The UN SDG Action Campaign hosted the Civil Society Strategic and Networking Meeting from 20-21 March 2024 at the UN in Bonn which provided a dialogue space for civil society, UN representatives, and the co-facilitators of the Summit of the Future to share views and agree on messages, priorities and strategies towards the Summit of the Future and beyond. The discussions revolved around the International Financial Architecture (IFA), with a focus on structural problems, prevailing issues, and recommendations.
About 50 leaders from civil society organizations participated, mostly from the Global South, but also from global networks, including IT for Change’s Anita Gurumurthy. The meeting provided a unique space for substantive exchanges and increased interest in the Summit of the Future.
During the event, we made three key interventions:
1. Emphasizing the imperative of distributive justice in the AI economy, we made a submission to Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, underscoring the pivotal role of UNCTAD in facilitating alternative paths to digitalization for local development.
2. Highlighting the ascent of platform monopolies and their infrastructural dominance, we intervened in the session on ‘Geopolitics in Multilateralism,’ illuminating the implications of lacking public control over these entities for our collective futures and democratic structures.
3. Addressing the Ambassador of Germany, who co-chairs the SOTF process alongside the Ambassador of Namibia, Anita advocated for the integration of feminist foreign policy principles from the German Development Cooperation agency into the formulation of pivotal milestones within the UN framework, including the SOTF and GDC. Anita referenced our paper, ‘Bridging Divides, Dismantling Power Structures,’ to underscore the importance of incorporating feminist perspectives in shaping global digital governance frameworks.
Know more about the event here.