Welcome to the e-discussion for the 2025 Human Development Report!
The e-discussion is open from 15 August to 31 October 2024. The discussion will be moderated by UNDP HDRO and facilitated by UNOSSC. To switch languages, please use the translation function, available at the top right of the page.
The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Report Office (HDRO) and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) are convening a consultation to inform the 2025 Human Development Report (HDR). More than producing a one-off product, the Human Development Reports act as a broad global platform bringing together multiple and diverse networks of policymakers, thought leaders, academics, CSOs, NGOs, and other stakeholders in deliberation, knowledge-sharing, and innovation.
The 2025 Human Development Report (HDR) is part of a trilogy that looks at a new uncertainty complex comprised of intensifying polarization, destabilized planetary systems, and expanding societal transformation driven by digitalization, including more powerful and far-reaching Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications. It takes a people-centered approach that considers how ideas, knowledge, and information are central to human development. The knowledge/information environment is being reshaped by innovative technologies, creating new challenges and opportunities. Navigating this new context in a way that expands capabilities and agency will shape the course of human development for the next decades.
Digital technology is fundamentally changing the overall economic and social patterns. It also contributes to Southern countries' sustainable economic and social development. Nevertheless, the penetration rate of digital infrastructure, particularly in Southern countries varies considerably, the utilization capacity and application of digital technology also vary greatly, and the accumulation of human capital brought about by digital technology is far from adequate.
The 2025 HDR will explore:
How a life stage perspective illuminates the different impacts of digitalization on various age groups, including people of all ages living with disabilities. It analyzes how digitalization is reshaping key areas of human development, including health, education, social norms, relationships, and agency, changing how societies operate and how human beings function. Early childhood, for instance, is a vulnerable stage of life, during which digital technologies shape developing brains and bodies. For school-age children, digital technologies bring exciting learning opportunities, both in school and at home, while also presenting risks that seem to be correlated with a deterioration of well-being amongst young people. At adult age, digitalization may radically shift the daily activities of work, care, and social interactions within families and with friends. Older people often have as much access to digital technologies as younger people, but how will digital technologies be used and shaped by the aging population in many countries?
How broader systemic aspects of digitalization shape economic and political processes, which constitute the foundation for individual flourishing. For instance, digitalization, and particularly AI, has the potential to disrupt political processes, but it can also enhance inclusiveness and transparency. The report uses a human rights lens to shed light on the tensions that may emerge around preserving freedoms of expression or association with a fundamentally reshaped information environment. It will also examine the implications of a lack of diversity in the data used to train AI algorithms. When it comes to the world of work, AI can both augment and replace people, so it is important to consider how to prevent emerging patterns of inequality in human development. New technologies offer the promise of new possibilities to address the challenges of the Anthropocene, but computational and material demands can also exacerbate pressures on the planet through natural resource extraction and energy consumption.
Societal transformations have required institutional and policy innovations in the past, while at the same time mobilizing new coalitions to empower people to navigate new realities. The report will lay out a road map that seeks to inspire people at large, as well as decision-makers, to harness digital technologies for human flourishing. Among others, this includes leveraging digital advancements to enhance human capabilities and implementing policies that enable people to exercise their agency in the digital space. The report may also examine the role of South-South and triangular cooperation in shaping the digital landscape for human development. As countries in the Global South increasingly become hubs of digital innovation, there are new opportunities for knowledge exchange and collaborative problem-solving.
The report can explore how these forms of cooperation can help bridge the digital divide, promote inclusive digital transformation, and ensure that the benefits of digitalization are equitably distributed across regions and populations.
South-South Consultations:
Since 2019, UNDP and UNOSSC have forged a strategic partnership to annually convene consultations with think tanks under the auspices of the South-South Global Thinkers initiative. The consultations aimed to bring together a diverse network of think tanks from across the Global South, serving as a vital conduit for incorporating Southern perspectives and insights into global development discourse and, at the same time, fostering a more inclusive, participatory, and representative narrative.
The consultation will be organized through an e-discussion, followed by a virtual consultation. These consultations will inform the HDR, reflecting and addressing the complex realities and pressing issues faced by countries in the Global South. By engaging the network of think tanks, we can ensure that a platform is provided for think tanks from developing nations (as well as from the North) to contribute their unique, context-specific insights and experiences. This collaborative approach aims to enrich the report's themes and analyses with a depth of understanding that can only come from lived experiences and local expertise. As a result, the HDR will become not just a document about the Global South, but one that genuinely speaks with and for it, fostering a more inclusive, participatory, and representative global development narrative.
The objective of the consultation:
The consultations on the 2025 HDR intend to start a conversation on the themes for the report and to seek input and advice on report content from thematic and regional experts. Consultations inform the report's development process and ensure that it speaks to key human development issues for people and policymakers.
Guiding Questions:
The discussions will focus on the digital technology and human development linkages, exploring how we can purposefully steer innovation and technological change in ways that advance human development. Some guiding questions for the consultation include:
How are digital technologies reshaping development prospects in your region? What are some challenges and opportunities?
What policies and approaches are needed to ensure that digital technologies help advance human development?
How can South-South and triangular cooperation facilitate sharing best practices and innovations in digital technologies for human development?
What role can South-South and triangular cooperation play in addressing digital divides and ensuring equitable access to digital technologies across different regions and demographic groups?
How can we leverage South-South and triangular cooperation to develop inclusive AI systems that reflect diverse cultural and socioeconomic contexts?
We look forward to a fruitful discussion!