Track 1: Building Trust through Inclusive and Ethical Digital Governance

The rapidly changing technological landscape, driven by advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI (GenAI), continues to disrupt traditional systems and create innovative opportunities. The rapid adoption of these technologies without careful design and governance principles that ensure ethical and human rights considerations can significantly erode trust in both digital and physical societies. This Track invites papers that focus on building trust through inclusive governance models and ethical digital practices. Topics include advancing transparency, accountability, and the ethical use of technologies while ensuring inclusivity in digital governance. Additionally, papers should explore strategies to engage all stakeholders, particularly underrepresented and marginalized groups, in shaping governance policies and decision-making processes.

The Track welcomes empirical studies and innovative approaches that highlight how government organizations embed and sustain digital participation, inclusiveness, and public trust in digital governance systems. Particular emphasis is placed on real-world experiences, impact-driven initiatives, and institutional practices that sustain trust and inclusion over time. This Track focuses specifically on governance models and participatory methods rather than technical privacy and security measures. Examples may include participatory and co-creation approaches, e-participation mechanisms, and creative initiatives that enable stakeholder collaboration across diverse contexts. Human-centric, proactive governance approaches tailored to diverse societal and cultural settings are of particular interest to this Track.

Specific attention is given to methods that ensure digital equity, such as participatory approaches tailored to marginalized communities and diverse perspectives. Additionally, this Track encourages submissions focused on alternative methods for advancing trust and inclusion, including crowdsourcing, collaborative online initiatives, and public value co-creation with citizens and businesses. Papers analyzing the potential of these approaches to reflect citizens’ voices and strengthen trust in governance processes are highly encouraged.