IGF 2021 WS #25
Internet for all, Internet as a Public good

Organizer 1: Gabriel Karsan, INTERNET SOCIETY YOUTH@IGF
Organizer 2: Lily Edinam Botsyoe, Ghyrate Ghana
Organizer 3: Lisa nyamadzawo, Internet Society

Speaker 1: Lily Edinam Botsyoe, Technical Community, African Group
Speaker 2: Imane Bello, Technical Community, Eastern European Group
Speaker 3: Daniel Bill Opio, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 4: Héwing Gérald Dorvelus , Technical Community, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)

Moderator

Gabriel Karsan, Civil Society, African Group

Online Moderator

Lily Edinam Botsyoe, Technical Community, African Group

Rapporteur

Lisa nyamadzawo, Civil Society, African Group

Format

Break-out Group Discussions - Flexible Seating - 90 Min

Policy Question(s)

Social inequality and the pandemic: What can be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic context about the relationship between digital inequality and social and economic inequality? Similarly, what lessons can be drawn with respect to the pandemic and Internet-related human rights? What does this suggest about policy approaches for digitalisation and digital inclusion?
Economic and social inclusion and sustainable development: What is the relationship between digital policy and development and the established international frameworks for social and economic inclusion set out in the Sustainable Development Goals and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in treaties such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Conventions on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, on the Rights of the Child, and on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities? How do policy makers and other stakeholders effectively connect these global instruments and interpretations to national contexts?

The nature of public goods is it's equity of access they offer to it's users, everyone has an equal chance to fully integrate with the resource and use it to fulfill a purpose. For example Public infrastructure is sacred in how it has heightened human connection by mobility and movement that has facilitated the transfer of cultures, knowledge and intelligence without regard to borders rather endless transfer to everyone in every corner of the world facilitating business and integration. This is integration for progress Roads, bridges, railways and tunnels have facilitated this and are funded by the government and conductors of business through the channels and have equal backing and inclusion in using public infrastructure without exclusion it's about time we make the internet as public good that will be freely, accessible and decentralized to further human progress, interaction and transfer of knowledge and resources. Especially in the pandemic, we have seen how the interconnected infrastructure is important in progressing human affairs as it's part of this generation's fabric of reality. Businesses, Governments wouldn't have survived as they have in the pandemic without the internet and its innovation that have included our virtual selves in a unitary family pushing for equity and progression of humanity in harmony. Yet, It's the time where governance of the internet has become capitalistic driven ruthless in its equity spread and normative contributions to the world economy, rather a tool of selfishness, manipulation, control, capitalist wrong ideas that have changed the internet as a solace of independent thought to a Star product milking peoples resources for selfish gains. We have seen how internet advertising and social media have shaken democratic elections with foreign interference, the hacking of elections, the push of division with misinformation, disinformation and online extremism, how the top 1% have mostly internet technology conglomerates have more money and resources than half of the world. Is this equal? Equal access? Decentralized and unifying to opportunity of equal human prosperity? It is not and these underlying impacts caused by privatizing the internet for profit, and not pushing for its access in usability, functionality, protection, opportunity to all nature as it was built to be, A Public good. The internet should be a public good worth being respected and protected in it's servitude to all without segregation nor oppression. Taxing corporations and their digitizing systems to re educate labor force to be equipped with skillsets brought by it's automation and modern 4th industrial revolution economy, Governments pushing for subsidies and grants in the building of equal access infrastructures of broadband and wireless connectivity infrastructures, The world collectively passing policy for the internet of all, for all and by all. A unifying extension of human interaction in a harmonious prospering connection. We have the ability to equip our young generation to the opportunities some missed due to lack of quality information, education, resources that others had. With the Internet education is instantly passed and intelligence is real-time, so are the opportunities to work, build online innovations and creations that will save the world. Quantum mechanics computers interestingly interacting with the atoms of the universe and the universe in atoms in our solar system and within us and beyond. The power of the internet in empowering equal generations, with more solutions of sustaining humanity to the next frontier generations, more wealth built for the unconnected, the oppressed and marginalized group from the internet and they have an equal playing field with the internet and build modern economic democracies that equally rely on the normative principle of an equal progressive mutually inclusive Earth and unified healing humanity. These are the narratives we can get with the open opportunity of declaring the internet as a public good for all and they have social and economic policy sets attached in the aspect of equal distribution of resources to sustain human dignity and prosperity for all.

SDGs

1. No Poverty
4. Quality Education
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequalities


Targets: With a free internet there's is free spread of ideas and information, more equality to access knowledge and tap global labor, this leads to connected economies built on diversity reducing inequalities, more innovations and industry growth, connected and fighting against poverty. A public social enabling free internet is mutually dependent development catalyst for a variety of sectors and social fabric integrator indirectly supporting most of the SDGs.

Description:

Our session aims to integrate the analytical approaches and normative economical principle for social benefit in making the internet and international public good. This will tap into the philosophy behind equal public goods, the social elements of it, the cultural and political connectivity it has brought and the acceleration of human progress. We aim to discuss with business and government how to reach an amicable funding balance for the connectivity infrastructure in exchange to more autonomy in regulation as long as it’s public social policy benefitting all. With innovations coming more liberties in exchange to their fair pay and training of labor to complex modern industry skills and entrepreneurship. The collectivism it could bring with more open borders and exchange of capital, opportunities, labor and knowledge with a globally funded free internet infrastructure for all of humanity. We shall approach this with youth driven and motivated ideas, as they are the generation to achieve this on how they are able to make connections, business and more unification of human intelligence with the internet and aim to foster alliances with the older generation on their take on the matter, to spark the dialogue and inspire bold policy change, paradigm shifts in thought and governing structure and the fabric of society fairly and equally.

Expected Outcomes

Our workshop will involve written submissions on the question of why should we have a global internet as free public good? That will come after presenting the thought schools from our diverse speakers and the attendees in debate in its philosophical, economical and social sense. These will be then analyzed and a report will be published on the findings to all stakeholders involved and the public, a call of action citizen dialogue will be called with experts to exchange options, opinions and analysis on the report and question at hand, the dialogues will provide recommendation papers to government and governing regulatory bodies so they could test it’s viability policy-wise and economically wise with the local viewpoint and global opportunities it offers, a global alliance of the cause will be called with a working group in aiding translate our findings in coalitions and proximate goals that shall full free internet as a public global good policy.

Our session aims to be participant-centered, we shall offer guidance to their thinking in providing their ideas on our questions, which we shall divide into the Philosophy thinkers, economic thinkers, Social Political thinkers who shall all approach the question from their viewpoints and share after breaking out, the we shall all aggregate the answers as a consolidated explanation based on diversity. For the online participation our approach is having pre-recorded monologues and guidance from our speakers on the questions and breakout sessions that shall go hand in hand with physical attended, after the breakout our moderator shall participate hybrid online and physical with every 5 questions on the physical side we shall require 3-4 online contributions as well discussed to boost more equal inclusion. Our online speakers shall have equal slots as the onsite ones and will play active roles as moderators and guidance to our online attendees with full engagement with them and the facilitator to embed them with onsite dialogue. We shall have online real-time polls with the potent questions and views points so offsite participants can share collectively the agreed points to boost engagement on social media sites.

Online Participation



Usage of IGF Official Tool. Additional Tools proposed: Polling social media tools, for online collection of inputs. Open Broadcast to be shared on our website and social media sharing platforms for all people to have access.