Future Forum 2021
States, Societies & People in the Digital Age – Shaping a Global Transformation
The Future Forum 2021 took place from September 20 - 23, 2021 with the title “States, Societies & People in the Digital Age – shaping a global transformation“ – organized by the division Governance and Conflict together with the division Methods, Digital transformation and Innovation.
The objective of the Future Forum 2021 was to engage the participants in a global learning experience within the field of governance and conflict and to (re)connect the community in times of distance during the current global pandemic. Moreover, the Future Forum was a driver for innovation and new methodologies as well as the most prominent internal GIZ event in 2021 addressing relevant topics in the field of governance and conflict in the digital age.
The virtual event brought together almost 700 experts from 85 countries working at and with GIZ as well as interested partners, commissioning parties, related consultancies and organizations. More than 100 speakers, like Julie Owono, Executive Director of the organization Internet Sans Frontières (Internet without borders) and Bertrand De La Chapelle, Executive Director of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Networks, made the Future Forum 2021 an inspiring journey.
What was the Future Forum 2021 all about?
The digital transformation is profoundly changing the way we learn, work, and communicate and thus impacts the nature of social relationships and political decision-making within and across societies. This opens enormous opportunities for the promotion of governance and peacebuilding, but also bears considerable challenges and risks. This is what the Future Forum 2021 explored along four thematic focus areas:
- (Digital) Power to Perform – Changing Capacities of State and Non-State Actors
- Social Cohesion and Peacebuilding in the Digital Era
- Mind the Gap: Inclusive Digital Democracy and Deliberation
- Data for Development
Please find our thematic concept as download on the bottom of this page.
Recordings of the Future Forum
The Future Forum 2021 has been recorded: The public parts of the first and last day, like our keynote, the inspirational talks and our panels, can be found on GIZ’s YouTube channel .