The concept of ‘global digital commons’ (UN, 2020) constitutes a key component of the emerging Global Digital Compact of the United Nations. The concept comprises data, information, culture, and knowledge and created and maintained online (Dulong de Rosnay & Stalder, 2020).

Under the Indian Presidency of the G20, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) – a concept closely related to digital commons – is prominently taken up in Task Force 2 of the Think20 engagement group. It addresses questions on how DPI can serve global good as well as its relevance for implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. With India Stack, India has taken a pioneering role in “developing an effective DPI ecosystem” (Saran & Sharma, 2023). To build on India’s vast experiences in the field of DPI and potentially contribute to the development of “Techno-legal regulatory frameworks” (Anandaram & Kripalani, 2021) at the global scale, the G20 needs to develop a joint understanding of core principles and values that govern digital resources.

These will be particularly relevant for other countries - like the EU, which has made pathbreaking progress in digital consumer protection, and the continent of Africa where fintech has already made progress. Combining this with proven, open-source, open-network public infrastructure models will power citizens, innovators and governments internationally.

This event aimed to contrast international perspectives on the topic, employ pragmatic approaches for cooperation that will help develop shared visions and utilize digital commons for “an open, free, and secure digital future for all” in an interactive workshop format.
The side event was jointly organised by Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations and the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in the framework of the PRODIGEES project of the Managing Global Governance (MGG) programme with financial support from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).