Session
Organizer 1: Valeria Betancourt, 🔒Association for Progressive Communications
Organizer 2: Jorge Cancio, 🔒Swiss Federal Office of Communication
Organizer 3: Jason Pielemeier, 🔒Global Network Initiative
Organizer 4: David Fairchild, 🔒
Organizer 5: Bruna Santos, Digital Action
Speaker 1: Amrita Choudhury, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 2: Jorge Cancio, Government, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: Jason Pielemeier, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 4: David Fairchild, Government, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 5: Anita Gurumurthy, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Jason Pielemeier, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Valeria Betancourt, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Bruna Santos, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Roundtable
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: A round table privileges interaction. It is our intent to offer initial insights from different actors and stakeholders to provoke a conversation and dialogue (based on the policy questions) as the frame for condensing the ideas in the identification of what is working well at present, and what gaps are there in regard to effective collaboration between the different processes, institutions and stakeholders; as well as how to fill these gaps without unnecessary duplication or complexity, and, how the IGF and the different stakeholders can be helpful in that regard.
- How implementation, follow up and review should be understood and undertaken towards a reinterpretation of the WSIS vision and operationalisation of the GDC? - How the potential of the IGF could be leveraged to ensure coordination/synergies in the digital cooperation ecosystem to address complexities that demand the conjunction of responses and actions on the part of the various stakeholders. - What measures/compromises are needed by the stakeholders to address the coordination gap between processes and actors to address the chllanges that stand in the way of social justice; the strengthening of human rights, gender, environmental and, ultimately, digital justice?
What will participants gain from attending this session? Participants will get a deeper insight and understanding of the role that the IGF could play in the digital cooperation ecosystem at all levels. The IGF is a unique multistakeholder platform and this session will build on proposals coming from the IGF Strategy Working Group, the, the "Internet we want'' initiative, the NetMundial+10 messages oriented to ensure coordination, facilitation and support for the implementation, follow up and review of the outcomes of the WSIS+20 and the Pact for the Future, particularly the Global Digital Compact. In this session, we’ll hear from speakers representing different stakeholders involved in the various global processes at national, regional, and international levels discussing the role of the IGF in the next decade.
Description:
The “common desire and commitment to build a people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society” articulated 20 years ago at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is still to be concretised. The adoption of the Global Digital Compact towards outlining "shared principles for an open, free and secure digital future for all" is a foremost opportunity to reinterpret the WSIS vision to address the enormous persistent and emerging challenges that stand in the way of social justice, the strengthening of human rights, gender justice, environmental justice and, ultimately, digital justice. The IGF is at the epicenter of the transformations necessary to harmonise and coordinate strategies in the digital cooperation ecosystem. This session explores with the IGF community the various proposals to strengthen the IGF as a pivotal space to support and facilitate the implementation, follow up and review of the outcomes of the WSIS+20, the Pact for the Future and the NetMundial+10. It also points to identify creative ways in which the IGF could play such a role in the upcoming decade.
This session feeds into ongoing discussions and efforts towards strengthening the IGF and envisioning an expanded mandate for the next decade. It will also build on efforts around addressing the challenges to implement the multistakeholder approach for strengthening democratic governance of digital technologies. Building on this session, the organisers will continue working with the different stakeholders to contribute to a meaningful implementation of commitments and agreements reached in key global processes related to shaping the digital future. This session will also seek to collectively identify concrete and viable ways for the IGF to facilitate implementation, follow up and review of commitment and outcomes of key global processes.
Hybrid Format: The design of the session will take into account that we all have a different pace of participation which depends on our technology and digital literacy, language, accessibility, internet connectivity, public speaking skills, etc. The pace of the participation and discussion will be adapted to both online and in person participants’ needs and contexts. When planning the workshop, we’ll allocate time for all participants (both online and offline). Tools like surveys, shared pads and boards will be used to offer different spaces and ways of participation. We shall have both onsite and online facilitators, who will ensure that both online and onsite participants are given the floor with a consideration of the time it takes to mute/unmute, deal with tech issues, including unstable connectivity. We shall use X and LinkedIn to increase interaction during and after the session.
Report
After 20 years of the WSIS, we are still grappling with issues of power, inclusion, gaps in implementation and delivery. We see the IGF as a place where those issues can we be addressed and as a tool that we can be used to forge alliances and find solutions.
Any new process that is being set up or entering the area of digital cooperation has to recognise the complexity of the space. Can we really afford starting new processes when we might be able to do better with the existing ones?
The multistakeholder community that supports the IGF can resist. Encouraged by the NetMundial+10 guidelines and the achievements of the IGF we should continue to work together to strengthen the IGF, overcoming scary geopolitics and embracing international solidarity and mutual reciprocity as an unifying principles. The proliferation of process will make the inclusivity and work more difficult. It is necessary to stabilize funding for the IGF.