Global Charter ‘Our Common Digital Future’

This project is now completed and the ISC and its partners continue to promote its outputs within the community of CODES. 

In partnership with the German Federal Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU), Future Earth and others, the ISC supported the development of a global charter on ‘Our Common Digital Future’.

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Background

The institutional framework for global sustainable development in the Digital Age needs a normative reference point in the form of an international charter for a sustainable Digital Age. The WBGU submitted a draft for such a charter. It ties in with the 2030 Agenda and the Declaration of Human Rights and, at the same time, goes beyond them.

The charter is intended to serve as a system of principles, objectives and standards for the international community and to link digital change with the necessary global sustainability perspective. It formulates objectives and principles for the protection of human dignity, natural life-support systems, inclusion in and access to digital and digitalized infrastructures and technologies, as well as individual and collective freedom of development in the Digital Age. On this basis, the charter sets out concrete guidelines for action to be drawn up by the international community with a view to the challenges of the Digital Age.  

The charter contains three core elements:

1. Digitalization should be designed in line with the 2030 Agenda, and digital technology should be used to achieve the SDGs.
2. Beyond the 2030 Agenda, systemic risks should be avoided, in particular by protecting civil and human rights, promoting the common good and ensuring decision-making sovereignty.
3. Societies must prepare themselves procedurally for future challenges by agreeing, among other things, on ethical guidelines and ensuring future-oriented research and education. 

Partners for this work included: Earth League, Future Earth, Global Development Network, International Science Council (ISC), The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS, India), Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), United Nations University, World in 2050. 

Read the full chapter 

Activities and impact 

• A virtual expert group meeting on the topic “Digital Transformation for the Implementation of the 2030-Agenda” was convened on 22-23 June 2020. It was led by the German Environmental Agency (UBA) and German Federal Advisory Council on Global Change (WGBU), in partnership with the ISC, UNDP, UNEP and Future Earth. 
• Heads of the ISC and WBGU authored a news article for our website. 
• The ISC also asked its Membership for input on the draft charter. 
• This effort with the German Federal Advisory Council on Global Change (WGBU) and partners, led to the creation of the Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES) of which ISC is a co-Champion.