Stakeholder contribution: DENIC seizes the opportunity to make the Cooperative’s concerns heard at highest political level.
In August 2022, the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMVD) presented the Digital Strategy Germany. It is the course book of the entire Federal Government for the cross-sectional issue of digitisation and thus provides the overarching framework of digital policy in Germany. The document also includes a survey of the major digital policy projects each ministry plans to implement independently within its respective sphere of responsibility until the end of the ongoing legislative period, i.e. by 2025 – and the outcome of which they rate their yardstick of success.
One of the strategy’s claims: A stronger involvement of the industry, academia, the technical community and civil society, which were long excluded from the dialog, into the process of digital policy opinion making, so that the commitment to the multistakeholder model is finally filled with live.
Mission Consultation: Ranking of Topics for the Digital Policy Player Germany
The goals listed by the German government include an active digital foreign policy. Germany is to work out a strategy for an international digital policy and to significantly intensify its involvement in the existing Internet governance processes and in multilateral and multistakeholder forums like IGF, ICANN, ITU, WSIS, UN, G7, G20, OECD, OSZE, WTO, Human Rights Council and Freedom Online Coalition.
In line with this, a broad-based consultation procedure was started on 23 February 2023 with representatives from civil society, the research community and industry under the lead responsibility of the BMVD. On the occasion of the kick-off meeting of the so-called International Digital Policy Stakeholder Forum, the BMDV provided information on the plans for shaping the strategy and the further process. More than 250 registered participants from most different parts of society had the opportunity at the virtual meeting to point out issues that should be taken into account when developing the strategy for international digital policy.
The viewpoints of the various stakeholder groups shall help to bring forward-looking, practical and urgent issues into the focus of Germany’s international digital policy. Further rounds of consultation shall ensure that the strategy is based on strong technical expertise, guided by economic common sense and that it exemplifies and follows the principles of a people-centric digital transformation.
Mission Participation: Being Involved In Shaping Digital Policy Beyond German Borders
DENIC Board member Tom Keller responsible for Policy & Regulatory Affairs and Sabrina Heber, who has joined DENIC’s Policy Team at the start of the year, attended the online meeting on behalf of DENIC to identify the aspects that we believe should be addressed by the Federal Government’s strategy. They will also represent the Cooperative at the planned follow-up events.
The BMDV will develop the International Digital Strategy on the basis of stakeholder feedback together with all ministries of the Federal Government. The Strategy is to be presented by the end of 2023.
