16 Sep 2024 Summit of a Future for All?

“Summit of the Future” sounds a bit like an Avengers movie. It is in fact a much-anticipated (and much-hyped) United Nations event on 22–23 September that aims to address the critical issues that are increasingly transforming lives – issues such as climate change, digital governance, peace and security, and economic resilience.

By bringing together UN member states with civil society, private sector and other stakeholders, one of the main messages the event wants to send is that effective, forward-looking solutions require multilateral consensus and collaboration.

As with most UN events, the hard work on outcomes was done in advance in the form of two main documents which will be adopted during the Summit. WACC has worked with partners to influence the text and direction of both.

The Pact for the Future aims to be the high-level political declaration that lays out the critical global challenges and a framework for action to meet them. It builds on existing UN processes including the report “Our Common Agenda” by the UN Secretary-General that called for the revitalization of global governance as well as the Sustainable Development Goals.

When the first draft of the Pact was released for comment, the Global Forum for Media and Development (GFMD), of which WACC is a member, noted immediately that despite international acknowledgement of the vital role public interest journalism has in peace and security, democratic governance, and sustainable development, there was no mention of media or journalism in the draft.

Together GFMD and its allies, along with other civil society partners, have provided written feedback, advocacy with government delegations and multilateral partners, and pressure via a joint statement signed by over 110 organizations around the world. This coalition has contributed to greater references to civil society, maintaining strong human rights language, and specific language to respecting and protecting journalists particularly in situations of armed conflict.

All parties acknowledge that not all that we have called for is in the Pact, but our collective, active advocacy has had an impact and strengthened these elements in the document.

The second outcome of the Summit of the Future, which is envisioned as an annex to the Pact for the Future, is the Global Digital Compact.

The Compact aims to outline shared principles for the use of digital technologies and a framework for digital governance. It aims to balance innovation and regulation, while respecting human rights and ethics, inclusion, and digital commons.

WACC, through GFMD and other partners, has pushed for a human-rights centred Compact that considers the media community as a key stakeholder. While no doubt the final version is not as robust as needed, the Global Digital Justice Forum – a group of civil society organizations and networks working on digital rights and justice – considers the multistakeholder approach to the Compact’s development a positive approach.

In a public communication, the Forum says: “The specific governance proposals in the [Global Digital Compact] – pertaining to Internet, data and AI governance – are aligned with the World Summit on the Information Society principles and plan of action; the only touchstone so far on global digital governance.”

In their statement on what is at stake for internet governance and human rights with the Compact, the Forum notes:

Undoubtedly, this GDC may not be the best we could get. At the same time, we believe that democratic digital governance requires international cooperation and the role of governments in a) mobilizing public investments for foundational public digital goods in all nations and b) moving steadily towards accountable global data and AI governance architectures—a critical agenda whose time is here—for pluralistic digital societies.

The Internet today is not what many who contributed to its development dreamed it would be. The status quo—with corporate self-interest leading the way—is untenable. It is disastrous for people and planet alike. As progressive civil society working to democratize the digital space—hand in hand with the innovators worldwide who hold the internet’s original promise dear—we seek nothing less than a radical departure from the democratic deficit that has come to characterize it.

The real test of this upcoming Summit is the implementation of the principles and actions that will be agreed. In this we all have a role to play in holding governments, private sector – and ourselves – to account and indeed, being part of a future for all.

Maybe we do need to take a page from the fictional superheroes, to understand that we do have power that has already strengthened parts of these documents.

And we can deploy the power of our coalitions and commitment to advocate and demonstrate that communication rights – respected, protected, and fulfilled – play a fundamental role in a sustainable, democratic, inclusive and equitable future.

Image generated by WACC using Canva Magic Studio.