IGF 2022 WS #367 Generation Internet: Bridging the Digital Gap

Organizer 1: Danyal Hayat, Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC), CECOS University
Organizer 2: David Otujor Okpatuma, Friends for Leadership
Organizer 3: Roman Chukov, Center for Global IT-Cooperation

Speaker 1: Jenny Chinchilla, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 2: Adugna Haile Wako , Private Sector, African Group
Speaker 3: Danyal Hayat, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 4: Dmitry Gulyaev, Civil Society, Eastern European Group
Speaker 5: DILEK CINAR, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Moderator

Roman Chukov, Civil Society, Eastern European Group

Online Moderator

David Otujor Okpatuma, Intergovernmental Organization, African Group

Rapporteur

David Otujor Okpatuma, Intergovernmental Organization, African Group

Format

Birds of a Feather - Classroom - 60 Min

Policy Question(s)

Connecting All People and Safeguarding Human Rights: How to create a safer digital environment with a total digital inclusion and respect for civil and political rights; rights of children and youth online; economic, social and cultural rights? What tools, mechanisms, and capacity building instruments are needed to create community networks and guarantee access and connectivity globally?

Advancing global digital cooperation: How can Internet governance create conditions for enabling safety, security and accountability on the Web? Does advancing global digital cooperation ensure the safeguard of an open, globally connected and independent Internet?

Connection with previous Messages: This workshop will become a semantic and logical continuation of the work of the previous year, which was reflected in the Katowice Messages. It was during IGF 2021 that the idea of ​​creating a global network of Youth Digital Ombudsperson was proposed.

« 7. Inclusive Internet Ecosystems and Digital Cooperation
Violation of the rights of youth and minors on the Internet are a growing concern. One approach to protecting young people against online threats (e.g. data breaches, cyberbullying) could be to establish a global network of Youth Digital Ombudspersons to act as mediators between the youth and all stakeholders».

Therefore this workshop and future collaborative efforts will become a first step towards creating a unified institutional framework to ensure the safety of young users on the Internet.

SDGs

10.2
9.c
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
16.10
16.3
16.7
16.b
17. Partnerships for the Goals


Targets: Through the promotion of youth empowerment and protection of human rights in the digital environment this workshop aims at strengthening the existing national institutions and contributing to the formation of an international framework that would ensure the rule of law and equal access to justice on the Internet (16.3)
As this session will strive to adress themes that primarily focus on empowerment of youth, regardless of their age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status (10.2) it will be essential to elaborate on the equal access to the Internet as well (9.c).
Finally only through the application of a multilateral discussion (17) and responsive decision making (16.7) and inclusion of all stakeholders including with different views will we be able to assess real growth points of protection of fundamental freedoms (16.10). And most importantly this discussion will try to find a solution to protection of human rights and rule of law in the digital space that will not hinder sustainable development (16.b).

Description:

Accelerating pace of the ubiquitous digitalization of our modern society often creates situations of inequality and insecurity, especially for the younger generation. Online threats remain largely unresolved and permanent, censorship on the social networks and dominating role of the digital platforms are evident.

It is commonly agreed across all major stakeholder groups that a modern institutional framework is required to ensure the safety of users on the Internet. Moreover there needs to be a functioning governance that would guarantee the protection of human rights and youth empowerment in the online environment.

Introduction of the Digital Services Act in Europe sparked a heated debate over the necessity to introduce such legislation in other regions of the world. It also raises a rather peculiar question: should there be a universal approach on how to protect fundamental rights of users in the digital space or should this issue be left for the national governments?

No matter the answer it is clear that norms and institutions that would create a safer digital space without hindering innovation need to be put in place as soon as possible. The Internet nowadays is a platform of vital necessity for people around the globe, it is a place of work, study and even personal life for many. However unfortunately despite the rising incomes globally the digital divide has remained largely a pending issue. Therefore within a framework of ensuring the youth empowerment and protection of human rights it is crucial to elaborate on achieving global connectivity as well. Only through meaningful access across the world it is possible to engage in a global discussion on matters of international importance.

To sum up, the cornerstone of the discussion on the topic of ensuring human rights in the digital environment is the idea to create a globally connected space of equality, trust and security. Chosen format will facilitate a dynamic exchange of ideas between speakers and participants of the Forum on how to achieve this ambitious goal.

Expected Outcomes

It is expected that the session will result in the formation of a task force on an international promotion of mitigation of online threats and violation of the rights of youth and minors on the Internet. Ideally, the workshop will become a first step in creating a community network that will further accumulate ideas, opinions and approaches on the role of youth in Internet governance and will try to implement initiatives aimed at raising awareness about the issue of unequal access and need for youth empowerment and protection of basic human rights in the digital world.

Hybrid Format: The hybrid format will basically depend on a guiding role of moderator and pre-moderator in the discussion. Both will work to ensure that online and offline participants and speakers are equally represented and have the same opportunities to speak, ask questions and intervene.
Workshop will also incorporate instant feedback collection from the audience as for discussion to be naturally navigated. All participants, including online, will be able to provide instant feedback during the discussion using Mentimeter, a mobile application for a fixation of momentum reaction of the audience on particular topics of the session.

Online Participation



Usage of IGF Official Tool.