The Metaverse: A Witness from the Future

Digital Rights Explored: Local Fights, Global Perspectives

In this episode we talk about the biggest hype of our time when it comes to our digital lives: the Metaverse. Ever since Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement of what his company Meta is developing, everyone in the digital rights community is talking about the implications of this new immersive digital world on our personal lives and on our (digital) human rights. That is why we want to engage with our Podcast in this important discussion too. With this episode we will attempt to answer some of the most basic to more complex questions when talking about the Metaverse. What is the Metaverse (from what experts know so far)? How is it different from other virtual reality worlds we know so far, such as Second Life? What will be the business model of the Metaverse? What could be the potential risks when it comes to our digital rights? And how will countries with emerging economies jump on the "meta train" taking into account digital divides.
We will attempt to answer some of these questions and more in this episode with our two expert speakers that we are proud to have: Stefan Roolvink from the Rathenau Institute in the Netherlands and Juliet Amoah from Penplusbytes in Ghana.
Stefan does in depth research on the Metaverse, and the impact of this digital technology on us. The Rathenau Institute he works at advises the Dutch parliament on developments surrounding the Metaverse. Juliet Amoah is the executive director of PenplusBytes, an NGO that exists 20 years in Ghana focusing in their work on the media, information and digital rights of citizens in Ghana.
This time we do not have a personal ground story as you are used to from us. But you will listen to our "witnesses from the future", that will help us to immerse ourselves into what the Metaverse will be like. Curious? Listen to the episode.
Sources used in this episode:
- The Manifesto: Set 10 Design Requirements for the Metaverse, developed by the Rathenau Institute
- Report The Global State of Digital 2022 on Ghana
- Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992)
- Ready Player One (Steven Spielberg, 2018)
- 1984 by George Orwell
Our expert speakers featured in this episode are:
Stefan Roolvink - Researcher at the Rathenau Institute, the Netherlands
Juliet Amoah - Executive director of PenplusBytes, Ghana
This episode was created by:
Host and editor: Alexandre Amaral
Producer: Ena Omerović
Co-producer: Juliet Amoah
Narration: Bahia Albrecht, Deutsche Welle Akademie
Consultant: Hanna Hempel, Deutsche Welle Akademie
Researcher: Gaura Naithani
This is a Podcast made by the Media and Information Literacy Expert Network (MILEN) with the support of Deutsche Welle Akademie (DW Akademie).

Contact us with questions, comments or your Stories on digital rights' violations at:
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