EUTEC Vision Statement
On Global Governance in the Digital Age with EUTEC Academy Commissioner Dr. Halit Ünver
The European Technology Chamber (EUTEC) strongly supports global governance structures in which institutions, instruments, rules, and new mechanisms improve international cooperation and manage cross-border challenges. It’s about the totality of policies, norms, procedures and initiatives through which States and their citizens together with business sectors could bring more predictability, stability and order to transnational activities in the digital age.
Digital technologies and tools are part of our lives and the transformation process is still far from
complete. EUTEC enables European businesses to use their technologies for the benefit of Europe and humanity. The worldwide divergent access to and use of digital technologies results from differing conditions of people and states concerning prosperity, education, infrastructure and health (digital inequality). EUTEC promotes the global demand of taking a path towards more balanced income and education levels as well as improving physical and digital infrastructure – in line with the positions of the EU, OECD, G20, UN and the
SDGs.
EUTEC is placing special emphasis on the positive effects of dynamism and innovation. The access to technology helps people around the world in accessing (affordable) sanitary installations, energy systems, health care, financial systems, improving levels of educational, promoting cultural exchange, and developing a better understanding of global empathy. These trends favour a worldwide economic, educational and
cultural convergence and digital cooperation can help to reach good global
governance architecture.
EUTEC also keeps an eye on the potential risks associated with globalization and related to digital
transformation. Scenarios are being considered in which technology and networks result in higher inequality, ecological or economic collapse, e.g. enforced by climate change or health crisis, and lead to potential conflicts of interest. In this context, EUTEC emphasises the significance of democratic structures within a multi-stakeholder approach. Global governance needs strong civil society, companies, political and technical community dedicated to sustainable development and global empathy.
Overall, the capacity of technology to promote human development towards effective global governance
structures is limited by the nature of the whole system. Thus, we as human beings must succeed in developing a global governance system that is more than the sum of all current governance systems. But it is open to the question of whether a largely (digitally) networked global society equipped with technology will form a worldwide community which wants a global governance system or not. However, one thing is true: “There will be no good global governance without a (digitally) networked global society”.
EUTEC claims and supports to advance proposals to strengthen international cooperation among
governments, the private sector, civil society, international organizations, academia, the technical community and other relevant stakeholders in the digital era.
