IGF 2023 WS #378 GDC: A future of human rights, development and gender equity

Subtheme

Global Digital Governance & Cooperation
Cyber Diplomacy and Peace on the Internet
Governing Digital Economy
Multistakeholderism

Organizer 1: Swantje Maecker, 🔒
Organizer 2: Max Schumann, GIZ GmbH
Organizer 3: Valeria Betancourt, 🔒
Organizer 4: Paula Martins, Association for Progressive Communications - APC
Organizer 5: Vivien Schoenberger, GIZ GmbH

Speaker 1: Regine Grienberger, Government, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: Chat Garcia Ramilo, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 3: Emma Gibson, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 4: Amandeep Singh Gill, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
Speaker 5: Anita Gurumurthy, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 6: Sook-Jung Dofel, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Moderator

Max Schumann, Government, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Online Moderator

Paula Martins, Civil Society, Intergovernmental Organization

Rapporteur

Vivien Schoenberger, Government, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Format

Panel - 90 Min

Policy Question(s)

• How can the GDC build on the multi-stakeholder cooperation in internet governance, and global digital cooperation to set parameters for safeguarding and reaffirming the application of human rights standards in the digital realm?
• What role should the GDC play (and how) in contributing to achieving gender equity in the digital future?
• How can the GDC explore alternative models for expanding connectivity and bridging digital gaps that are grounded on communities' needs and gender equity?
• Which actions should be taken to approach the Grand Bargain of digital technologies, especially AI, from a gender perspective?

What will participants gain from attending this session? This session will build on the outcomes of the global and regional GDC consultations, as well as previous sessions held in the framework of the global IGF. It will highlight and expand the understanding of various stakeholders about practical ways in which the GDC may help to mainstream gender, rights and sustainable development in its development and implementation stages to ensure a free, secure, and open digital future.
This session is co-organized by the German Federal Foreign Office, in partnership with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC).

Description:

By October 2023, significant progress will have been made in the process of developing the Global Digital Compact (GDC), following global and regional consultations with member states and stakeholders, the completion of the thematic deep dives, the publication of the UNSG policy brief, the development and presentation of the issue papers derived from the consultations and the realization of the Ministerial Meeting.

This session aims to contribute to mainstreaming human rights, sustainable development, and gender as central considerations across all the areas of the Global Digital Compact by:
1. Analyzing the outcomes of the GDC to date from the angles of development, rights and gender, and
2. Convening diverse stakeholder perspectives about the ways in which those considerations should be embedded as part of the negotiations, finalization, and implementation of the Global Digital Compact.

Expected Outcomes

The session will produce a report on the discussed above mentioned issues. This report will be submitted as a multistakeholder input for the following phases of the GDC in the lead up to the Summit of the Future, oriented to ensure that the GDC contributes to reinforcing the enjoyment of human rights online and offline, achieving gender justice and accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).

Hybrid Format: We'll have facilitators for onsite and virtual interactions, integrating both through social media input and hybrid participation. Participants can contribute beforehand, sharing expertise and resources using a social hashtag and a whiteboard. The session starts with an analysis of GDC consultations on human rights, sustainable development, and gender perspectives, shared by GDC actors. Stakeholders (government, private sector, technical community, civil society) then present strategies for incorporating these considerations into the Global Digital Compact. The Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology reacts to inputs from the analysis and multistakeholder panel. A visible whiteboard will be used for onsite participants and accessible online for all participants.