During the United Nations General Assembly, reState partnered with the People-Centered Internet to host three sessions at the 9th Science Summit (Sept 20–22, 2023), in collaboration with the International Science Council, focused on the role of digital and scientific collaboration in advancing the UN SDGs. Taking a people-centered approach, the sessions explored use cases and enabling environments – policy, regulatory, and financial – needed to support inclusive, global science partnerships and prepare input for the 2024 UN Summit of the Future.

The panel “Governance and Civic Participation” featured Alexander Holt, Head of Emerging Opportunities at the Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate; Liz Barry, COO of The Computational Democracy Project; Astrid Scholz, Managing Partner at Armillaria and Co-Founder of Zebras Unite Co-op; and Elaine Wang, Co-Founder and CEO of Metropolis Global (Palau).

The session “Increasing Inclusion in Data and Digital Rights Discussions” included Neema Lugangiri, Member of Parliament, Tanzania; Tara Denham, Global Affairs Canada; David A. Bray, World Economic Forum Leader and keynote speaker; Jane Coffin, former SVP of Internet Growth at the Internet Society; Anriette Esterhuysen, Senior Advisor on Internet Governance at the Association for Progressive Communications; and Justina Mashiba, CEO of the Universal Communications Service Access Fund.

The panel “Digital Regulation and Data for Better Outcomes – Geographical and Cultural Perspectives” featured Antoine Vergne, Co-Director of Missions Publiques; Julia Stamm, CEO of Data Tank; Elina Idrisova, Regional Director of Digital Transformation at Elevatus; and Anastasis Stamatis, CEO of Dataphoria.

reState Foundation contributed to six other events during the United Nations Climate Week and General Assembly, including a workshop of UNPCCC, and an event organized by Innovation Hub of Denmark.

At the 2023 United Nations General Assembly Week in New York, reState Foundation launched its Future of Governance Toolkit at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. The launch took place in the presence of Vint Cerf and Robert E. Kahn, “Fathers of the Internet,” two co-founders of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), the fundamental set of protocols that make up the internet, among other distinguished guests.

The Future of Governance Toolkit is a living library of participatory governance practices from around the world. It compiles real-world examples – both digital and offline – where communities have implemented inclusive, transparent, and collaborative decision-making processes. Each entry is structured as a “Use Case,” defined as a participatory governance process employed by a community to solve a problem using a specific tool. For instance, it includes cases like youth-led participatory budgeting in Boston and indigenous mapping initiatives using Mapeo. The Toolkit emphasizes inclusion, plurality, and justice, aiming to inspire both existing and emerging governance structures. It also invites contributions and feedback from users to continuously evolve and expand its repository.

At the Genesis XBT 2023 event, Anastasia Kalinina, Co-Founder and CEO of reState Foundation, delivered a keynote on the Future of Governance and Conscious Leadership. Drawing from reState’s experience in global governance and civic innovation, Kalinina emphasized the need for decentralized, participatory systems that align technological progress with human values. Her presentation highlighted how conscious leadership can guide the development of inclusive and transparent governance models in the digital age. The keynote resonated with the event’s focus on blockchain and Web3 advancements, underscoring the importance of ethical considerations in shaping the future of digital societies.

At COP28, reState Foundation launched the New Realities Design Lab, a groundbreaking initiative that aims to reimagine the future of governance and catalyze a new civilizational narrative. Designed as an interdisciplinary effort, the Lab seeks to develop a full-spectrum strategy for transforming global social, economic, and environmental systems – accompanied by a detailed operational manual for implementation.
Rooted in the recognition that today’s global systems perpetuate polarization and fail to meet the needs of people and planet, the Lab aims to bring together leading system thinkers and civilizational stewards to co-create a roadmap toward more equitable, regenerative futures. The session at COP28 featured key voices in this effort, including Alessa Berg, Founder and CEO of Top Tier Impact; Raj Kalia, Board Member, Dark Matter Capital Systems; Louise Kjellerup Roper, CEO of Volans; and Tariq Al-Olaimy, Co-founder of 3BL Associates. Together, they helped set the foundation for the Lab’s future iterations and global engagement strategy.

reState contributed to the civil society consultations for the United Nations Summit of the Future in 2024, offering input toward the development of the Pact for the Future. In its submission, reState emphasized the need for greater people’s participation in UN processes, advocating for inclusive and participatory governance structures aligned with its United Humans philosophy. This approach calls for reimagining global cooperation through collective intelligence, shared responsibility, and the creation of mechanisms that enable citizens to actively shape the future of international decision-making.

reState, as a member of the New Paradigm Coalition initiated by ProSocial World, organized a dedicated info session on the Future of Governance and Planetary Commons to help shape the coalition’s evolving frameworks. The session encouraged coalition members to integrate alternative governance, economic, and social models into their iterative designs – moving beyond reform to imagine fundamentally new systems that serve both people and the planet. By introducing concepts rooted in participatory governance, collective intelligence, and stewardship of shared resources, reState helped nudge the coalition toward a deeper exploration of regenerative, pluralistic, and future-fit institutional architectures.

At the Global Female Leadership Summit, reState organized an interactive session titled Future of Governance and Society – The Great Transformation, bringing together women in top leadership positions to explore female approaches to politics and governance. The session created a space for candid dialogue on how leadership can evolve to be more inclusive, empathetic, and collaborative – highlighting the unique contributions women bring to decision-making spaces. Participants reflected on the urgency of offering alternative modalities to power and leadership, and the role of women in driving the systemic transformation needed to build more just, resilient, and participatory societies.

reState Foundation, in collaboration with Tools for the Commons, organized the session Future of Governance & the Tools to Restore the Commons for RnDAO, exploring how emerging technologies can replace outdated institutional systems. Featuring Anastasia Kalinina, Co-founder and CEO of reState Foundation, and Hugo Mathecowitsch, Founder of Tools for the Commons, the session examined the transformative potential of peer-to-peer technologies and regenerative governance protocols. Through real-world examples, the speakers highlighted how these frameworks are enabling both local and global cooperation, pointing to a future where decentralized, open systems can restore and steward the commons more effectively and inclusively.

reState Foundation participated in the session “Fostering Trust in the Digital Sphere: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach Introduction,” held as a follow-up to the TrustOn2024 international workshop at the Royal Library of Belgium, under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The session brought together experts and institutions to explore how collaborative, multi-stakeholder strategies can promote trustworthiness in digital interactions.

Focusing on three key objectives – assessing trust dimensions, building collaboration models, and sharing best practices – the event addressed issues such as infrastructure reliability, digital governance, scientific contributions, and editorial integrity in the face of AI-driven disinformation. Participants engaged in open dialogue to co-develop principles and practices for more trustworthy Digital Public Infrastructures (DPIs).

reState contributed with a presentation titled “How Can Participatory Governance Help Mediate Disinformation and Reinvigorate Collaborative Plurality?” The talk emphasized that democracy’s resilience increasingly depends on its capacity to withstand technology-fueled mis- and disinformation. reState argued that participatory governance models can empower civil society to act as a coordinated force in safeguarding information ecosystems – fostering plurality and resisting digital monocultures. Drawing on global best practices, the session underscored the potential of inclusive governance frameworks to rebuild trust in the digital sphere.

At the UN Science Summit 2024, reState Foundation played a leading role in the Digital Governance Series, a four-day program curated by Mei Lin Fung and Jascha Stein of the People-Centered Internet. The series explored how digital tools, citizen science, AI, and participatory governance can transform the relationship between science, policy, and society. reState Foundation chaired Day 1 of the Digital Governance Series, which focused on integrating scientific knowledge into public policy, examining digital commons and network sovereignties, and showcasing citizen assemblies as a model for participatory governance.

The first session, “How Can Science Better Inform Public Policy, Governance, and Capacity Building”, brought together thought leaders such as Eng. John Tanui, Principal Secretary of ICT and the Digital Economy, Kenya; Grace Wickerson, Health Equity Policy Manager at the Federation of American Scientists; and Reema Patel, participation and AI ethics researcher. Together, they discussed how data and scientific research can inform governance frameworks to address pressing global challenges.

In “New Network Sovereignties and Digital Commons,” Kalinina led a dialogue with Sofia Cossar (BlockchainGov), Eche Emole (Afropolitan), and Hugo Mathecowitsch (Tools for the Commons), focusing on how emerging digital ecosystems – rooted in commons-based frameworks and networked autonomy – are redefining digital cooperation and sovereignty.

The final session, “Citizen Assemblies as an Example of Participatory Governance,” featured leading voices in democratic innovation, including Kalypso Nicolaidis (European University Institute), Jon Alexander (New Citizen Project), and Marjan Horst Ehsassi (Berggruen Institute), who examined how citizen assemblies offer inclusive, deliberative alternatives to traditional political systems – especially in a digital context.

The day also marked the launch of the UN Science Summit Report on Data Cooperatives, which includes a research contribution from reState, further reinforcing the Foundation’s commitment to inclusive, science-informed governance structures for the digital age.