems, 3) ensuring the responsible, secure, and transparent use of emerging technologies, such as AI, with human oversight throughout and 4) holding major digital  platforms and tech companies  accountable. The GDC should act as a driving force, leveraging digital technology to reduce global inequalities.”

Virgilio Almeida, Berkman Klein Center, Harvard University

Digital Spaces

Digital spaces are the new public spheres where people connect, share, and interact. To ensure these spaces are safe, inclusive, and respectful, the Global Digital Compact emphasizes the need for inclusive governance and the protection of human rights online, by establishing clear guidelines, enhancing digital literacy, and ensuring accountability for harmful behaviors. Here are some of the examples that our work focuses on:

Content Moderation Lab (Yannis Theocharis)

The Content Moderation Lab researches how users interact within digital spaces and their attitudes towards content they encounter online. Through unique data science research, the Content Moderation Lab will provide actionable policy advice about content moderation to lawmakers and companies. By focusing on user attitudes and experiences, and including civil society organizations in research and dialogues, their work gives policymakers a more comprehensive understanding of which problems must be solved, and how to do so. Read more.

REMODE (Christian Djeffal)

As part of the former Reboot Social Media Lab, the project REMODE developed a method to involve users in the design of social media platforms as well as a toolbox to enhance and expand citizen engagement in content moderation mechanisms. Their method is inspired by both participatory technology assessments and participatory design approaches. Read more.

GovTech Initiative (Urs Gasser, Markus Siewert)

This work contributes to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces by fostering cooperation between public administration and the tech industry. Through its research and collaboration efforts, the initiative promotes digital literacy and responsible governance in the public sector, ensuring that digital spaces within government services are accessible, transparent, and accountable. Read more.

Immersive Realities Group (Auxane Boch, Urs Gasser, Daniel Saad, Sofie Schönborn)

This group is creating a hub of researchers from various disciplines including political science, law, computer science, economics, and design. Along with collaborators from the Munich ecosystem and their international network, they form an innovation-friendly partnership, critically exploring the potential of immersive technologies. The project, as one example, prototypes an interactional agent for education in VR - with a simultaneous research project on learning in VR, ethical validation and governance. Read more.

Transformation Finance Lab (Florian Egli)

The Transformation Finance Lab co-designs, improves and evaluates policies to mobilize investment for a sustainable transformation of infrastructure, companies and economies. To the extent that digital spaces require capital from different sources with a common public purpose, the Lab’s work will help identifying, interacting with and mobilizing a variety of sources of capital. Read more.

Civic Machines Lab (Orestis Papakyriakopoulos)

The lab's goal is to address algorithmic unfairness both in foundational machine learning research and when algorithms are implemented in society, cultivating a world where emerging technologies act as agents for creating fairer and more sustainable societies. Read more.

Urban Digitainability Lab (Stefan Wurster, Markus Siewert)

The Urban Digitainability Lab (UDL) accelerates cities' green and digital twin transitions by fostering collaboration between municipalities, researchers, and urban stakeholders. The Lab supports digital spaces that facilitate knowledge-sharing, capacity-building, and innovation diffusion, fostering inter-city and intra-city ecosystem development. Read more.

More projects at the Munich School for Politics and Public Policy HfP.

Digital Governance

Digital governance ensures that online interactions are fair, transparent, and accountable. To achieve this, the Global Digital Compact underscores the importance of establishing robust frameworks, enhancing regulatory oversight, and fostering global cooperation for effective digital management. Our initiatives include:

GenAI TF (Urs Gasser, Enkelejda Kasneci)

The Gen AI Task Force supports decision-makers in the public sector when evaluating the need, ethical foundation, and design of guidelines in the field of generative AI, for instance in the form of recommendations, best practices as well as policies, including future regulatory approaches. One example is the recently published policy brief "Regulatory Sandboxes as Governance Mechanisms for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" that was co-authored by Noha Lea Halim from Generative AI Taskforce, alongside international experts Armando Guio (Network of Centers) and Christian Perrone (ITS Rio). This brief explores AI governance within global digital governance, emphasizing the role of regulatory sandboxes in driving sustainable innovation and cross-border collaboration. Read more.

The Ethical Data Initiative (Sabina Leonelli)

The Ethical Data Initiativeaims to provide critical guidance and coordination for global efforts towards data governance, including responsible and ethical practices mindful of the social and scientific implications of data sharing. The Initiative builds on long-standing expertise in this domain as well as extensive and expanding collaborations with numerous actors in this space, including both local institutions and national/international networks. Read more.

GovTech Initiative (Urs Gasser, Markus Siewert)

The GovTech Initiative plays a critical role in advancing digital governance by providing evidence-based research that informs policy and regulatory frameworks. The initiative supports the development of transparent, fair, and accountable digital processes within public administration, enhancing global cooperation for effective digital governance. Read more.

Content Moderation Lab (Yannis Theocharis)

The Lab's user-centric insights aim to advance digital governance by strengthening informed decision-making for regulators and technology companies alike. By providing critical information to help policymakers design, implement, and enforce content moderation policies, the Lab supports policies that are responsive to public concerns and solutions that reflect public preferences. Read more.

Transformation Finance Lab (Florian Egli)

The Transformation Finance Lab co-designs, improves and evaluates policies to mobilize investment for a sustainable transformation of infrastructure, companies and economies. To the extent that digital governance requires capital from different sources with a common public purpose, the Lab’s work will help identifying, interacting with and mobilizing a variety of sources of capital. Read more.

Urban Digitainability Lab (Stefan Wurster, Markus Siewert)

The UDL strengthens digital governance by equipping city administrations with the strategies, tools, and expertise needed to manage twin transitions effectively. The Lab bridges the gap between policy and practice, ensuring cities can future-proof their urban infrastructures while adapting to evolving citizen needs. Read more.

More projects at the Munich School for Politics and Public Policy HfP.

Quantum Social Lab (Urs Gasser, Fabienne Marco)

The Quantum Social Lab pioneers digital governance by fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to address the ethical, legal, and societal challenges of emerging quantum technologies, ensuring responsible innovation and societal benefit. Read more.

Digital Sustainability

Digital sustainability is about creating technology and practices that support long-term ecological and social well-being. The Global Digital Compact advocates for integrating sustainable practices into digital development, and our projects are aligned with this vision:

Ethical Data Initiative (Sabina Leonelli)

Fostering the sustainability of data infrastructures and prospective uses, as well as those of metadata and derivative data, is at the core of the EDI mission. This is achieved through education and training initiatives, in the form of online resources, seminars and workshops, as well as research on how sustainability can be achieved and implemented within specific contexts and domains, and policy work towards promoting adequate decision-making and investments. Read more.

GovTech Initiative (Urs Gasser, Markus Siewert)

The GovTech Initiative integrates sustainable practices into public administration by encouraging the adoption of digital technologies that improve efficiency while reducing environmental impact. We advocate for long-term ecological and social well-being through responsible innovation and the sustainable development of digital tools and processes in government. Read more.

GenAI Taskforce (Urs Gasser, Enkelejda Kasneci)

The GenAI Taskforce is working towards closing digital divides and accelerating progress across the SDGs, as its members advise governments in Thailand and Colombia. Further members work on the topic of youth and digital citizenship to understand skills needed for a digital world. One example of their work is the recently published policy brief "Regulatory Sandboxes as Governance Mechanisms for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)". Here you can read how sandboxes can serve as a tool for advancing AI innovation toward achieving sustainability-related SDGs. This brief emphasized their role in testing green technologies and reducing CO2 emissions. Read more.

Immersive Realities Group (Auxane Boch, Urs Gasser, Daniel Saad, Sofie Schönborn)

This group is creating a hub of researchers from various disciplines including political science, law, computer science, economics, and design. Their upcoming hackathonshowcases an impressive international network of collaborators, with a wide range of stakeholders participating as mentors, judges, and challengers. In addition, it is a hands-on environment where technologies and practices are created that support long-term environmental and social well-being, as these aspirations are directly incorporated into the challenges formulated. Read more.

Transformation Finance Lab (Florian Egli)

The Transformation Finance Lab co-designs, improves and evaluates policies to mobilize investment for a sustainable transformation of infrastructure, companies and economies.When digital technologies and practices provide a tangible positive sustainability effect, the Transformation Finance Lab can help mobilizing capital to achieve these ends. Read more.

Urban Digitainability Lab (Stefan Wurster, Markus Siewert)

The UDL drives digital sustainability by aligning technological innovation with climate goals. Through the twin transition, cities leverage digital technologies to decarbonize urban infrastructure, unlocking opportunities for resilient, equitable, and sustainable urban development. Read more.

Network of Centers

To promote digital public goods and digital public infrastructure, collaboration is essential. We are proud to be part of the Network of Centers (NoC), a global initiative where diverse stakeholders come together to build a more sustainable digital future. Through cross-border cooperation among institutions and universities, we contribute to fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration on the critical challenges posed by new technologies, social change, and related policy and regulatory developments.

As part of this network, we are co-hosting a side event at the United Nations Headquarters: The Power of the Commons: Digital Public Goods for a More Secure, Inclusive, and Resilient World during the Summit of the Future Action Days. Find more information on how to join online here at our event page.

More projects at the Munich School for Politics and Public Policy HfP.

Empowering the Next Generation

At the TUM Think Tank, we recognize the vital role that young people play in shaping our digital future. We actively collaborate with youth and amplify their voices, ensuring that their perspectives are integral to the Global Digital Compact. Through initiatives, workshops, and partnerships, we empower youth to engage in digital governance and innovation, making sure that their ideas and concerns are heard and reflected in global digital policies.