IGF 2020 Second Open Consultations and MAG Meeting - CGI.br

The following are the outputs of the captioning taken during an IGF virtual intervention. Although it is largely accurate, in some cases it may be incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. It is posted as an aid, but should not be treated as an authoritative record. 

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>>EVERTON RODRIGUES:  Dear colleagues from the IGF community, on behalf of Professor Hartmut Glaser, the IGF secretariat of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, cgi.br, I would like to thank the IGF secretariat and the MAG for this opportunity.

 My name is Everton, and I will provide you with a brief update on recent efforts undertaken by cgi.br.  

 As you may know, Brazil has already held two global IGFs.  The first one was in the city of in Rio de Janeiro in 2007, and the second one was in the city of Joao Pessoa in 2015.  

 Brazil relies on a strong multistakeholder Internet governance model with a political council comprised of 21 members from four different sectors.  

 In 2020, cgi.br celebrates its 25th anniversary.  And by now, we are also concluding our sixth annual process for nongovernmental board members.

 Additionally, we have just launched a new project, a national Internet award, to honor important figures of Brazilian's Internet governance history.

 COVID-19 has also been a challenge addressed by cgi.br.  While the Internet in Brazil faces a recent extraordinary traffic increase, the Internet exchange points operated by nic.br have been dealing well with peaks over 11 terabit per second.  In March, we were just celebrating the 10-terabit peak.

 With COVID-19, more people are using the Internet; and that brings many challenges for those who are working from home as well as for big businesses, SMEs, students, families, and the society as a whole.  

 The role of the Internet during this pandemic is crucial for all of us.  And because of that, we need a strong and resilient network as well as solid information that could inform policymaking to address connectivity issues.

 In May, the Regional Centre for Studies on the Developmental Information Society, cetic.br, has just launched a brand-new edition of the ICT household's research, which is a survey on the use of information and communication technologies in Brazil.  

 ICT households is one of the most important research stream for digital policy in Brazil.  It has a nationwide design that covers all the regions of the country and help stakeholders to have a clear overview of ICTs' development.  

 Among a large and diverse set of statistics, the research has revealed that Brazil has 134 million Internet users.  On the other hand, it also indicates that we still have 47 million people that are disconnected from the Internet.  The recently released statistics will help policymakers and stakeholders in general to design appropriate actions toward digital divide in Brazil.  

 Cgi.br is aware of the importance of the multistakeholder approach to Internet-related matters, especially in a country like Brazil with significant social and economic disparities.  In this sense, we have recently released public notes.  The first one puts up a set of recommendations on Internet user resilience, while the second addresses concerns related to privacy and data protection in the context of recent data processing measures adopted by some initiatives in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 As many of you in your organizations, most of our staff has moved to home office to cope with the demands posed by the pandemic context.

 Cgi.br monthly meetings have also been held remotely, convening members from four different geographical regions in Brazil.  

 And that's our update.  We wish you a very fruitful meeting and hope you and your families and friends are all safe.  Thank you.