The benefits of digital technologies are manifold; we live in a world with access to information, improved communication, new economic opportunities, empowerment of civil society, access to education, and greater political participation. But, often on a global level, government structures, the economy, or society as a whole are challenged by these technologies. This can be clustered into six areas: industry structure, power, data collection, uneven digital access, norms and culture as well as state capacity. A pessimistic mindset oftentimes dominates the discourse, hindering us from realising a positive and common vision for the future.

To understand and shape the future of digitalisation, it is important to consider the players and the roles they will take. Governments will play a vital part in shaping this future, with varying roles and strategies. To nurture a digital ecosystem and build an innovative and inclusive digital society, governments will need to create enabling environments for technology development, promotion and implementation, while levelling access and adoption across sectors — including that of public services. Governments will also have to regulate technology fairly, while protecting groups from exploitation and harm.

Non-state actors will similarly shape the future of digitalisation. Their objectives are based on the group they represent and therefore are more difficult to generalise. We will probably see new roles for existing non-state actors as well as completely new actors.

Using future thinking tools and methods, the participants analysed the complex relations and tensions between the different stakeholders in creating a desired future and recommended some ideas for policy makers for the future.

CONTENTS

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1 The future/s of digitalisation and workshop methodology

2 Current state of play: What is broken

3 What to treasure and protect from today

4 Players in the future of digitalisation

5 Rosy and hazy future scenarios

6 Policy recommendations

ANNEX

Trends

Promising projects