IGF 2018 DEVELOPMENT, INNOVATION & ECONOMIC ISSUES

Session Type (Workshop, Open Forum, etc.): Main session

Title: Effective policies for inclusive and prosperous digital transformation – what’s needed?

Date & Time: Tuesday 13 November, 15.00-16.20

Organizer(s): Jutta Croll (MAG / DC Coordination Group), Markus Kummer (DC Coordination Group), Timea Suto (MAG) 

Chair/Moderator:

• Mr. Diego Molano, Former ICT minister of Colombia; International Consultant, Digital Transformation of Governments and Companies, Colombia
• Ms. Nadia Tjahja, Youth Coalition on Internet Governance (YCIG), Netherlands

Rapporteur/Notetaker: TBC

List of speakers and their institutional affiliations (Indicate male/female/ transgender male/ transgender female/gender variant/prefer not to answer):

Panelists

• Mr. Jackson Cheboi, Head of Cyber Investigations and Foreniscs, Communications Authority of Kenya
• Ms. Bishakha Dhatta, Executive Director, Point of View - India
• Ms Céline Saada-Benaben, General Manager France, eBay
• Mr. Andres Sastre, Regional Director, Inter-American Association of Telecommunications Companies (ASIET)
• Ms. Shamika Sirimanne, Director, UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) *tbc

Interventions from IGF Dynamic Coalitions:

• Mr. Gerry Ellis - DC on Accessibility & Disability (DCAD)
• Ms. Carla Reyes - DC on Blockchain Technologies (DC-Blockchain)
• Mr. John Carr / Ms. Marie-Laure Lemineur / Ms. Jutta Croll *tbc - DC on Child Online Safety (DCCOS) 
• Mr. Sivasubramanian Muthusamy - DC on Core Internet Values (DC-CIV) 
• Ms. Jac SM Kee - DC on Gender and Internet Governance (DCGIG) 
• Mr. Christopher Yoo - DC on Innovative Approaches to Connecting the Unconnected (DC-Connecting the Unconnected) 
• Mr. Maarten Botterman - DC on Internet of Things (DC-IoT) 
• Ms. Janet Sawaya *tbc - DC on Public Access in Libraries (DC-PAL) 
• Mr. Tracy Hackshaw - DC on Small Island Developing States in the Internet Economy (DC-SIDS) 
• Ms. Minda Moreira - Internet Rights and Principles Coalition (IRPC) 
• *tbc - Youth Coalition on Internet Governance (YCIG) 

Theme (as listed here): Development, innovation and economic issues

Subtheme (as listed here): Internet for development and Sustainable Development Goals

Please state no more than three (3) key messages of the discussion. [150 words or less]

This session aims to tackle the following questions:

• What are the main opportunities and challenges of harnessing ICTs and digital transformation to  positively drive the SDGs?
• What are the main elements of an enabling policy environment for supporting inclusive and prosperous societies?
• Where can we identify areas of mutual collaboration within the policy space so we can increase our efficiency, improve communication between relevant actors, and reduce redundancy?

Please elaborate on the discussion held, specifically on areas of agreement and divergence. [150 words] Examples: There was broad support for the view that…; Many [or some] indicated that…; Some supported XX, while others noted YY…; No agreement…

Speakers in the session found broad agreement in a number of cross-cutting areas related to Internet for development. These centred primarily around the need for deeper cooperation and trust, as well as capacity building and educational measures, in order for the web to deliver on its development promise. This ranged from the message from the private sector that trust in physical infrastructure – the speed and security of Internet – needs to be established, to trust that users’ personal data is secure.

Views differed on the usefulness and future safety of the ever-widening phenomenon of the Internet of Things, with concern expressed that the gains brought by IoT were not worth the potentially considerable security risks. It was acknowledged that with discussion on how to make devices ‘talk to one another’ there should be a parallel discussion on their governance.

Raising what is often seen as a point of divergence in other discussions, the representative of the Dynamic Coalition (DC) on Child Online Safety emphasized that there is a false dichotomy between protecting children and freedom of information and expression online. The position of safety practitioners is that children should have as free and open access as possible while being protected from abuse on the web.

Please describe any policy recommendations or suggestions regarding the way forward/potential next steps. [100 words]

It was recognized from different panellists that closer cooperation between Governments, the private sector and civil society would be needed to tackle the development gaps discussed. Related to this, the speaker from the DC on Accessibility and Disability (DCAD) made a general call for avoiding silos and ‘overspecializing’ special needs, especially where access is concerned, and reminded that addressing the needs of people with disabilities addresses the needs of all people via universal design.

Finally, civil society experts on gender urged for better data collection and analysis for gender needs, emphasizing that serious holes and inconsistencies existed due to lack of gender disaggregated data. For example, this prevents us from understanding how a newly connected community uses its new access, and whether women and girls have equal access to the web.

What ideas surfaced in the discussion with respect to how the IGF ecosystem might make progress on this issue? [75 words]

One concrete suggestion was to improve the tracking and recording of gender engagement at the IGF. It was recommended increasing the compliance with gender reporting via the ‘Gender Report Cards’ integrated in IGF session reporting.

Please estimate the total number of participants.

Approx 80 people.

Please estimate the total number of women and gender-variant individuals present.

Approx half the participants were women.

To what extent did the session discuss gender issues, and if to any extent, what was the discussion? [100 words]

The session had a strong gender focus, with two representatives from civil society specialized in gender issues. The need for better data in global gender studies, the persistent barriers women and girls face to access, as well as the need to more closely examine the quality of access women enjoy, were all discussed.