Global Futures: Tech And Multilateralism

For the final episode of this limited podcast series, Maria Kristiina Prass (University of Tartu) sat down with the former President of Estonia, current Visiting Professor at the University of Tartu, Toomas Hendrik Ilves. It's an open talk about his thoughts on Estonia’s digital past, the current state of multilateralism and global politics as we’ve known it so far, and what future realities the world might be looking at. A very thought-provoking 45 minutes to set REMIT off on the project’s latter half!Episode was recorded in September, 2025. 

For this episode, regular host Maria Prass passed her duties temporarily on to REMIT Research's Principal Investigator, Prof. Robera Haar (Maastricht University) who met online with our Stakeholder Advisory Board member John Shimkus. John is a former US Congressman for Illinois for over 20 years, known for his work on energy, environmental, and national security issues, a self-proclaimed trans-atlantist, and retired Lieutenant Colonel of the US Army. Both being US nationals with interest and experience with different aspects of the US political system, the conversation centred mainly around current US policies, and what those (may) mean for the rest of the world.

Host Maria Kristiina Prass (University of Tartu) sat down with Dr Chris Weible (CU Denver; Luleå University of Technology) to discuss the use and effect of emotions in public discourse, how to navigate the increasingly complex world of policy conflicts, and the importance of consensus building. We also of course touched upon the Advocacy Coalition Framework, of which Chris is an expert and an enthusiast of - a model we use extensively in REMIT's research.Episode was recorded in April, 2025.

New host Maria Kristiina Prass welcomed Anriette Esterhuysen in a discussion about internet governance, and the many aspects that impact it. How does global politics and its perpetual ebbs and flows impact internet governance and the issues it faces? How does this connect to human rights? What do we have to look forward to, as technology develops? Episode was recorded in April, 2025.

In host Elis Vollmer's last episode, she had a call with Dr Myriam Dunn Cavelty (ETH Zyrich). In just over half an hour, they discussed cyber security and its relationship with the political world, private vs public actors, the potential for future norms or rules, and much more. What is the present and future of cyber security?Episode was recorded in November 2024.

Professor Luca Belli (FSV Law School), a well-known expert in the field of digital governance, sat down with host Elis Vollmer (University of Tartu) to talk about the global aspects of governance that relate to the digital world, including but not limited to the internet. What is the competition that's ongoing in the field, and who might be winning? What are the key considerations in terms of this sort of governance?

Professor Mariarosaria Taddeo (University of Oxford) is a celebrated expert in the field of Digital Ethics, having authored over 150 publications and received multiple awards and recognitions for her work. With host Elis Vollmer (University of Tartu), Professor Taddeo is discussing what the world, and the EU more specifically, should be keeping in mind in terms of governing AI, particularly for defence and military uses. Who should be involved in the conversation? What are the most important ethical considerations?

Prof Nicholas (Nick) Thomas from City University of Hong Kong joins host Elis Vollmer (University of Tartu) in discussing the issues around health security, most specifically in Asia, but also in the wider sense, and how it relates to multilateralism, or multilateralism to it.

In the first episode, host Elis Vollmer (University of Tartu) opens the background of the ambitious REMIT project with Principal Investigator Prof Roberta Haar (Maastricht University), giving insight into how REMIT was born and what are the ambitions and guiding principles of the research carried out in its four years.

What exactly is "Global Futures: Tech&Multilateralism"? It's a short podcast series of 9 episodes by the international REMIT project, which aims to reignite multilateralism via technology. With 9 project partners all across Europe and stakeholders globally, we're always looking for a way to reach out to those who'd like to hear from us. This podcast series is for exactly that.