In the years 2018 to 2020, thousands of “normal” citizens will be included in a global citizens’ dialogue on the future of the Internet. For the first time, the opinions and expectations of citizens will be included in the discussion of the future development of the Internet.

In the first phase, citizens met in Berlin on 8 December, 2018 to discuss important questions about the future of the Internet, such as: Who owns the Internet? Who should control it? How can access to the Internet be made democratic? Who is responsible for data security and data protection? How can children be well prepared and protected? Similar events took place in other countries, for example in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana and Italy.

The results of these events will form the basis for the main phase of the project: a global citizens’ dialogue on all continents in 2020. 100 citizens with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences will discuss and develop recommendations for important issues related to the future of the Internet. The results of the citizens’ dialogue will be presented to experts from politics, business and research at the Internet Governance Forum.

Duration: 11/2018 – 12/2019
Client: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie
Team: Dr. Angela Jain (project management), Christian Kusch
Project partners: Missions Publiques, Wikimedia Deutschland, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung

Picture: Fotolia