Localizing the Global Digital Compact at the City Level

The Global Digital Compact (GDC), adopted by Member States in September 2024, marked a landmark moment in digital cooperation. Negotiated by 193 Member States and informed by global consultations, the Compact commits governments to upholding international law and human rights online and to taking concrete steps to make the digital space safe and secure. It renews commitments to close the digital divide and build a more inclusive digital economy. The Compact, for the first time, makes commitments to strengthen governance of data and artificial intelligence (AI). The Compact recognizes the critical contributions of the private sector, technical communities, researchers, and civil society to digital cooperation. It calls on all stakeholders to work toward an open, safe, and secure digital future for all. Much of the GDC’s implementation (and its challenges) will happen at the city level. Urban centers host important ICT infrastructure, and cities have long been at the forefront of advancing access to the internet, digital literacy, data protection, and applications of AI to everyday life. City life is an opportunity to localize the GDC agenda, meaning to adapt it and interpret the Pact’s objectives in line with local communities’ needs and aspirations. This session will provide an overview of the GDC agenda, and how it is being taken forward in several urban centers across geographies. The session will consider the unique adaptations that can be made at the local level to close digital divides, and how cooperation across cities can support efforts to realize the GDC’s premise of an open, safe, secure and inclusive digital future.