The establishment of the D4D Hub as a global multi-stakeholder platform marks a turning point in the EU’s international partnerships to support a human-centric digital transformation. The D4D Hub bundles the multitude of digital initiatives by European actors for unparalleled coordinated impact.

To this date, eleven EU Member (Germany, Belgium, France, Estonia, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands, Lithuania, and Finland) have signed a Letter of Intent to cooperate under the D4D Hub towards a single European digital development strategy.

The D4D Hub will form regional branches in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood and include all relevant stakeholders from respective regions.

The D4D Hub is guided by five operating principles:

• Local ownership & win-win partnerships: Facilitate partnerships that provide added value and base cooperation activities on local demand.
• Multi-Stakeholder involvement & expertise: Promote a sustainable digital transformation requires a whole-of society approach (governments and administrations, private sector, civil society, academia).
• Sustainable & green digital transformation: Promote the twin green and digital transition.
• Human-centric approach: Put people at the heart of the digital transformation to ensure the full protection of human rights in the digital age.
• Data security & protection: Promote a comprehensive and consistent response to safeguard the global threat of cyber breaches, misuse of data and breaches of data privacy.

As the first operational regional component, the AU-EU D4D Hub will kick-off activities in Africa from January 2021 onwards. It will serve to provide demand-driven technical support to national stakeholders, disseminate best practices, and host digital policy dialogues between inter-African and African-EU multi-stakeholder partnerships.

To this date, eleven EU Member (Germany, Belgium, France, Estonia, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands, Lithuania, and Finland) have signed a Letter of Intent.