The Summit of the Future was held in September 2024 at the UN headquarters to create a new international consensus on how to address current and future challenges, and reinvigorate multilateralism. Over the years, there have been calls for the reform of the global multilateral system, with oftentimes people referring to the discussions held at multilateral platforms as discussions that yield no results. Most of the multilateral organisations, particularly the United Nations, were formed 79 years ago, and with age comes a certain deterioration of vigour.

Underachieving institutions, polarisation, under-representation, inequality and distrust characterise the loss of dynamism of the UN. The world is facing complex, interconnected challenges that require collective action, and the current systems of global governance are not designed for these challenges. This situation created the urgent need for the reform of the multilateral system, which is hoped to be achieved through the Pact for the Future that was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, as consolidated at the Summit of the Future.

The Pact for the Future and its annexures, i.e., the Declaration on Future Generations and the Global Digital Compact, are new tools to help the world reimagine a better future, and help nations solve contemporary challenges with a focus on future generations. This Pact provides for new and improved avenues for multilateral engagements. In realising the role that technology will play in future generations, these forward-thinking documents encompass values that nations should collectively adopt to guarantee a better world for all.

Namibia was chosen as a co-facilitator of the United Nations Summit of the Future along with Germany because the United Nations General Assembly president appointed them to the role. Namibia and Germany’s facilitation role included outlining plans to engage with civil society and other stakeholders to ensure that diverse voices are heard, and releasing the zero draft of the Pact for the Future, which served as a starting point for inter-governmental deliberations.

Namibia’s interest in the Summit of the Future is based on the belief that multilateral institutions need to better respond to today’s challenges. Namibia believes that it is important to be recognised as an equal partner in the fight against global injustice, poverty, war and inequality.

In his statement during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly, President Nangolo Mbumba emphasised that “Namibia is a child of international solidarity, midwifed by the United Nations, and, therefore, remains its firm proponent. The United Nations’ system can be strengthened if we hold hands and work together as bridge-builders, as illustrated by the Summit of the Future. By choosing the way of collaboration over enmity, peaceful dialogue over war and conflict, and de-escalation over escalation, we can achieve our shared goal of a more peaceful, just and prosperous world.”

His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Namibia, Nangolo Mbumba, therefore, led a delegation to the Summit of the Future and the United Nations General Assembly in September. The question then remains, what does this mean for the average Namibian? As you may be aware, Namibia is a unitary State with a clear delegation of powers to the citizens through a democratic electoral process for the government to represent the interests of its people. The President’s delegation consisted of political office bearers and experts entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of the needs of Namibians who work directly under the thematic areas of the Pact for the Future. The thematic areas are sustainable development, international peace and security, science and technology, youth and future generations, and transforming global governance.

Upon return, Mbumba has directed the Prime Minister of the Republic of Namibia, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, to “see how best [Namibia] can align and fit its policies to respond better to the call in the Pact for the Future.”

In line with my duties as Minister of Information and Communication Technology, the Global Digital Compact, which is an annexure to the Pact for the Future, speaks to the ethos of the work we are doing at the ministry, and it will provide an avenue to mobilise the necessary support to advance Namibia’s digital transformation agenda. It will ensure that Namibia flourishes in a world where digital technologies are dramatically transforming our way of life.

Indeed, Namibia needs to close all digital divides, and accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals, which we have begun through efforts bringing solutions to connect the unconnected, and educate the digitally-illiterate. We need to expand inclusion and the benefits that we may derive from the digital economy for all. Namibia is in the process of fostering an inclusive, open, safe and secure digital space that respects, protects and promotes human rights, which we have already initiated with the development of the various legislative instruments to create this desired environment.

The Global Digital Compact also aims to advance responsible, equitable and interoperable data governance approaches and areas that we need to focus on as a government. As the saying goes, “Data is the new gold’’, we have begun to ensure that we have a sound data governance architecture to protect Namibians, but also to empower our citizens to flourish in the era of data systems. Not too long ago, Namibia hosted the Unesco Southern Africa sub-regional forum on artificial intelligence, which discussed the responsible use of artificial intelligence, which demonstrates that efforts from the region are recognised, and the Digital Compact is desirous of enhancing international governance of artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.

Therefore, these important documents will facilitate avenues for the government to access resources and collaborative avenues to enable the government to respond to the needs of the people. A particular part of the Pact for the Future speaks to access to financing for governments, the development of ICT infrastructure, and human capital. All of these come at a high cost but are fundamental blocks for the development of a robust ICT sector to ensure inclusive digital transformation. Therefore, the international financial architecture must be able to respond to Namibia’s needs to allow for fair access to financing for the development of Namibia’s industry.

Governments are the primary source of funding for the United Nations system. Therefore, countries have the responsibility that they participate actively in the UN system for it to deliver results for their citizens. Namibia being a child of international solidarity, midwifed by the United Nations, we have benefitted tremendously from the UN system, and should continue to leverage the UN system to help meet our development goals. 

Namibians need to leverage our advantage of being the co-facilitators of the Summit of the Future to grab opportunities available in the multilateral systems, beginning from employment opportunities to investment and trade. The country is now popular globally, and it is a window of opportunity for us to come out bigger and stronger on the global stage, which will require that we exploit Namibia’s entire human capital to achieve this.

The challenge is open for Namibians to rise up, lean on the Pact for the Future, and lead the way in advancing what the world will look like in the future. We have a promising story to tell here in beautiful Namibia, a story we can all benefit from as we have the correct ingredients to become a world standard.

*Emma Theofelus is the Minister of Information and Communication Technology.