IGF 2023 WS #75 Digital Innovators Speak Out: Access, Equality, Content

Subtheme

Digital Divides & Inclusion
Digital, Media, and Information Literacy
Gender Digital Divide
Skills Building for Basic and Advanced Technologies (Meaningful Access)

Organizer 1: Nora Wolloch, WSA
Organizer 2: Katharina Weber, WSA
Organizer 3: Peter A. Bruck, WSA

Speaker 1: Dorothy Gordon, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 2: Osama Manzar, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 3: Lilit Shakhulyan, Civil Society, Eastern European Group
Speaker 4: Saba Khalid, Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 5: Peter A. Bruck, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Moderator

Peter A. Bruck, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Online Moderator

Nora Wolloch, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Rapporteur

Katharina Weber, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Format

Round Table - 60 Min

Policy Question(s)

A. What language and platforms does IGF and other UN related activities need to use to reach young people and make their voices heard?
B. How can digital tools be used to narrow digital divides?
C.What role can digital content creators and innovators play to support the achievement of the UN SDGs.

What will participants gain from attending this session? Insights and better understanding about various digital divides on a global scale and innovative digital solutions by young entrepreneurs, aiming to Hack these Digital Divides.
Better understanding of the perspective of young people and their use of tools, Social Media and their awareness about Digital Divides.

Description:

The Internet and Digital Tools connected people, provided access to information, made our work more efficient and provided innovative solutions in all areas of life. But not for all. Digital Divides are a major challenge globally, be it in terms of gender, age, access or language.
In this workshop (and in the process leading up to it), WSA will mobilize its global community of startups, social entrepreneurs, civil society organisations and academia to learn about digital divides in different regions and ways to narrow them.
A specific focus will be set on young people and how to connect them to global UN based initiatives like IGF, Global Digital Compact or WSIS.
This workshop will feature concrete examples of digital divides in gender, access, language and age and innovative solutions to close these gaps. At the same time it will provide a stage for young people and their perspective on topics like Internet policies, access to information, but also the influence of digital media and content on them (jobs, mental health, access to information and trust in governments).

Expected Outcomes

- Recommendation report shared on WSA webpage and social media, specially designed to reach young people
- Follow up session at the WSA Global Congress, April 2024 in Chile - taking the outcomes from the IGF session further

Hybrid Format: The roundtable will also involve online participants from the WSA community, introducing online participant right at the beginning and making sure that other online participants feel invited to share and contribute.
A WSA team member will moderate the zoom chat and will be in touch with the moderator at the IGF forum via whatsapp, making sure that he is aware of the zoom participants, their questions and comments.
Sli.do will support the interactive approach and cluster the comments and questions.