Promoting Research on Digitalisation in Emerging Powers and Europe towards Sustainable Development

ended

Investments on digitalisation affect personal, political, societal, environmental and economic processes across the globe and have enormous potential to radically change almost all sectors in the coming decades, from agriculture to industry and finance, from education to health, democracy and human rights. They will also influence the success of the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Digitalisation is being promoted heavily with limited reflection on potential negative impacts and consumer protection. Internet based services render the service systems even opaquer for consumers, and are prone to technical failure and cybercrime with irreversible damages for individuals and societies. PRODIGEES (Promoting Research on Digitalisation in Emerging Powers and Europe towards Sustainable Development) promotes international collaboration and sharing of knowledge on (global) governance and the conditions to shape digitalisation towards the Sustainable Development Goals in the 2030 Agenda. The major objective of the project is to generate a better understanding of digital transformation processes and exponential technologies and their impact on sustainable development in different world regions and shape technology at an early stage of development (Collingridge 1980) . With the aim to exploit complementary competences and combine various disciplines and perspectives, PRODIGEES focuses on the exchange of ideas between academic institutions that deal with sustainability and digitalisation questions in the European Union (Italy, Germany) on the one hand, and emerging powers from the Global South (Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa) on the other. In this way, the project allows for sharing and comparing experiences from countries that are of greatest importance for the achievement of the SDGs, and for successful global governance in the digital age.