UN Open Source Week 2025. Part III. DPI in Practice: Trust, Sovereignty, and the Push for Inclusive Infrastructure

Written By Jorge Tuddon

It’s one thing to talk about building digital public infrastructure. It’s another to watch governments, technologists, and civic leaders wrestle together (live) over what that actually takes. On Thursday, June 28, 2025, at the UN, DPI Day brought that conversation to the forefront, revealing both the promise and the friction of digital transformation efforts across Africa, Latin America, and beyond. From trust and capacity building to interoperability and AI-readiness, the day’s panels underscored that DPI is no longer an abstract ambition. It’s a living, contested practice; and its shape will define how societies navigate inclusion, resilience, and sovereignty in a world driven by data.

Opening Keynotes: Laying the Groundwork for DPI Day

Thursday’s DPI Day at UN Open Source Week opened with a clear, resonant call: digital public infrastructure is no longer an experiment, it’s the backbone of how societies serve people. Amandeep Singh Gill, UN-ODET’s Special Envoy, framed DPI as a lever for inclusion, startup ecosystems, and cross-border trade, but warned that without trust and integrated safeguards, these systems will fail to deliver impact. Sigmund Freund, representing the Dominican Republic, grounded the conversation with practical ambition, outlining how his government is building internal capabilities rather than outsourcing public problem-solving. “DPI is not just a tool, it’s a test of our values,” he reminded the room. Vilas Dhar of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation closed with a powerful message: peace today is built through systems that are transparent, participatory, and just. “Peace is a design choice,” he said, urging technologists and policymakers to build infrastructure that embeds dignity, equity, and human agency at its core.

Global Cooperation for DPI: Lessons from Cross-Border Projects

If Thursday’s opening keynotes set the moral frame, the first panel turned to what cooperation looks like in practice when building digital public infrastructure across borders. Daniel Murenzi of the East African Community outlined how DPI is advancing despite capacity gaps, infrastructure limitations, and fragmented laws across member states. Mobile money’s success and real-time customs data sharing within East Africa are proof that scalable DPI can drive inclusion and efficiency, even amid connectivity challenges.

Yolanda Martinez from the World Bank emphasized three ingredients for DPI success: i) high-level political support, ii) institutional capacity, and iii) digital skills. She pointed to the Dominican Republic and Rwanda as models where modular, standards-based systems foster local startups and fintech ecosystems, while stressing the World Bank’s role in scaling such efforts through financing and knowledge sharing. Tiffany Farriss, drawing on Drupal’s 25-year open source journey, highlighted the power of transparent, participatory governance and intentional community norms to build resilient cross-border digital cooperation.

Panelists also tackled hard questions on trust, local ownership, and the political dimensions of DPI. Sheila Warren of Project Liberty argued that DPI should not be seen as static projects but as evolving, citizen-centered processes requiring constant adaptation and meaningful participation. Mark Lepage of ADB underlined the challenge of fragmented, unsustainable funding models that risk distorting DPI’s public value, while calling for partnerships that align financing with policy goals. Across the conversation, one thread stood out: DPI, when done right, isn’t merely infrastructure. It’s a chance to rebuild trust between citizens and states, driven by collaboration, openness, and shared learning across regions.

DPI Safeguards: From Framework to Practice

As we mentioned in our “what to expect” post, Thursday’s DPI Day featured six breakout sessions, but I chose to attend the DPI Safeguards: Pathways to Adoption and Inclusion , drawn by its focus on moving safeguards from principle to practice. While frameworks abound in the digital governance world, this session was about making them usable, testing whether governments, civil society, and technologists can actually implement safeguards that protect rights, ensure inclusion, and build trust in public digital infrastructure.

The DPI Safeguards Initiative team walked participants through their evolving toolkit, which aims to help implementers self-assess and map practical steps toward safe, rights-respecting DPI systems. The conversation highlighted that safeguards must be co-created with stakeholders: not just top-down checklists, but integrated design practices that adapt to local contexts, legal realities, and user needs. Insights from South Africa and the Dominican Republic grounded the discussion in real-world constraints and opportunities: from aligning safeguards with legacy systems and data laws to ensuring that digital IDs and payments systems do not repeat past patterns of exclusion.

What emerged clearly is that safeguards are not add-ons. They are core to building trust in DPI and should shape its design, governance, and rollout from the start. This session showed the hard, unglamorous work required to translate “do no harm” from a principle into something measurable and actionable —and underscored that the legitimacy of digital public systems will depend on whether citizens see them as protecting, not threatening, their rights.

A Plenary of Commitments: DPI Learnings in the Open

Midway through DPI Day, participants regrouped in plenary to weave together insights from the morning’s six breakout sessions. Each team reported on how frameworks like the DPI Safeguards are moving from theory to practice: governments in South Africa and the Dominican Republic shared candid lessons about designing for trust and inclusion, while groups tackling digital ID, payments, and cross-border cooperation highlighted the realities of implementation on the ground. From managing legacy systems to aligning open standards with local needs, it was clear that DPI is not just technical architecture, but a social contract in the making.

One theme, though, echoed across the room: trust is not built by code alone. It requires strong institutions, clear governance, citizen involvement, and an openness to learn from what works and what doesn’t. Participants underscored that DPI must be localized, human-centered, and designed with participation, or it risks excluding the very people it is meant to serve. Discussions about safeguards, inclusion, and responsible data use connected with broader questions about global cooperation, digital sovereignty, and how governments and communities can co-create digital public goods that endure.

Rather than closing a conversation, the plenary opened a clear path forward, with a shared commitment to continue refining, testing, and scaling these approaches at the upcoming Global DPI Summit in Cape Town. DPI, participants agreed, is not a static product, but a living system that demands sustained collaboration to truly deliver on its promise.

Building Africa’s DPI Future: Opportunities and Realities

The final panel of DPI Day brought the conversation to Africa, a continent where a youthful, mobile-first population meets the urgent promise of digital public infrastructure. Jane Munga (from Carnegie Endowment, and with whom I had the pleasure of speaking after the panel) emphasized that Africa’s diversity demands systems rooted in local realities, not one-size-fits-all imports, while Tobi Kasali (UN-ODET) framed DPI as a tool that must serve communities, not just governments. Assane Gueye (Carnegie Mellon Africa) shared how digital ID hackathons are building technical talent and locally relevant solutions, reminding the audience that without investing in people, infrastructure alone will not deliver the transformation it promises.

Ozzeir Khan (World Bank) urged a sharper question: Who does DPI actually benefit? He connected DPI investments to job creation, youth opportunity, and readiness for an AI-enabled economy, challenging stakeholders to measure DPI success by tangible societal outcomes. Nora Hauptmann (GovStack) stressed that modular, interoperable systems and regional collaboration can enable cross-border payments and scalable services, but only if trust and community engagement remain at the center. The panel closed with a clear call: for DPI in Africa to fulfill its promise, it must be people-centered, sustainably financed, and governed in ways that empower local innovators to shape a digital future that works for all.

Wrapping Up DPI Day with Purpose

As the DPI Day at UN Open Source Week 2025 came to a close, the focus turned to sustaining momentum beyond the panels and working sessions. Assistant Secretary-General Bernardo Mariano Jr. acknowledged how the community has grown since its early gatherings in 2023, noting that this growth brings a responsibility to turn open source energy into concrete results. He shared how the UN’s adoption of the Open Source Policy Framework, Principles, and Catalog demonstrates a commitment to aligning its digital work with the values discussed throughout the day: openness, collaboration, and practical action toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

Mariano emphasized the unique role of the UN as a bridge between those with digital advantages and those without, and encouraged participants to see themselves not just as learners or contributors but as a driving force for inclusive digital progress. He praised the open source community’s unmatched dedication, rooted in a shared belief that digital public goods should benefit everyone, everywhere.

Under-Secretary-General Amandeep Singh Gill echoed these sentiments, thanking attendees for making this the largest UN Open Source Week yet and for their co-creation throughout DPI Day. He noted the compelling visions shared by leaders from the Dominican Republic and Nigeria, and reminded participants to carry this energy into the upcoming Global DPI Summit in Cape Town. With one more day of community-focused events ahead, Gill encouraged everyone to remain engaged, provide honest feedback, and continue shaping the work that will advance DPI implementation across contexts in the months ahead.

TWC Insight

What struck me most was the tension (and synergy) between the urgency of getting DPI into place and the need to build it right. Nigeria’s ambition, South Africa’s cross-border experiments, the World Bank’s push for lifecycle funding, and young African engineers prototyping solutions all point to an emerging reality, that DPI is more than just a technical stack. DPI is a civic and economic platform that needs sustained, inclusive stewardship and Open source remains central, not just as a tool, but as a model for collaborative governance. This is where DPI debates are moving: from whether to build, to how to build well, and for whom.

Takeaway

DPI is a long game. Its promise lies in shifting the digital economy from extraction to empowerment, but that shift won’t happen by default. It will take hard choices about funding, ownership, safeguards, and accountability to communities. The conversations in New York made clear that the future of DPI (and the trust it requires) depends on local ecosystems having the capacity, space, and resources to lead. The infrastructure matters, but the people building, using, and governing it matter more.

FAQs

1. Haven’t you already covered DPI before?

Yes, we previously explored why DPI Safeguards matter and what guardrails are needed to protect public trust. This post takes the conversation further by examining how DPI is actually being implemented, the realities countries face, and what global cooperation on DPI looks like in practice.

2. What’s new about DPI conversations at UN Open Source Week?

This year’s sessions focused on regional realities, particularly in Africa, and practical paths for interoperability, funding sustainability, and local capacity building. Discussions also examined DPI’s role in the AI era and the need to align digital infrastructure with democratic values rather than simply deploying it for efficiency.

3. Why is DPI considered a sovereignty issue now?

DPI is no longer just about delivering services; it’s about control over national data flows, digital ID systems, and financial rails. Countries increasingly view DPI as strategic infrastructure that must be shaped locally to avoid dependency on foreign vendors or frameworks misaligned with local laws and needs.

4. What are the biggest risks with DPI implementation?

Without community engagement, DPI risks excluding vulnerable groups, increasing surveillance, or centralizing too much power in government hands. There is also the risk of vendor lock-in, costly failures, and unintended consequences if systems are scaled without proper safeguards or local relevance.

5. How does open source connect with DPI?

Open source approaches enable transparency, adaptability, and local capacity in DPI projects, reducing vendor lock-in while fostering innovation. At UN Open Source Week, many governments emphasized that open standards and community participation are essential for DPI to remain a public good rather than a proprietary system.

6. What is the Global DPI Summit in Cape Town?

It is the next major milestone where stakeholders will refine learnings from this year’s DPI discussions into actionable frameworks, playbooks, and funding commitments to build inclusive, trustworthy DPI globally. It will serve as a checkpoint for progress and shared learning ahead of the Global Digital Compact’s adoption.

7. What’s your stance on DPI at The Wireless Cable?

We see DPI as essential infrastructure for the digital age, but only if it is built with people, not just for them. Trust, safeguards, and sovereignty must be at the heart of DPI. We will continue monitoring and sharing the global conversation so technologists, policymakers, and citizens can shape DPI in ways that uphold rights, inclusion, and democratic values.

Further Reading and Resources

Jorge Tuddon https://thewirelesscable.com/
Next

UN Open Source Week 2025. Part II: OSPOs for Good, Institutional Shifts, and the Architecture of Trust