Brussels / 1 & 2 February 2025

schedule

Accelerating Digital Transformation in Europe: The Role of Digital Public Goods and Open Source Collaboration


Digital Public Goods (DPGs) are essential for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Defined as open-source software, open data, open AI models, and open content that meet privacy, security, and interoperability best practices, DPGs offer governments the tools to build equitable, transparent, and sustainable digital systems. This session highlights recent advancements in the DPG Standard—the framework for vetting and recognizing DPGs—alongside collaborative efforts, such as UNICEF’s leadership in scaling DPGs globally. It will also explore successful implementations in Europe through a practical example from Primero (UNICEF): A DPG helping social service workers manage sensitive data related to child protection and gender-based violence.

By focusing on these tools’ adoption and alignment with the DPG Standard, the session will demonstrate how collaboration between organizations and governments is fostering digital sovereignty, interoperability, and public sector innovation in Europe. Attendees will gain actionable insights into how the DPG Standard and DPGs like Primero are enabling governments to create scalable, transparent, and resilient digital ecosystems.

Proposed Format:

  1. Introduction: DPGs and the DPG Standard Overview of DPGs, their role in advancing the SDGs, and how the DPG Standard ensures trust, security, and interoperability.

  2. Key updates to the DPG Standard, including:

--Enhanced privacy requirements. -- Ethical AI provisions for transparency and accountability.

  1. UNICEF’s Showcase: Primero and their European Implementations
  2. Highlighting Primero as a transformative DPG for managing child protection and gender-based violence data.
  3. Success stories of Primero’s implementation in various regions, with a focus on its impact and potential in Europe.
  4. Collaborative efforts between UNICEF, governments, and partners to scale Primero and ensure alignment with the DPG Standard.

  5. Closing Remarks

  6. Summarizing the complementary roles of the DPG Standard, DPG implementations, and collaboration efforts in Europe.
  7. Closing call to action: Encouraging policymakers and developers to adopt and contribute to DPGs as part of Europe’s digital transformation journey.

This will be followed up with a fishbowl discussion on how DPGs are being leveraged for Government collaborations.

Speakers

Photo of Amreen Taneja Amreen Taneja

Attachments