The article takes a closer look at the metaverse readiness landscape across states and regions. It is part of the series ‘UN 2.0 and the Metaverse: Are we seeing what is possible?’ Full article was published with Diplofoundation.
Readiness on the spectrum: Countries
A key theme of Action Point 38 in the UN 2.0 Pact for the Future is the transformation of global governance. At the centre of this pledge of action lies a commitment to improving and strengthening the multilateral system, with the UN at its core. This will enable developing countries and stakeholders to participate meaningfully in this system.
The pact highlights the need for effectiveness, inclusivity, and interconnectedness in multilateralism (Pact for the Future, pp. 25–26.) The Global Digital Compact clarifies the role of technology as an enabler of this ambitious transformation. Every country begins this transformation from a different starting point and with different SDG priorities.
The key question: How?
While we have covered the ‘why’ in previous parts of this series, key questions remain: How can countries and organisations worldwide translate these visions into reality and build a truly global, interconnected, digitalised ecosystem?
At UN Virtual Worlds Day, a representative of Economist Impact (part of the Economist Group) introduced a pilot conceptual framework called the Inclusive Metaverse Index (IMI). The index provides a comprehensive overview of the factors required to build a successful metaverse ecosystem.
The IMI resolves this dilemma by framing access and engagement as part of a circular development, emphasising that both must evolve together. It addresses the crucial question: ‘What comes first – access or engagement?’ As a benchmarking tool it can also help countries and organisations translate their visions into reality by:
Identifying areas requiring improvement in metaverse readiness
Developing strategies to address these gaps and strengthen the metaverse ecosystem
Monitoring and assessing progress, adjusting strategies as needed
Drivers of change
An expert report of the Global Initiative identified three initial drivers of change in 2023: state-led, industry-led, and a hybrid model with the EU and ESCWA at the forefront. The EU was among the first to introduce the EU Initiative on Web 4.0 and Virtual Worlds. Its values-driven approach prioritises fundamental rights and aims to establish the EU as a leading Web 4.0 market. The EU proactively shapes the metaverse landscape, using foresight and stakeholder engagement to guide policy development.
Like the EU, ESCWA actively develops the metaverse. In its recent report, The Metaverse and the Arab Region’s Future: Public Policy Choices and Actions, ESCWA analyses the metaverse as part of a broader series on megatrends – strategic forces that are already profoundly shaping the world. These changes do not occur in isolated social, economic, or technological domains; instead, their impacts are deeply interconnected, influencing multiple sectors simultaneously.
The journey is the reward
This vision is vastly ambitious, and perhaps utopian. But the overarching vision for the Metaverse does not need to be realized – perhaps ever – for many of its transformational impacts to make themselves felt. The Metaverse and the Arab Region’s Future
While Europe’s economic and governance landscape was shaped by the Industrial Revolution, other nations like largely bypassed this period. Experts from the World Bank have urged the Arab region not to miss the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This gives Arab nations a unique approach to the metaverse, unburdened by legacy industrial structures and shaped by the lessons of a history marked by colonisation.
History will determine whether we are learning from past achievements, failures, and their consequences to create a more sustainable and just future. The need to recognise the interconnectedness of past, present, and future is acknowledged in the Declaration on Future Generations (Pact for the Future, p. 52).
For the full article, please go to my publication at Diplofoundation.