Virtual worlds panel

What vision, principles, and actions should guide the development of desirable and fair virtual worlds?

Many people believe that virtual worlds, also referred to as metaverses, might be a change comparable to the appearance of the internet and will transform the way we work and engage with each other in the future. In the last couple of years – and particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic – numerous public and private actors have been investing massively in these so-called “extended and augmented realities”, speeding up changes in our workplaces and habits.

Despite this increased attention, such a transformation will not happen suddenly. Virtual Worlds will take many years to develop into a high-quality, realistic digital environment, and there is no clear picture yet of what metaverses could and should become.

The EU and its Members States are committed to harness the potential of this transformation, understand its opportunities, but also the risks and challenges it poses, while safeguarding the rights of European citizens. The European Commission has therefore decided to convene a citizens’ panel to formulate recommendations for the development of virtual worlds.

Find out more in the information kit that is available in the document section below.

What we can expect from the panel

The expected outcome of the panel is a set of guiding principles and actions for the development of virtual worlds in the EU, based on citizens' experiences, perceptions, and wishes for the future. It will take the form of recommendations addressed to the European Commission to feed into an initiative on the topic.

Timeline

The virtual worlds panel sessions will take place between February and April 2023.

24-26 February 2023
Session 1 - Brussels
In the first session, participants have build a shared vision of what desirable and fair virtual worlds should be like.
Please see the summary of the session in the Documents section below.
Recordings: 24 February 2023 | 26 February 2023
10-12 March 2023
Session 2 - online
In the second session, participants have identified, discussed and prioritised values and principles that should guide the development of Virtual Worlds, and started exploring fields of actions to make this vision a reality.
The detailed agenda can be found in the Documents section below.
Recordings: 10 March 2023 | 13 March 2023
21-23 April 2023
Closing session - Brussels
In the third and final session, participants will turn the ideas into concrete recommendations and develop a catalogue of preferred actions towards the development of desirable virtual worlds, through a focus on guiding principles and use cases.

The signature of the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles reflects our shared goal of a digital transformation that puts people first. The rights put forward in our Declaration are guaranteed for everybody in the EU, online as they are offline. And the digital principles enshrined in the Declaration will guide us in our work on all new initiatives.