In public discourse, global digitalization is often understood one-sidedly as technological progress. This project breaks with this perspective and sheds light on the economic and ecological impact of the digital economy on the Global South and the Global North from the perspective of historical continuities. At the center of the study is the concept of "digital colonialism". Following on from the non-fiction book of the same name (Dachwitz & Hilbig, 2025). The project examines the extent to which the business models and supply chains of global tech companies reproduce colonial patterns of exploitation, create new digital dependencies and exacerbate existing global inequalities. The work focuses on three central and socio-politically highly relevant problem areas. The often precarious working conditions in the tech industry, such as so-called "ghost work" and content moderation, the progressive exploitation of resources through the depletion of the natural resources necessary for the physical infrastructure of digitalization, including the associated effects on the ecosphere and anthropogenic climate change, and the global power and knowledge asymmetries arising from digitalization. In addition to the theoretical classification, the project aims to identify concrete options for action at an individual and societal level in order to decisively promote a just global transformation in the sense of a Just Transition.

The project uses a participatory, two-phase education and mediation concept to work through these complex interrelationships and translate them into educational practice. In the first phase of the project, an internal target group of around 15 participants will develop didactic concepts for three interactive workshops on the core areas of digital colonialism with the involvement of external experts. In the subsequent second phase, around 30 workshops will be offered nationwide in face-to-face and online formats, with content tailored to actors from civil society, educational work and social movements. Over the entire duration of the project, the development of an active community will also be promoted, which will contribute to the continuation of what has been learned beyond the duration of the project. In August 2027, the project will culminate in a digital closing event for long-term networking and the subsequent publication of the guidelines and workshop concepts developed in order to make the materials publicly accessible beyond the project.