Ahead of UN General Assembly, Wikipedia nonprofit calls on governments to ensure the future internet is shaped by communities for the public interest

21 September 2024, New York USA ― As UN Member States are gathering in New York for the 79th United Nations General Assembly, the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, is calling on governments and the UN to ensure that stakeholders from all sectors can work together in deciding how digital technologies and spaces are governed.

For the first time, the UN General Assembly is accompanied by the Summit of the Future and Action Days, which are bringing together civil society, companies, academics, and activists to share their perspectives about how the UN can better address the needs of the global community. These four days of special meetings are expected to include approval of the Global Digital Compact, a guiding document for the future of digital governance, which includes the commitment to support Digital Public Infrastructure and Digital Public Goods, freely and openly accessible digital infrastructure, software, and content that contribute to sustainable development.

On Saturday, 21 September, the Foundation co-hosted the event, The Power of the Commons: Digital Public Goods for a More Secure, Inclusive, and Resilient World, at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters, together with the Office of the UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology; UN Member State Delegations of Mexico, Poland, and Germany; as well as the organizations Access Now, TUM Think Tank, Global Network of Internet and Society Research Centers, Wikimedia Deutschland, Wikimedia Europe, Wikimedia Czech Republic, and Wikimedia Polska. High-level speakers included Amandeep Singh Gill, the UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology; Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia; and Eileen Donahoe, Coordinator of Digital Freedom in the US Department of State's Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, amongst others.

The event explored why civil society must have a voice in how technology is shaped and governed, and how communities can play a leading role in the creation and governance of digital public goods such as Wikipedia. Speakers discussed how open and inclusive digital systems are already advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and supporting social and economic development. Speakers from the Wikimedia Foundation shared their positive vision of the internet's future, in which everyone, everywhere, can access and share diverse and verifiable knowledge about the world, in their own languages. In order for such a vision to be realized, communities everywhere must be able build and govern knowledge-sharing platforms freely and safely; they must also have easy access to a multilingual digital commons and be protected through a commitment to uphold human rights online.

The following remarks were delivered during the event:

"Well-governed commons are the foundations of human civilization. Digital is no exception, and today, more than ever, digital commons are vital to our interconnected world. … The GDC can play a crucial role in democratizing access to knowledge and technological resources, ensuring that everyone, everywhere, regardless of their socioeconomic status, has the opportunity to participate and benefit from the digital economy."

Amandeep Singh Gill, United Nations Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology, Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology

"My call to action for everyone, and to governments in particular, is let's begin to adopt what I would call 'the Wikipedia test.' If you're about to pass some rule, think about 'is this going to wreck Wikipedia?' and, if it is, it might not be a great rule. We need to protect these open communities."

Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia Founder and Trustee, The Wikimedia Foundation

"I am more than happy to see involvement of many stakeholders from outside of governments, like the lead organizer of this event, Wikimedia, in our discussions. It is only with their active participation, on equal footing, that we can fully tap the potential of digital public goods and digital public infrastructure for realization of the Sustainable Development Goals."

H.E. Mr. Krzysztof Szczerski, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to the United Nations in New York

"By investing in Digital Public Goods and Digital Public Infrastructure, and by collaborating and building on the principles, objectives, commitments, and actions outlined in the Global Digital Compact, we can consolidate the construction of a global digital environment that is inclusive, equitable, and sustainable."

H.E. Alicia Buenrostro Massieu, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Mexican United States to the United Nations in New York

You can watch a recording of the event at thislink.

The Wikimedia Foundation advocates for an internet that respects and protects community-led platforms and the online communities responsible for making them flourish in the public interest. We also strive to represent the interests of the volunteer editor communities who make Wikimedia projects possible in large multistakeholder conversations about how the internet and digital technologies will be governed in the future. An internet that does not promote equal access online - and that is not open, interoperable, and respectful of human rights - is an internet in which community-led projects would face existential challenges, and in which Wikipedia might not exist.

Over the past year, the Wikimedia Foundation has collaborated with allies and affiliated organizations to influence government negotiations over the text of the Global Digital Compact. Set to be agreed at the Summit of the Future, the Compact aims to be one of the most comprehensive attempts at creating a vision, agreed among UN Member States, for a shared approach to governing digital technologies and online spaces.It is intended to be used to guide the future of digital cooperation and regulation for many countries around the world. Through close collaboration and participation in the consultation process and an open letter signed by over 650 individuals and 28 organizations, Wikimedia has advocated for a vision of internet governance that directly recognizes and protects community-led models of the internet; promotes and protects digital public goods; and envisions a use of AI that supports and empowers, not replaces, people who create content and make decisions in the public interest.

"The Global Digital Compact should be implemented through a multistakeholder process so that everyone, everywhere can thrive in the age of AI," said Maryana Iskander, Chief Executive Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation. "Governments must protect and support the people who build and govern digital public goods - like Wikipedia - which is run by volunteers who share knowledge in over 300 languages."

Rebecca MacKinnon, Vice President of Global Advocacy at the Wikimedia Foundation, added: "Ultimately, the final draft of the Compact, if passed, will provide a starting point from which we can further engage with the UN and its Member States about how digital technologies should be developed and governed. If the broad, high-level commitments that governments have made in the Compact are to fully advance sustainable development and human flourishing everywhere, their implementation must be carried out through genuine partnership and cooperation with a wide variety of stakeholders, and in particular civil society. The first steps toward interpretation and implementation of the Compact will be critical. We are committed to work with the United Nations, UN Member States, the private sector, and allied organizations to design a more inclusive, accessible, human rights-respecting, and open digital future that enables projects like Wikipedia to thrive."

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our vision is a world in which every single human can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. We believe that everyone has the potential to contribute something to our shared knowledge and that everyone should be able to access that knowledge freely. We host Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects; build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing Wikimedia content; support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible. The Wikimedia Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.

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