The rapid development of digital technologies calls for a justice-oriented framework that benefits all members of society, WACC general secretary Philip Lee said as the symposium “Our Common Future: Advocating for Digital Rights and AI Accountability” opened today in Berlin, Germany.

During the 2-day event, 25 invited participants from ecumenical networks and partners are exploring how faith-based actors, civil society, and secular AI ethics organizations can work together for a digitally justice future, in an age marked by the rush towards ever more powerful digital technology and artificial intelligence across all sectors of life.

WACC is organizing the symposium in collaboration with the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Association of Protestant Churches and Missions in Germany (EMW), and Bread for the World.

Digital and information accountability required

Millions of people are still excluded – not just from digital access, but from meaningful participation in the systems that shape information and knowledge, governance, and power relationships, Lee said in his opening address.

He stressed that civil society, especially in the Global South, is being increasingly silenced.

“We need to rethink our understandings of communication justice, to increase accessibility, affordability, and accountability,” Lee stated.

Such a transformation will mean “confronting the colonial, racist, and sexist legacies embedded in the control of information and knowledge, and in the deployment of digital technologies,” he added.

Moral leadership required

“How can we shape the development of AI responsibly by using its life-affirming potential and limiting the risks connected with it?” asked Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm in his presentation.

The WCC moderator said he was convinced that this global challenge could only be met by institutions that are deeply rooted in the local contexts, but at the same time, with a global horizon – meaning that the churches will have to play a decisive role.

“Several billion inhabitants of this earth are members of churches and religious communities. There is probably no other group of people who would have a similar potential to encourage the global response to AI that we so urgently need,” he reflected.

Media professional Corinna Waltz from EMW echoed the call for moral leadership.

“Digital justice is not only a global issue. It is something we negotiate in our everyday decisions. As faith-based organizations, we approach this with a clear conviction: the digital world is not separate from our moral responsibility – it is part of it,” she said.

She pointed to the essential role of faith communities. “We can make visible the real-life impacts of digital harm, amplify voices that are often unheard, and bring together actors who would otherwise never meet.”

Collaboration required

The symposium aims to develop a concrete advocacy and capacity-building framework for coordinated and collaborative action towards digital justice. An urgent matter, according to Dr Dagmar Pruin, president of Bread for the World, host for the symposium’s opening day.

“The risk of losing democratic oversight and public control is increasing, thus the need for global coordinated advocacy and ethical guidance,” she said.

Pruin underlined the critical importance of the symposium in this endeavor – convening such a variety of civil society actors, bringing together global and local perspectives, and amplifying marginalized voices.

The need to work together is clear, Walz agreed. “The future of AI and digital governance is not predetermined. It is being shaped – right now – by those who show up, collaborate, and speak with moral clarity,” she told symposium participants.

“Let us move forward together – as partners and advocates for a digital future grounded in justice, dignity, and the common good.”

Top image (clockwise from lower left): WACC General Secretary Philip Lee, Dr Dagmar Pruin (Bread for the World), Corinna Waltz (EMW), and Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm (WCC) speak on the opening day of the symposium “Our Common Future: Advocating for Digital Rights and AI Accountability.” Photos: Albin Hillert/WCC.

Perspectives

What are the critical issues related to digital technology? How to tackle these? And who should take action? Listen to views from different contexts.