The year 2024 was marked by high momentum and international relevance for our association. As a committed representative of the German Internet industry, I represented eco – Association of the Internet Industry at numerous strategic events, political dialogue formats and international network summits. In addition to active Internet policy work at both national and European level, the international Internet Governance debate was also a central focus.

Review of key activities in 2024

The year began with a high-profile New Year’s reception of the Council of Europe (CoE) in Strasbourg, which addressed key topics related to digital human rights. This was followed by participation in the BMDV-IGF Meeting and the IGF Steering Committee in Berlin, both of which provided significant impetus for the development of the German Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

In February, activities focused on preparing the content for the Advisory Board meeting of the Audiovisual Observatory (20 February, Strasbourg).

March featured a series of strategically important events. Following the Advisory Meeting of the Audiovisual Observatory (CoE, Strasbourg), I took part in a UDS event (University of Digital Science) in Berlin, which focused on university infrastructure. A particularly special moment was the Jimmy Schulz Memorial Dinner (Berlin) in memory of an outstanding digital pioneer.

In April, I contributed to the founding of the IGF-D, the German Internet Governance Forum platform, which was connected to the Netmundial+10 Forum. In the digital space, a meeting of the German IPv6 Council took place on 12 April. I also gave a moderated interview during the CSA Summit in Cologne.

At the end of May, I travelled to Palma to participate in the annual Governance Circle. The event took place as usual by high-level representatives from business and politics.

June was dominated by international networking. At EuroDIG 2024 in Vilnius, I was able to contribute to important topics relating to digital sovereignty and AI governance. This was followed by the grand opening of the UDS office in Potsdam. A key event was the Global Digital Compact (GDC) event as part of the IGF (Dresden), which focused on multilateral exchange on the future architecture of the Internet.

A highlight of 2024 was the 40th anniversary of the first email in Germany on 4 August 2024. With the support of the eco press office, I completed three podcasts and almost 20 radio and press interviews. Additionally, five television teams filmed segments at my home. Fortunately, this was spread over five days, as 4 August was a Sunday.

“The development of the Internet since that first connection has been enormous and couldn’t have been even remotely predicted back then”, was the answer to one of the questions that was asked by almost everyone.

Late summer began with the traditional summer party in Berlin. This was followed by an event to prepare for the IGF in Riyadh and the IGF-D (Berlin). On 19 September, I gave a presentation at Suchmeisterei GmbH in Berlin and took part in the ISOC.DE Executive Board meeting (virtual). The eco Annual General Meeting in Cologne (September) rounded off the month.

In October, digital strategy formats were the focus. A virtual board meeting (October) and the Annual General Meeting of ISOC.DE (October) were supplemented by the second Jimmy Schulz Memorial Dinner in Berlin. At the German Federal Government’s Digital Summit in Frankfurt (21–22 October), key future topics such as AI, data economy and digital identities were discussed.

In November, I served as a jury member at the prestigious ISPA UK Awards in London, which included a gala and final decision-making sessions.

The year came to a high-profile international conclusion at the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where global guidelines for the digital decade were discussed.

As in previous years, our annual Christmas party in Cologne provided a cheerful end to the year.

Conclusion

The year 2024 was a milestone for digital policy-making – both nationally and internationally. Through numerous initiatives, committee work and events, the association was able to strengthen its position as the leading voice of the Internet industry. The focus was on governance, digital fundamental rights, infrastructure issues and the responsible handling of future technologies.

Prof. Michael Rotert
eco Honorary President