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Two Caribbean nations, Guyana and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, currently hold important positions within the United Nations. At its plenary meeting on 22 November 2019, the Group of 77 (G77) at the United Nations – a coalition of 135 developing countries – and China elected Guyana, by acclamation without preconditions, to serve as its Chair for 2020. Jamaica held the same post in 1977 and 2005, Guyana in 1999, and Antigua and Barbuda in 2008.

Just as other aspects of our everyday lives have benefited significantly from the advancement of technology, so has our health. These advancements in technology not only provide us with tools to encourage us to monitor our health, but also help us stay healthy and prolong our life expectancy.

The US Department of State has announced its conclusion that requiring Anne Sacoolas to return to the UK to face a criminal charge would set a precedent that would weaken diplomatic law. However, a closer look at diplomatic law reveals that this claim does not hold up.

‘This is what we have now. We can say this kind of research has been done in human behavior. We can refer to other kind of research that focuses on machine learning systems. Not only the AI systems, but try to understand the origins of these systems and how they are working. How did they get here? What are the implications of this for the social contract?’

Millions of online meetings happen every day in teleconferencing rooms, webinars, Skype, and other online facilities. The nature and dynamics of meetings have been changing. An important impact of online participation can be a reduction in our carbon footprint. This issue is becoming prominent on many national agendas. Only this month, the Swiss federal government has pledged to cut CO2 emissions up to 30% in the next decade.

Welcome to 2020, and to our annual collection of digital policy predictions – with a difference. This year, the predictions are organised around 20 keywords into what we have called a dictionary. They also address a longer timeframe than that of previous editions: not just the year ahead, but the coming decade. Special thanks go to Sorina Teleanu, Dr. Abe Davies, Andrijana Gavrilovic, Marilia Maciel, Arvin Kamberi, and others who have contributed their comments and reflections.

As the new year begins, let’s take a look back at the major developments that shaped digital policy in 2019. 

Some issues were in focus throughout the year, such as those related to tackling the spread of online misinformation and violent extremism.

When Greta Thunberg travelled by boat and train to attend the recent UN Climate Change Summit in 2019, she sent a wake-up call to diplomats and policymakers to search for innovative digital diplomacy tools, such as online conferencing, to reduce flying and thus, their carbon footprints.

Fortunately, the technology is available. There is a wide range of tools and platforms that can facilitate engaging meetings at an affordable cost.

As the new decade dawns the promise of technology seems endless. The horizon is unlimited. Beyond it the sky looks blue. Now more than ever tech looks like a kind of magic, carrying us above old limitations and beyond the predicaments of the here and now. The analogy is nothing new: as Arthur C. Clarke said, ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’ 

In our November WebDebate, we discussed the diplomacy of natural resources in the Middle East. In particular, we focused on water in the Middle East and conflict and co-operation around this scarce resource. We were joined by Nadav Tal, water officer and Jordan Valley field co-ordinator at EcoPeace, and Lutine F. de Boer, senior advisor on environmental policy, urban planning, and water for the Dutch regional government.