Relevance to Internet Governance: The rapid proliferation of information and communications technology (ICT) is an unstoppable force changing the world order and shaping everyday life. The development of technology and the birth of many emerging applications have put forward new requirements for existing computer networks. Quality education sits in the front and centre of economic opportunities, technological innovation, social progress, and sustainable developments. Fair online education provides great benefits for the equality of education, especially for the disabled and the people who lack educational resources. However, the difference between networks introduces the inequality of fair online educations. Getting the policy right around the governance on information networks is essential to safeguard quality online education and reducing inequality. Considerations around network governance should be built starting from commonly shared global values and principles, developed in collaboration with all stakeholders. This workshop will look at what policy elements are necessary to maintain and expand network resource allocation. It will also aim to identify and provide options for a policy response to the main challenges posed. Its correct and neutral operation is crucial to the equality and accessibility of the education resources, especially for the users with poorly connected networks. It needs serious consensus among stakeholders on the governance model. From a procedural standpoint, the collaborative dialogue among those stakeholder groups around the topic in question can yield better results if it follows some widely recognized principles that can ensure open, transparent and accountable, inclusive and equitable activities. With that spirit in mind, as the IGF is the main focal point for Internet governance discussion worldwide, this workshop intends to discuss inclusive solutions for the equality of fair online education over poorly connected networks through the substantial examples at the global forum to build some good governance models.
Relevance to Theme: The workshop is directly related to the theme and subtheme of IGF 2020, respectively. It is highly relevant as limited network capabilities are seriously impacting the equalities of online education. The workshop seeks to get to the heart of one crucial aspect of online education inclusion: How to ensure the equality and quality of online education, particularly for the users with poorly connected networks when a public emergency breaks out. Increased Internet connectivity has allowed more and more people to study from home. In the low- and middle-income countries, online education is usually perceived as a good chance to obtain abundant education resources in developed countries, which would overcome pervasive unemployment and derive new sources of income for qualified populations. Quality and equality of the online education, however, remain many challenges as discussed above. The workshop seeks to promote cooperation and communication between educational institutions, students, and network providers, and present key solutions to improve network performance for poorly-connected users, and improve the quality of poor-connected online education.
