WS #51 Internet & SDG’s: Aligning the IGF & ITU’s Innovation Agenda

Summary

This discussion focused on aligning Internet-based technologies with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ITU’s digital innovation strategy. Panelists emphasized the importance of effective multistakeholder governance models to ensure inclusive and responsible innovation. Key points included promoting transparency, accountability, and collaboration among diverse stakeholders.

The conversation highlighted challenges in stakeholder engagement, particularly the need for greater involvement of technical communities and civil society in ITU initiatives. Participants stressed the importance of capacity building and knowledge sharing to empower youth and underserved communities in the digital space. The role of NGOs in stimulating innovation and bridging gaps between different sectors was discussed, with emphasis on the need for better collaboration between NGOs, governments, and the private sector.

Strategies for addressing skills gaps and building human capacity were explored, including promoting digital literacy, incentivizing youth participation, and creating community internet hubs. The discussion touched on initiatives like the ITU’s Partner to Connect coalition and the Giga Project as examples of effective investment strategies for connecting the unconnected.

Participants also addressed the importance of including marginalized communities, particularly women and rural populations, in digital innovation efforts. The need for equitable access to technology and capacity building in underserved regions was highlighted as crucial for achieving the SDGs. The discussion concluded by emphasizing the importance of multistakeholder engagement in informing decisions made in multilateral spaces and the need for continued efforts to bridge digital divides.

Keypoints

Major discussion points:

– The importance of inclusive multistakeholder governance models for aligning internet innovation with sustainable development goals

– Challenges in stakeholder engagement, particularly for youth and civil society, in ITU and other multilateral processes

– The need for capacity building, digital skills training, and knowledge sharing to empower youth and underserved communities

– Strategies for NGOs and youth to meaningfully participate in and influence internet governance processes

– Investment and policy approaches to drive innovation for sustainable development, including public-private partnerships

The overall purpose of the discussion was to explore how to align internet-based technologies and innovation with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ITU’s digital innovation agenda through multistakeholder collaboration.

The tone of the discussion was constructive and solution-oriented. Panelists and audience members shared insights on challenges but focused on proposing concrete strategies and mechanisms to improve inclusivity and drive innovation for sustainable development. There was an emphasis on the importance of youth engagement and empowerment throughout.

Speakers

– Athanase Bahizire: Moderator, from DRC

– Jasmine Ko: Affiliated with HKYIGF, ISOC Hong Kong, and Asia

– Umut Pajaro Velasquez: AI researcher on ethics and governance, coordinator of Jude IGF, from Jude Coalition on Internet Governance

Additional speakers:

– Peter Joziasse: Founder of Digital Child Rights Foundation

– Nermin Selim: Secretary General of Creators Union of Arab, expert on intellectual property

– Matilda Mashauri: African Youth Ambassador in Internet Governance

Expanded Summary of Discussion on Aligning Internet Technologies with Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction

This discussion focused on strategies for aligning Internet-based technologies with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ITU’s digital innovation agenda. The panel, moderated by Athanase Bahizire from the Democratic Republic of Congo, featured speakers from diverse backgrounds in Internet governance, youth advocacy, and digital rights. The conversation explored challenges and opportunities in multistakeholder governance, youth inclusion, and investment strategies to drive innovation for sustainable development.

Key Themes and Discussion Points

1. Multistakeholder Governance for Sustainable Development

A central theme of the discussion was the importance of effective multistakeholder governance models in aligning Internet innovation with sustainable development goals. Umut Pajaro Velasquez, an AI researcher on ethics and governance, emphasised that such models must promote inclusivity of all stakeholders, ensure transparency and accountability in decision-making, and foster collaboration.

Jasmine Ko, affiliated with HKYIGF, ISOC Hong Kong, and .Asia, highlighted the need for increased engagement of the technical community and civil society in ITU initiatives and other multilateral processes. Ko introduced the Technical Community Coalition for Multistakeholder (TCCM) form, an initiative aimed at enhancing the technical community’s participation in global digital policy discussions. This addresses a critical gap in stakeholder engagement, as the technical community has often been underrepresented in important global digital policy forums.

Ko also mentioned the eco-internet index (EII) research project as an example of the technical community’s contribution to sustainable development. This project aims to measure the environmental impact of internet infrastructure and usage, demonstrating how technical expertise can directly contribute to sustainability goals.

2. Youth Inclusion and Capacity Building

The discussion emphasized the critical role of youth engagement and capacity building in driving innovation and achieving the SDGs. Speakers unanimously agreed on the importance of empowering young people but proposed different strategies to achieve this goal.

Umut Pajaro Velasquez advocated for providing digital skills training and capacity building for youth, emphasising the need to include young people in decision-making processes. Jasmine Ko suggested creating youth-focused initiatives like regional Internet Governance Forums (IGFs) to engage young people directly in governance discussions. She specifically mentioned the Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy (APIGA) and netmission.asia as examples of successful capacity building initiatives for youth.

Ko made a thought-provoking comment challenging the notion of youth as passive beneficiaries, stating, “Everything for youth has to be by youth, have to be with youth.” She provided specific examples of how youth can contribute to achieving SDGs, such as recycling e-waste and taking personal actions to promote sustainability.

Matilda Mashauri, African Youth Ambassador in Internet Governance, stressed the importance of ensuring equitable access to technology and capacity building in underserved regions, particularly for rural youth. Ko suggested that youth map their resources, identify areas of influence, and set priorities based on their interests and capacities.

3. Role of NGOs in Advancing SDGs and Innovation

The discussion explored the potential for NGOs to play a crucial role in stimulating innovation and bridging gaps between different sectors. Athanase Bahizire and Peter Joziasse highlighted the challenges faced by NGOs in engaging with governments and multilateral processes, emphasizing the need for improved collaboration mechanisms.

Jasmine Ko suggested creating platforms for NGOs to connect with partners and focused on the importance of community-driven agendas. She encouraged local actors to create their own platforms for collaboration if none exist, stating, “If there is no platform or scenario that NGOs and other potential partners can come together, maybe consider create one.”

Dr. Nermin Selim, Secretary General of Creators Union of Arab and an expert on intellectual property, highlighted the importance of protecting the intellectual property rights of innovators in this context. She also emphasized the need for awareness-building before implementing any innovation or project.

4. Investment Strategies for Innovation and Sustainable Development

The panel discussed various approaches to investing in digital innovation for sustainable development. Athanase Bahizire highlighted initiatives like ITU’s Partner to Connect coalition and the Giga Project as examples of effective investment strategies for connecting the unconnected, particularly focusing on connecting schools.

Peter Jozsa mentioned the D4D Hub and Global Gateway as examples of initiatives he’s involved with, demonstrating the range of investment strategies being employed globally.

Jasmine Ko emphasised the need to prioritise and set achievable goals within limited resources. She suggested using design thinking and systems thinking approaches to map ecosystem challenges and solutions, promoting a more systematic approach to addressing development issues.

Challenges and Unresolved Issues

Despite the constructive nature of the discussion, several challenges and unresolved issues emerged:

1. Bridging the gap between NGOs and government/private sector stakeholders remains a challenge.

2. Specific mechanisms for ensuring equitable access and capacity building for youth in underserved regions need further development.

3. Addressing interoperability challenges between different technologies and systems, including AI, remains an ongoing concern.

4. Balancing rapid innovation with responsible implementation and awareness-building requires careful consideration.

Conclusion

The discussion provided valuable insights into the complexities of aligning Internet-based technologies with sustainable development goals. There was a strong consensus on the importance of inclusive multistakeholder governance, youth engagement, and capacity building. The conversation highlighted the need for continued efforts to bridge digital divides and ensure that technological innovation serves the needs of all communities, particularly those historically marginalised.

Moving forward, the key takeaways suggest a focus on promoting inclusivity and transparency in governance models, increasing engagement of diverse stakeholders (especially the technical community), providing targeted digital skills training, and developing partnerships to expand Internet access. The discussion underscored the importance of balancing rapid innovation with responsible implementation and awareness-building, emphasising the need for thoughtful, collaborative approaches to harnessing technology for sustainable development.

Athanase Bahazire: and ITU’s innovation agenda. In this workshop, we are going to, the aim of this session actually is to facilitate a strategic dialogue among key stakeholders to assess and optimize alignment of Internet-based technology with the United Nations Sustainable Digital Goals and the ITU’s digital innovation strategy. The objective actually is to create an environment of collaboration, whereby diverse backgrounds will be coming together, industry leaders, civil society organizations, academia, to assess these two critical frameworks and then also to see how the IGF can contribute to it. So, in this session, we have two speakers, one here on site and one online. So I’m going to give the floor to my panelists to introduce themselves before we go deep into the matter. Jasmine, you have the floor.

Jasmine Ko: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for making it here at the very early morning. My name is Jasmine Koh. I’m from Hong Kong. I’m affiliated with HKYIGF, ISOC Hong Kong, and also .Asia. Thank you for coming here.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you, Jasmine. Umut, can you please introduce yourself? Umut, can you hear us? You are muted. Can you hear us? As we are trying to fix some technicalities, by the way, my name is Athanase Bahazire, I’m from the DRC, and I’ll be your moderator for this session. Umut, are you able to speak now?

Umut Pajaro Velasquez: Yes. Hello, everyone. Thank you, Atanas, for being the moderator today. And I wasn’t able to hear you at the beginning, I wasn’t able to speak, but now I can do it. So, yeah, my name is Umut Pajaro Velazquez, I’m from the Jude Coalition on Internet Governance. I’m also one of the coordinators of the Jude IGF, and I work as an AI researcher on ethics and governance. So, yeah, today I’m going to speak a little bit about digital cooperation in the case of ITU and the Internet Governance Forum. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you so much, Umut. Very interesting. Now we can get deep into the matter. I promise this session will also be interactive at some point, too. I’m going to be coming back to the audience for any comments and any questions. So straight into the matter, Umut, I have a question for you. How can effective multistakeholder governance models be designed to ensure that the Internet enables innovation, aligns with the SDG principles, promotes inclusivity, mitigates potential risk and unintended consequences?

Umut Pajaro Velasquez: Okay, before to answer that, we actually have to remember that there are some core elements of sustainable development in the case of any model that we want to propose. And those core elements… aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability or to have a future for our own needs. To achieve this, it is crucial to harmonise three core elements that are economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. These three elements are interconnected and crucial well-being of individualized societies and internet governance can contribute to these three elements in different ways. And the multi-stakeholder model actually is one of the ways that we can contribute to it. So effective multi-stakeholder governance models, in this case, are essential to ensure that internet-enabled innovation aligns with these sustainable development goals, principles. This model, in this case, in order to comply with having a design that actually can protect and can be responsible, has to, first of all, promote inclusivity. That means that all stakeholders, including governments, private sector, civil society, medical experts, academia, should have a voice in internet governance. This inclusivity ensures that diverse perspectives are considered and that the needs of all stakeholders are addressed in the development of these goals. A rights-based approach to internet governance is crucial for ensuring inclusivity and mitigating risks. And this approach of promoting inclusivity emphasises not only human rights, but also in fundamental freedoms, social justice and social justice in the development and governance of the internet in general. So, the Intermediate Art Tool can be a tool for the three elements that I said before. The other element that should be taken into consideration in these different multi-stakeholder models is ensuring transparency and accountability. The decision-making processes on these different models should be transparent and accountable to all stakeholders, not just to one part, but to all stakeholders. So the decisions that are taken in place are actually based in having all the information that we need to get to these different goals that we have in the SDG, and to actually have an innovation that actually benefits all. Because transparency actually builds trust and legitimacy in the internal governance. The other principle is fostered collaboration. Multi-stakeholder governance models should encourage collaboration among stakeholders to address complex challenges and develop innovative solutions. We try to align the innovative part of the ETUs with the multi-stakeholder model of the Internet Governance Forum. So if we want to actually be able to get to that point of having this goal in these different SDGs to be reached by the time that we want it to be reached, we have to have this forced collaboration between different stakeholders. So when we have more voices, actually it’s easier to get more innovative ways to address complex issues and challenges as are these goals. And the last one is mitigate risk, governance models as this one that we are proposing the multi-stakeholder should proactively identify and mitigate potential risk and unintended consequence on internet-enabled innovations, social service security, threats, privacy evaluation, spread the misinformation, and another stuff that we actually discussed in general in forums like this one that we’re having right now, the Internet Governance Forum, the different problems that we are discussing as we are a multi-stakeholder with different approaches from different perspectives is actually one of the things that help us to mitigate risk and actually create a pathway for innovation that actually benefits all. That would be my answer to this first question. Thank you.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you so much, Umut. Thank you especially for emphasizing on inclusivity and how we can mitigate risk. It’s very important that stakeholders are transparent and accountable in decisions they take. Very insightful comments actually. So I’m going to go to Jasmine. So Jasmine, from a technical community perspective, what infrastructure or regulatory frameworks, regulatory gaps actually in the alignment of the ITU’s innovation agenda and the sustainable development goals?

Jasmine Ko: Thank you very much for the questions. So actually ITU’s innovation agenda have been putting effort, they have their own digital innovation ecosystem portfolios which they empower their members to. unlock their digital potential but you also have to notice that ITU is more like a multilateral structure itself. So the gap that there is from technical community member that our community that see is there is not the level of stakeholder engagement it’s a little bit it’s a little bit behind or there’s a gap between the reality and and our expectation. The way we’re saying that it’s because we find that it’s there are some in the ethical involvement of key stakeholder including us the technical community and also the civic society in some process when it comes to design of implementation of the ITU innovation initiative. So in a way this could lead to the solution that may not fully adjust the diverse needs and priorities that are aligned in the SDGs and in a wider beyond ITU if you notice if someone some of you follow the GDC the global digital compact and also the wishes plus 20 process there was in you know like during the long period of time when that the you know the GDC keep keep there is a different version keep changing and then like discussing consultation a lot of thing happening and there was a moment that technical community it’s not being well recognized so there’s actually at some point there is a disappearance of technical community in a paper in something so actually you could refer to blog that is published by a statement by APNIC and also ICANN to address the issue and the gap. And therefore, seeing the potential risk and gaps in here, in terms of stakeholder engagement lacking enough participation from technical community, there has been a TCCM form, which is Technical Community Coalition for Multistakeholder. And there was a launch yesterday in the IGF village, and as part of the coalition, we talk about what we have observed as potential risks. And therefore, what kind of process have we been involved in the business fraternity and also GDC input when there’s a consultation open, in a way that we want to be a collective voice of our members of technical community who were not able or lack the bandwidth to reflect on how this kind of global agenda and process is affecting them. So feel free to go into the TCCM website to learn more why the establishment of these coalitions is a different thing. And second, it’s about the interoperability challenges, because between different technologies and systems, there are some issues that have been created. In a way that it is difficult to integrate the innovation solution, and it might hinder some seamless exchange of data and information critical to achieve the SDG targets. There was also a session earlier about AI interoperability. you see the perspective from both China and UK, how, you know, like, the other, like, how the diverse perspective have been present from academia and also from government, civil society view on about the potential infrastructure or regulation gaps between the ITU and SDG agenda. So it’s something that I I’m trying to explore and also example that I try to give that I think is relevant when we talk about the gaps.

Athanase Bahazire: Jasmine, very important, you just mentioned the low participation or low involvement of different stakeholders in processes that are chaired by multilateral organizations such as the ITU and you also highlighted the GDC in the different reviews we have seen consultation but at some point it was closed. So it’s very important and very crucial actually to engage stakeholders. And one of the other things that was very interesting, you see there is a way the technical community can come together, collaborate and actually advance the agenda. Very, very important. So I wanted to follow up on this. As you’re talking about stakeholders engagement in various agendas and various development projects, I was wondering what is the place of the youth? How can young leaders actually and youth stakeholders be considered to contribute to achieving this SDG agenda since actually it’s for the youth because they are representing the future, they present the future leaders, they are representing the one actually to benefit. meaning, to benefit mainly from this perspective, so how can we include them and consider them in these processes? Back to you, Jasmine.

Jasmine Ko: Okay, actually before jumping into this question directly to youth, let me just elaborate a little bit on the role of technical community, because not just because I’m from there, but I just want to share, you know, my and also the other stakeholder perspective on technical community. What have technical community contribute to the agenda and also in a way that we could help youth as well? So it’s part of the ITU agenda on innovation, it’s about innovation for development. So in a way that we have initiated a research and efficacy project on something called the eco-internet index, EII. So we emphasize on do more and waste less. So that means we do more when there’s off-peak traffic, so that we could, you know, like we have to acknowledge that there is a carbon footprint for whatever internet activity and the devices that we’re using here, and also how, you know, the way we behave actually have a consequence and impacts in different way. Just to at least start with the awareness and you could always have a thought and reflection and also to adjust your own behavior. And we emphasize about the replacement of carbon-heavy trade by digital economy and also on energy that could empower the network, because we are the registry, right? So we are part of the internet infrastructure ecosystem, therefore we think that sustainability and meaningful connection is critical in a way that also digital inclusion should come hand in hand, especially when connecting those off-grid who doesn’t have connectivity. And second thing about the role and it’s also relevant to youth, because it’s about capacity building and knowledge sharing. Technical committee come together to facilitate capacity building programs to empower individuals and organization with the skills that need to leverage technology for a sustainable development. Example, APIGA, the Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy. So it’s led by ICANN, which we have been part of the academy, running the program, being a mentor and being the trainer for several years. And also netmission.asia, it’s a very first youth network, I would say, from the internet governance space, focusing on the region of Asia Pacific. So it’s our own initiative. I’m actually an alumni of mission.asia as well. So this is how I actually get into learning what’s happening in the internet governance network, because it was not a major agenda of any, I think, any university course agenda. So there’s actually a gap that haven’t been plugged into university teaching curriculum. And this is how I got into learning this. And moving on now to youth, what youth can do, right? So youth, and actually not just youth, actually to all of you, it is more about when we think about how we could contribute effectively, right? Effectiveness is actually equal to being productive, being smart, and smart in a way that what is your goal in smart, like with the smart principle? Like how is it specific, personalized, achievable in your own capacity, in your own interest of area? It has to be very, for me, I feel like it has to be very tailor-made for yourself, starting from knowing yourself well. I talk about the… your interest area, your capacity, your network. Think about you have many resources, actually. You just have to map your resources out, identify the area of influence of your own, and set priority. In my case, I’ll leave it out with my case, I love nature, I’m curious to learn more about innovations and the internet world. Therefore, I care about, if I become to SDG, it’s 13, nine, 17, you know, about the industry innovation and about climate action. So how do these two things intersect together? It’s coming to my research and efficacy on eco-internets. And in my daily life, I also recycle my own e-waste and other waste as a person. So I’m trying to bring it down to a very personal level so that you would not just think about, oh, it’s a very off-ground, you know, high-level goals, but actually when you put it, trying to put it down to the ground, you have things to do as a youth and post-youth, you know.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you so much, Jasmine, for mentioning this. You just mentioned something very important for us to include the left-behind stakeholders such as the youth, it’s capacity building and knowledge sharing. And some of these technologies, you find out that they are developed in spaces that are too technical and the decision makers don’t have enough technical understanding to actually take the good decision for the future of these technologies. So it’s very important that we should build capacity of different stakeholders. Before I move back to you, my panelists, I’m going to give the floor to the audience. If at this point you have any question or comments to give on this perspective. Any question, the audience, or just a comment?

Peter Jozsa: I’m Peter Jozsa, founder of the Digital Child Rights Foundation. It’s about innovation and the agenda of the SDGs. I’m an NGO and I was wondering how could an NGO, all the NGOs in the world, stimulate the innovation, especially the involvement of youth?

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you. I have a comment on this one, but I’m going to start by you, Umut. Umut, do you have a comment on this? How can NGOs, you that you are involved, I mean, you are working in the civil space with NGOs and civil organizations. Any comment on this?

Umut Pajaro Velasquez: Well, actually, I had to explain my case because my case is like in the case in Latin America, we actually focus on including youth in order to be innovative, especially in investing more in creating capacity building, digital skills, training for the youth in general, because most of the NGOs here in Latin America actually believe that not only it’s important to bring access to the technologies to the young people in different places, especially in some marginal areas, but also it’s really important to give them the proper training to use those technologies in order to change their lives and have a really good impact on not only with them, but also with the community and try to innovate in a way that is not only innovate and create solutions for the communities. So for us, it’s important in Latin America, especially the NGOs, to create capacity, promote, to create capacity in digital skills. So we had a really investment on that. Also, we promote a lot of digital literacy, and we try to get along the private sector in order to incentivize employers to have people, to have young people involved in their, in their, in some part in the, in the, in the digital training skill or some part of the workforce. So it’s pretty much that we do here in Latin America because that’s the specific case of my region, that the region that I don’t know, and I really work more for NGOs from this region. So yeah, that’s what I can say.

Athanase Bahazire: Umut. Yes.

Jasmine Ko: Thank you, Peter, for your questions. It’s, so when it comes to NGO perspective, so actually you’re not in the right place because now we have many stakeholders. You might find your, you know, colleagues who’s from also at NGO, maybe from your region or not from your region, but it’s, I think it’s a good platform here. You could start to see if any common agenda or prioritized area that you could potentially collaborate on. Second thing could be, this is a global one, right? So I’m not sure where you’re based in, but perhaps there’s a regional or national IGF you could join because usually in national and regional level, it’s more, I would say, more region specific. And it’s a different kind of engaged, it may be a different kind of engagement level that you can have there. And, in our case, in Asia-Pacific Regional IGF, as part of the secretariat team, we open up a chance for, you know, for everyone, including the NGOs, that they could submit their session proposal so that it’s a very community-driven agenda of the regional IGF that you could have your own session proposal in the IGF and then have a potential collaboration with it. So, as I echo to what Umut said, it also could be collaboration with other stakeholder groups, so I encourage you to continue your work and thank you very much for engaging with us.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you. Okay, before I give you back the floor, I was having just one comment from an African perspective. What has happened in Africa is that the NGO and civil society organizations tend not to work directly with the government, not to engage directly, and as you can imagine, the ITU, the UN, and all these multilateral processes, it’s our governments that actually represent our voices or have the last word to say. So, what can be the approach here, I’ve seen it in some countries, is that we don’t always have to be, even if we have different point of view or different ways of seeing things from the NGO and the government, but it’s important to advance our local agenda, to work together and engage, actually, the government. From the human perspective, the NGO, since they are on ground, they are working closer to the community. They used to have expertise that the government doesn’t have, but then because sometimes ideas are not matching. the engagement is not sufficient. So I believe what I can encourage to the NGOs actually is to work with the government. Yeah, you can have diverging perspective today, but tomorrow for a great common, work together and advance this agenda so that whenever they go to this ITU and other multilateral processes, they can carry your perspective. In some point I’ve seen in my country, at some point they’ve got the government representation at the UN, but it’s no, the government delegation is not only full of government or ministry expert, but in the delegation they have a stakeholder from the technical community, one from the civil society, and there it should be insightful and very interesting.

Peter Jozsa: Yeah, thank you for your answers. I live in the Netherlands, in Europe, and we are a member of the ITU Parter to Connect Digital Coalition, and also a member of the advisory group, Civic Society and Academia of the D4D Hub in Europe, the Global Gateway, and yes, it’s about digital skills, but what I mean is that here we are talking, and in the end, a country must accelerate and there is a gap, I believe, between the NGOs and also the private sector who wants to help concrete, and there is a gap, I believe, so how can we close the gap? Yeah, so it’s not only the country, but children, young people in the school wanted to be supported, and we want to help, but it must be done by the local community, but how do we connect to each other? It’s not only… in the way by having talks with the government. We need NGOs also on the ground and I think that’s going too slow.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you so much. Very good comment. Actually, definitely we need NGOs on the ground. And maybe recalling from what Jasmin was saying, everybody should play his role in ensuring, okay, I’m on the good track. I’m contributing to fastening this processing. That’s going very slow. So I believe, yeah, from your personal perspective or your organization’s perspective, yeah, please try to push exactly and work on your personal capacity to advance this agenda. But very good comments. Thank you so much. We have a question. Okay, one comment from Jasmin.

Jasmine Ko: Yeah, just one sentence from me. Of course, there are gaps and as for your case, it must be specific enough that maybe other country and other region could not give you the exact example because you are the right person to know about your community. So when you ask about how, so I challenge you back, how would you try to understand the problems and the gaps? And if there is no platform or scenario that NGOs and other potential partner can come together, maybe consider create one. Scenario, occasion that people could brainstorm and, you know, get their buy-in to try to collect and really draw the symmetry. So that’s last one from me. But I also see the lady in the back have maybe comment on question, please.

Nermin Selim: Hello, everyone. I appreciate all speakers. I just have two comments. The first one is an advice for your great work to connect the intellectual property rights. to innovation, because any innovator, he needs to protect his rights. Because I’m an expert of intellectual property, I set this advice for all innovators. By the way, I didn’t, you didn’t know me, I’m Dr. Nermen Salem. I’m Secretary General of Creators Union of Arab. It’s an NGO. It’s a member in United Nations Economic and Social Council. And we are working in the NGO since 23 years. And I agree with my colleague about not supporting the NGO. I have attended a lot of conferences in all the community all over the world. Even it’s governmental or non-governmental organization. They support and encourage NGO to be collaborate in their works. But actual, in the real ground, it’s not effective. But since we have a member in United Nations, it gave us an opportunity to share with all collections in the United Nations. And we are encourage all entities if they want to contact with us and make a cooperation about anything we are concerning on innovation and intellectual property and training and so on. Thank you very much.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you so much for the comment. And definitely, what is good about the discussion is that collaboration can unfold during these discussions. Thank you so much. We have also a question online. If you can unmute yourself for the question online, then after we have Umut speaking. The question online.

Matilda Mashauri: Yes, hello, can you hear me?

Athanase Bahazire: Yes, we can. Please.

Matilda Mashauri: Okay. Good morning. My name is Mathilde Mujes Mashawiri. I am an African Youth Ambassador in Internet Governance and a proud advocate in inclusion in shaping for the digital future of Africa. Well, I have two questions. One is how can we, how can a youth-led initiative and the young innovators be meaningfully included in the multi-stakeholder processes that are discussed in this workshop in order to ensure that the Internet-based and technology are effectively contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals, and also particularly in addressing peace, economic empowerment, and the environmental sustainability? And also, how can we as the youth leaders play a pivotal role in driving the innovative solutions for a better and more inclusive future? You know, because we are trying so much as the youth also to also engage, but then we do not know some of the ways. That is what I’m trying to know, like how we are the youth leaders, because we do play a pivotal role in driving the innovation, but we need for the inclusive future. But then how can we do that? And how can we also lead to the development goals and particularly in addressing the peace and economic empowerment for the environmental sustainability? Thank you very much.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you for the question. Any other questions online so we take both together? Okay, if there is no question, I see there is. Okay, there is no question for this at this time. So Umut, can you comment on this question?

Umut Pajaro Velasquez: Um, well, actually, that is a question that I’m thinking really a lot this year, especially with the GDC processes and how we actually can do in can be included. in all this process, because we actually, with that process, I start to realize how we can actually be influential somehow and can actually be, how is outreach in all this, in all this conversation, in all these processes, and how actually we can collaborate to this and what is our role in all of this. And one of the things that I conclude at the end of all of that, it was that actually at the beginning, we’re going to feel that we are lost, that pretty much as seen is the question or that’s where your question is coming, is that we are at the beginning, we are feeling lost about what we should do, but actually the fear of actually not knowing at the beginning what we’re going to do is actually the drive for the answer that we want to, and the answer that we want to, in the way that we actually, after that, we start to identify all the gaps that in these different processes that we’re having, and how is, how we as young people, actually can provide the solution to those gaps. So when we find that thing, we actually start to know exactly what is our place in all of this, and how actually we’re going to be innovated in all these processes, because if we don’t actually start to identify exactly what is the inconsistency, for example, or the thing that we don’t like, or the sadly, the special aspect that is particularly to a region or particular to all different populations or is related to a specific SGD, we actually we don’t going to make innovative ideas or solution for the different processes. So that’s the way that, as I said, so I don’t know if on the floor is one to compliment on something.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you, Umut. I think, yeah, the youth is very, it’s a very crucial stakeholder. And thank you so much, actually, for responding and giving this perspective. We are going to proceed. I have a couple of questions for you two before we conclude. So we have seen a lot of discussion in the Summit of the Future last September in New York about the place of the youth in this process. And at this particular time, it was special because the Declaration for the Future, they included a specific annex just for the youth. But then we were saying it’s all about discussions and provisions. So I’m wondering, what are the policies and investment strategies that are essential, actually, to address the skills gap and build necessary human capacity to create, deploy and manage Internet technologies for a sustainable digital, sustainable development goal, especially when it comes to the youth as the future of the world, the youth as the future leaders? So what are the strategies and investment, what are the policy and investment strategies we need to put in place? for this to be effective, not only just papers or a decision, but on the ground, we want to see the change and how this can help. So I’m going to start by Oud, then Jasmine.

Umut Pajaro Velasquez: Well, the question is related to exactly policies and how to address the issue in the path of the future and everything else. Well, when I read the part of the future, I had to say that one of the things that got to my attention is that it’s actually mentioned as a part of the future solutions, and we are actually doing more than that. One of the things that I consider that should be addressed and in that aspect, in general, is a couple of things that were already mentioned here, like not only promote digital skills, promote the being accountable or clarify data ownership, promote digital literacy, incentivize the participation of not only the governments in alliance with the private sector and NGOs, and also another thing that should be addressed in all these cases is include the jury in the decision-making processes and having promote communities or internet hosts, for example, that can provide access to different technology and digital skills for training you in diversity on this idea. So yeah, there is a lot of ways that we can be included in this.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you so much, Umut. So I’m going to give back to Jasmine. What are the investment and policy strategies we need to put in place to achieve this innovation technology for the Sustainable Development Goals?

Jasmine Ko: Okay, before I go directly to the answer, I just want to clarify when you talk about investment and policy, is there a certain target group you’re talking about who will action and implement on this, or by you, or by government, or by who?

Athanase Bahazire: Basically very, actually that’s what I was expecting from you, who is there to invest and to put investment in place so that we can achieve actually the innovation we want to see in order to align the technologies with the SDGs. So the youth are the future, the present, the future, and they’ll be the beneficiaries actually of this investment and these policies that are harmonized, but then who to invest and at which level they should invest and in which way?

Jasmine Ko: Well, then it is actually a very high level question. Actually, well, it’s not an easy question to answer, because when it comes to, if you highlight that youth is the beneficiary, they cannot just be beneficiary themselves. They have to be the one who also put effort, right? Because I believe in that mission, it’s always about nothing for youth is not by youth. I mean, everything for youth has to be by youth, have to be with youth. So that means that when it comes to strategy setting and also agenda setting, the way that you can put into actually a lot of effort because the thing is, you’ve definitely, if you need to compare the life experience and also network, it’s not as much as people who have been working in the field for many decades, many years, so like myself. So the things that we need to put a lot of effort is to really understand what is our prioritize area and agenda and to be smart enough to know what kind of, in the stakeholder map that we have, what kind of collaboration and people and scope that we want to focus on because we have limited time, we have limited resources, but then what can we do in a reasonable scope and then achievable outcome in a certain timeframe? It’s always a problem about goal setting and this is why it is called strategic because it involve prioritization, it involve a collective process of youth, perhaps, and perhaps we could also have other, like it’s good to have other stakeholder groups together. What I like to do, the design thinking and also systems thinking approach that we map out within the ecosystem, we map out each problem like a spider map and then we map out the flow, how does it, what is the impact and what is the reason and then we make the arrow and then we see what is the relationship between different issues and then we try to be, we try to use different tools to understand how we could move on.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you so much, Jasmine. Very important dimension, it’s prioritization in strategy development is very important. I have a comment on this, but I’m going to first give the floor to the audience. Do you have, anyone has an idea on what are the… strategies, policy and investment strategies we need to put in place in order to achieve actually innovation and technology for the sustainable development goals. Any comments in the room? Okay, great. I see, when it comes to investment, when it comes to all these actions, many people tend to get back. We have seen the same thing in the Global Digital Compact recently. When it comes to investing or putting resources into place, you see the different stakeholders are pushing for voluntary actions, voluntary investment and yeah, how will it be sustainable when it’s voluntary? That’s a big question for all of us. But yes, there are solutions we have seen. The ITU has initiated a certain initiative they call Partner to Connect. A very important coalition whereby different stakeholders pledge a certain amount of money or a certain resource to actually contribute to the efforts to partner together to connect the unconnected, to connect the next billion. And this is some of the effective solutions to this. In the Partner to Connect coalition, last year, they got up to 30 billion dollars of pledge from different stakeholders, some from the private sector, some from the government, some from some non-governmental organization. And these inputs are actually, we are seeing the income. The ITU and UNESCO have initiated an initiative they call the Giga Project. that aim to connect every single school on the internet. Some of you from the global north may not understand why is it important to connect every single school, but in some part of the world like where we are from, some schools don’t have access to internet. So you imagine in today’s world, how can you learn without the internet? You don’t have access to all these resources that are available on the internet. So such kind of investment and partnership strategies are very important. And we have seen on the ground very big impact on the schools that are connected to the internet because people are actually able to leverage the different resources, do their SQL jobs when they finish, do their projects, document also their work they are doing so that the wider world can view it. So this is very important and I think we should encourage initiatives like this. I’m going to give the floor to my panelists for the parting remarks because we have less than 10 minutes now. Any from online, any from internet? Okay, we have a comment here then we get back to you.

Nermin Selim: I’m just want to emphasize on before any implementing of any innovation solution or anything, you should make awareness, a very good awareness about any project to be successful. And my advice, my personal advice from Corona COVID-19 when I teach for the students in the level on university, They opened the online and they didn’t hear me. So we should make a very good awareness for any initiative before we can implement it to get the success of this initiative.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you. It’s very important actually to get to test the technologies. So I was saying it’s very important actually to document and to test the technologies before we can implement them. And some of these tests are done by pilot projects that tend to start from a certain level, certain country to get input and now implement the project wider. But it’s very important. The COVID actually surprised us and we have seen many challenges, but also a very fast innovation environment, many technologies developed very fast during COVID as also challenges were there. So I think we should always seek balance. I wanted to ask if there is a comment or question online. If you have a question online or comment, please have the floor. We just have two minutes for this, so you can be fast. Ah, okay, I’m back.

Matilda Mashauri: Okay, one last question. So they have talked about the internet-based technologies. So given the critical role of these internet-based technologies in achieving the SDU. Now, what specific mechanism can be put in place to ensure the equitable access and capacity building for the youth, and particularly in the underserved regions, so they can actively participate in and benefit from the digital innovation for the sustainable development? Since I’m engaged to working with the youth in this marginalized community in the rural areas, so I have seen their challenges, I have seen their, I also faced the same challenges when I went there. You know, we got to give this capacity building. So what can we, what mechanism exactly that we can put into place for the equitable access for this capacity building, especially for the youth, particularly in underserved regions, and especially in brackets, females, so they can actively participate in and benefit from these digital innovations, you know, for the sustainable development for now, for the coming future, things like that. So thank you very much.

Athanase Bahazire: Yeah, thank you, Mathilde. Good question. How can actually the strategies being put in place to include the women and marginalized communities or rural area to benefit from the, or to leverage from all the benefits the digital technology gives us? I’m going to give the floor to Umut and Jasmine to comment on this. Umut, you have the floor.

Umut Pajaro Velasquez: Well, actually this question has to do a lot with my final remarks. So part of the solution that is actually believed in this, the multifaceted approach that involves effective multistakeholder governance and creative digital skills and responsible policies and expand the internet access. So these spaces, for example, like the IGF or the E2, actually are crucial to foster this kind of alignment and ensuring that internet contribute to more equitable future for everyone. because we’re not only having conversation here for different people, between different stakeholders. We also are people that are working on the ground, most of us, from different aspects. Some are in technical communities, some are in rural areas. So others are, for example, myself, I work with gender diverse people and black people in my country. So yeah, so we are working with the community and we’re trying to find solutions, not only bringing our expertise into these spaces, but also articulating our experience with this. So it’s not only believe that the multi-stakeholder process, that the multi-stakeholder is just conversation, but also is actions and solutions. Yeah.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you. Yeah, Jasmine, any comment or your parting remark?

Jasmine Ko: Actually, not much. I just want to be brief, because it’s writing on Umu’s input about the multi-stakeholder models slash mechanism. And one way with that, we’ve been actually a good example that already been doing and can be strengthened. It’s the youth IGF that there’s national and also regional one that we’ve been into running for. So actually the thing is how we could ensure, like improve the equitable access of youth is to, I think it’s about the outreach, about to understand what could be the people and marginalized communities that haven’t been part of this yet and really put effort on, such as in Asia Pacific, we try to put more effort to link up with the Pacific islands. So this is a very concrete example. So think about in your region and place, who are the marginalized communities and then try to get them on board. That’s it. Thank you very much.

Athanase Bahazire: Thank you so much. Very wonderful discussion. And as we are concluding this session, I wanted to thank my panelists for the very insightful comment and also the audience for their great participation. And what I can say is, last comment, it’s very important if you want to align the multilateral initiatives that is the ITU’s digital development program with the spirit of the multistakeholder forums or multistakeholder initiatives at the IGF, it’s important to build capacity and involve different parties. I believe the multistakeholder engagement forums and discussion must actually document the decisions that will be taken in multilateral spaces. So with that I say thank you so much and have a wonderful, yeah, have a wonderful rest of the evening, of the day. So we are going to have a group photo. Sorry technicians, can you please put Umut on the screen, maybe we have a, yeah, you ping also Matilda if she’s there.

Agreement Points

Importance of inclusive multistakeholder governance

Umut Pajaro Velasquez

Jasmine Ko

Promote inclusivity of all stakeholders

Increase engagement of technical community and civil society

Both speakers emphasize the need for inclusive participation of all stakeholders, including the technical community and civil society, in internet governance processes.

Focus on youth engagement and capacity building

Umut Pajaro Velasquez

Jasmine Ko

Athanase Bahizire

Provide digital skills training and capacity building

Create youth-focused initiatives like regional IGFs

Invest in connecting schools through initiatives like the Giga Project

The speakers agree on the importance of engaging youth through capacity building, digital skills training, and initiatives that connect them to internet governance discussions and resources.

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers emphasize the importance of collaboration and partnerships between different stakeholders, including governments, to advance digital development agendas.

Jasmine Ko

Athanase Bahizire

Collaborate with government and other stakeholders

Promote voluntary pledges and partnerships like ITU’s Partner to Connect

Unexpected Consensus

Importance of awareness before implementing new technologies

Nermin Selim

Jasmine Ko

Promote awareness before implementing new technologies

Use design thinking to map ecosystem challenges and solutions

While coming from different perspectives, both speakers unexpectedly agree on the importance of understanding and mapping out challenges before implementing solutions, emphasizing awareness and thoughtful planning.

Overall Assessment

Summary

The main areas of agreement include the importance of inclusive multistakeholder governance, focus on youth engagement and capacity building, collaboration between different stakeholders, and the need for thoughtful planning and awareness in implementing technological solutions.

Consensus level

There is a moderate level of consensus among the speakers on key issues related to internet governance and sustainable development. This consensus suggests a shared understanding of the challenges and potential solutions in aligning internet-based technologies with sustainable development goals. However, there are still areas where more specific strategies and implementation details need to be developed.

Different Viewpoints

Approach to youth inclusion

Umut Pajaro Velasquez

Jasmine Ko

Provide digital skills training and capacity building

Create youth-focused initiatives like regional IGFs

While both speakers emphasize youth inclusion, Umut focuses on digital skills training and capacity building, while Jasmine emphasizes creating youth-focused initiatives like regional IGFs.

Unexpected Differences

Overall Assessment

summary

The main areas of disagreement were minor and primarily focused on different approaches to achieving similar goals, such as youth inclusion and stakeholder collaboration.

difference_level

The level of disagreement among the speakers was relatively low. Most speakers presented complementary rather than conflicting viewpoints, which suggests a general consensus on the importance of multistakeholder approaches, youth inclusion, and capacity building in aligning internet-based technologies with sustainable development goals.

Partial Agreements

Both speakers agree on the importance of collaboration, but Jasmine focuses on NGOs working with governments, while Athanase emphasizes voluntary pledges and partnerships at a larger scale.

Jasmine Ko

Athanase Bahizire

Collaborate with government and other stakeholders

Promote voluntary pledges and partnerships like ITU’s Partner to Connect

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers emphasize the importance of collaboration and partnerships between different stakeholders, including governments, to advance digital development agendas.

Jasmine Ko

Athanase Bahizire

Collaborate with government and other stakeholders

Promote voluntary pledges and partnerships like ITU’s Partner to Connect

Key Takeaways

Effective multistakeholder governance is crucial for aligning internet technologies with sustainable development goals

Youth inclusion and capacity building are essential for driving innovation and achieving the SDGs

NGOs play an important role in advancing the SDGs and innovation agenda, but face challenges in engagement

Investment strategies and partnerships are needed to address the digital divide and promote equitable access to technology

Resolutions and Action Items

Promote inclusivity, transparency, and collaboration in multistakeholder governance models

Increase engagement of technical community and civil society in ITU and other multilateral processes

Provide digital skills training and capacity building for youth, especially in underserved regions

Create and strengthen youth-focused initiatives like regional IGFs

Develop partnerships and investment strategies to connect schools and expand internet access

Unresolved Issues

How to effectively bridge the gap between NGOs and government/private sector stakeholders

Specific mechanisms to ensure equitable access and capacity building for youth in underserved regions

How to balance voluntary vs. mandatory investment strategies for sustainable development initiatives

Ways to address interoperability challenges between different technologies and systems

Suggested Compromises

NGOs working more closely with governments to advance local agendas, despite potential differences in perspective

Using a multifaceted approach that combines multistakeholder governance, skills development, responsible policies, and expanded internet access

Balancing rapid innovation with proper testing and awareness-building before implementing new technologies

Effective multi-stakeholder governance models, in this case, are essential to ensure that internet-enabled innovation aligns with these sustainable development goals, principles. This model, in this case, in order to comply with having a design that actually can protect and can be responsible, has to, first of all, promote inclusivity.

speaker

Umut Pajaro Velasquez

reason

This comment introduces the crucial concept of multi-stakeholder governance models and emphasizes inclusivity as a key principle. It sets the tone for discussing how to align internet innovation with sustainable development goals.

impact

This comment shaped the subsequent discussion by establishing inclusivity and multi-stakeholder collaboration as central themes. It led to further exploration of how different stakeholders, including youth and NGOs, can be involved in internet governance and innovation processes.

So in a way this could lead to the solution that may not fully adjust the diverse needs and priorities that are aligned in the SDGs and in a wider beyond ITU if you notice if someone some of you follow the GDC the global digital compact and also the wishes plus 20 process there was in you know like during the long period of time when that the you know the GDC keep keep there is a different version keep changing and then like discussing consultation a lot of thing happening and there was a moment that technical community it’s not being well recognized so there’s actually at some point there is a disappearance of technical community in a paper in something

speaker

Jasmine Ko

reason

This comment highlights a critical gap in stakeholder engagement, particularly the lack of recognition for the technical community in important global processes. It brings attention to the challenges of inclusive representation in international digital policy discussions.

impact

This observation led to a deeper discussion about the importance of involving all stakeholders, including the technical community, in shaping digital policies. It prompted consideration of how to ensure diverse perspectives are included in global digital governance processes.

Of course, there are gaps and as for your case, it must be specific enough that maybe other country and other region could not give you the exact example because you are the right person to know about your community. So when you ask about how, so I challenge you back, how would you try to understand the problems and the gaps? And if there is no platform or scenario that NGOs and other potential partner can come together, maybe consider create one.

speaker

Jasmine Ko

reason

This comment shifts the perspective from seeking external solutions to empowering local actors to create their own platforms for collaboration. It emphasizes the importance of local knowledge and initiative in addressing community-specific challenges.

impact

This comment changed the direction of the discussion from a top-down approach to problem-solving to a more bottom-up, community-driven approach. It encouraged participants to think about how they can take initiative in their own contexts to foster collaboration and address gaps.

Well, then it is actually a very high level question. Actually, well, it’s not an easy question to answer, because when it comes to, if you highlight that youth is the beneficiary, they cannot just be beneficiary themselves. They have to be the one who also put effort, right? Because I believe in that mission, it’s always about nothing for youth is not by youth. I mean, everything for youth has to be by youth, have to be with youth.

speaker

Jasmine Ko

reason

This comment challenges the notion of youth as passive beneficiaries and reframes their role as active participants in shaping their digital future. It introduces a powerful principle of youth engagement in digital development.

impact

This perspective shifted the conversation about youth involvement from one of providing benefits to one of active participation and co-creation. It led to a more nuanced discussion about how to meaningfully involve youth in digital innovation and policy-making processes.

Overall Assessment

These key comments shaped the discussion by consistently emphasizing the importance of inclusive, multi-stakeholder approaches to internet governance and digital innovation. They challenged participants to think beyond traditional top-down models and consider how to actively involve diverse stakeholders, particularly youth and underrepresented communities, in shaping digital policies and innovations. The discussion evolved from identifying gaps in current processes to exploring concrete ways to foster collaboration, empower local initiatives, and ensure that digital development efforts are truly inclusive and responsive to diverse needs. Throughout the conversation, there was a clear shift towards recognizing the agency and potential contributions of all stakeholders, especially those who have been historically marginalized in these discussions.

How can NGOs stimulate innovation and involve youth?

speaker

Peter Joziasse

explanation

This question highlights the need to explore concrete ways for NGOs to contribute to innovation and youth engagement in the context of sustainable development goals.

How can we close the gap between NGOs, the private sector, and local communities to support children and young people?

speaker

Peter Joziasse

explanation

This follow-up question emphasizes the need to investigate strategies for better collaboration between different stakeholders to support youth on the ground.

How can youth-led initiatives and young innovators be meaningfully included in multi-stakeholder processes?

speaker

Matilda Mashauri

explanation

This question highlights the need to explore specific mechanisms for including youth voices in discussions and decision-making related to internet governance and sustainable development.

How can youth leaders play a pivotal role in driving innovative solutions for a better and more inclusive future?

speaker

Matilda Mashauri

explanation

This follow-up question suggests the need to investigate concrete ways for youth to contribute to and lead innovation efforts.

What specific mechanisms can be put in place to ensure equitable access and capacity building for youth, particularly in underserved regions?

speaker

Matilda Mashauri

explanation

This question highlights the need to research strategies for improving digital access and skills development for marginalized youth, especially in rural areas.