Session
Organizer 1: Charline d'Oultremont, UNESCO
Organizer 2: Cédric Wachholz, UNESCO
Organizer 3: Guy Berger, UNESCO
Organizer 4: Marielza OLIVEIRA, UNESCO
Organizer 5: Florence Calviac, UNESCO
Speaker 1: Taoufik Jelassi, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
Speaker 2: Anriette Esterhuysen, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 3: Constance Bommelaer, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Guy Berger, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
Marielza OLIVEIRA, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
Charline d'Oultremont, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
Round Table - Circle - 90 Min
1. What should be the scope of regulatory frames for platforms, such as in terms of state regulation, co-regulation, self-regulation and multi-stakeholder regulation, in order to advance the public good?
2. What can be done to ensure that regulatory frames are dynamic and foresee possible technological change, rather than risk rapid obsolescence?
3. How can regulatory systems balance accountability and autonomy of platforms?
Connection with previous Messages: IGF 2021 Message: “To ensure that human rights are enforced and upheld in the digital space, careful reflection is needed on how technology serves humanity, as opposed to simply putting in place safeguards around the edges and waiting until harms occur.”
In agreement with the former, the UNESCO Overview document will also tackle the challenge of regulation being overtaken by emerging trends. For example, it will assess what kind of regulatory arrangements can stimulate foresight and pre-emptive actions by platforms. It will further explore how such arrangements could be at an appropriate level of both generality and specificity that they are meaningful but also provide frames relevant to innovation, technological change and emerging trends. The session will tap further ideas on these matters.
IGF 2021 Message: “There is a necessity to strengthen the multistakeholder approach, in order to be truly inclusive and to develop effective policies that respond to the needs of citizens, build trust and meet the demands of the rapidly changing global digital environment. The most powerful stakeholders - governments and private companies - are responsible for ensuring that civil society actors can meaningfully contribute to these processes.” In advance of the UNESCO February 23 conference, the draft toolkit and Overview document will be submitted for consultation and comment by UNESCO member states, relevant UN entities, and stakeholders. The 2022 Open Forum IGF UNESCO provides a collaborative space for a multi-stakeholder consultation on the process and the opportunity to shape the outcomes.
IGF 2021 Message: “New technologies incorporated in video games are also likely to become an object of discussion around questions on intellectual property. Examples include non-fungible tokens, metaverse, and user-generated content. As video games are likely to incorporate cutting-edge technologies for user engagement, governments are called to pay further attention to this innovative sector for inspiration.” The Overview document presented for comment during this session will identify existing agreed-upon frameworks and intersections with Our Common Agenda. It will address challenges such as the lag in regulation versus technological development, transnational issues, types of regulation, and more.
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Targets: In particular, the proposed session reinforces the pillar of governance that informs SDG 16 and partnerships that inform SDG 17, due to its specific focus on regulatory issues and multi-stakeholder participation.
Description:
In February 2023, UNESCO will host a global conference organized by the communications and information sector on the role of regulation in shaping digital platforms for the public good. The overarching objective of the conference and its guiding and follow-up processes is to enable UNESCO member states and stakeholders to help shape a common global digital future with overarching principles related to platform regulation. Feeding into consultations around such principles will be a toolbox of synopses on particular topics, such as regulatory issues in regard to freedom of expression, the safety of journalists online, media viability, access to information, privacy, open data, and access, and digital preservation. There will also be an Overview document that outlines general regulatory issues, the lag in regulation relative to technological development, existing agreed frameworks, intersections with Our Common Agenda, and how to future-proof regulation for possible trends such as the “metaverse” and “Web 3.0”.
Following the IGF model of a multi-stakeholder approach with the Workshops, UNESCO will seek input from a wide range of stakeholders and regions on the draft Overview document in advance of the UNESCO 2023 conference as part of the UNESCO mission to shape digital platforms for the public good.
1. Constitute a multistakeholder global shared space for consultation on the Overview document that can feed into the high-level overarching principles that in turn can inform diverse modules and institutional arrangements relating to platform regulation;
2. Enrich visions about the possibilities of all forms of regulation – whether by state bodies, private sector entities, co-regulatory mechanisms, or alternatives like multi-stakeholder arrangements, or combinations of these forms.
3. With this IGF consultation, contribute further to the UNESCO February 2023 conference, as well as to outputs to the Summit of the Future in September 2023 and more specifically to the Global Digital Compact outcomes.
Hybrid Format: We will ensure fluent communication between our onsite and online moderators to keep track of the discussion, questions, and comments from both groups and ensure that everyone has a chance to voice their thoughts.
Through audio and visual equipment, we will allow online participants to have both auditive and visual input in the online session. Also, to ensure dynamic input throughout the session we will also allow for a chat function (accessible for everyone onsite and online via their phones or computers) to ensure a back-and-forth conversation.
As the workshop consists of an interactive consultation session, we will also ensure that everyone involved is aware of the format and content of the Overview Document in advance of the session, so that they can be prepared with any questions, comments or input they might have.
1. We will hold a synchronous hybrid forum where both online and onsite participants are present at the same time and can interact with each other in real-time.
2. We will provide clear instructions to both onsite and online participants before the session. This means sending out an agenda, the draft outcome of the Overview document, and providing clear instructions on how to join the conference and access any materials that will be used during the session.
3. We will make sure the audio and video quality of the speakers online, and of the participant’s room onsite are good for all participants. This means using a high-quality microphone and camera and testing the audio and video setup in advance. By ensuring a specific camera angle (onsite), we would like to have all participants in camera for the online viewers, to ensure fluent communication between both.
4. To ensure a meaningful discussion and input for the UNESCO Conference, we will plan for interactive elements that will engage both onsite and online participants. This will include a fill-in platform document, polls and surveys, and a Q&A session for input.
- A chat tool such as Zoom to allow participants to ask questions and engage in discussion both during and after the session
- A polling tool such as Poll Everywhere or Slido to collect feedback and gauge audience engagement during the session
- A virtual whiteboard tool such as Miro or Padlet to brainstorm ideas and collaborate on projects in real-time
Usage of IGF Official Tool.