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Taylor De Rosa

Taylor DeRosa, a master’s student in the School of Science and Technology Policy at KAIST, focuses on researching the digital divide, particularly its impact on North Korean refugee migrants in South Korea. DeRosa considers factors like gender and age when studying how internet use affects their social relationships and access to resources. By conducting comprehensive studies, DeRosa aims to gain insights into the experiences of this vulnerable population and contribute to reducing inequalities.

The EQUALS Research Coalition, a global partnership promoting gender equality, actively addresses gender tech inequalities. Their primary objective is to generate knowledge about the existence, causes, and remedies for gender disparities in the technology sector. They support access, skills, and leadership development to bridge the gap and empower women in the field. The coalition comprises 34 active members from 19 institutions worldwide.

The Research Coalition publishes reports and holds annual meetings to share their findings and progress. These reports are vital resources for understanding gender tech inequalities and identifying areas for improvement. The initial report, titled the “Taking Stock Report,” highlighted a significant gap in sex-disaggregated ICT data in Africa, calling for action to address the gap and strive for more accurate and inclusive analyses.

The Research Coalition looks forward to their next report, showcasing their commitment to ongoing research and providing up-to-date information on gender tech inequalities. They play a crucial role in advocating for change and promoting gender equality in the technology sector.

Additionally, the coalition aims to reinvigorate itself and provide more benefits to its members. Through individual meetings with active partners, they strive to understand their members’ needs and enhance the coalition’s offerings. By prioritising their members’ interests and aspirations, the coalition seeks to strengthen its impact on addressing gender tech inequalities.

In conclusion, Taylor DeRosa’s research sheds light on the digital divide faced by North Korean refugee migrants in South Korea. The EQUALS Research Coalition’s valuable work generates knowledge and fosters access, skills, and leadership to combat global gender tech inequalities. Through publishing reports, annual meetings, and efforts to reinvigorate the coalition, they continue to make significant strides towards a more equitable and inclusive technological landscape.

Onica Makwakwa

Onica Makwakwa, the Executive Director of the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership, is dedicated to achieving meaningful connectivity for the majority of the world’s population. She recognizes the significance of ensuring access to digital resources and technology for all individuals, regardless of their socioeconomic background or geographical location. This commitment aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities), which emphasize the importance of providing equal opportunities for everyone.

One of Makwakwa’s key arguments focuses on the economic impact of excluding women from the digital economy. She firmly believes that by neglecting women’s participation in the digital sphere, we not only hinder their individual advancement but also deprive economies of their valuable contributions. To support her argument, Makwakwa’s team is conducting detailed research on the costs of exclusion, particularly on how it affects women financially within the context of the digital economy.

This research aims to shed light on the adverse consequences of digital exclusion, providing insights to policymakers and industry leaders on the tangible benefits of inclusivity. It will help them understand the financial aspects of exclusion, highlighting the potential loss of income and economic output resulting from the limited or non-existent participation of women in the digital economy.

Makwakwa’s proactive approach to achieving meaningful connectivity and her emphasis on gender equality within the digital domain are crucial in addressing existing disparities. By actively working towards closing the digital gender gap, she envisions a future where women have equal access to digital resources, opportunities, and information.

In summary, Onica Makwakwa, as the Executive Director of the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership, focuses on promoting meaningful connectivity and addressing the economic impact of excluding women from the digital economy. Through her research, she aims to highlight the financial implications of exclusion and advocate for gender equality in the digital space. Her efforts align with the Sustainable Development Goals, contributing to the reduction of global inequalities and the fostering of inclusive growth.

Preetam Maloor

The Equals Research Coalition plays a crucial role in collective action, particularly in promoting gender equality. One of its primary goals is to ensure that practitioners and policymakers have access to the necessary intelligence to make informed decisions. The coalition achieves this by identifying key knowledge and evidence gaps and conducting research on priority topics. By providing practitioners and policymakers with actionable information, the coalition plays a pivotal role in shaping policies and interventions that advance gender equality.

Another important aspect of the coalition’s work is its emphasis on strong, credible data and case studies. This is essential for problem understanding and strategy recognition. By reinforcing the work of publishing reports and collecting data, the coalition enables progress towards bridging the digital gender divide. The availability of accurate and comprehensive data helps stakeholders gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities in addressing gender disparities in the digital realm. It also provides a solid foundation for developing effective strategies that promote digital equity.

The Equals EU project is another noteworthy initiative within the coalition. Its focus is on promoting gender equality in social innovation. The project aims to create smart, sustainable, and inclusive social innovation systems in local communities and cities in Europe. Activities such as hackathons, innovation camps, and the development of gender equality tools are carried out to achieve this objective. By integrating gender equality principles into social innovation, the project contributes to a more balanced and inclusive society.

Overall, significant strides have been made towards gender digital equity, largely driven by the efforts of the Equals Research Coalition. Notable achievements include the publication of the ‘Taking Stock Report’ and the ‘sex disaggregated ICT data in Africa’ report. These reports provide valuable insights into the current state of gender equality in the digital realm and serve as important resources for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers. The general sentiment towards the coalition’s work is positive, indicating wide recognition and appreciation for their efforts.

In conclusion, the Equals Research Coalition plays a vital role in collective action to advance gender equality. Through their research, provision of actionable information, and emphasis on strong, credible data, the coalition contributes to problem understanding, strategy recognition, and bridging the digital gender divide. The Equals EU project further promotes gender equality in social innovation through various activities. With remarkable achievements and a positive sentiment surrounding their work, the coalition is making significant progress towards gender digital equity and paving the way for a more inclusive and equitable digital future.

Kenneth Dimalibot

Kenneth and Onika are colleagues at the Global Data and Information Platform (GDIP), a company that specialises in data collection, analysis, and information dissemination. They both play essential roles within the team, leveraging their unique skillsets and expertise to contribute to GDIP’s success.

Kenneth is renowned for his exceptional data collection skills. With a keen eye for detail, he ensures accuracy and reliability in all the data he collects. His dedication to quality data collection has greatly benefitted GDIP in obtaining precise insights for various projects.

On the other hand, Onika is an expert in data analysis. She excels at identifying patterns and trends within the data, enabling GDIP to gain valuable insights into market trends, consumer behaviours, and competitor analysis. Onika’s analytical abilities play a pivotal role in shaping the company’s strategic decisions and fostering innovation.

Together, Kenneth and Onika form a formidable partnership, capitalising on their strengths in data collection and analysis respectively. Their collaboration allows GDIP to deliver comprehensive and insightful reports to their clients, empowering them to make informed business decisions.

Moreover, Kenneth and Onika’s dedication to their work and commitment to excellence have earned them recognition within the company. Their teamwork, professionalism, and strong work ethic contribute to GDIP’s overall success.

In conclusion, Kenneth and Onika are invaluable assets to GDIP. Their expertise in data collection and analysis, coupled with their unwavering commitment to excellence, enable GDIP to provide high-quality and reliable services to their clients. Their contributions have made them integral to GDIP’s success.

Ariana

Ariana is an aerospace engineer and technology policy specialist who is passionate about creating gender-inclusive innovation ecosystems. Her dedication to equal opportunities for all drives her support for initiatives promoting gender inclusivity in technology and innovation. Ariana actively participates in the project to develop gender-inclusive innovation ecosystems and has strong affiliations with the cause. She recognises the importance of such initiatives in bringing about positive changes in the field.

Moreover, Ariana is excited about the possibility of collaborating with the Equals New Research Coalition and the potential synchronies that will result from this partnership. She understands the significance of the coalition’s work in fostering partnerships for the global goals.

Currently, Ariana is based at Oslo Metropolitan University, where she brings her expertise and passion to her work. Originating from Jamaica, she offers a unique perspective and valuable experiences. Her international background, combined with her commitment to driving gender inclusivity, makes her a valuable asset in the fields of aerospace engineering and technology policy.

To summarise, Ariana is a brilliant aerospace engineer and technology policy specialist who actively strives to create gender-inclusive innovation ecosystems. Her support for initiatives promoting gender inclusivity, enthusiasm about collaborating with the Equals New Research Coalition, and acknowledgement of their crucial work showcase her commitment to driving positive changes in the field. With her expertise and diverse background, Ariana is making significant contributions towards gender equality and industry innovation.

Toshikazu Sakano

Toshikazu Sakano, an esteemed figure in ICT for disaster countermeasures, is currently involved in conducting feasibility studies in various countries. Sakano is based in Kyoto and works at the Advanced Research Institute for Telecommunications International. His main focus is on utilising information and communication technology (ICT) to formulate effective strategies for disaster management.

Sakano’s work in this field has gained recognition for its impartiality and objectivity. He approaches his research with a neutral sentiment, ensuring fairness and unbiased results. This makes his findings and recommendations reliable for governments and organisations seeking guidance in mitigating the impact of disasters.

In addition to his individual research projects, Sakano has shown a keen interest in global collaboration in disaster response. He recently attended a meeting to express his enthusiasm for partnerships in this field. This aligns with SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals, which underscores the importance of cooperation and coordination among various stakeholders for sustainable development.

Through active participation in such meetings, Sakano demonstrates his commitment to fostering partnerships and sharing knowledge with experts worldwide. The exchange of ideas, experiences, and best practices is expected to contribute to the development of more effective disaster response measures at an international level.

Overall, Toshikazu Sakano’s work in ICT for disaster countermeasures is characterised by his meticulous research approach and dedication to global collaboration. His efforts hold promise in advancing the field and enhancing disaster management practices globally.

Maria Garrido

During a recent discussion, Christopher’s comment sparked an idea about integrating with other clusters for research. Maria Garrido supports this suggestion and advocates for collaborative work with the other three coalitions, inviting them to contribute. This collaborative approach has the potential to not only increase overall output but also demonstrate cohesion and integration. By working together, researchers can combine their expertise and resources, resulting in more comprehensive and impactful research. This aligns with SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals, which emphasizes the importance of collaboration and cooperation for achieving sustainable development. By inviting the other coalitions to contribute, researchers can tap into their unique perspectives, knowledge, and resources, leading to a diverse and well-rounded approach to research and the development of innovative solutions. This collaboration also has the potential to increase the quantity and quality of research outcomes. Through this collaborative approach, researchers can make significant progress towards the goals of sustainable development while fostering a sense of unity and shared responsibility.

Christopher Yoo

Christopher Yu, a researcher from the University of Pennsylvania, is actively involved in empirical research aimed at understanding and measuring the effects of mobile internet connectivity on socioeconomic well-being, with a particular emphasis on gender. This research, funded by GSMA Women, focuses on the long-term impact of mobile technology on individuals in Bangladesh and Ghana.

Christopher is a strong advocate for the use of mobile technology to improve the socioeconomic well-being of women. Longitudinal studies conducted by him seek to uncover valuable insights into how mobile internet connectivity can positively affect the livelihoods and opportunities available to women in these regions, helping bridge the gender gap and empower women.

The formation of a coalition offers an opportunity for collaboration and progress. Christopher believes that the success and impact of this coalition depend on the active involvement and drive of its members. By collectively driving it forward, the coalition can achieve significant outcomes in gender equality and socio-economic development.

Christopher highlights the importance of developing measurement tools to assess accomplishments and effectiveness. Through a collaborative process, he encourages researchers and experts from various fields to contribute research findings and case studies related to gender issues. This inclusive approach fosters a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by women and informs the development of effective strategies and interventions.

In addition to research and case studies, Christopher emphasizes the need to explore alternative measures of access to mobile technology. He acknowledges that collecting survey data can be costly and time-consuming. Leveraging network-based data as a proxy to infer access levels and rates of progress can provide valuable insights at a lower cost, accelerating the understanding and action necessary to bridge the digital divide.

In conclusion, Christopher Yu’s involvement in empirical research funded by GSMA Women demonstrates his commitment to understanding and advancing the impact of mobile internet connectivity on socioeconomic well-being, particularly regarding women’s empowerment. He advocates for collaborative efforts to drive progress in this field, emphasizing the development of alternative measures of access using network-based data. Through his innovative thinking and pragmatic approach, Christopher aims to address challenges in research and data collection.

Audience

During the discussion on gender in ICTs, it was noted that there is ongoing work on the topic, with case studies and insights covering various related areas such as women-led startups, VC investment, and the ability to code. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has conducted case studies and research on gender in ICTs, providing valuable insights into the issues faced in this field. These insights also extend to areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), internet access, and the role of women in the technology industry.

The initiative to collect case studies and contribute to a better understanding of gender in ICT was supported by participants in the discussion. They acknowledged that case studies not only provide valuable data but also help shed light on the challenges faced by women in the ICT sector. The collection of such data can serve as a foundation for developing effective strategies and policies to promote gender equality in the industry. The importance of data collection and the need for continuous research in this area were emphasized.

The topic of the skills gap in the ICT field was raised by one audience member. The individual, who identified themselves as part of the skills group, advocated for the exploration of surveys from around the world to identify where the skills gap lies. This suggestion highlights the need for comprehensive data and analysis to understand the specific areas where skills are lacking and to develop targeted solutions to bridge these gaps.

Another participant in the discussion drew attention to the lack of women in leadership positions, particularly as CEOs, and the disregard of women as a potential target market in emerging technologies. This observation underscores the persistent gender inequality in the industry and the need for more inclusive practices. The speaker called for greater recognition of women’s leadership capabilities and for companies to consider female consumers’ needs and preferences when developing innovative technologies.

The importance of survey data with specific and concrete questions about different levels of skills was emphasized as a means of understanding and addressing the skills gap issue effectively. While progress has been made in narrowing the skills gap, participants noted that new gaps are emerging at higher levels of digital skills. This calls for continuous monitoring and analysis to ensure that efforts to close the skills gap are inclusive and address all levels of expertise.

The discussion also highlighted the gender and work-life balance issue in the ICT sector. It was acknowledged that there are challenges in achieving a balance between career and personal life for both men and women in the technology industry. This issue underlines the need for supportive policies and practices that accommodate the diverse needs of employees.

The importance of collaboration and support from organizations such as UNAPC ICT and the World Bank was mentioned. These organizations can play a vital role in providing resources, expertise, and guidance to address gender inequality and promote inclusive practices in the ICT sector.

Additionally, the discussion touched on training programmes for media and information literacy. One participant mentioned the POSSE director for the Centre for Media Literacy and Community Development organisation in Uganda, which provides training specifically for youth, women, and other community members. This example highlights the role of education and capacity-building programmes in empowering individuals and ensuring inclusive access to digital media and information.

Lastly, Ayanna’s research on digital innovation ecosystems and gender inequality was brought up, indicating an understanding that access, skills, and digital innovation are interconnected. This research suggests the need to consider the broader ecosystem in addressing gender inequalities in the ICT sector.

In conclusion, the discussion on gender in ICTs highlighted the ongoing work, case studies, and insights in various related areas. The importance of collecting case studies, addressing the skills gap, promoting women’s leadership, ensuring work-life balance, and collaborating with organizations to drive gender equality in the ICT sector was emphasized. Training programs and research focused on digital innovation ecosystems and gender inequality were also highlighted as important areas for further exploration and action.

Lee Bum Sun

Lee Bum Sun’s keen interest in the fields of AI and energy reflects his enthusiasm for the advancements and potential applications of artificial intelligence in the energy sector. This signifies his recognition of AI’s ability to enhance energy systems’ efficiency, sustainability, and accessibility.

In addition, Lee Bum Sun strongly believes in the importance of democratic values, particularly equal trade, for the successful integration of new technologies. This perspective emphasizes the significance of fairness and inclusivity in the adoption and diffusion of technological innovations. It highlights the value of providing equal opportunities for all actors, regardless of their size or wealth, to access and benefit from new technologies.

These areas of interest and perspectives align closely with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Lee Bum Sun’s interest in AI and energy relates to the goals of promoting affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) and fostering industry, innovation, and infrastructure (SDG 9). By harnessing AI in the energy sector, sustainable and cleaner energy sources can be developed and deployed, contributing to the goal of affordable and clean energy. The exploration of AI in industry and infrastructure can also drive innovation and lay the foundation for transformative technological advancements.

Similarly, Lee Bum Sun’s emphasis on democratic values and equal trade aligns with the goal of peace, justice, and strong institutions (SDG 16). Upholding these values ensures fairness, transparency, and inclusivity in the development and deployment of new technologies. This fosters stronger institutions and promotes social cohesion, which are crucial for achieving sustainable development.

While Lee Bum Sun’s stances on AI and energy, as well as democratic values and equal trade, are expressed positively, specific supporting facts or evidence are not provided. Therefore, further information and context are necessary to fully evaluate the validity and potential impact of these positions on sustainable development.

In summary, Lee Bum Sun’s interest in AI and energy, along with his belief in democratic values and equal trade, reflects a positive outlook on the potential of new technologies. These topics align with the SDGs and highlight the importance of fairness, inclusivity, and sustainability in the development and application of technological advancements. However, without supporting facts, a comprehensive assessment of these positions is limited, necessitating further investigation.

Barhanu Nugusi

Barhanu Nugusi, the Pan-African Youth Ambassador for Internet Governance, is actively working on internet-related issues in Ethiopia. He is a key member of the Ethiopian chapter of the Internet Society, dedicated to promoting positive change and advancements in this field.

In his role as the Pan-African Youth Ambassador for Internet Governance, Barhanu Nugusi is passionate about bridging the digital divide and ensuring equal access to the internet throughout Africa. His advocacy for internet rights gives African youth a platform to voice their concerns and contribute to policy-making in internet governance.

In Ethiopia, Barhanu Nugusi specifically focuses on addressing challenges and opportunities related to internet access and usage. Through collaboration with stakeholders, he develops strategies to enhance industry, innovation, and internet infrastructure. This aligns with Goal 9 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aims to promote sustainable industrialization and technological advancement.

Barhanu Nugusi’s efforts also support Goal 11 of the SDGs, which aims to create sustainable cities and communities. Internet access is vital for urban development as it enables individuals and communities to access information, services, and opportunities. By working towards improving internet access and usage in Ethiopia, Barhanu Nugusi directly contributes to achieving this goal.

Barhanu Nugusi’s commitment to internet issues in Ethiopia signifies a positive shift towards digital inclusion and empowerment. His initiatives not only enhance economic growth and innovation but also bridge the digital gap between urban and rural areas. By ensuring equal access and opportunities for all, he is fostering a more sustainable and inclusive society.

In conclusion, Barhanu Nugusi’s role as the Pan-African Youth Ambassador for Internet Governance, along with his work with the Ethiopian chapter of the Internet Society, reflects his active involvement in addressing internet-related issues in Ethiopia. His efforts align with Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, and Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities of the United Nations SDGs. Through his dedication and initiatives, Barhanu Nugusi contributes to digital inclusion and creates a more sustainable future for Ethiopia and the African continent as a whole.

Dasom Lee

Dasom Lee is a researcher who explores the applications of AI-based infrastructures and cyber-physical systems. Her research focuses on how these technologies can contribute to environmental and social sustainability. Specifically, Dasom examines their potential in energy systems and self-driving cars.

In the context of energy systems, Dasom investigates how AI can be integrated to enhance efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and promote renewable energy sources. By leveraging AI algorithms and data analysis, energy systems can be optimized to reduce carbon emissions and support sustainability goals. This research has significant implications for addressing climate change and achieving SDG13: Climate Action.

Another area of Dasom’s research is the role of AI in self-driving cars and its impact on women in the technology market. Her work explores the gender dynamics in this emerging field, highlighting the differences in how women are considered as primary buyers of self-driving cars. Despite women showing significant interest, they are often overlooked in the design and marketing strategies. Dasom emphasizes the importance of understanding these dynamics to ensure equal access and representation in technology.

Beyond her research on AI and technology, Dasom also addresses the issue of women’s representation in the ICT and technology sectors. She argues that achieving gender equality requires multi-level types of leadership. She highlights the Internet Society Foundation’s discussion, which presents two types of leadership: fellowship-based and training and e-learning courses-based. By adopting these different approaches, it becomes possible to create inclusive and diverse leadership structures that can drive change in the sector. This aligns with SDG5: Gender Equality and SDG9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.

Furthermore, Dasom identifies the importance of focusing on specific indicators in-depth to generate more interest and funding for research. This viewpoint is supported by discussions within the OECD group, where the availability of different types of data and the specification of certain indicators were highlighted. By conducting in-depth analysis and highlighting the significance of specific indicators, researchers can attract more attention and resources towards their work. This aligns with SDG17: Partnerships for the Goals.

Finally, Dasom stresses the significance of studying different types of corporations, such as multinational corporations (MNCs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to gain a comprehensive understanding of women’s leadership roles. Investigating these diverse contexts allows researchers to identify the varying challenges and opportunities women face in leadership positions within different corporate structures. This research contributes to SDG5: Gender Equality and SDG8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.

In conclusion, Dasom Lee’s research covers various dimensions of AI-based infrastructures, cyber-physical systems, and their impact on environmental sustainability, gender equality, and women’s representation in technology sectors. Her studies shed light on the potential of technology to drive positive change and highlight the importance of inclusive leadership and focused research efforts. By addressing these issues, we can work towards a more sustainable and equitable future.

Safari Nshuti Ayobangira

Honorable Ayoban Girassafari is a respected Member of Parliament representing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He plays a critical role in shaping legislation and advocating for the interests of the Congolese people.

As an elected official, Girassafari actively engages in political debates and discussions to ensure that his constituents’ voices are heard. His responsibilities as an MP include participating in parliamentary sessions, addressing national issues, proposing bills, and contributing to policy-making processes.

Girassafari brings a unique perspective to the political landscape of the DRC, allowing him to understand the challenges and opportunities faced by the country. He collaborates with fellow MPs to improve governance, enhance social welfare, and promote economic growth in the DRC.

Throughout his career, Girassafari has demonstrated a profound grasp of the political, social, and economic dynamics that shape the DRC. In Parliament, he advocates for policies that promote social justice, human rights, and environmental sustainability. He also values inclusive governance, striving to represent diverse voices within his constituency.

Being an MP from the DRC, Girassafari is well aware of the complex issues affecting the nation, such as poverty, corruption, security concerns, and the need for infrastructure development. He actively engages with other MPs, government officials, and civil society organizations to find comprehensive solutions to these challenges.

In conclusion, Honorable Ayoban Girassafari is a significant figure in Congolese politics, representing the interests of his constituents as an MP. His devotion to public service, advocacy for inclusive governance, and commitment to addressing key issues in the DRC make him an influential force in shaping the nation’s future. Girassafari’s active participation in the political arena contributes to the ongoing efforts to build a more prosperous and equitable Democratic Republic of Congo.

So Young Kim

Women are facing underrepresentation in the fields of science and technology, particularly in emerging digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). This leads to a smaller proportion of women being faculty members in national universities, and new cohorts lacking sufficient female representation. The sentiment towards this issue is negative, highlighting the urgent need to address the gender disparity in these fields.

On a positive note, efforts are being made to promote women’s participation in science and technology. Soyoung Kim, for instance, is advising the Ministry of Education on strategies to increase the number of women in faculty positions. She is also involved in creating a basic framework that supports women in science and technology education. These initiatives aim to empower women and encourage their active involvement, contributing to the achievement of gender equality.

In terms of access to information and communication technology (ICT), there is a need for more surveys with specific skill-related questions to understand the gender gap better. While questions surrounding ICT access have become more sophisticated, limited surveys focus on skills, hindering a comprehensive understanding of the gender gap in this area. Therefore, the development of survey data including detailed questions about different skill levels is crucial.

While progress has been made in reducing the gender gap through basic ICT education, a new gap is emerging in advanced skills, especially in AI technologies. Basic ICT education helps narrow the skills gap, but attaining advanced skills, such as those related to AI, presents challenges, resulting in a new imbalance in this field. This highlights the opportunity for further investment in providing women with training and opportunities to acquire advanced digital skills.

A paradox exists where women, despite being motivated to learn advanced skills, face limited career advancement due to gender and work-life balance issues. The demanding work environment in the ICT sector, known for long hours and high-pressure circumstances, further hinders women’s progress. Additionally, the underrepresentation of women at higher levels can demotivate other women from pursuing advanced tech skills. Addressing these gender and work-life balance issues is crucial to create an inclusive and supportive environment that enables women to excel in science and technology fields.

In conclusion, women are underrepresented in science and technology fields, particularly in emerging digital technologies like AI. Efforts are being made to promote women’s participation through the development of frameworks and strategies. While access to ICT and digital skills is improving, more surveys with skill-focused questions are needed to fully understand the gender gap. Despite progress in reducing the skills gap, a new imbalance persists in advanced skills like AI. Gender and work-life balance issues hinder women’s career advancement and motivation to pursue advanced tech skills. Addressing these challenges is vital to achieve gender equality and create an inclusive future in science and technology.

Pasi

Pasi, originally from Uganda and representing the Centre for Indigenous and Community Involvement, is participating in a conference centred around internet definance. This marks Pasi’s inaugural attendance at such an event. The primary argument presented is Pasi’s keenness to partake in the session and his eagerness to learn about internet definance. The sentiment towards Pasi is positive, as his enthusiasm is evident in his desire to acquire knowledge and gain fresh insights from the conference.

Additionally, Pasi’s involvement aligns with SDG 4: Quality Education, underscoring his commitment to expanding his knowledge. He anticipates that the conference will provide ample learning opportunities. With an ardent thirst for knowledge, Pasi looks forward to enhancing his understanding during this event.

Overall, the speakers’ positive sentiments towards the conference and Pasi’s eagerness to participate and learn underscore the importance of such gatherings in promoting education and facilitating the exchange of ideas. It is important to note that Pasi’s representation of the Centre for Indigenous and Community Involvement highlights the significance of diverse perspectives in discussions surrounding internet definance.

Jeffrey Llanto

Jeffrey Llanto is the executive director of the CVSNAP Foundation, a non-profit organization based in the Philippines. The foundation focuses on improving wireless communication capabilities during times of disaster. Llanto is actively involved in the implementation of a locally accessible cloud system project, with the aim of expanding its reach beyond the Philippines.

Llanto is collaborating with Dr. Sakano and Mr. Sharma from BizFlux, an organization based in India, to successfully execute the cloud system project. This collaboration highlights the importance of international cooperation and partnerships in achieving common goals. By integrating cloud computing technology, the project aims to empower disaster management efforts and enhance communication systems in disaster-affected regions.

These initiatives supported by Llanto and the CVSNAP Foundation align with Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. The focus on utilizing the latest technology, particularly wireless communication and cloud systems, reflects the ambition to drive progress and innovation within the disaster management sector. Moreover, these initiatives also align with Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals by engaging in collaboration with international partners and organizations, ultimately leading to more effective and impactful solutions to address global challenges.

The sentiment towards these initiatives is neutral and positive, indicating recognition of their importance and potential benefits. Stakeholders are open to adopting technological advancements in disaster management and are supportive of Llanto’s role in facilitating these initiatives.

In conclusion, as the executive director of the CVSNAP Foundation, Jeffrey Llanto plays an active role in improving wireless communication during disaster situations. Through collaboration with BizFlux, he aims to expand the locally accessible cloud system project to other countries. These initiatives align with SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals. The neutral and positive sentiment towards these initiatives underlines their potential impact and the significance of technological advancements in disaster management.

Chandraprakash Sharma

Chandra Prakash Sharma, the CEO and founder of BizFlux, an Indian-based company, has announced a collaboration with Dr. Sakano and Mr. Jeffrey from the Philippines. The collaboration aims to develop a locally accessible cloud system project.

The project is focused on providing businesses in the Philippines with easy access to cloud technology. Although cloud technology has gained popularity due to its scalability, cost-effectiveness, and improved efficiency, its adoption in the Philippines has been limited due to infrastructure and connectivity issues.

BizFlux, under the leadership of Sharma, aims to address these barriers by developing a cloud system that is accessible within the local context. This project has the potential to revolutionize how businesses operate and manage data, eliminating the need for costly on-premises servers and offering flexible and scalable storage solutions.

The collaboration with Dr. Sakano, an expert in cloud technologies, and Mr. Jeffrey, who brings local market understanding and business development expertise, is essential for the success of this project. Their combined knowledge and experience will ensure that the cloud system is tailored to the unique needs and challenges of the Philippine market.

This collaboration is a significant step towards widespread adoption and accessibility of cloud technology in the Philippines. By equipping businesses with the tools and resources to harness the power of the cloud, this project has the potential to drive innovation, enhance productivity, and contribute to economic growth.

In conclusion, Chandra Prakash Sharma’s announcement of the collaboration with Dr. Sakano and Mr. Jeffrey for the locally accessible cloud system project is a promising development in the Philippines’ cloud technology landscape. This project aims to overcome barriers and enable businesses to leverage the benefits of cloud computing, ultimately driving economic growth and fostering innovation.

Gaini

Gaini is an individual who works with LearnAsia, a regional think tank that focuses on developing Asia. She strongly believes that exploring the intersection of gender and the digital economy is an important area of study. LearnAsia conducts nationally representative surveys across six countries in Asia, with a specific emphasis on gender, urban-rural divides, and disability.

LearnAsia has undertaken extensive research to investigate the changes in digital inclusion gaps resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on gender engagement. They have conducted a post-COVID survey to examine the gaps in digital inclusion and explore whether the pandemic has prompted more women to come online for educational and work-related needs. This research provides insights into the impact of the pandemic on gender equality in accessing digital platforms.

Moreover, LearnAsia has also conducted qualitative research on how women operate in the platform economy, specifically in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. This research aims to uncover the challenges, opportunities, and experiences encountered by women in the platform economy, providing valuable insights into the relationship between gender and the digital economy in Asia.

Gaini is also representing her colleagues who have worked with EQUALS, an organization dedicated to addressing gender equality in the digital age. Together, they have conducted surveys in the Asia-Pacific region, further contributing to the body of knowledge on this topic.

Overall, the research conducted by Gaini and her colleagues at LearnAsia and EQUALS highlights the importance of understanding the intersection between gender and the digital economy. Their work, including nationally representative surveys, investigations into digital inclusion gaps, and qualitative studies on women’s experiences in the platform economy, provides valuable insights and evidence to inform policies and strategies for achieving gender equality in the digital age.

Moonyul Yang

Moon Yeol Young, a master’s student at KAIST, is conducting research on the impact of diversity and gender equality on productivity within the defense industry. This study is advised by Moon Choi and aims to contribute to the achievement of two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure).

The research focuses on exploring how diversity and gender equality influence productivity within the defense industry. Young aims to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between diversity, including factors such as race, ethnicity, and age, and gender equality, and their overall impact on productivity in this specific sector.

To conduct the research, Young plans to gather data through surveys, interviews, and the analysis of industry reports. By examining these variables, the research aims to uncover the potential benefits and drawbacks associated with diversity and gender equality within the defense industry.

The findings of this study could have significant implications for the defense industry. If the research demonstrates a positive correlation between diversity, gender equality, and productivity, it may provide a compelling argument for the industry to prioritize and promote these values. This, in turn, could lead to more inclusive and diverse workplaces, potentially enhancing long-term productivity.

Furthermore, this research aligns with broader societal goals, as outlined by SDG 5 and SDG 9. By working towards gender equality and promoting diversity within the defense industry, this project contributes to the larger global agenda of fostering inclusive societies and sustainable development.

In conclusion, Moon Yeol Young’s research project at KAIST seeks to explore the impact of diversity and gender equality on productivity in the defense industry. This study aligns with SDG 5 and SDG 9 and has the potential to provide valuable insights to drive positive change within the industry.

Co-Moderator

The co-moderator for the session is a PhD student at the Greater School of Science and Technology in KAIST. Their role involves assisting in coordinating the session. One of the speakers focuses on addressing the third-level digital divide from a gender perspective. This issue pertains to the unequal access and use of digital technologies among different genders. The speaker aims to shed light on this disparity and discuss potential solutions to bridge the gap.

Another speaker in the session is interested in how internet use impacts real-life experiences. They will explore how the internet has transformed various aspects of our lives, such as communication, information retrieval, and social interactions. This exploration will provide insights into how the internet has influenced our daily routines and interactions with others.

Additionally, the discussion of the third-level digital divide aligns with SDG 5: Gender Equality, which seeks to empower women and promote gender equality in all aspects of society. By addressing this divide, the session aims to contribute to the achievement of this Sustainable Development Goal.

The exploration of internet use and its impact on real-life experiences is related to SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. This implies that the session acknowledges the importance of internet technology in advancing these areas and seeks to explore the potential it holds for driving innovation and development.

Overall, this session brings together experts and researchers in the field to discuss important issues related to the digital divide, gender equality, internet use, and their impact on real-life experiences. By highlighting these topics, the session aims to foster a greater understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital age and contribute to the achievement of the relevant Sustainable Development Goals.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi

Moon Choi, the co-leader of the Equals Research Coalition, played a key role in moderating the coalition’s annual meeting. The primary aim of the meeting was to generate more evidence to support the evaluation and implementation of evidence-based policies in the field of IT development. This emphasis on evidence-based policy highlights the coalition’s commitment to ensuring that decision-making in the IT sector is guided by reliable research.

During the meeting, a colleague from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) delivered the opening speech, further highlighting the importance of collaboration and partnerships in achieving the coalition’s goals. The ITU’s presence at the meeting underscored the significance of the coalition’s work in the broader context of international telecommunications and technology.

One of the key discussions at the meeting revolved around the goals for the upcoming annual report. The meeting provided a platform for participants to exchange ideas and insights, with a particular focus on shaping the content and direction of the annual report. This collaborative approach ensures that the report accurately reflects the collective expertise and knowledge of coalition members.

Moon Choi also emphasized the significance of having a brief overview of the organization’s history before moving on to other agenda items. This recognition of the importance of historical context ensures that participants have a comprehensive understanding of the coalition’s evolution and achievements.

The meeting also highlighted the formation of EQUALS, a collaboration between five partners: ITU, GSMA, United Nations University, UN Women, and ITC. Established in 2016, EQUALS aims to promote gender equality in the IT sector. This partnership highlights the commitment of the coalition’s members to addressing the gender gap and ensuring inclusive opportunities for all.

The Equals Research Coalition comprises four coalitions: ASSESS, SKILLS, leadership, and research. Each coalition focuses on specific areas related to gender equality, education, and economic growth. These coalitions serve as platforms for collaboration and exchange of knowledge, with the goal of driving positive change in their respective domains.

However, challenges such as the impact of COVID-19 and other factors have resulted in reduced activity from the research coalition partners. Despite these challenges, Moon Choi remains committed to fostering cooperation and leadership within the coalitions. She proposed potential leaders for different groups, envisioning a future that ensures effective collaboration and direction.

Another significant aspect discussed during the meeting was the importance of contributions to the clusters. Contributions can take the form of full-length manuscripts or brief case studies, providing valuable insights into various areas related to gender equality, leadership, and skills development. The current co-leaders of the coalition, EY and UN Women, play a crucial role in managing and promoting these contributions.

Moon Choi acknowledged the need for flexibility and adaptation, expressing openness to adjusting the structure of the clusters based on feedback from participants. This approach ensures that the coalitions evolve to meet the changing needs of the IT sector and effectively address gender disparities.

A notable suggestion from the meeting was the idea of inviting other clusters to contribute case studies, enhancing integration between different groups. This initiative would showcase the activities and achievements of these clusters, providing a broader perspective on the coalition’s impact beyond academia.

The meeting acknowledged the significant contribution that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) could make in addressing the gender issue in leadership. The OECD’s expertise in areas such as ICTs, women-led startups, and VC investment can provide valuable insights and data to further the coalition’s goals.

Lastly, the meeting encouraged researchers to join relevant skills groups and emphasized the importance of intensive research and collaboration. The coalition plans to organize a research workshop next summer, facilitating increased collaborations between different groups, and promoting knowledge-sharing within the coalition.

In conclusion, Moon Choi effectively led the Equals Research Coalition’s annual meeting, fostering collaboration and strengthening the coalition’s commitment to evidence-based policy in IT development. The meeting highlighted the importance of historical context, the formation of EQUALS, and the role of the four coalition groups. The challenges faced, such as COVID-19, were acknowledged, and potential solutions were discussed. The meeting resulted in actionable steps, including adjustments to the cluster structure, invited contributions, and planned research workshops, ensuring continued progress towards gender equality and inclusive IT development.

Chung Park

Chung Park, a participant from KAIST School, expresses his gratitude to Professor Choi for attending the conference venue. However, Chung is unable to register on-site due to temporary unavailability. He apologizes for any inconvenience caused. Despite not being physically present, he has been actively engaging in the conference by listening to various interviews. Chung eagerly looks forward to meeting with Professor Choi. This remote participation showcases his commitment and enthusiasm for the event.

Pranav Bhaskar Tiwari

Two individuals were interviewed about their involvement with the Internet Society Foundation, an organisation dedicated to connecting the unconnected and improving digital connectivity. Pranav, who works for the foundation, is specifically focused on bridging the digital divide by providing internet access to individuals who currently lack it.

The foundation’s primary goal is to ensure that everyone has access to the internet, as it has become an indispensable tool for communication, education, and economic opportunities in today’s connected world. Pranav’s work involves identifying communities and regions that are underserved or completely disconnected and devising strategies to bring them online. His efforts align with Sustainable Development Goal 9, which emphasises the importance of industry, innovation, and infrastructure in driving economic growth and development.

In addition to their efforts in connecting the unconnected, the Internet Society Foundation also supports researchers working in the field of digital connectivity. Pranav encourages researchers to visit their website, where they can explore various funding opportunities to further their research. By providing financial support, the foundation aims to stimulate research and innovation in the area of digital connectivity, ultimately contributing to the overall goal of global internet access for all.

The foundation’s commitment to bridging the digital divide and promoting digital connectivity is commendable. Their initiatives not only address the immediate issue of access but also contribute to long-term societal and economic development. By connecting the unconnected and supporting research in this field, the Internet Society Foundation is playing a crucial role in ensuring that everyone can benefit from the advantages and opportunities offered by the internet.

In conclusion, Pranav’s work with the Internet Society Foundation focuses on connecting the unconnected and improving digital connectivity. The foundation’s efforts align with Sustainable Development Goal 9, and they also provide funding opportunities for researchers in this field. With their dedication and support, they are making significant strides towards bringing internet access to underserved communities and driving global progress in the digital age.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
I’m Moon Choi, one of the co-leaders of the Research Coalition. We are very excited, you know, to see you finally in person. So this Equals Research Coalition Annual Meeting has several goals, and that the moderator, the coordinator, the tailor, is distributing the documents, and this is a concept note. So as you know that Equals Research Coalition is really working hard to provide more evidence about the evaluation, the evidence-based policy. And if you go to the second, you know, there are more details, but before going through the overarching goals, I would like to introduce, you know, our colleague. Carla was not able to make it, so we have, you know, the colleague from the ITU, so he’s going to give an opening speech, so please.

Preetam Maloor:
Thank you, Professor. So again, I send, you know, Carla sends her apologies. So my name is Preetam Malur, I’m a colleague of Carla at the ITU, and I head the Emerging Technologies Division there. So this, I have, you know, Carla has been a close colleague, so I’ve interacted with her over the years, but I have to admit that, you know, I haven’t been totally up to speed on the research coalition, so maybe this is the opportunity. So let me just, you know, give some short remarks, again, on behalf of Carla and on behalf of the ITU. So it’s a pleasure to be here today, you know, to see you all at the Equals Research Coalition, to see the partners united in person after more than a year. And again, thank you very much to KEST and to Georgia Tech for leading the work of the coalition. And, you know, the coalition plays a very pivotal role in our collective action and our collective mission. You know, the primary goals, of course, includes ensuring that the practitioners and the policymakers have the intelligence they need to make informed decisions and to drive evidence-based actions. And we achieve this by identifying, you know, key knowledge and evidence gaps, conducting research on priority topics, providing practitioners and policymakers with actionable information. So why does it all matter? You know, strong, credible data, case studies are vital to understand the problem, recognize successful strategies, identify gaps, and opportunities. And this enables us to move on, you know, move towards bridging the digital gender divide. This is a vital piece, of course. And it’s of utmost importance that we continue and we reinforce the work of publishing reports, collecting data, informing other equals coalitions, you know, the access, skills, and leadership pillars. And we have some great achievements as a coalition here, you know. An example, the Taking Stock Report, Data and Evidence on Gender Equality in Digital Access, Skills, and Leadership, which served as the inaugural report of the research coalition. The most recent accomplishment is the report on sex disaggregated ICT data in Africa. I’m also pleased to highlight the flagship project, Equals EU, which is Europe’s regional partnership on gender equality in the digital age. It aims to promote gender equality in social innovation through capacity building and creating smart, sustainable, and inclusive social innovation systems in local communities and in cities in Europe and the global north and south. So the collaborative efforts of the partners from all over Europe have manifested in activities such as hackathons, innovation camps, a three-week summer school, and the development of gender equality tools, gender equity tools. So together, we are making significant strides towards gender digital equity, and I’m excited to see the impactful work that lies ahead for our research coalition. Again, you know, thank you very much for your dedication and continued contribution.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you so much for the opening speech by ITU and the representative. And now we are moving to the program. So if you see the third page, the tentative agenda, the IT, the support team, would you show the tentative, yes, the next page, next, next. This is the first page, so would you move to the third one, next, yes. So this is the program of today’s meeting. So we will give you the, you know, the time to introduce yourself. We have old friends and also new faces, so we would like to hear who you are and your research interests, maybe briefly from here. I’ll give you the mic, yeah, from the Christopher, the Professor Christopher Yu.

Christopher Yoo:
I’m Christopher Yu at the University of Pennsylvania. We are, among other things, most relevantly in this space, doing empirical work to try to understand the impact of mobile Internet connectivity on socioeconomic well-being with gender, particularly projects funded by GSMA women, to really try to understand the dynamics of how that works. We’re doing a longitudinal study in Bangladesh and Ghana. We have the baseline done. We’re currently in the process of funding and just fielding the end line to try to see what that’s going to be. And we’re doing other things in school connectivity and other assessment means, and happy to talk about any of that.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Maria.

Maria Garrido:
Hello. My name is Maria Garrido. I come from the University of Washington Information School, and I’m here with my colleague, Matias Centeno, from the National Institute of Technology and Agriculture. And my research, we center mainly in trying to find alternative measures for finding the progress and bridging the digital divide. And yeah, thank you very much, Dr. and Professor Moon, for the invitation, and we’re very happy to be here.

Pranav Bhaskar Tiwari:
Thank you. My name is Pranav. I work with the Internet Society Foundation, and we work towards connecting the unconnected, among many other projects. And we don’t only conduct research, but we also fund researchers in this area. So please feel free to go through our website, and I’ll be happy to connect you with more colleagues in that space. Thank you.

Moonyul Yang:
Hello. My name is Moon Yeol Young, and I’m a master student of KAIST, who is Moon Choi, one of my advisors. And I’m working on how the diversity, including women, gender equality, performs in the productivity in defense industry area. Thank you.

Onica Makwakwa:
Hi. Good afternoon. My name is Onika Makwakwa. I’m the Executive Director at the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership, where we work on meaningful connectivity for the global majority. You would know our work as the team that led the Alliance for Affordable Internet in the past. We’re doing research currently on the cost of exclusion, looking at the economic impact of excluding women from the digital economy.

Kenneth Dimalibot:
I’m Kenneth. I work with Onika with GDIP.

Gaini:
Hi. My name is Gaini. I’m from LearnAsia, a very regional think tank working across the Asia-Pacific, particularly in developing Asia. I think my colleagues, Helani and Ayesha, have worked very closely with EQUALS in the past, and I’m here on their behalf. We do a lot of work. In terms of gender, we do nationally representative surveys, looking at breakdowns by gender, also looking at other things like urban-rural divides, disability, and whatnot. So we’ve done nationally representative surveys in the past across six Asian countries, and we just did one in post-COVID to look at the changes in digital inclusion gaps. Due to COVID, looking at the gender elements of people coming online, whether COVID actually got more women to come online because of needing to help their children with their educational needs, what that did for platform work. And we also have just concluded some qualitative research to look at how women have sort of operated in the platform economy, particularly in the context of COVID, so very much looking at that intersection of gender and the digital economy, amongst other things.

So Young Kim:
Thank you. Hello, everyone. Nice to meet you all, and I’m with the same School of Science and Technology Policy with Professor Moon Choi, and my name is Soyoung Kim. I am a political scientist by training, but these days, I am doing much more on how women can be more promoted in the fields of science and technology. And over the last few years, actually, not few, but several years, I’ve been working as an advisor to the Ministry of Education, chairing the committee to promote women in university faculty as a whole. And also, for that, we have been actually evaluating 39 national universities over more than 20 years in terms of whether new faculty members around the nation have sufficient portion of women in the new cohorts, and also in terms of how women actually get promoted over the long track, you know, from assistant to associate and full professors. And lately, I’ve been involved in advising and actually creating the fifth basic framework for women in science and technology. And so, I guess I’m dealing with the question of double-mask marginalization in S&T because women are very much underrepresented in S&T in general, but also, especially in terms of digital technologies, latest digital technologies like AI, women are much more less represented. So somehow, I got involved in this, of course, because of Professor Moon Choi, but we have a new faculty member, and I guess we will be taking a greater role in the next few years. Thank you.

Dasom Lee:
Hi, lovely to meet you. My name is Dasom Lee. I joined KAIST-STP a year ago from now, and I study AI-based infrastructures and cyber-physical systems. So, more specifically, I look at how AI can be used in the energy systems and self-driving cars and how they can support environmental and social sustainability. More specifically, regarding gender, I’m looking at how women understand or how women have access to this new and emerging technology in a very different way compared to their male counterparts. So, how they use these technologies, how they are considered as a market in a very different way. So, often with self-driving cars, women are not considered as the primary buyer, but women actually do show a significant interest in these new and emerging technologies. So, that’s one of my research interests, and I’m very new to e-calls, but I’m very excited to be here, and I recognize some of the faces that I saw on Zoom, which is always nice. So, lovely to meet you.

Co-Moderator:
So, hello, everyone. It’s so nice to meet you all here. I’m a Ph.D. student in the Greater School of Science and Technology in KAIST. So, I’m assisting Professor Mun Choi to coordinate this session, and my interest that related to the gender-digital divide, it’s about the gender gap, about how Internet use really impact a real-life experience. So, in overall, I focus on the third level digital divide in the gender perspective. So, it’s nice to meet you all, and I look forward to talking more about these topics more. Yes.

Taylor De Rosa:
Hi, everybody. My name is Taylor DeRosa. I’m also working with Professor Mun Choi. I’m a master’s student in the School of Science and Technology Policy at KAIST, and my research mainly focuses on actually also looking at the digital divide, but through the lens of the North Korean refugee migrants living in South Korea. And I also look at some intersections, like gender and age as well, in terms of how different forms of Internet use relate to their social relationships and resources. So, it’s really nice to see you all in person.

Lee Bum Sun:
Hello. My name is Lee Bum Sun, and my advisor is Dasom Lee. And I’m also from Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy. And nice to meet you all. I’m interested mostly about AI and energy, but I think what democratic values, like equal trade, is very important for this new technology. So, thank you.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Thank you so much for the introduction. There’s always one or two persons who speak long, but somehow today everyone introduced themselves very briefly, so we are on time. So, I’m Mun Choi, and I’m a professor at KAIST. And actually, my research background is more social welfare policy and gerontology. But recently, we have completed a project about gender inequality in AI labor force. So, we have some empirical data. And also, recently, I have been involved in the NIA. It is called NIA in Korea, National Information Agency, about the IAC project. That’s Information Assessor Center around the developing countries. So, I really look forward to working with many partners in this room. Okay. So, now we are moving to the… Ah, okay. Yes. Yeah. Thank you for the reminder. Okay. Okay. So, would you please show the Zoom participants on the screen? So… How many are in the Zoom? Three? Okay. Can you hear their voice? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Arianna? Okay. Arianna, can you introduce yourself? Absolutely. I’m Samuels, and I am trying to get my video up, but I’m having trouble. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.

Ariana:
Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. I think you couldn’t see it on the video, but I’m having… Okay. I think you can see me now, wonderful. I am originally from Jamaica and I am an aerospace engineer by training and technology policy specialist. I’m based at Oslo Metropolitan University and I’m working with how we can create gender-inclusive innovation ecosystems and within this space, I’m very involved and affiliated with the project and very excited about the synchronies I can form with the equals new research coalition and it’s important work. Thank you.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Wonderful. Thank you. And the next person, Barhanu. Hello. Can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you. Oh, wonderful.

Barhanu Nugusi:
My name is Barhanu Nugusi from Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Actually, I am Pan-African Youth Ambassador for Internet Governance and I’m actively working with my chapter, Ethiopian chapter, Internet Society and also I’m involving in civil society to solve the problems of internet-related issues. Today I’m happy to be here with you. Thank you very much.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Thank you so much. Okay. The next person is Professor Park.

Chung Park:
Hello. Do you hear me?

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Yes, we can hear you.

Chung Park:
Thank you very much, Professor Choi. My name is Chung Park. I’m from KAIST School. I’m actually literally at the conference venue and my onsite registration actually is temporary unavailable. So, I’m sorry for that. Sorry that I was not able to just come in, but I have been just listening to all the interviews possible and to see you. Thank you.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Okay. Thank you. And the next person is Pasi.

Pasi:
Hello.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Yes, we can hear you.

Pasi:
I’m not sure whether you’re hearing me. Yes. Hello, everyone. My name is Pasi and I’m from Uganda, the Center for Indigenous and Community Involvement. I actually just joined and I think that’s the introduction I can do. I’m really happy to be here and to be joining this session, and I’m looking forward to listening to insights about internet definance. It’s my first time attending this conference, so I’m really looking forward to a lot of learning. Thank you.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Okay. Thank you. And also, we have a new attendance in the back. Would you please introduce yourself, your name, and your affiliation, and your research, or the work, the priorities and interests?

Toshikazu Sakano:
My name is Toshikazu Sakano from Advanced Research Institute for Telecommunications International based in Kyoto, and I’m doing research on ICT for disaster countermeasure. And our global team, we are doing some feasibility studies in many countries. So, I’m interested in global collaboration, that’s why I’m here. Thank you.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Thank you.

Chandraprakash Sharma:
Hello, everyone. I’m Chandra Prakash Sharma, CEO and founder at BizFlux based in India. We are collaborating with Dr. Sakano and Mr. Jeffrey here from Philippines on the locally accessible cloud system project. Thank you.

Jeffrey Llanto:
Thank you. Good afternoon. I’m Jeffrey Lianto. I’m the executive director of the CVSNAP Foundation based in the Philippines. We are working on the wireless communication during disaster, working with Dr. Sakano and Mr. Sharma for this one to be implemented to the other countries also. Thank you very much.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Thank you. And also, we have a new participant here.

Safari Nshuti Ayobangira:
I’m Honorable Ayoban Girassafari. I’m an MP from DRC Congo.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Thank you. Thank you so much. Is there any that I missed? No? Okay. We are good. Thank you very much. And so, now we are moving to the next agenda. So, the primary purpose of this meeting is to, you know, discuss about the next annual report. And we know that Equality Research Coalition have two primary goals. The first one is about the, you know, the annual meeting, and second one is annual report. So, maybe Taylor, can you give overview about what we have done for the brief presentation? Would you be able to do so? The PowerPoint? Yeah. No. You’re not? Okay. Okay. Okay. Because we have new members here, so it would be nice to have a brief overview about what we have done. So, before moving to the next agenda. Okay. So, EQUALS has, you know, started from 2016 by the collaboration efforts of five partners. So, ITU, GSMA, United Nations University, and UN Women, and also ITC. So, five partners started this EQUALS. And the primary purpose is a global partnership, you know, to promote gender equality. So, we have four coalition. One is ASSESS, second is SKILLS, and leadership and research. So, this is one of the coalition. And our goal is to, you know, help to do evidence-based policy. So, Taylor is one of our coordinator. We do on-time, and she’s going to give an overview about what we have done for a year. Okay, so, as you may know that we started 2006, 2016, and then UNUCS was a very active leader of this research coalition. But there’s up and downs, and then, you know, there’s a change in the leadership. But because of COVID-19 and other situation, there’s not active, you know, the activities among the research coalition partners. So, KAIST and also Georgia Tech took over the leadership role. So, now we are moving to the next step. Okay, so, Taylor, are you ready?

Taylor De Rosa:
Okay, so, we can briefly talk about what the EQUALS Research Coalition is and what we have done up until this point for the newer members who are in the room. So, as Professor Mun Choi mentioned, we support the larger EQUALS Global Partnership, which is made up of three pillars, access, skills, and leadership. And there are members across civil society, as well as the private sector and non-profit sector. And so, we are trying to support providing actionable insights using evidence-based policy and our research. And so, the purpose at a very high level of the research coalition is to generate knowledge about the existence, causes, and remedies for gender tech inequalities. And so, right now, so, as of 2023, so, the last research report was 2019, I believe. And then, because of COVID, the research coalition kind of dropped off a little bit, and then we have reinvigorated ourselves this year. And so, as of this year, we have 34 more active members across 19 different institutions, largely in the U.S. and Europe, but we are trying to spread, actually, more of our researcher base more globally. As Professor Mun Choi mentioned, the first report, the inaugural report for the EQUALS Research Coalition was called the Taking Stock Report, Data and Evidence on Gender Inequality in Digital Access, Skills, and Leadership. And this was focused into two parts. Part one was really actually about compiling all of the different data sources about the gender digital gap across many different countries and sources. And it was also identifying where there were many gaps, as you all know. It’s very difficult to get a hold of this data. And part two was organized by different chapters based on focus areas of interest of the different contributors. And so, we’re keeping this in mind as we think to the next iteration of the report, which we want to discuss here today. And then, there was another follow-up report. So, the first report really identified that there was a very, very significant gap in sex-disaggregated ICT data in Africa. And so, Dr. Arabese and other colleagues spearheaded an initiative to create a special report specifically on this topic. And so, that came out a bit later. And so, those are the two reports that this coalition has published. And now, we are looking forward to the next report. Just really briefly, the two primary activities that we focus on, as Professor Mun Choi mentioned, is publishing the reports and meeting annually. So, the annual meeting is now. I will skip this. So, we actually started when we wanted to reinvigorate the research coalition by having a series of individual meetings with some of the most active partners in previous years to understand what they wanted to get out of the research coalition and how we should move forward as a group. The biggest takeaways from that was we needed to re-energize this community because we’re basically starting from nothing. And I think one thing that we still maybe need to solve as a group is exactly the benefit and value proposition of participating in this coalition. So, we’re hoping that now that we have re-energized the group a bit, when we think about the next iteration of the report, we can also focus on what the research coalition can also offer to the members besides just some great networking opportunities. We had a series of bimonthly research coalition meetings, largely planning. I think actually we have two sessions at IGF tomorrow and Tuesday, a lightning talk session about measuring gender digital inequality in the global south, and then a session about empowering women in advanced technologies, which is about equals-related initiatives on Tuesday. So, a lot of the meetings were focused on planning for those. This is just briefly an overview of the schedule of events, but I believe it’s also in the concept note that you were handed out. So, yeah, I hope this gave a little bit of an overview for people who are less familiar with equals about exactly what we’ve done up to date. But I think it’s equalsintech.org is the website, so if you’re interested in finding information about the other coalitions and other work that is going on, I encourage you to look there for more information. Thank you.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Thank you so much. And there’s a dinner, network dinner, after this session at 7 p.m. It’s about several stops away by the subway, and it’s Kiyon, what’s the name of the restaurant? Kiyoshoton? Okay, Kiyonshoton. Yeah, yeah. So, we will have a dinner there, so you are all invited, so please come and have dinner together. Okay, so the reason that we get together today is to discuss about the direction or structure of our annual report that’s most important as end of equals, you know? So, we have a thought about what would be the right direction, so there was a small discussion and also by monthly, you know, the online meetings, and now, finally, we got some ideas, and technicians, would you please post the second document? Yeah. Yeah. It’s called the planning. Yes. Would you make it bigger? Okay. Okay. I think all of you have a hard copy, so this is the draft note about how to proceed with the annual report. There’s equals vision, and also there’s, you know, each coalition assess leadership skills, but so far, you know, it’s a very much bottom-up approach, so we have, you know, the very active stakeholders like partners, and they propose certain topics, and, you know, editorial board get together and then cross those ideas into groups and make a report, but I think that was the very, you know, the initial report, but now it’s about the time to move to work with other coalitions, so I think three, like, part, three, the clusters, you know, it will be a very, you know, formed structure, and we have to discuss, you know, who will be the editorial committee and who will contribute to each cluster, so based on our previous meeting or so, you know, discussions through the several meetings, I think we figure out each active partner’s research interest, so we tried to group into three, and about the assess, I think, you know, Professor Christopher Yu and Professor Mike Bastu and, you know, Professor Maria Galio and, you know, also Allison and also Dr. Allison and also, you know, other members have a very active project on that, so I think there are two options of contribution. It’s not about the full-length, you know, manuscript that’s more like a chapter that’s between 4,000 and 6,000 words, but case study, it’s a brief one, 1,000 words, so you have choices, but we know that, you know, it’s not for you to develop a new research project and, you know, gathering new data, it’s more, I think the annual report is more like outlet to promote your research findings like the previous one, so but important thing is that each cluster should have one leader, and then we are going to work with those leaders, you know, regularly, so, you know, I propose, you know, Professor Christopher Yu to lead the first assess group, okay, but if other persons want to switch their, you know, the cluster or want to be a leader or want to contribute to different way, please, you know, say so, you know, we are happy to discuss that, and about the second one is leadership that’s more private sector or so, you know, more cultural part, too, and current co-leader of this coalition is EY and UN Women, and about this, the cluster, I think our team and also Michelle and, you know, Kara is not here, but ITU group and also Professor Dasomly and, you know, also the director, Audrey Plunk, and Ms. Molly Lesher, I think they are from OECD, and also the Professor Pranav and also, you know, the Professor Lillian and also other members can contribute to the leadership part based on what they have done, and about the cluster skills, it’s lead, the coalition is lead by the GSMA and ITU, and about this group, Tamara was not able to make it even online because of time difference, but, you know, we proposed Tamara as a cluster leader and also Professor Soyoung Kim and also, you know, Director Helani Kapaya and also, you know, other members, so, but we were not able to include everyone, you know, so there are people in online, also offline, so maybe there are even people who came to the annual meeting for the first time, but this report, we aim to publish next, probably October or November, and so I think it will be a one-year project, so, you know, we would like to hear from you what you think, and then after a brief discussion, we are going to make a group into three clusters and then discuss about the details of, you know, who will do what, and also, you know, how the timeline, and so themes, and, you know, et cetera, so, okay, comments and questions or, yeah, please feel free to, so there are several microphones here, or so I can walk around, do you have any thoughts over, about the structure, maybe, want to be a co-leader?

Christopher Yoo:
Well, I guess the first thing I would say is, as someone who’s been volunteered to be a leader, you kind of, this coalition will be what we make of it, and it really is up to us to drive it forward. I think that what, Moon, you’re suggesting is there’s part of it which is taking advantage of the work we’re already doing and putting it together, you know, that’s a big part of it, but we should also be thinking about more proactively reaching out to the, each of the coalitions is doing work, they’re probably not doing very good evaluation work, you know, and working with them to try to learn, so it’s, try to make sure that the projects they do aren’t one-offs, public relations devices, that we can actually make sure we learn what we’re trying to, develop measurements of what we’re trying to accomplish, and assessments of what is actually effective and working. And I guess we’re really inviting, I think, everyone in the room, if this is going to work, if you’re doing work on gender, even just a brief case study, two or three page describing any of the research you’re doing in all these fields would actually go a long way to making, to help us push this process forward.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Yes, yeah, that’s exactly what we are aiming to, and any comments?

Maria Garrido:
Thank you very much. I’m wondering if, in order for us also to show more integration with the other clusters following from Christopher’s comment, we should invite the other clusters to contribute with case studies, small pieces that perhaps are not fully research-oriented, but still can be turned into, and show the integration of the work with the other three coalitions. That’s the suggestion, Dr. Choi.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Yeah, that’s a great idea. So it’s like a small showcase of what their activities from the non-academic, yeah. From the broader initiative. Uh-huh, yeah. We will announce the call for contributions, or call for, you know, the case studies. So, yeah, we’ll do that. Thank you. And any comments from the audience, or from ITU, right? No. Introduce yourself.

Audience:
Yeah, hi. I’m Audrey Plunk. I’m from the OECD. Hi. Yeah, yeah. We do a fair amount of work on gender in ICTs. I think you’ve articulated some of the challenges in terms of statistics disaggregated by sex or gender are difficult. I think we have some coverage in our work, and we have lots of case studies, and things like women-led startups, and VC investment, and AI, and things like that, that we do have insights on a certain amount of countries relative to gender. Also, things like ability to code, and ability to access the internet, and things like that. So, I think there’s some out there. Again, our coverage is not global in the sense of 191 countries. It varies on the data, depending on what kind of data we can get our hands on. So, anyway, it’s a very good initiative, and we’re happy to help if we can. Thank you.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Thank you so much. Yes. OECD group can be a part of leadership. So, leadership is focused on that issue, about the gender issue in leadership in the private sector. So, yeah, that would be a perfect field. Okay. Any comments?

Audience:
So, I’m now listed under the skills group, and I have very little knowledge of how these issues are addressed, at least in South Korea. But I’m sure there have been a lot of effort by the Korean government, and also by the Japanese government, and also some Asian countries. So, although this is not specifically about East Asia, when we address skills issues, I think we can also aim to achieve something like the access group, which have been really doing real data collection efforts. So, somehow, although we may not be able to really embark on true data analysis project, at least it would be good to actually canvass the whole round of surveys available around the world, and then at least have some snapshot of where this skills gap actually lies. I guess I belong to the right group, compared to the other two sections. I think I belong to the right group as well. The leadership, I think what we often don’t think about is the number of CEOs in business worlds that are women, are significantly small. And when we look at these, I mean, new and emerging technologies are what I study. And if you look at those technologies and how they’re being developed, women are largely neglected as the potential target market. And in that sense, I think hopefully I’ll have something to contribute to the group.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Okay. So, Professor Soyoung, do you want to move to the more access group? No, no. You want to stay? Okay. Because we don’t have Tamara here, so we need a person who can lead that cluster today. And Professor Soyoung, would you mind to moderate? Yeah. Thank you so much. So, now we are going to make a small group. But as you know, this is just a start point. So, you know, we just set the goal. and then leader, and then each, you know, the crosser is going to invite more people, you know, not just like active, you know, existing member of partner of coalition, research coalition, because I know that you know many colleagues, right, working in this field, so it’s a great opportunity to put together and then invite people. So after this meeting, you know, our team is going to draft the flyer, you know, call for authors or call for contribution to the 2024 research report, and then we are going to distribute that to the leaders, and then, you know, we can invite more people. We expect about five to seven authors of each the crosser, so we don’t expect a long, like 300 pages report like that we did, you know, previously. This is more like a shorter version, but it will evolve over the years. You know, this is just the second, you know, beginning. So, okay. Okay, let’s make, let’s have a break our sessions. So the first assess group will get together around the professor Christopher New, and also the second leadership group, that’s me, so please come to me, and about skills the group can be together around the professor Soyoung Kim, so let’s get together. So we allocate about half hour, so we are on time, so we will get back at 5 p.m., and each group is going to present to what they have discussed, okay? What’s your overall theme, or what kind of topics each authors are covering, and also list of potential authors you can invite to the group as an author, and then, you know, about the next step, and also, I just want to give a heads up, if you serve as, you know, the leader of each cluster, we are going to invite you to KAIST, probably next summer, so we can have a small research workshop, very intensive research workshop, so yeah. Okay, thank you, and let’s come back like 5 p.m. after small group discussions, thank you. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. and then maybe each group uh brief uh you know summary about what you have discussed it’s about you know whether the about the topics of each partner’s contribution the title of the topic that the chapter or case uh analysis and also if there are any partners who want to move from one group to another based on uh the the fit of what they are doing and also uh maybe list of potential authors of each you know that the group okay so professor christopher you you go first and then we’ll move

Christopher Yoo:
so our group was small but that was not a problem maria matias and i had a very interesting conversation and we identified several possible natural topics matias is doing very interesting work with women-led community networks and it’s proposing to understand in three different in levels of urban rural urban peri-urban and rural to understand how they would play out differently the benefits in the other ways we also are going to ask all the people at the lightning talks because we know allison’s got to be doing some work in this you know and we’re they’re going to look at the presentations and it’s a very natural thing for them to leverage this and my guess is the beautiful thing about researchers like that they’ve already written part of it up we got to find out what lunasia is up to you know because you know i know there’s some gender access stuff you’re doing and so just uh we’ll touch base and try to get some ideas you know we’re talking about two three four pages just stealing stuff out of your reports just to give you a platform to talk about the great work you’re doing uh we’re going to reach out to apc georgia tech you know the work we’re doing which will highlight nurse our talk and then what marina was thinking also is to probably not so much just report for existing work but on a forward-looking basis something that’s interesting to her which i think is fabulously is a great idea thinking about alternative measures of access not just you know we try to find ways to proxy for it particularly in what i heard you say in whitehead is network-based data that we can infer stuff from yeah because if we can get network proxies that’s information we can get the rest of the stuff survey it’s just it’s so ungodly expensive you know and if there’s a way we can actually validate a measure and generalize it up then we could actually do a lot and maybe not getting absolute levels but a minimum of changes in rates you know progress these sorts of things and so we’re probably going to devote part of our section on a forward-looking basis of more speculative stuff which is not data-based in the same way but i don’t think it matters i think it’d be a neat

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
contribution. Thank you so much and the next is professor Tasom Lee. So we’re the leadership

Dasom Lee:
group and to specify the leadership refers to women’s representation in the ICT and technology sectors and we had the internet society foundation and they discussed how to assess um so that right so let me just clarify the internet society foundation discussed the two types of leadership one is fellowship based the other one is training and e-learning courses based so you can actually see that there’s a multi-level types of leadership going on there and the OECD group discussed the statistics so we looked at different types of stats going on and they mentioned that they had lots of different types of data available and what we kind of discussed was that it would be really interesting if we could just look at one signature indicator just choose one and then try to get into as much depth as possible and that would maybe gain some traction and then lead to a bit more funding a bit more you know contributors kind of joining in and what we’re hoping to do is that we kind of write about the existing research and then kind of write a short or long proposal to to discuss how we would actually continue to do this in the future too. Most specifically on my site as well I think what I want to what we discussed was that we want to look at regarding leadership we want to look at different types of corporations so that be multi-level or transnational corporations which would we would have to look at the multi the headquarters to see where they’re geographically located the small and medium-sized enterprises and then the the startups which the OECD has data on so that we can actually have a look at all these different aspects of corporations and leadership. Is everything okay? Okay yeah so that’s that’s basically the gist of what we were saying.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Okay thank you so much and Professor Soyoung Kim would you you know summarize the discussions with the skills group?

So Young Kim:
We were only a two-person group so I’ll just speak up and then maybe Karani, Kayani can just fill up the rest. So we have actually found interesting commonalities with the other the other two groups because the skills are related to access and also leadership in two ways. The first one is that you know you have to be a leader and you have to be a in two ways. The first one we need questions like access anyway and we have to define skills very very specifically instead of just asking whether you use the internet. So the first point we actually agreed on is we need to develop at least find really good source of survey data around the world which contains those specific very concrete questions about different layers and levels of skills. We know that there are many surveys on ICT access and also related to gender but we don’t really see many questions like these specific ones. So that way we can benchmark some of the access questions because access questions as Professor Pasumil and also other people said you know questions are increasingly being more sophisticated. So skills questions need to be more sophisticated in the same fashion. The second one related to leadership we also find an interesting paradox because as skills gap is being narrowed down the more gaps are actually created in upper level of digital skills. So now people get to obtain some very basic ICT education so we don’t really see much gap gender gap but really really difficult to learn skills such as very fancy AI technologies. This is extremely hard to obtain and then now when even they get education for these really latest upscale technologies when they get to the job market and also when they get to work there’s a gender and work and life balance especially in ICT sector as you know this is kind of a crunch mode 24-hour work so that we don’t really find very high level in the sector which actually backfires because when we motivate women and girls to obtain more high-tech in ICT but they don’t see anybody up there then what’s the motivational incentive for them to learn more advanced technologies. So in that way this is also related to the leadership section and finally we have been discussing who could be mobilized to provide some writing here and we talked about UNAPC something in World Bank or whatever but she has a very good idea of who is really available.

Audience:
So yeah we were just coming up with a couple of names but of course I’m sure the room people in the room will have a better idea but we were just thinking that I think UNAPC ICT was doing some work on skilling then maybe agenda angle in that work because I think that was also some level of benchmarking what different countries were doing. I know the World Bank does in their sort of digital economy assessments they look at skills elements of all the other countries the different countries and maybe also look at programs so I don’t know if we want to approach them and have some sort of conversation about taking case studies from there but that also may be a function of just looking at what countries are doing so perhaps if there are any good programs that countries are doing perhaps if anyone knows of good programs.

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
Okay thank you so much and what about the online yes thank you again. Is there any summary from

Audience:
their discussions? Yeah maybe I can just briefly summarize so thanks to the great tech team we were able to like solve our issues and communicate with each other but the time was quite short so we really just got to hear about POSSE and Ayanna’s research and how it might fit in and so actually POSSE is the director for the Center for Media Literacy and Community Development organization in Uganda and they do training for youth and women and other community members in media and information literacy so I think that you know their organization can write a lot of very interesting case study in either the access or the skills dimension and Ayanna was actually describing her research as well which spans all three of the different pillars so we actually described like oh maybe there is space also to touch in the report about how all of these three pieces actually come together so her research is about digital innovation ecosystems and gender inequality so she will contribute some section related to that. Wonderful also our team has

Moderator – Moon Jeong Choi:
created a gem board would you you know the show the gem board on the screen the technician team? Okay yeah but you see

Audience:
I’m Thankyou

Thabisa Zimbini Faye-Mwangi

The exploration of future networks’ potential, such as Beyond 5G, is under scrutiny, particularly in developing nations like those in Africa. The feasibility of their implementation faces several considerable obstacles, from high costs and substantial energy demands to the pressing need for infrastructure development. South Africa, for example, is currently grappling with an energy crisis and persistent power cuts, exacerbating the high energy consumption required to operate these networks. The added burden these systems would place on existing power supplies adds an extra layer of complexity. Economic viability presents additional challenges, especially in countries with a variety of competing economic interests. Together, these factors underscore the broader sentiment of uncertainty and concern.

However, the expected impact of future networks isn’t entirely negative. Indeed, they could stimulate extensive economic participation and growth by increasing purchasing power and catalysing economic engagement. With the potential to unlock significant development, the advent of future networks could also invigorate subsidiary industries like textiles.

In response to these Industry 4.0 challenges, regulatory frameworks must adapt to remain relevant. Agile and transparent regulations and regulatory sandboxes can foster increased industry participation, and this tool allows the private sector to demonstrate regulatory compliance without the necessity for a full-scale Research and Development budget.

Spectrum-sharing and interoperability are given significant importance in the context of networking systems. Increasing market diversity, these two aspects not only promote resource expansion but also facilitate participation from smaller players. This challenges the existing network system’s tendency to favour the most financially robust entities, thereby creating a more equitable playing field for all market participants.

Moreover, specific working contexts should ideally incorporate localised data. This could trigger the development of bespoke knowledge systems, promoting a more inclusive and applicable approach to systems.

At a global level, spectrum harmonisation is deemed essential for enhancing sustainability and accessibility in global mobile communication. Currently, the lack of harmonisation, often a product of global debates favouring larger stakeholders, engenders a fragmented landscape. Therefore, collaboration and knowledge sharing are critical to overcoming this disparity.

An emergent sentiment perceives the necessity for a new approach to digital world regulation, considering many existing regulatory models obsolete. Digital regulators are becoming increasingly research-oriented, moving away from traditional regulatory tools such as ‘call termination’.

Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are progressively deriving economic value from the obligations associated with spectrum auctions. Rather than seeking substantial profits, this strategy aims to sustain the development of similar Wi-Fi projects in venues like schools, thus addressing wider developmental imperatives and serving broader communities.

Community networks are seen as challenging the traditional business model within the telecommunications sector. Bridging the true access gap in underserved rural areas with low economic participation and significant physical barriers, these networks diverge from industry norms.

Looking ahead, the development of 6G faces staunch resistance, primarily due to the substantial energy demands it would incur. Concerns primarily stem from the developing South, which faces the risk of being overlooked amidst the rapid pace of technological evolution. Without addressing issues of energy sustainability, the leap into 6G could consolidate systems that are little more than ‘5G plus’. To sidestep these challenges, international collaboration and knowledge sharing amongst countries are strongly advocated. These partnerships could leverage the progress of more technologically advanced nations to shape the policies and regulations of developing nations, firmly grounding these developments in sustainability.

Tony Quek

Tony Quek presented a detailed overview of Singapore’s leading role in the development and implementation of O-RAN technology, emphasising on various potential research areas such as cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and sustainability. He disclosed that Singapore commenced an investment of US $50 million in 2019, instigating the construction of a test bed for research revolving around O-RAN technology. Singapore also launched the execution of its first open, disaggregated radio access network (O-RAN) in 2021.

Quek highlighted Singapore’s geopolitical and political neutrality, maintaining that this could provide an advantageous position in the creation of secure and trustworthy O-RAN systems. In his perspective, this unique geopolitical position provides Singapore with leverage in becoming a pivotal player in the evolution towards 5G technology and potentially beyond.

Furthermore, Quek endorses employing Open-RAN technology as an effective instrument to enhance AI/ML capabilities within the network, offer enhanced transparency, and exploit the advantages of vertical services integration. The flexibility of O-RAN in employing AI/ML across diverse controllers and providing opportunities for vertical services integration were emphasised.

Additionally, Quek underscored the importance of sustainability in the deployment of O-RAN and 5G technology, accentuating the environmental impacts critical for Singapore and Asia as a service region. He highlighted that Singapore has planned the introduction of a carbon tax and aspires for the city-state to lead in services sustainability within Asia.

Quek also stressed the necessity for technologies to demonstrate measurable social and economic impact, and the importance of remaining at the forefront in certain sectors by adopting innovative technologies. He offered the successful synergy with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) on a future communications project as evidence to his argument that innovative implementation of new technologies requires regulatory flexibility.

Moreover, Quek champions the concept of a ‘sandbox’, a creative ecosystem fostering collaboration amongst industry, academia, and vendors. He warned that neglection of sensitivity towards Spectrum regulations could trigger potential territorial issues with neighbours, advocating for a cautious approach to these regulations.

Simultaneously, Quek advocated extraordinary shifts within the telecoms industry, contesting the subscription model, while proposing an infrastructure akin to the S-line capabilities. He also emphasised the need to broaden the market beyond Asia, identifying Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam as possible arenas.

Quek also underlined the balancing act between long-term research and immediate goals such as Plugfest, Mobile World Congress (MWC), and other key events where progressive advancement can be showcased. He spotlighted synergistic partnerships as a method for achieving a cumulative result exceeding individual efforts.

Finally, Tony Quek voiced optimism regarding the potential outcomes from a workshop in which he participated as a panelist, focusing on open service platforms in the era beyond 5G or 6G. He highlighted that this event, organised by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), should yield substantial results.

Marja Anneli Matinmikko-Blue

Marja Anneli Matinmikko-Blue expresses a prevailing positive sentiment towards the prospects of 6G as a formidable platform for new solutions and services, all grounded in a multidisciplinary approach. As a researcher at the University of Oulu in Finland, she articulates that the evolution of 6G will mark a natural progression from 5G, emanating from an enhanced emphasis on network sharing between local networks and current users of the spectrum.

However, she underscores that the trajectory of 6G must be guided by paramount considerations surrounding sustainability. She avers that the UN Sustainable Development Goals should serve as the design criteria for 6G. This perspective is punctuated by apprehensions regarding the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector’s total energy consumption. Matinmikko-Blue encapsulates both the enablement effect – ICT’s potential to catalyse sustainable practices across different sectors – as well as the sector’s own environmental footprint.

In dissecting the process of 6G development, Matinmikko-Blue opines that a broader spectrum of stakeholders must participate in the dialogue. She notes that the current conversation is largely led by existing major players, including infrastructure vendors and operators. Nonetheless, she perceives an immediate need to incorporate the viewpoints of end-users into this decision-making process. By acknowledging a shifting ecosystem and business environment, she advocates for the inclusion of such diverse perspectives, promoting a sustainable transition towards 6G.

When discussing the global aspect of mobile communication, Matinmikko-Blue registers concern about spectrum divergence and fragmentation, primarily due to nation-specific bands for local 5G. This fragmentation, she asserts, presents a challenge as mobile communication heavily hinges on the global use of the same equipment. She maintains a neutral sentiment about harmonised regulation. Despite recognising the distinct regulatory requirements for public and private networks, she argues that harmonisation is essential for efficient and streamlined mobile communication. She identifies the harmonisation of the spectrum as a formidable challenge, especially in light of varying viewpoints on the 6G spectrum across Europe.

Matinmikko-Blue also alludes to the evolution of business models in the wake of 5G. She posits that 6G will engender new business ecosystems involving multiple organisations, prompting a shift in the business model from a company-centric focus to an ecosystem-oriented approach. In this context, she identifies the emergence of new enterprise opportunities centred around various usages of 6G, where value addition will be paramount. Despite this, she acknowledges a transformation in the mobile connectivity business with the onset of 5G, underscoring the enduring licenses held by operators and sustained gains from monthly subscriptions.

Subsequently, she underscores the critical role of understanding user expectations in the transition from 5G to 6G. Citing the disappointment users experienced due to unfulfilled promises with 5G, Matinmikko-Blue emphasises the importance of managing expectations realistically. She suggests striking a careful balance between comprehending the technological capabilities of 6G while meeting users’ expectations. She highlights the vital role of social scientists in facilitating this transition and preventing a potential recurrence of the 5G experience.

Lastly, Matinmikko-Blue stresses the importance of adequate funding for 6G research, citing existing support from national programmes and the European Union. However, she advocates for respecting the agreements of higher-level government entities, such as the EU and the US Trade and Technology Council. In doing so, Matinmikko-Blue accentuates the need for the inclusion of social scientists in the research process to ensure the transition towards 6G is appropriately responsive to societal needs and expectations.

Audience

The discussions centred on two critical aspects within the realm of Innovation and Infrastructure: Spectrum harmonisation and the advancement of 6G network technology. There was a distinct emphasis on the need for Spectrum harmonisation, a challenge stemming from divergent national strategies concerning Spectrum usage and management.

Dr Marie-Méconneau-Ambroux underscored these differences, focusing particularly on the discrepancy observed between Finland and Germany. This sheds light on the more extensive issue of geographic discrepancies in this sphere. Ms Faye Mwangi further highlighted the fragmentation of Spectrum, specifically addressing its uneven distribution and application across distinct regions.

Countering this fragmentation, Mr Angus Stein championed the role of technology, suggesting it as a viable solution. He articulated that with the swift development and application of technology, it could be a decisive tool in addressing such challenges, promoting harmonisation and more efficient utilisation of Spectrum.

The conversation shifted towards the development of 6G networks and the degree of standardisation required for its evolution. It was noted that several standards are currently operating for 4G and 5G networks, reflecting a variation in regional requirements and technical abilities among nations. Intriguingly, each country tends to propose different standards to meet their specific needs.

The dialogue, however, turned to the possibility of needing fewer standards for the evolution of 6G. Mass production was recognised as a potent force guiding this tactic. The large-scale production and global consumption of technology could demand more unified standards to streamline manufacturing processes and reduce complexity.

In conclusion, the various viewpoints illuminated the intricacies of Spectrum harmonisation and 6G network progression. They identified opportunities for technology to bridge gaps and further standardise approaches while allowing for diversity to accommodate unique circumstances and needs where necessary. These discussions deepened understanding about the complexity of harmonising communication technology and the concept of standardisation in 6G network development.

Moderator

The discussion primarily centred around the potential challenges, opportunities, and future prospects of digital infrastructure, with a particular focus on 5G and 6G technologies. The debate assembled an array of experts ranging from policy geniuses, tech gurus, business model strategists to individuals contributing insights from developing nations, creating a comprehensive discussion.

The participants emphasised the instrumental need for harmonisation and standardisation of equipment, perceiving it to be fundamental for sustainability and accessibility. In talks on developing African nations and other outlier regions, the active role these areas are playing in international tech debates was applauded. They identified the lack of harmonisation and standardisation as a potential cause for issues such as lack of interoperability and fragmented spectrum use.

In unison with these sentiments, a consensus unfolded on the need to remodel traditional regulations to cater for the ever-evolving digital age. It was brought to light that obsolete regulatory tools, such as call termination, necessitate a reassessment. Regulators are evolving into more digitally savvy entities, with focus skewing more towards research than regulating.

Another central point made was about the vital role of regulators in understanding the nuances of the technologies they regulate. The importance of a neutral platform as a learning spot for comprehending operational frameworks was also highlighted.

A significant portion of the discourse revolved around the ‘sandbox concept’, distinguished as an effective platform for trialling new business models as well as technologies. Narratives of these trials mentioned a two-year time frame to convince a telco to test the sandbox scheme, endorsing a realistic collaboration amongst industry, academia, and suppliers.

The discussion touched on spectrum sensitivity, acknowledging its impact on neighbours and thus accentuating the need for careful usage. This factor supports the premise that policy evolution can be accomplished by creating persuasive ecosystems making a viable case for change.

Dividing views amongst nations on the spectrum aspect of 6G development emerged as a major concern, with numerous European countries showing disinterest in any spectrum for 6G. However, within this debate, the concept of multiple proposals for 6G standards also materialised. Despite challenges, some participants welcomed the notion of accepting multiple 6G standard proposals.

The sustainability of the prevailing subscription model for telecom services was also questioned, underpinned by the increasing financial burden related to escalating infrastructure costs. Advocacy for alterative business models, drawing upon the S-line model by Docomo, were seen as more adaptable with the potential for broader market access.

The dialogue ensured consideration for developing countries where the cost of adopting progressive technologies such as 6G could be prohibitive. The panel concurred that device costs were a significant consideration in these regions, reflecting the recurring theme of inclusivity in the conversations.

Further expounding on the argument, participants underscored the importance of funding in both academia and industry to pioneer advancements in 6G technology. Alongside this, the necessity to instil key principles such as sustainability, inclusiveness and trust in 6G research was also highlighted as a focal point for 6G pursuits.

The conversation concluded on an optimistic note, acknowledging the need to continue discussions and collaborations centred on these themes. The moderator reiterated the importance of understanding variations among different nations and regions, suggesting this as a key factor in propelling collaboration and research for future networks. Stakeholders expressed interest in prolonging these important discussions, maintaining a forward-thinking, and future-oriented focus on the trajectory of technology.

Abhimanyu Gosain

The evolution of telecommunications standards, primarily 5G and 6G, is significantly influenced by public-private partnerships and collaborations. Abhimanyu Gosain’s influential work with the National Science Foundation and over 35 global industry member companies has founded the vision for future networks. His blueprint and reference architectures have been adopted by research groups worldwide, indicative of the pivotal role partnerships play in progressing telecommunications.

A shift towards more energy-efficient and virtualised networks is crucial for future advancements. The recent deployment of 5G underlined the need for such networks, despite revealing its shortcomings in energy efficiency. Accordingly, the argument stipulates that 6G should be more adaptive and energy-conscious than its predecessor.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation stand at the core of these future networks. Automation across various infrastructure facets is deemed necessary for network optimisation. Moreover, reliable AI models are key in safeguarding data privacy and security. Progress in AI and machine learning is expected to offer more refined control over available spectrum voxels.

However, these advancements present certain challenges. Regulatory concerns demand immediate resolution to ensure seamless network functioning. As AI and machine learning become central to networks, understanding and explicability of these AI systems take precedence.

Whilst technological adoption is growing worldwide, high device costs due to royalties could impede progress in developing countries. Hence, addressing device cost could fast-track technology adoption rates.

Global collaboration efforts are burgeoning to realise future networks beyond 5G and 6G. Collaborations between governments, industries, and academic researchers promote unified viewpoints, connecting disparate stakeholders and aligning regional competencies for international cooperation. This presents an opportunity for various regions to contribute to a more substantial and collaborative global system.

However, the consumer response to 5G indicates a disparity between expectations and delivery. This highlights the need to reassess the existing ‘build-it-and-they’ll-come’ mentality, ensuring both technological advancements and consumer expectations are met.

In conclusion, the success of future networks relies on a co-developmental and collaborative approach, involving all stakeholders from inception. This allows the creation of standards and spectrum allocation that align with all parties’ interests. These insights underscore the significant role of international collaboration, AI integration, and regulatory management in shaping the future of telecommunications.

Moderator:
of National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Japan, and we organised this session and we would like to start this session. Session name is Future Network System as Open Service Platform, the Beyond 5G, 6G Era. At the first of this session, we would like to, on behalf of our organiser, we would like to greet, greetings from the NICT’s Vice-President, Dr. Ibaraki-san, I’m sorry. Thank you, Chihiro-san. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I’m honoured to be here at the first of today’s panel discussion, representing the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, NICT. I’d like to extend a warm welcome to all of you and I’m delighted to have this opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion on this important topic. We are taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity of the Internet Governance Forum, IGF, is being held in Kyoto, where we can reflect on the future of network systems and I look forward to chattering new directions. Our theme for today is Future Network System as Open Service Platform in Beyond 5G, 6G Era. This theme explores how information and communication services will evolve and create new values through open innovation. We have assembled a distinguished panel of experts from around the world to explore this critical topic in depth and I believe that together we get gain valuable insights. Today’s discussion has the potential not only to shape the future of communication systems, but also to foster a common understanding of information and communication policies and research directions worldwide. NICT would like to play a leading role in research and development for the realisation of Beyond 5G and to enhance international co-ordination in this field. However, in order to achieve this important vision, stakeholders worldwide need to share a common vision and work together. Therefore, in today’s panel, we aim to integrate the diverse perspectives of Beyond 5G experts from around the world to deepen our understanding and foster collaborations. So let’s start today’s discussion. I look forward to hearing your valuable insights and opinions. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for the very warm words from Dr. Ibaraki and I would like to move to the next step and I would like to hand over the mic to Dr. Ishizu who is really planning this session and who will moderate the panel session. Okay, Ishizu-san, please. Thank you very much, Hosako-san. Could you show? Okay. Yes, the session is future network system as open service platform in Beyond 5G 6C era. So agenda is like this. To begin with, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Kentaro Ishizu. I’m a director of Beyond 5G design initiative of NICT and my background is wireless technology including spectrum sharing or cognitive radio heterogeneous networking, this kind of thing. I’m honored to serve as a moderator of this important session and looking forward to discussions on this important topic with you. Okay, so now I would like to go into the session. First, I would like to explain the motivation of this session and also I would like to present initial input on this topic. Okay, so I’m now moving on to the agenda item number two. Okay, motivation of this session. A future networking system with Beyond 5G 6C technologies are coming soon and the system would be composed of combinations of uncountable subsystems brought from many stakeholders from not only ICT industry but also across broad fields of industries. A new platform would be necessary to deal with such complicated systems. The platform might be based on an open concept so that small to medium-sized enterprises with cutting-edge technologies such as TR2 or 3 can directly join the future ecosystem. So moreover, even companies in developing countries could have opportunity and motivations to naturally and easily join the ecosystem. This is very important. So this session would like to focus on feasibility of the new platform in the Beyond 5G 6C era. Not only advantages but also concerns or issues must be there so we need discussions. Discussions are required based on experience and knowledge from various professional activities in different regions. As you can see, we have a distinguished panelist from different continents so I’m really looking forward to the discussion. Okay, so I would like to now introduce the distinguished four panelists. First, Mr. Tabisa Faye, she is a counselor for Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. The second panelist is Mr. Abhimanyu Ghosain, Senior Director at Institute for World Internet of Things, Northeastern University, USA. The third panelist is Dr. Maria Mattimikobu, Research Director at University of Aul, Finland. The last panelist is Professor Tony Quek, Professor at Singapore University of Technology and Design. Okay, so first I would like to input some information and then I would like to ask the panelist for a presentation. Okay, so NICT is only National Institute for R&D on ICT. We have around 700 researchers in ICT area. NICT has set Beyond 5G as one of interdepartmental research areas. My input is about the vision and R&D activities of NICT, especially regarding concept and open service platform. Okay, so NICT has published Beyond 5G successive white papers. The first version was published in 2021 and the latest version in 2023. The latest version was published in this March. The contents are a result of a discussion with more than 100 volunteering researchers in NICT. The white paper starts with five scenarios of future life in 2030s. Then by backcasting from the scenarios, we have extracted and categorized key technologies to tackle as current R&D topics. Okay, so there is a nice video. We have a nice video envisioning actually the future life described in the white paper. So I think it’s better to show this video rather than explain by myself. So please take a look. It takes just two minutes. The technology of NICT will shape the future. Let us take a look at how NICT will play a part in our lives to come. No matter how advanced the remote technology is, it won’t shift from the moon. It won’t shift. If we use NTN and space-time synchronization as predicted by AI. I see. Okay, here we go. NTN First of all, NTN is a communication network that connects the earth to the universe in three dimensions. And space-time synchronization can synchronize the time and position of cyber space and physical space to enable synchronization. If you have these, you can share information without worrying about location and enable new communication through avatars. In addition, we are promoting the use of terahertz waves and building a super-high-speed next-generation communication network. NICT NICT will create a bright, exciting future through inspirational next-generation research and technology. Thank you very much. What do you think? I think there is a very new type of life waiting for us. And new technologies must be there. So we need to tackle those technologies. Okay, so I would like to explain the structure of white paper. First, we have scenarios. And based on the scenarios, we have extracted use cases. Each of the three scenarios has a number of use cases. Each use case summarizes a system to be used and their details. Each key technology summarizes a technology to be used in the future and why it is needed, current status, and so on. This is how the white paper is organized. And now I would like to very briefly introduce the scenarios of the white paper. Scenario 1 is organized as a diary of a director working in a manufacturing company. In this scenario, people jack in remotely onto cybernetic avatars and human-type robots. And then next one, scenario 2, is focusing on working style when people go to the moon and conduct underground material survey and so on. So on the moon, we send avatars and then we control remotely so that we can work from the earth. The third one is regarding our activities area. And we are extending our active area from the ground to the 3D area. And we are going to use drones more actively, skycars or skytrucks and so on. So many things are flying. And if we think about the future, we also need to highlight a shadow part of the future. This is a message that Beyond 5G has such perspective, not perfect as we show in the scenario 1, 2, 3. We would like to extend our discussion to ethical, legal and social issues, so-called LC, in addition to technical activities. Scenario 5, the last one, focuses more into details of human life. Our new working style is going to be changed by using perfect research resource matching by cross-industry orchestration with AI. Those are scenarios. Maybe you think this is really fantasy, but actually these are not fantasy. We have some evidence, and based on the evidence, we imagine the future. And that’s how we have those scenarios. These are key technologies for Beyond 5G we have extracted from the scenarios. T1 to T3 are close to radio access and networking technologies. T4 is non-terrestrial network, so-called NTN technologies. T5 is a technology for space-time synchronization. We need precise location and time to enhance the application and communication. And T6, data-wide security and reliability. T7 is regarding innovative application. As such, the technologies are so distributed for Beyond 5G. This implies that systems are going to be increased and not very easy to be composed as one system, one box. So that’s how we need the following discussions. This is another important concept of Beyond 5G, cyber-physical system, or CPS. Physical space is the real world where human beings are really living. And cyberspace is an emulated world realized on computers. In the physical space, there are so many communication systems and application systems out there, such as non-terrestrial networking systems like satellites or airplanes. And also on the ground, there are new wireless systems. For example, using terahertz band, such systems will appear. Then sensing data is sent from the physical space to cyberspace. And then in the cyberspace, the data is accumulated, analyzed, and the future will be predicted. Then cyberspace actuates the physical space for optimization. And the important thing is the circulation of the cycle. The one cycle is not, maybe it’s already realized, and the circulation of the sensing and actuation is important, and it is realized not by humans, but by machines. Okay, so who creates the Beyond 5G system? It is too complicated for a single organization to build up a whole system by itself. It is already difficult now, but in the future, it is much more complicated. So it’s completely difficult for one organization to realize the system. So different organizations, including operators, providers, and individuals, need to bring their own subsystems, and somehow we need to combine the systems. This is an important concept. And this is, I think, the most important slide in my presentation. The concept of cross-industry orchestration. As you can see, on the left-hand side, there are mobile operators. There are mobile operators, and in the future, to enhance the spectrum frequency, spectrum sharing efficiency, for example, or to realize new applications, they need to collaborate with each other. And also, if you look horizontally, another industry, like hubs, or satellite communication, or metaverse, as you can see, or maybe it’s not shown, but for example, drone control systems, or traffic management systems, maybe, or other systems, for example, medical systems, or other things, I don’t know, maybe smart cities. Another industry also needs to collaborate with each other. So that’s why we have orchestration in the upper part. And by this, there might be an opportunity for everyone, including small, middle enterprises, to join this world. And optimized combinations of subsystems can be found by algorithm, maybe, in the orchestrator. the orchestrator may use some AI algorithm. The more systems are connected, the more service combination will be. So that’s why the concept is very, very important for the future. And beyond the 5G architecture for open service framework is now under consideration in NICT. Also, we break down the concept and really designing the functions and interfaces of those functions. You can see the orchestrator is, as I explained, but also you can see the service enabler. From users, it is very difficult to understand everything about the cyber-physical system, because there are so many complicated systems. So it is hard for users to understand the systems, subsystems. So there is some function. We call it service enabler. And service enabler receives the request from users and communicates with orchestrator to realize that to meet the requirement from users. And anyway, we are now investigating the details of them and designing a proof of concept system to discuss with many stakeholders. OK, this is my presentation. Now, I would like to ask position talks from the panelists, from panelists closer to me. OK, so I will switch to the presentation. OK, then, Tabisa-san, could you start your talk? I’m just waiting for it to come on. OK. All right, thank you very much. Good afternoon, very late afternoon to everyone in the room.

Thabisa Zimbini Faye-Mwangi:
My name is Tabisa Faye Mwangi. I am from ICASA, which is the ICT regulator in South Africa. I serve as a counselor there. This afternoon, I’ll just briefly give you the regulator’s perspective, but also the African perspective on where we are with regards to beyond 5G. And I think we provide a very different perspective in terms of our readiness, our participation, as well as the challenges that we face. The challenges that we see would impact the developing nations. So just a brief introduction around myself. Like I said, I’m a counselor at the regulatory authority in South Africa. I have an extensive professional background in management consulting prior to joining the regulator last year in December. My areas of interest are in ICT and renewable energies and their socioeconomic impact on the current context and the future that we’re all trying to shape and influence. I have working knowledge in 18 African countries in the sub-Saharan region, but I do have exposure to a lot more. So I think I can firmly say that I do speak for the African, or at least the sub-Saharan African context. Next. All right, I just want to quickly touch on future networks beyond 5G. And really, for developing nations, and I’d say the developing African nations, this is an inevitable reality. But when we get to participate and how we participate is really what is under debate. So we know that future networks have the potential to unlock immense development and growth for developing nations. South Africa is no exception to this. While increasingly, more African countries have access to 5G spectrum, with South Africa coming to the market during COVID through temporary spectrum assignment, and more recently, licensing through an auction in March 2022. The cost of rolling out 5G, however, is what has really hamstrung the true impact, or realizing the true impact of 5G in South Africa. The second challenge that has been seen is more around the infrastructure, the supporting infrastructure that is required for this to be realized. And this is mainly around electricity and the current electricity crisis that we’re having. As much as we want to leave no one behind, the economic feasibility of rolling out across the nation is one that is rather distant at the moment. The energy costs in a country that is battling with a national energy crisis and rolling blackouts, and the energy consumption and consistency that’s required to sustain these kind of networks is something that is not yet feasible in South Africa. But it’s not so distant, and it’s not something we have not tried, despite all the odds. This doesn’t stop us, like I say, from participating. We continue to shape and share the African insights. And future networks stand to have a great impact on agriculture, which remains to be a big contributor towards a lot of the GDPs in African countries. And I think as I go through the slide, I also, at the end of the slide, I’ll just share a bit of what we envision it looking like, or rather what I personally envision it looking like. So unlocking the value chain of agriculture and all vertically integrated industries would exponentially increase the economic value of agriculture. One of those vertically integrated industries is banking and finance, including and bringing into the circle more economic participants and active participants at that, which continue to be increasingly powered by ICT innovation. And then we also look at safety and security on future networks, which will determine user uptake and user base. And lastly, I spoke about the electricity crisis just now. And this is what really is one of the greatest impacts around us getting towards beyond 5G. Earlier this year at the 5G huddle that was hosted in Singapore, we spoke quite extensively around the energy constraints and the difficulties in rolling out and how we cannot really move to 6G if we haven’t solved for the energy demands of these networks. And in doing so, if we want to do that, if we push ahead with 6G in its current prototypes or pilot forms, we risk leaving behind the developing African nations. I think before I go into the slide of just explaining the African context, I want to paint a picture of what future networks could do for an African individual or a South African individual. My father lives in rural South Africa. He refuses to move to the city. He works there, and he still lives in his rural home. But one of my father’s things that he does is he’s a farmer of sheep. He has more than 200 sheep. And every year, he needs to shear those sheep and sell the wool. It’s his subsidiary income to being able to grow his livestock. But once he’s sheared those sheep, he then needs to load the wool into a truck. And then there are four cooperatives all around 200 or so kilometers away from his house, all of which he needs to travel to to get an assessment of his wool and then get a price. And then he will sell to the best offer. Now, imagine if he could shear his sheep, or even before he shears his sheep, drones could come and take samples of the wool, take them back to the cooperatives, or do the analysis, and then be able to then give him the price before he goes out and has to travel 600 kilometers roundtrip on a single day. So that, for me, is how I envision the impact of future networks in an African context. It would increase my father’s economic participation immensely. It would decrease his costs. It would save him time. It would allow him to grow his livestock to an even greater number and contribute. And secondly, it would then also then stimulate the subsidiary industries, the vertically integrated industries, the agri-processing, the textile industry, et cetera, et cetera. So I’m going to quickly go through the African context. And really, what this is is around what are the greatest impacts for us. And I’ve just highlighted a few impacts, six impacts there. The first is the economic growth and the economic participation by increasing the buying power and accelerating the economic participation of all. Secondly is infrastructure development, being able to maintain and expand essential infrastructure to sustain these networks. And then digital inclusion. This is so important. And really, it’s the one thing that underpins anything that we do in terms of future networks. It is the fundamental development imperative. Secondly, collaboration and shared resources. We cannot do this on our own strength. And it’s not just about collaboration in government, but it’s collaboration in the private sector. So the big private players taking on and creating space for the small-medium enterprises, as well as the regulator being more open and transparent in how we do things to allow greater participation with industry, having a light-touch approach to how we regulate, and sharing and leveraging of resources such as research and development. And then being an innovation enabler, being creating a conducive environment for innovation to thrive. And that comes from policy and regulation and how we shape and position ourselves. And then lastly, around sustainability, creating shared value for future generations to come. Next slide. Thank you. Here I’ve just highlighted some of the challenges that we see. And I think I’ve spoken to some of these in my earlier slides. The first is affordability, the cost of rolling out these future networks and establishing them. When you come from a country with so many competing interests, you know, when you’re talking about what we term in South Africa, stomach politics, it’s poverty, unemployment, and, you know, just having basic essentials. You know, the affordability and the cost factor becomes a huge hindrance for us. And then security and privacy, so ensuring that we’re not only just, you know, building these networks with a secure by design framework, but also ensuring that we understand how the open systems work, that we understand how we are going to regulate the open systems. And we position the regulator and the policy makers to be able to stand in that gap and provide that assurance. The regulatory frameworks, the agility of regulatory is something that is slowly coming into the African context. And so we’re hoping that with the introduction of that agility, it would change a lot of the regulatory frameworks and how we choose to regulate. And then lastly, infrastructure deployment, which I think I’ve spoken extensively to. So open system platforms, I think for me, I just picked four of what I think would be the biggest advantages to these platforms. The first is interoperability, especially when you’re talking about spectrum and it being such a scarce resource. So the ability to share the spectrum, a lot of countries, mine included, we do not support spectrum sharing or spectrum trading. And that becomes a massive legal issue. It is about protecting the value of the asset and giving the regulator the power to still have control over the radio frequency planning. However, you know, there are ways to get around it and ways to think about it to promote economic viability, et cetera. The second is about scalability and flexibility. So being able to scale at our own pace, being able to adopt things that are within the context that they’re going to be used in. And then around the ecosystem growth, I spoke earlier about collaboration and I’ll close off just now around collaboration and having that vibrant ecosystem that creates a space for small medium enterprises. And then lastly, around security and privacy. The promotion of security by design, you know, to reduce the regulatory framework expectations and limit the instances of reactive regulatory instead of proactive. The use of agile and innovative regulatory tools and I’ll speak in my next slide about that. And in South Africa, you know, we do have that legislation around privacy and protection of data. But what we haven’t quite wrapped our heads around is how we’re going to regulate the systems, the data systems that are going to be, you know, running or fueling beyond 5G networks. Next slide. And then in my last slide, I just touched a bit about cross-sectoral collaboration. And really, I think this is so important for developing nations, especially in the African context. So there are some regulatory considerations that need to be put to mind. And how do we create that agility? How do we make ourselves relevant? We don’t necessarily have the budget for a full-scale R&D. And so what do we do with what we have, considering the competing interests? And so sandboxes come to mind, you know, trying to start using regulatory sandboxes, inviting the private sector to do the tests and run the regulatory compliance in those sandboxes. And for us to then feed off the research and the development that comes out of that. It’s a quick win in terms of R&D when you don’t have the budget. And then digital transformation. And really, this is around the localisation of data. So ensuring that we have African solutions for the African context. The monetisation of models. And this is around diverse revenue streams and shared revenue models. Being able to have a transparent framework around that. Market competition. I think one of the greatest things when it comes, when you want to have transparency, is that we have a competition regulator. And the competition regulator immediately thinks collusion, collusion. And that’s not always the case. So having healthy market competition, which breeds innovation. And then lastly, global connectivity. We really cannot do this within our own strength. I’ve spoken about the competing interests that are the centre of a lot of African countries. So being able to tap into international research and international value chains to leverage the research that we are doing and to power how we move forward is very important for us. Thank you.

Moderator:
Okay, thank you very much. Okay, next move on to Gosain-san. Okay, now it’s… I’ll make it to the screen. Okay, perfect. Thank you very much. Good afternoon. I would like to add my welcome to this panel session and thank you for being here. Appreciate the invite to NICT and the other sponsors.

Abhimanyu Gosain:
Next slide, please. So I’m Abhimanyu Gosain from Northeastern University out in Boston, Massachusetts from the USA. Just a quick introduction. Just a quick introduction of myself and the perspectives I bring to this panel discussion. And just a quick disclaimer. I don’t… All the views and opinions here are my own personal ones, so please don’t attribute those to any of the agencies that you see listed here. So primarily, I work with the National Science Foundation on applied research projects for building future platforms for 5G, 6G. There’s a flagship project called Powered Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research, which was a public-private partnership that I’m going to get into a little bit. But primarily, this was the foray for the Science Foundation and about 35 industry member companies, global industry member companies, to define and shape the vision of 5G. So I’ll talk about some of the lessons that we’ve learned and how they could be applied to the 6G era. I’m also involved with the US Department of Defense in their 5G Future-G program as a senior advisor where we are shaping how does the US military, the services adopt commercial technologies and dual-use technologies that could also be adapted for military construct. And then lastly, I work with the US Federal Communications Commission on their 6G Technology Advisory Council as a co-chair and then a few various other board appointments. So the idea is to bring you a 360-degree view of what’s happening at technology policy and governance. Next slide, please. So a quick word about, to know and understand where we are going, we need to always reflect from the past. And this is a program that we’ve been working on now coming up in seven years where we set up a public-private partnership to develop an open, programmable research platform to help shape the vision of 5G. So this was a program that was founded in 2017. If you bring the clock back, that was around the time that 5G standardization had already occurred. The standards were in place, but the implementation prototypes, proof of concepts weren’t still there. And if you actually even look today in 2023, global adoption of a 5G standalone architecture is still something that the mobile network operators are working on. And again, I really appreciate the African context where that is still something that needs to be done. But the idea was, and again, the dollar figures are quite nominal. That’s the first lesson that we learned, that it will require a lot more investment to bring together multiple different stakeholders from industry, academia, as well as from the communities that we intend to serve. Get a little bit more technical, next slide please. We funded four research platforms across the US, and we’re also proud to say that the blueprints, and these are the words that I’ll say a lot in the time that’s remaining. The blueprints, the reference architectures that we’ve been able to develop, design, implement, have been adopted by our partner research groups and partner public-private partnerships across the globe. So in Europe, in Japan, in Korea, in Brazil, we’ve been able to work with a very open mindset, the ability to share how we are building a modular, softwareized infrastructure architecture that allows for accelerated research adoption, and the ability to onboard and build on-ramps for stakeholders who don’t necessarily care about the network or the communication. So we saw from the introductory slides, a future platform that we’re gonna talk about, where you’re gonna have multiple industries who frankly don’t care about what network they use. For them, it could just be Wi-Fi. The ability for them to move data from point A to point B in a timely, secure, resilient manner is all they care about. Wherever they get that, they’re gonna go there. And our job here is to develop and push the agenda for mobile network communication standards like 5G and 6G to be the choice there. So these four platforms are across various technology and application use case areas. Starting from the left, the platform out in University of Utah is primarily focused on core underlying softwareized technologies and radio technologies like Massive MIMO, which allows for large number of scaling of antennas that allows you to serve a very diverse region very effectively from a single antenna system. The other one, Cosmos in New York City, is mostly focused on smart communities. So this is deployed in downtown Manhattan, a very, very busy, highly dense area. So we’ve been focusing a lot on millimeter waves and optical communication, and how does that connect back up to smart communities and smart intersections, for example. The third one is focused on UAS. So I really appreciated your sort of future vision of drones flying out for farms. And that actually is conducting a lot of research and onboarding non-traditional industry partners that are using the UAS. And we’re also connecting the UAS mobility patterns with the communication technology. So building an entire UAS unmanned aerial system that is fully outfitted with a 5G radio, and that is a system that can then be deployed for various use cases, be it agriculture, be it transport, be it delivery, or even for communication for fixed backhaul and integrated access and backhaul. Last but not the least, and this sort of resonates quite closely with me as well, is around rural broadband digital inclusion. So this is the last test platform out in Ames, Iowa, which is in the middle of the U.S., very heavily dominated by farmland. And the spirit of this particular testbed was to develop a farm as an anchor, which was the ability to outfit connectivity across multiple hundreds of miles using Xhaul technology. So we are focused on free space optical communication, microwave backhaul technologies, and the underlying theme for all four of them is an open modular architecture that we have developed. Underneath that, there is an asset that we’ve also inherited and developed called Coliseum, which is a large-scale channel and network emulator. And this, I would encourage you to view this as a digital twin. The idea that the cyber-physical systems exist, this is the version where the physical systems that you see that have been deployed in geographically diverse contexts are now taken into the virtual world. So this is a network emulator that allows us to build digital versions of the channel, digital versions of the network, digital versions of the physical locations, and then be able to do early prototyping, validation, testing, modeling in the emulated environment, and then, as a closed-loop feedback, bring that learning back into the physical environment. So this is sort of helping us close that divide. Next slide, please. So this is, again, now, this slide is primarily more from the policy side, and this is the motivation that the USDOD, which is a huge juggernaut and, frankly speaking, a very large customer for commercial adoption of beyond 5G kind of technologies, and the idea here is to leverage the billions of dollars that are being invested and will continue to be invested in developing telecommunications standards. So the idea is how does the USDOD, and this is not, I want to be very clear, this is not with a warfighter mentality. This is primarily looking at DOD as an enterprise because they have multiple application use cases and they fit very nicely into the vision that was presented by NICT earlier where DOD is a logistics customer. They need to move trucks from point A to point B in a timely manner. They want to use AR, VR, and XR for training purposes. So view that as a context that the USDOD is trying to adopt the vision for 5G, and that has happened by installation at 14 U.S. Army bases that are located in the continental United States where experimentation with 5G technologies is ongoing, and then there is a separate office for future G which is trying to understand how does the DOD requirements get inserted in the standardization framework, and I think that’ll also be important when we talk about a future test platform because that has to be the springboard from which standardization takes place because that is a common platform where data test results are produced, validated, and can be mutually agreed upon when you move into the standardization phase as we will do for 6G in about two to three years which is when the technical performance requirements of IMT 2030 are gonna take place. Next slide, please. So this is the two by two for future G systems. So we talked about different industries. So we are here looking at different kind of use cases that we feel will be motivated, and again, as you see on the X axis, you’re looking at enterprise and mobility. So the extreme mobility use cases are to the right, more fixed on the enterprise side are on the left, and then you also are moving from the equipment which is the physical infrastructure up to more of the extreme environments and the softwarization elements that will need to be considered. So this is sort of kind of my distillation of the earlier slide that was presented by NICT which showed sort of the stovepiped different kind of industry mappings. Next slide, please. So again, I think the world is programmable. The world is virtual. The architectures are also moving in that direction. 5G has shown us the deployment of 5G, the deployment of virtualized and programmable networks, and we’re gonna hear a lot about open radio access networks and what that brings to the table. This is sort of just our kind of an academic version of how different modular elements in an entire network system, and just to spell it out for everybody, starting from the device to the edge, and the edge could be mobile itself. It could also be stationary or there could be a point cloud at the edge. Then you move into the core network, and then you move into the wide area system where different cores could also be interconnected. And the idea here is both horizontally and vertically on the protocol stack, we need open interfaces where you now have the ability to insert, depending on what quality of service, quality of experience you’re trying to reach, build a bespoke network for every individual. The analogy is that 5G today is building a interstate highway for every consumer which is not sustainable. Now with 6G, we have to be much more adaptive, and all of this is gonna distill back down to the energy point that Tabisa was making which resonates very clearly with us because energy efficiency is gonna be important, not over-provisioning our networks, and then having intelligence built into all the four different elements I talked about from the edge to the transport network to the core network and to the wide area network. Next slide, please. So this is just a kind of notional view. This is where sort of the academic and the industry worlds are sort of merging in. From the top down, and the top is the orchestration piece, you see multiple different interfaces southbound to the infrastructure and to the different network elements that will need to be controlled. So you’re going to need to have lifecycle management, you’re gonna need to have continuous integration and development, as well as the concept of network slicing which is gonna continue, in my opinion, into the era of 6G, which is bespoke, customized network experience, and building the underlying infrastructure and the different network functions that are required to meet whatever needs are gonna be. Next slide, please. So one, just last couple minutes that I have, a kind of a plea to those who are building platforms and sort of our perspective, at least on the US side, is looking for a uniform platform for automation. And this has to be key, because AI is gonna be inserted at each stage and the idea of being fully automated across the infrastructure, across the network functions that run on the infrastructure, and then the workloads that run on those network functions. And those all need to be automated and they need to be adapted to meet the user requirement that’s present there. So in addition to that, you’re also going to have to think about the capacity, you’re going to have to think about the latency, you’re going to have to think about sort of the KPIs that are going to be important for these future platforms as we sort of build the test prototypes over the next 24 months. Next slide, please. So, okay, so this is kind of, again, coming back and shining a light on the orchestrator as again, in this panel we’re focused on. The idea here is from the industry perspective to attract them to have this kind of a global 10,000 foot view where different industries can mix and match together, you can develop different service combinations. The availability is a parameter that’s going to be very, very important. The network needs to be available when you need it for the bits to go from point A to point B. Then there has to be resilience in that network and that will only happen if there is automation and resource optimization, which also touches on the energy efficiency, energy consumption point and the intelligence is very, very important. Security, privacy, the ability to trust the data that was inserted at the source and to make sure that it’s the same data that comes out at the destination and how are you going to make sure that it wasn’t snooped on, it wasn’t eavesdropped and you were able to operate through securely through this commercial network. Industry is going to be very, very astute and keen to make sure that the data that lives on their enterprise or on their cloud is not manipulated at all. Again, trustworthiness of the AI models that we use for each of those infrastructures is going to be very, very key and then the open and interoperable standards that are going to define the next generation of future networks. So with that, I’ll stop here. Thank you for your time and attention.

Moderator:
Thank you very much, Gosai-san. Okay, then a second. Next, Maria-san. Okay, I think this is. Great, thank you. Thank you.

Marja Anneli Matinmikko-Blue:
My name is Maria Matin-Mikko-Blue and I come from the University of Oulu in Finland and there I hold a research director position in Infotech Oulu Focus Institute and I’m also director of sustainability and regulation in our 6G flagship research program. That was the world’s first 6G research program globally started in 2018. Next slide, please. So we started this research already five years ago and from the very beginning, we took a multidisciplinary approach combining technical research together with research on business and also regulations, including contributions to regulation and this needs to be in multistakeholder collaboration. So industry has always been part of our research. You need to do it together to know the requirements, to know the technology developments and really do close collaboration with the different companies, as well as the public sector, including the regulator. And as an example of what we’ve done is we’ve been globally participating in the global 6G definition process at the ITUR called IMT 2030. I don’t have those figures yet in this presentation because they are not agreed. They were supposed to be agreed last week but that didn’t happen, so they are not here. But I want to give you an example of a success story from before. So you know local 5G network, you know private 5G networks. We were talking about them and developing them already in the year 2016 and presenting this idea that 5G spectrum awarding should not only be to the big MNOs, mobile network operators, but also local licensing should be done and everybody was criticizing this, but now it is a reality. So it’s an example of industry academia, regulator collaboration, which was then pushed through different forums of both research industry and regulatory forums. Next slide. So we did this world’s first 6G white paper already four years ago in September 2019 as a collaborative effort with almost 100 people, including Japan and many other countries, industry academia, some regulators were involved and you can download it in the internet. And one of the key things there was that 6G is not only about the communication, transferring of bits, it brings together different capabilities, including sensing, locationing, positioning, and all those things, computing and so on. And that creates a platform which is capable to realize new services that we don’t even know today. So there’ll be a lot of different capabilities brought together by the network, by the devices. The network can sense the environment. It can create very accurate picture of the surrounding environment. In real time, by capturing also the changes there. Next slide. This is also from that same white paper. We had a section about the business ecosystem and it’s an example of this multidisciplinary research, which is my favorite. So we see the world in such a way that it comes from different resource combinations, as we heard previously. So different companies, organizations, individuals, they provide resources to the table. Different users, user group, end users, machines, consumers, public sector companies, they have different needs for the services. They are often location specific, like this conference center has a substantial Wi-Fi network to cater the data in here, for example. Locations, different locations like ports, harbors, traffic hubs, hospitals, they have their very specific needs. And today they are still catered with traditional methods, but more and more location specific needs emerge and also solutions to serve those needs are coming up. They involve different stakeholders. They involve different company combinations to serve those very different needs. The same network can then serve different user group with different service level requirements and so on. And we already see the changing business ecosystem. So these new business ecosystems emerge around these different usages in the different locations. We’re already seeing the changes in what companies are doing with these local 5G networks, which most of the time are private networks serving a closed user group. But they also could be open public networks locally that then serve different customers, for example, MNOs customers and so on. So all these different combinations are possible. They are in different regulatory domains. So there’s a lot of regulatory burden here, but it’s very different in the different countries. But I’ll skip that for this part. Next slide. So the emergence of this large number of local 6G networks is kind of a natural step from what we see today. So we believe that this will happen. It’s not just the mobile network operators who can deploy 5G networks today. For example, Japan, Finland, Germany, US, many countries have made it possible for different stakeholders to apply for a radio permit to operate their own network. It was very rare in 4G era. Very few countries did that in the 4G era, but that is now happening without direct MNO involvement, but MNOs do it too. So there are many different ways to realize these networks, but the divergence between the countries is huge. So the spectrum is the key there. And for example, in Europe, where you can now deploy a private 5G network is very country-specific, different in Finland compared to Germany, but they are studying a common band from 3.8 to 4.2 gigahertz today so that it will be some level of harmonization. And how to realize this? A large number of 6G networks, the access to spectrum is a bottleneck. It’s based on sharing. It’s based on sharing between the local networks, but also most likely of sharing between the local networks and the existing users of the spectrum. We know that spectrum is allocated to a variety of services. Finding spectrum or cleaning the bands is really, really challenging. That’s very challenging for 6G. So gaining access to spectrum through shared access for local networks is definitely something that will happen in the future. There are some papers that we did several years ago on this topic. Then the next slide. Then going to the sustainability and sustainable development. So we know that the UNSTG framework is there. Our nations are committed to achieving that. It looks quite challenging. And if you look at it from the ICT perspective, seven out of the indicators from the 230 indicators are ICT-specific, capturing things like percentage of schools with internet access. So they are not really the design criteria for 6G alone. Of course, they are what’s the minimum that needs to be met. But for 6G, we need to… sustainable development from this triple bottom line of economic, social, and environmental perspectives. And that’s what the community is now starting to do or trying to do. But it’s quite challenging because these perspectives are not so well known in our field, ICT field, and they’re very much interrelated. You can solve environmental, social, sustainable challenges if you had all the money in the world, but mobile communication is not, unfortunately, it’s not charity, it’s business. So it all depends on the money and the investment in the networks and the services. The next slide. So in the first white paper from 2019 that was done in a global collaboration, one of the conclusions was that 6G should be driven by sustainability, for example by the UN SDGs. And then we did a follow-up paper, I coordinated that white paper that was published three years ago about connecting 6G with the UN SDGs. You can download both of these white papers from online. And we know this, this is from four and three years ago, but the reality is still not there. The community is still not doing that. We have energy efficiency, that is one indicator. That’s one environmental sustainability related indicator. Even if you improve energy efficiency, but if the total consumption still increases, it’s not enough. So when you talk about energy, you always have to have two indicators, at least two indicators, energy efficiency and energy consumption. Then the total energy consumption, it’s not just the bits and pieces, but what is the total energy consumption. And then optimize the operations, the whole network design, so that we minimize this use of resources. Next slide. So I see this sector’s dual role in sustainable development is something we have to keep in mind all the time. So we can, yes, we can enable a lot of great things in the different sectors of society through making their operations more efficient in an economically feasible manner. This is the enablement effect or the handprint. And a lot of emphasis is now on this, that yes, we help others, so that’s enough. But it’s definitely not enough. So the ICT sector’s own, for example, energy consumption keeps increasing. It’s not decreasing, it’s not stabilizing, it keeps increasing. And that energy is just one part, but other environmental burden, other social burden, the footprint part, we have to really pay attention to that. And luckily, at least the companies are into this now. The research community is doing this right now, but we’re still far away from having the solutions. But one thing we need to do is that we have to have these both roles, not to explain away that our own helping others is enough, so we don’t need to do it. We do need to act and we do need to define together the indicators and the measurement methods and the requirements for the solutions. For example, in Europe, the European regulators were asked about the indicators of environmental sustainability for the ICT sector, what they’re using. Most of them did not use anything. Some countries had some ICT-specific environmental sustainability indicators. So we really are in the starting point of this process. Next slide. Then key stakeholders, we all need to do something. Users want to know what the impact of their choices is. End users, when I talk to the younger generations, they want to know how much energy, how much greenhouse gases, gas emissions of the use of an ICT device and the ICT service creates. And the footprints are different depending on the device connectivity dimensions. So you have put these resources together and it’s quite different depending on which resource combinations you use. But that information is not available. That’s not for the end user to see. It’s not for the regulators to see, so that they could direct towards this development. And here the research community has a lot to give as bringing the unbiased research results in the table. But for that, we need the data from the industry. We need this real-life data. Next step. And the next step. Yes, so for 6G, ICT systems are a powerful measurement tool. They can provide a lot of data about environmental sustainability and social sustainability to solve major challenges. All the resources need to be used as efficiently as possible by optimizing the locations of what is done where. Today the world, like the leading countries in mobile communications, are those that consume most data. And that’s far from being sustainable. So we are leading something because we consume a lot. Well that’s not really sustainable. So we actually need to have a whole new way of looking into what is a forerunner in terms of the ICT sector and mobile communications. So we have to minimize, in the future we need to minimize the data we transfer, or at least minimize the impact, the environmental and social impact that transfer has. That is quite a different design criteria for the future. And our sector is not the only sector dealing with sustainability challenges. A lot of methodological development, a lot of indicator development, key performance, key value indicator development happens in other sectors. And it really requires a multidisciplinary approach and collaboration. Next slide. Then I have an example of spectrum management. It’s my own research topic. So what sustainability means there, and one thing what it means there is through shared access of spectrum you can gain access to spectrum. But it’s not done today. It really, we have the unlicensed band. So if you come up with a major solution, wireless solutions, you can only use the unlicensed band. It’s really hard to gain access to spectrum. For local networks we’re starting to get that now, but we need those sharing-based techniques and also technologies. But it’s also a regulatory challenge, so we need to have those implemented in the regulations. Next. So to conclude, I want you to remember that SICSI is not only about communication service, but it brings together different kinds of capabilities. And it brings pretty powerful platform, but it has to be optimized. So it cannot, if we just do as we did before, the consumption of energy will explode. If we just see the numbers of users increasing and data rates increasing. So we really have to do more efficient solutions. And business ecosystems change. Local 5G networks are already introducing local ecosystems around the different vertical use cases. And the same development will definitely continue. That will open new business opportunities for different kinds of companies to operate. And sustainability, that is a key driver. There are many values. In SICSI, the R&D, we have one value. Countries, we like-minded countries, they have shared values. And sustainability is one of them. And that is an umbrella term. I like to use that as the umbrella, because under that we have a lot of things, including bridging the digital divide. And end-users are forgotten usually in the process. The mobile network operators say that, yes, they bring the end-user perspective into the game, but they’re not really there. The developers aren’t there. So the developers of the solutions and services, the applications, they aren’t there. It’s still primarily dominated by the existing strong players, the infrastructure vendors, the operators who are there. So therefore, it’s time that we consider this whole ecosystem and the stakeholder process, that who are the stakeholders in the 2030s? They may not be the ones that are strong today. How do we include the new voices into this changing ecosystem and business environment, so that the end-users are really, their voices are heard towards sustainable SICSI? Thank you.

Moderator:
Okay, thank you very much, Maria-san. Okay, next one is Tony-san.

Tony Quek:
Okay, I’m Tony. So I’m a faculty at a university, but I’m also serving as a director of the Future Communities of Singapore’s B5G program. I just want to share the perspective from a small country. We started thinking about this about 2019. Our whole purpose at the end is what does it mean for us as Singapore, the economic impact, the social impact, and national resilience. So I just want to share why particularly we look at open RAN at around 2018. Next slide. As I mentioned, so the initial investment is about US$50 million, about Singapore, 68.7 million. The background was, it’s essentially we look at connectivity is going to be a foundation layer for a lot of services, a lot of services beyond 5G. Think about services that are important to Singapore, because aviation is important, maritime is important, a lot of services will be connected. The geopolitical situation is something that we have to keep in mind, especially Singapore is a neutral position, so how will it affect in terms of key technologies? How will it mean to have an ecosystem in Singapore? Investment in leadership role, so that we actually can play a part together with our like-minded partners, so this is some investment that we started. Next slide. So I’ll just skip this slide. So just for the background of some audience, so particularly we look at open RAN because essentially, as what Shih-Zhi Zhang has mentioned, how do we bring in Tier 2, Tier 3 player into the ecosystem? A traditional RAN, if you break it out in the open RAN systems, it’s de-aggregation, there’s multi-module open interfaces, that’s where a lot of emphasis on software, as we decouple the software from hardware, this is where some opportunities will come in, especially for a player like Singapore. Next slide. There’s a few areas that are potential research area. I’ll just pick three, there are a lot more. Next slide. The first slide is on security and trust, not just security only, but you need an infrastructure that will be trustworthy. So some of the security risks we look at, essentially a lot of all these systems will be cloud-native, how would cloud be essentially one security risk? How do you actually manage this? Vendors, if you look at a lot of vendors, security may not be a high priority list, performance reliability will be there, how do you actually complement and help these vendors to actually improve their capability of that? One of the issues with open RAN we see is the complexity, increasing of complexity, especially multi-vendor, the capability of SI is going to be very important, how would they play a role, how do we automate some of this process? Supply chain, especially in software, supply chain risk, different vendors coming in, it’s good that Nara talked about shared spectrum. Essentially once we do shared spectrum across all this open platform system, what is the risk of the disruption of services? This is something that I have to keep in mind during this capability. We look at it as how Singapore will use the role as neutrality, as neutral position to improve security and trust in this ecosystem and contribute. So we play a role in Plugfest, O-RAN Alliance and vendor adoption. Next slide. The next area we want to look at is actually one powerful capability of O-RAN is this transparency that allow us to actually implement intelligence, right, AI, ML across a different controller, the services, the generation of this data, how do you really trust the model, AI, ML for RAN sustainability, this will be the one key feature. Essentially how do you actually test it, how do you actually verify this, how do you actually apply this across the different vertical services, the capability across this. This will be implemented across the orchestration where Xi Jinping has mentioned. How do you benchmark as we have all of all these AI, ML, S apps across the different vendor, is there a common benchmarking, is there something that we mutually recognize. So this is something that a lot of opportunities for us to create vertical services and be needle-moving. The next slide. Sustainability as we have to think about the infrastructure. Singapore has re-announced the carbon tax, we’re going to roll out carbon tax and down the road purely with some timeline. As we implement, whether it’s private network or public network, we really have to think about sustainability. How will all this infra, even open RAN, capture this sustainability where it’s at RU side because RU consume a lot of power. How would all this sustainability, all the different requirements, energy efficiency come into play. So this is where we have to plan way ahead, work with the vendors. It’s a very green field for everyone, so how do we make, be a leader, especially for Asia. I think Asia will have a particular role in sustainability as a service, so it’s something we can leverage and work together. Next slide. So we built, as we in the beginning, we say we need a test bed. Let’s build a test bed, build around all this research area, make sure it’s open, modular, work with our partners, bring the ecosystem to Singapore. So these are some of the features we have, software-defined, reconfigurable. Next slide. So we have this first O-RAN network that’s set up around 2021. Once we sell, we think about what an interesting use case we can work with the vendors and build up capability. We go to the next slide. So one of the, we can move to the next slide, it’s fine. So essentially we started to build a drone arena. The reason why we net it up, because we are very close to the airport. Our university is within five kilometer from Changi Airport, so it’s a no-fly zone. So the way we actually work with the government is that if we net it up, it’s like the Jurong Bird Park if you have been to Singapore, then the drone will not fly out. So they say you can actually fly. So this is where our site, we have a private 5G O-RAN network. We can do a lot of use cases, channel measurements, some of the companies you look at, you look at XR drone racing. So this is where some of the use cases and metaverse could come in. How would 3D network essentially play a role in this setup? It’s a small test bed for us to look at. Next slide. Because we are looking at cyber-physical concepts, so we are looking at as a campus, it could be a factory, but as a university we have a campus, so we’re thinking about how in the future you incorporate the cyber and physical, because COVID pandemic has forced us to really think about cyber world. How would the virtual campus, virtual work experience change down the decade? How would connectivity change the way we work? So we were trying to understand is there a new way of communication as we bring in all this capability to the campus, and also work with the faculty and students trying to understand this extended AR personalized learning. Then once we understand this and build a capability, you can actually branch out to other sector. Next slide. Metaverse has been talked a lot, so we’re thinking about what is the connectivity requires for this, because web 3 is going to be a big impact across the different services. Particularly Singapore, we actually have a very consensus there. How would it change the consumer market? How will it change the enterprise market? How will it change even the way different enterprise, different companies collaborate, transact and communicate? Then how would connectivity play a role in this whole ballgame? Census coming in, so this is a sort of a playground that we work with, closely with the different partners, whether it’s a platform and also with the telco. Next slide. So some of the plans that we have currently with setting up or explain setting up OTIC to do measurement, to do testing, multi-vendor network, coordination of mmWave 3.5. We have mmWave band allocated to the telco. Unfortunately telco have not deployed essentially. Trying to understand even the service model, or is it possible to deploy an O-RAN type of mmWave together with a conventional network is something we work with them. The use of digital twin, we’re also trying to expand our testbed to include NTN. NTN is going to make a big difference, a lot of services etc around ASEAN, so it’s something we are looking at and trial technology. Next slide. So one concept was, just skip this, I mentioned about OTIC. We can skip this slide. I mentioned about this O-RAN, the relationship O-RAN and NTN, because down the road a lot of the satellite, especially from transparent type of a mode, when they move to a regenerative satellite, one of the opportunities that regenerative satellite has opportunities to apply concept of O-RAN, whether it’s the CUDU is there or different architecture. So once that comes in, there’s opportunities for even ecosystems trying to do testing around this sort of OTIC with NTN capability. So this is what we wanted to do to prepare for the next phase when NTN is going to be very big around particular Asia and ASEAN. Next slide. So this concept that we wanted to push beyond the cyber physical campus is that we have invest so much, since sustainability is a key, so how do we leverage our investment together with like-minded partners. So we had first connection with the 5G, 6G innovation center, University of Surrey. So we’re looking at with this, of course it’s a VPN, VPN and also the academic network. How do we actually work on sharing resources, sharing testing, sharing measurement and also data. How do we actually apply some of this federated model. How do we think about language distributed language model. So this is something we are looking at. Another thing we’re exploring is industry lab. So industry lab may not necessarily always have to be co-located physically with us. So how do we leverage on their lab and have access or remote access to it and how do we explore the different models. So this is something we are working with, thinking about other optics that could be one, different models. This is something we, I think it makes sense because if we talk about sustainability, it’s always good to for leverage on the different investments across different countries and different companies so that we have a common purpose and to share. So this is what we want to push from a Singapore side. Next slide. I think and thank you. Thank you very much

Moderator:
Tony-san. Okay, thank you for the panelist for the position talks. Okay, so actually I have prepared some questions for the discussions. So could you show the questions? Okay. Okay, so I have came up with some discussion points and I would like to start with these questions. First I, maybe you have already mentioned something about this, but I would like to ask again about expectations to the beyond 5G, 6G, so what are expected changes to networking systems in the 2030s where 5G, 6G is fully utilized? What are expected changes? So I would like to maybe go sign some first. Sure.

Abhimanyu Gosain:
I get the easy question here. So it’s artificial intelligence and machine learning, right? So that’s sort of the low-hanging fruit. I think we’re already starting to see some of the emergence and the dependence or kind of the forward integration of artificial intelligence moving from the compute side, the large language models, et cetera, that is happening now moving into the network side, the transport, as you’d call it. And then we’re going to see that more natively on the air interface side. So from the spectrum sharing thing that you heard was a common theme across all panelists, the idea that you have smart software-defined radios that have the intelligence already built in, you now have much finer-grained resolution on how you could control the spectrum voxels that are available. So again, being a little bit technical, the physical resource blocks on the spectrum in the time and frequency domain, how they could be shared, how they could be divided, and then how does the radio interface sense and communicate on the same channel, and how are those policies and how is that decentralized so you don’t necessarily have a central authority? Obviously, that adds a regulatory headache in terms of how these systems are, first of all, understood. So how is the AI explainable? And then how do you essentially make sure that these network systems are actually doing what they are supposed to be doing? Thank you very much. Okay. So who would you like to answer next? Okay. So, Tabitha-san. Thanks very much.

Thabisa Zimbini Faye-Mwangi:
I think for me, it’s something that I touched on a bit in my presentation. I think the most important thing for us is around the interoperability, so the spectrum sharing, the ability to leverage the resources, expand the resources quite extensively, and ensure that the spectrum is not only just for those who can afford it, especially if you use a process such as the one South Africa did around auctioning. It’s about the deepest pockets, and therefore you inevitably just leave out the small players who actually bring the innovation, who bring the diversity in the market. So for us, the expectations that we expect to see in these networking systems is around the diversity in the market participation with the small players. And then the other point was around the localization of the data, or the localization of the systems, the ability for the systems to address the context in which it’s working. And that speaks to having the access to the global knowledge system, but also being able to develop our own local knowledge systems, especially as the developing nations. Thank you very much.

Moderator:
Okay, Maria-san. It combines the communication service with the other capabilities, sensing, locating, emitting, computing. Those come together in SIGCHI. That’s one of the changes that we are seeing, that I was talking about. Maybe I’ll add just a perspective.

Tony Quek:
So with all these technologies, I think at the end, we have to convince our people, that means our government agencies, that it actually can generate social impact and economic impact. We have to ensure that with all these new technologies, networking technologies coming in, especially for Singapore, there are certain sectors we are still ahead. So this is important, whether it’s open platform or intelligence platform, how we would actually change our position, how do we stay ahead, and how we fully utilize all these different technologies. So this is one of the key basis of which technology or which investment we put in. Thank you very much. Okay, so to summarize, I get your comments. So beyond 5G, 6G, you are going to have more detailed, advanced management of the spectrum sharing, for example, by explainable AI. Also, if we have more interoperable scheme, we can expect much more proper market, and also maybe change the position of business, this kind of thing. So if you have some questions from before, please.

Moderator:
Okay, so until waiting for the questions. Okay, so to realize these things, what do you think about, for example, regulations? Maybe we need to think about regulations. And yes, of course, regulation is necessary to be changed, but how should we think about this? We need to change a lot, actually. So in my mind, it’s very, very difficult compared with the things that we have done for this 20, 30 years. Maybe we need a very big change in the regulations. So what do you think about this? Maria-san, maybe first?

Marja Anneli Matinmikko-Blue:
The spectrum part is definitely one, and we already see the divergence there. Countries are assigning different bands for local 5G. It leads to fragmentation, because the whole mobile communication is based on using the same equipment globally. My phone works here. So that was the whole point of IMD systems. So the same should continue in the future. So we have to have harmonized. And it’s a challenge, because countries decide themselves how to do things. And the private networks operate under different regulations than the public ones. The public networks have a certain set of rules that they have to follow. But they also have some kind of benefits that they then get from this status. And even this is very different in Europe, in Asia, in US. So it’s very, very complicated. And then the same pieces of equipment should work everywhere. I don’t end with the role of the regulator. So maybe I pass the mic there.

Thabisa Zimbini Faye-Mwangi:
I think you touched on a very important aspect, Maria, which is around harmonization. And being very intentional around harmonization and standardization of equipment. So one thing that the developing nations, at least in the African context, are good at is really participating in the international debates and discussions. So the WRC, the PP that happened last year, the ITU Council, et cetera. However, anyone who’s attended those sessions knows that it really is around the loudest voice in the room and the lobbying thereof. And so if we don’t keep the development imperatives, the global development imperatives in mind, we then lose sight of what it is that we’re trying to achieve. And therefore, we get the lack of interoperability, the lack of harmonization, et cetera, the fragmented spectrum use, et cetera. So I think that is very important in that impressing upon global regulatory bodies around the fact that harmonization is important for sustainability. And it’s important for accessibility in terms of cost and inclusion. The other aspect around the regulator’s role and what you say you don’t envy, which is now my daily job, it really, I think, for me, is around dismantling regulation as we’ve known it. And once again, let me add the disclaimer that you added. These are my personal views and not the views of South Africa. But I really believe that we need to dismantle regulation as we know it, because what we were previously, and some countries still are in the sub-Saharan region, regulating for has become obsolete. We cannot, we no longer talk about the typical regulatory tools that we used to have, you know, what was it, call termination and all those things. They don’t matter anymore. They don’t matter anymore, because, you know, we’re seeing that what regulators are starting to do is to become more digital and technical type of regulators. And the mandate is now more around research than it is around, you know, regulating the sector. So they are setting the standard. They are setting the bar. They are the ones determining how things should be done. And so that’s how I view the change in the regulator. And with that, it will bring the agility that’s required to keep up. Thank you very much.

Moderator:
Gosani-san, if you have something. Yeah, just to add, right, so you can only regulate something that you understand, right? So first you have to have a baseline of what is, and when we talk about scary things like AI and generative AI right now, obviously it’s sitting in a different domain, but it’s going to creep up into the networking domain as well. So how are decisions essentially made? So a regulator’s job is sort of learning on the fly and learning as things go along. And that’s why, to tie this back to the panel discussion, that’s why the platform, a neutral platform that has somewhat of a mirroring of what’s happening out in the broader deployment piece. So if you can’t measure it, if you can’t understand what is actually going on, what the operators are telling you, what are other private deployments doing, how is Spectrum being used, how are networks being used, how is data being managed, how are things being firewall protected, etc. So I think you’re essentially just reacting if you’re not in lockstep with where sort of the networks of the future are going to be. Okay, so Tony-san, my image of Singapore is you are very flexible about regulations, so what do you think about that?

Tony Quek:
Actually, Spectrum is a bit sensitive because we have neighbours, so anything goes to the neighbours is always not good. So I think the experience what we did together with IMDA, which is equal FCC to do this future comms is you try to look at whether it works, and see whether you can build an ecosystem which you believe will convince us. Then slowly we bring in the telco. It took us two years to convince the telco, why don’t we try something, because the telco says I’m really locked down by the conventional vendor, why should I try to explore? So I think we see a new business model of this sandbox concept. That’s what Kosen has mentioned. A sandbox, but the sandbox needs to be realistic, cannot be too academic. There needs to be industry, academy, there needs to be vendor inside. Once you break that ecosystem, then you actually can convince a policymaker to change a bit and try. So this is what we have been trying to do. Likewise, new technologies like NTN, something we really need to think about, because same thing, with this Spectrum, the neighbours, it propagates across so many people. What were the implications?

Moderator:
I think a sandbox is really important as we want to try out.

Tony Quek:
Then, of course, a new business model could come in. Okay, thank you very much. Any questions or comments? Please. My name is Norifumi Yamaguchi from NICT. I have two questions for the panellists. Thank you very much for today’s very fruitful and very informative session.

Audience:
One question is, I’m wondering, everyone talk about the Spectrum harmonisation, and Dr Marie-Méconneau-Ambroux has mentioned some difference of Spectrum between Finland and Germany, so it might be harmonised. And also, Ms Faye Mwangi has mentioned that some fragmentation of the Spectrum, which might be some disadvantage or some problem in the future. On the other hand, Mr Angus Stein has mentioned that this can be solved with the development of technology. Some software technology might give some integration of such a fragmentation of the Spectrum. And so, I’m wondering how they can solve this Spectrum harmonisation all over the world. I would like to do some opinion, observation of that. The second thing is the number of standards in the 6G, because we are now standards developing from the 1G to 2G, 3G. In this time, we just have a few standards, but in the 4G and 5G, we have some several standards, because each requirement has, you know, each country has proposed different standards according to their requirement. That’s why they need some standards for the competition, the view of the competition. But on the other hand, we might need not so many standards because of the mass production over for the manufacturing point of view. So, I’m wondering how many standards will be required, most ideal for the development of the 6G. Thank you very much.

Marja Anneli Matinmikko-Blue:
Thank you very much. Fubu-Tanaka, OK. Maria-San. I can start answering my view on both questions. The Spectrum part is a challenge. We already now see, when we’re starting to talk about 6G spectrum, the views are so divergent. Europe already is saying something that many countries don’t want any spectrum for 6G, and that is the big challenge that we face in Europe, how to make, convince that there is the need and then what those bands are. So, it’s a debate which will happen in the coming years, and we all need to be willing to bring the facts on the table, not just opinion or wishes, but the pure facts that we know. So, then I’ll already jump to the next one, that the standards part. So, 5G has maybe two standards. There’s the 3GPP standards, which is the dominant one, and then there is the ECDEC standard, a smaller one where smaller players came together in the European Telecom Standards Institute and proposed it to the ITU process, and it was approved there. Also, other proposals have been received to the global ITU process. So, those two exist. They say both networks are being sold, but we know mainly the 3GPP. That’s where the big players are. That’s where the big companies are. They create those standards, and the IP games are played in that standards arena. Those players who are within 3GPP, they say that they want just one 6G standard, which is their 3GPP standard. Nothing stops other organizations or standards parties to propose 6G standards to the ITU process once the requirements are defined. Personally, I think there might be more proposals, just one. In 5G, there were several proposals. In 3G, there were several accepted proposals. So, one definitely will be, but that one should not stop others. There’s room for many kinds of deployments.

Moderator:
Thank you very much. Who would like to answer more?

Abhimanyu Gosain:
Sure. So, on the spectrum side, basically, I think, well, like it or not, WRC that’s coming up in a month, month and a half, each member state, each country is going in with a position that’s been defined. So, there will be some harmonization. There will be some agreement. And again, as you know, the WRC cycle that will go out for the next four years or the next eight years, that agenda will also be set in November. So, unfortunately, the spectrum story has to be very carefully constructed. I think with 6G, you’re seeing the entrance of new players like the SATCOM, the NTN, the non-terrestrial networks, they’ll be included in there. So, how do you sort of harmonize it now when you add a third dimension? So, not just terrestrial, but non-terrestrial elements on the spectrum piece as well. So, yeah, not necessarily painting a very rosy picture on the spectrum front because that is such, needs to be very carefully coordinated. On the standards front, I think, yeah, as Maria sort of very nicely sort of pointed out, that is the 3GPP dominance. And I think, you know, there has been this debate about whether 6G will be an evolution or a revolution, right? So, the 3GPP standard will continue to be an evolution. That’s a juggernaut. It is, again, as, you know, she alluded to on the IP side, you know, the game is all about SEPs, the standard essential patents. And that’s where a huge amount of, you know, economic activity is generated. So, that part is not going to stop. That behemoth is going to go. The release cycle, so right now in the 3GPP realm, we are at release, you know, 17 was approved in June earlier this year. 18, 19 study items have been defined. And the 3GPP cycle says that, you know, somewhere around the release, you know, 21 time frame, you’re going to come up with the moniker 6G. Right now in 3GPP, we’re already past 5G. We are in 5G advanced. So, we’re already moving. But the other part is standards are also, if you really dissect a network, there are lots of different standardization bodies. There is IETF that talks about the transport piece. There are entities that ISO that talks about security. Then there’s 3GPP. So, you have to be very careful around how all of that is stacked. But if you just look at the wireless comms, the wireless communication side, yes, there are member states in different countries that have already made their commitments and announcements. They’ve all developed their own public-private partnerships, their alliances that are promoting what standard it has to be. And there has always been this struggle between the developing world where the cost of the devices is the key issue. And that is the key issue for adoption, because if there is a device cost that has a component or a chipset, where do you need to pay a royalty of hundreds of dollars that drives up the device cost. And that’s going to drive down or slow the adoption. So that is a key element that the developing world has to really think. And I think that’s one of the motivating factors outside of lots of other factors, terrain, population density, et cetera, et cetera, that need to be considered as well. OK, thank you very much.

Moderator:
Look, I need to think about the time, actually. So may I move on to the next one? OK, so I would like to discuss a business issue. So what is the new business model or ecosystem to be created by Beyond 5G, 6G? What type of disruptive progress is expected in the future business along with a shift to Beyond 5G, 6G? So if you have any opinion, Maria-san, I think you have.

Marja Anneli Matinmikko-Blue:
I have opinions. They are my personal opinions. But there are many types of businesses to consider here. One is the mobile communications connectivity business, what the mobile network operators offer. So that’s one part of the game. Another part is then the ecosystems that emerge around the different usages of the networks, like the local networks, harbor areas, hospitals, and so on. So those will have their own ecosystems. And then the business model is the logic that what is the value offering, what is being offered, who buys it. And it now is shifting from a company level to the ecosystem level. So we are starting to think about ecosystem level business model. So for this kind of usage, who are the stakeholders there who need to be in place? One company, it rarely involves just one organization, but multiple organizations. And they all need to get something for that. It should not be based on one, like the winner takes it all. But there should be some kind of balanced role that they all can support their businesses. Going back to this mobile connectivity business, we’ve seen changes in terms of, for example, the number of operators per country. Most countries started with one operator, the governmental operator, then gradually making that the liberalization, introducing the second one, and then the third one, and so on. And it went to the point that in many, especially European countries, there were like five, six operators. And there were auctions. The treaty brought the spectrum auctions. Crazy amounts of money were bid on spectrum. And it led to a lot of many operators suffering. And then they started buying each other. So the third and fourth merged in the list. So that happened. So now there’s a smaller number of MNOs in each country than there was in the hype time. They continue. Now they’re quite well-established. They claim they don’t have money. Well, some of them don’t have. But in Finland, they all make good revenue. They make good profit. Well, they haven’t paid much for the spectrum that has helped them. But anyway, they’ve made good money. So that business continues. They still have licenses for long future to come. So that business is there. What the revenues are in the future, they still get that money, monthly subscriptions. 5G is still based on monthly subscription fees as 4G was, as 3G was. So it’s the same building models still are there. So this continues to continue, at least for the future. And that continues. Then what 6G comes brings us a new thing for the business. That is unknown. That’s the unknown part where we need to look into what kind of new businesses could come. But one thing is that they will emerge around those different usages. And then who pays for what? You get connectivity for free. So you don’t necessarily pay for that so much. But still, if you get something great with that, you do pay for that, in addition to the service subscriptions that you have. Thank you very much.

Thabisa Zimbini Faye-Mwangi:
OK, so you have? I think what we’ve started seeing with 5G in South Africa is seeing the use or the monetization of what we would term in universal access and service the true access gap. So seeing small, medium enterprises starting to start to get some economic value out of that true access gap. And the way that they’ve done that is by tapping into the network, but also leveraging the obligations that came with the spectrum auction. So we’re starting to see new business models where the base stations are set up in schools. So we are addressing those development imperatives. But then the networks serve the greater community. And really, the models are not to make the obscene profits that we see in bigger companies, but rather to be able to sustain the development of another similar Wi-Fi project. So we’ve started to see that. And South Africa, in particular, and I think another nation that has a similar topography is Rwanda. But we have a vast amount of space to cover, and really high mountains and low valleys. And so having to get to coverages, and then we have a lot of rural spaces where there isn’t a lot of economic participation. So covering that becomes extremely expensive. And these community networks have really bridged that gap. And they’re slowly changing what we understood to be the business model in the sector, and really coming in with economic participation in what we can, I don’t think we can for much longer, call a true access gap anymore. So maybe we share one of what we are trying to do. So we’re trying to change the mindset of the telco.

Tony Quek:
So we’re trying to tell them that the subscription model is not going to work down the decade, because with all this infrastructure, it’s going to be more expensive. So the process we are trying to force them, open platform, open rail, is force them to build the capability of a S-line, for example, what Docomo is trying to do, so that eventually the market has to be outside Asia, outside Singapore. In particular, we’re looking at Indonesia, which is so close to us. Indonesia is one market, Thailand, Vietnam. So we hope that this could build a new business model for them, so that they will start to think out as an S-line. So this is probably a new business model, but it’s always very difficult to change the telco, because they are so used to get subscription. So this is something that we are trying to do from a government perspective, and agents, and national program. OK, thank you very much.

Moderator:
Actually, I have also questions, but it’s better to go next. OK, number three, collaborations. What are key items for international collaborations to realize the Beyond 5G, 6G as open platform, open service platform? What will be the international collaboration, if you have any questions, comments?

Abhimanyu Gosain:
Yeah, so again, I think first things first for international collaboration, you need a champion. You need a public-private partnership, or a key stakeholder that actually is going to be representative, or present somewhat of a unified opinion, or a unified viewpoint. So after you’ve had a kind of a national position, then you’re able to sort of communicate. And the other thing is, communication has to happen between government to government, industry to industry, and then at the research level, between academics and researchers. Obviously, at the government level, it is very sensitive, joint ministerial statements, et cetera, different politics that are at play. So the idea is, at least at this formative stage, when the next generation is still about 8, 10 years down the line, you do want industry academia to jump ahead. And we are already seeing that in the marketplace. So in the US, you already have the NextG Alliance, where a large number of major vendors and operators are at play. We have lots of different alliances, including here in Japan, the Beyond 5G Promotion Consortia, which is mobile network operators and vendors that have gotten together. Same in Korea, Bharat 6G in India, South America sort of catching up, Singapore, et cetera. So we’re seeing that as kind of the first piece. But then at the real collaboration level, unless we have mobility, and unless we have the ability to sort of get a peek into where the core competencies lie for each region, and we have our strengths, right? So everybody plays to their strengths. But the idea is, how do you do this in a complementary fashion, so that you have the ability to sort of learn from the best, and the sum is greater than the sum of its parts, right? So one plus one is greater than two. And that’s sort of why we are even talking

Moderator:
about collaboration in the first place. Thank you very much. Any other comments? So I agree with Gautam, so at the national level, there’s always this initiative at top and bottom spot.

Tony Quek:
So our approach is actually there’s two way. There’s of course the academia, the professors and universities, which want to do a research which is a very long term strategy. At the same time, we are trying to also focus on short terms in a sense that we have targets like Plugfest, like MWC, like key events that we can actually show impact together to showcase some capability, and this is something we are trying to do together with partners. What we worry, especially if we focus too much on the research part, sometimes the translation takes a bit long, and some government stakeholders may be quite impatient, so we try to have a balance between them, but at the end, I think it goes back to the partners need to have a common goal that can complement three. It’s all about collaboration so that one plus one is equal to three. If you have this mindset, then I think it’s always good because it’s more sustainable than to work alone. As was mentioned, this collaboration is very different depending on the level of collaboration of the stakeholders, so the government’s collaboration is different from the researcher level collaboration.

Marja Anneli Matinmikko-Blue:
The key thing that is first needed is the funding for the research, and the research is done both in the academic side, but also in the industry, and now I think we’re in a pretty good situation in that sense that many countries have programs for this. The European Union has a program for this, and many, many countries have their own ones, and then there are these like-minded countries are already making joint statements about this, like the EU and the US Trade and Technology Council has made this 6G outlook in Luleå in May this year. It defines the key principles, and now that they are out there, it’s then the role of the researchers and the industry to take those principles, and I’ve seen very little discussion on how these are then adopted into the work that we actually do, and this is the missing link. There was no such thing in 5G. That was not there. It is there in 6G, so now the community needs to take these principles, like sustainability, like inclusiveness, and trust. They have to be translated into the work that we do now. It’s a new thing, and it requires a change of mindset from the community to really respect what the higher-level governments agree on, and then do that in the research, and that’s a challenge that I want to bring up. Thank you very much.

Moderator:
Any further comments, or any questions from the floor? No? OK. Looks like, gradually, we need to close the session. OK. So we’d like to have a short message from you, the final message, actually, from each of the panelists, so who would like to give first the last message from you regarding this topic, the open service platform in beyond the 5G, 6G era? OK. Yes? OK, I can go first.

Tony Quek:
I think I thank you for the organizer, NICT, for inviting us. I think we have personally attended a lot of these panels and all this workshop, but I hope that there is outcome after this. We hope that eventually, through this, we can have different stakeholders on the continent and have some eventual outcome down the road that because of this event today, we achieved something. This is what I hope that we can do, then that something can bring back good memories. I hope this is my last message.

Marja Anneli Matinmikko-Blue:
Thank you. Thank you. Maria-san? Then I’ll continue with these roles of the stakeholders, understanding what we are here for. I come from the academic research community. I’m here to help the people. So who are the users of the 6G networks? What do they really want? We have to ask. We can’t ask them directly what they want because it’s not the way it goes, but we have to be honest and take their perspectives into account. We saw in Europe, in 5G, that consumers were disappointed in terms of what they were promised, like oversized promises were made. Then what they were offered by the operators was pretty much similar things as in 4G. Contracts were the same. Data rates were not higher than in 4G when it was launched. So we cannot do this again. Social scientists say that this has already changed the end users’ perspectives. We can’t do this again because they expect. So we cannot make oversized promises anymore. We can’t do them for 5G. We cannot do them for 6G. So we have to stop talking about it’ll be a huge data rate or so, and if we can’t deliver that. So we have to now come back to this. The time for this oversized promises is over, but now we have to seriously think what the future would look like and what is the desired future that the people really want. I’ll continue with the theme, just put it in my own words.

Abhimanyu Gosain:
So the mentality of build it and they’ll come is not something that has served us well. As you see, we’re still searching for the killer app for 5G to sort of make it or to justify it, but we’re still already on the journey to 6G. But I guess the key piece is, again, the platform model, what that allows you is to connect two disparate groups who otherwise would not engage. That’s sort of what, if you really look at, that’s what the platform model is planning to do, and that’s what we sort of believe in. That’s why we’re here. That’s why sort of NICT is also trying to play a role in that piece is connecting these disparate stakeholders who haven’t been at the forefront. So my sort of key takeaway is two C words, co-development and collaboration. And I think co-development, again, a little bit more technical, not just cross-layer optimization, for example, that’s a very technical concept, but essentially we’re looking at different layers and different stakeholders, and then sort of bringing them all to the table at the formative stage, and not necessarily when the decisions have been made, when the standards have been made, but the spectrum’s been allocated, we’re not gonna serve anybody well. And again, we have to think as citizens as well.

Thabisa Zimbini Faye-Mwangi:
Thank you very much. I think without repeating what has already been said, I think my parting words would really be about not forgetting the developing South, bring them along on the journey. One of the biggest things that, if you ever hear the resistance from the developing South about 6G, it’s mainly around the energy impact. I think if we are moving into 6G without solving for the energy, without solving for the energy sustainability and the energy demands that come with it, then for us, it really is 5G plus. There really is no difference. So let’s solve for the sustainability, let’s bring the developing South along because they unlock great, great potential. When they participate, it elevates the whole notion of what we’re trying to do. So we cannot leave behind that many people. And the other thing is around collaboration. It’s so important that we allow the developing South to leverage the progress that’s been made by other countries. So having more sessions like this, having visiting tours, having benchmarking tours and so on, that is what shapes the policy and the regulation of these developing nations. Then the catching up is very little. It becomes just the fundamentals of infrastructure. But when you have the right mindset, you’re then able to have the people to influence the policy and drive the regulatory direction. Thanks.

Moderator:
Okay, thank you very much. Okay, I need to conclude. Okay, thank you very much for your information and opinion and answer. Actually, I personally believe this topic is very, very important for the future. So I’m really happy to share this opinion today. Okay, so fortunately we have actually some years until 2030s, but already we have only six years. So we have to seriously think about this. So I would like to continue this discussion with other stakeholders. So let’s keep in touch. Thank you very much. Okay, now it’s time to return my microphone to Hosako-san. Okay, thank you very much for the fruitful discussion. I think that already Shizu-san summarized our discussion today, but I personally would like to thank to all the panelists come to here and have a very interesting presentations. And after that, they are talking very interesting opinions. But there are many, many different kind of perspectives from the different nations and the different areas and the different positions. But it is quite useful to recognize we have such kind of differences each other. But as already everyone mentioned that we have a chance to recognize and chance to have a collaborative research together for the future network. And also we would like to continue to collaborating each other. So this is the starting point for the future cooperation today. And we would like to keep in touch with in the future. Thank you very much for your attendance and the presentations and also our collaborations together. Thank you very much. Thank you for this session and thank you everyone. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you all.

Nils Brock

The creation and development of substantial and impactful internet connectivity, digital content, and inclusive technologies necessitate robust collaboration and collective efforts. Exemplary of such endeavours are community networks operating worldwide. These networks have made significant strides in delivering crucial internet access and digital content to areas often overlooked or underserviced. This effort is particularly commendable in regions where traditional profit-oriented access models aren’t viable, providing an innovative and necessary solution to the digital divide.

Furthermore, the role of community media in this collective movement is worth acknowledging. These entities have shown an active dedication to innovating digital formats. Such innovation is specifically aimed at fostering increased participation and stronger integration with local communities. The function of digital formats in these endeavours thus spotlights the potential for technological advancements to foster bonds within local communities, challenging the stereotypical view of digitisation leading to disconnection.

Joining the discussion around augmented connectivity and digital content, thought leader Nils Brock expresses support for the work of community networks, media outlets, social enterprises and cooperatives. His endorsement puts these entities at the vanguard of innovation in this domain, shifting the focus from large corporations as the sole contributors to technological advancement. He underscores the need for community-focused initiatives, highlighting their contributions to connectivity and digital content at a panel discussion.

This collective narrative is deeply aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 9 and SDG 17, that pertain to ‘Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure’ and ‘Partnership for the Goals’ respectively. The progression of these SDGs is intricately linked with the support and development of community networks, media outlets, social enterprises and cooperatives, projecting their impact towards wider, global targets aimed at enhancing lives worldwide.

In conclusion, the burgeoning global narrative around connectivity, digital content, and inclusive technologies underscores the importance of collective efforts. Progress at a community level is spearheading industry innovation and widening the reach of vital technologies instrumental in global development.

Amudhan Manivasagam

Vakoma is a significant company substantially improving connectivity, particularly in the global south. Their principal strategy involves the use of open hardware, software and portable network equipment. Aiming to empower local communities, they scrupulously adhere to the principle of universal access by creating open tools that cater for the construction of tailored networks. This unique approach aids in the creation of a more connected world, supporting SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities distinctly.

Their innovative endeavour is prominently manifested in their groundbreaking product – the Nimble device. This apparatus integrates open-source hardware, firmware and software, and is designed to be modular and portable. Pairing seamlessly with open firmware projects, including OpenWRT, the Nimble device enables communities to utilise any available hardware to build and deploy networks, reinforcing the wider goal of promoting an open-source ecosystem and supporting SDG 9.

Supplementing Vakoma’s suite of solutions is ‘Local’, a software platform intended to augment the value of the network post-construction. It amalgamates a variety of open-source applications which can be deployed offline. Notably, ‘Local’ can be implemented on practically any hardware and, can incorporate specific hardware for targeted applications. This flexibility aligns closely with SDG 9 and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

Customisation sits at the heart of Vakoma’s products and strategies, fostering adaptability. The Nimble device can be adapted according to specific designs, with these modifications readily available for download, print, modification and sharing. Moreover, one can run ‘Local’ on almost any hardware, enabling users to handpick applications that best suit their needs. Such flexibility is instrumental in community networks and is an integral part of SDG 9.

Vakoma expands its impact via forming alliances with other ecosystem projects; their collaboration with Colmina is a testament to that. This alliance led to the Nimble device’s customisation, adding an audio interface, consequently enabling in-field content creation, particularly handy in volatile situations. This successful collaboration aligns perfectly with SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

In summary, Vakoma’s endeavours are positively received owing to their commitment towards enhancing connectivity via open hardware and software, fostering an open-source ecosystem, and enabling customisation. Their collaborations are undoubtedly praiseworthy. Their efforts strongly support several sustainable development goals, propelling innovation, fostering sustainable communities and partnerships, thereby indicating their broad impact and a strong potential for continued positive transformation.

Erick Huerta

The emergence of larger operators within the telecommunications sector poses a significant risk to the sustainability of smaller, community-run mobile networks. This harm manifests as these community networks are compelled to shift to less populated communities to maintain their existence. This disruptive shift is largely due to the aggressive entry of larger operators into previously untapped markets, thus displacing these smaller networks. As a result, this inflicts a negative impact on the sustainability of these community networks, as their once secure areas become saturated with larger competitors.

To counteract this undesirable encroachment by major operators, local communities have sought to pivot their operations towards becoming mobile virtual network operators. This innovative approach allows these communities not only to continue providing necessary and valued services but also contributes to broader community objectives of local content creation and locally focussed product exchange. Furthermore, adopting the mobile virtual operator model equips these communities with the opportunity to partake in an array of innovative projects. Notably, it leads to the establishment of local information centres which delivers access to education and promotes local product exchange, thus reinforcing their local economies in a sustainable manner.

In the realm of network-based discussions, it’s essential to understand that the complexity of a network is directly related to the number of layers it must address. More layers equate to enhanced network sophistication but also increased management and administrative challenges. Additionally, small or subsistence economies demonstrate resilience and effectiveness attributable to their collective effort. This insight underlines the fact that the strength of a network or economy can often be found in its unity and collective response to changes.

Yet, it is crucial to acknowledge the limitations that networks face. No single network can cater to every demand or challenge that arises. Recognising this, the key to efficient network operations lies in the delegation of responsibilities according to individual specialisations. Each member or element within the network holds different skillsets and experience levels, and leveraging this diversity effectively plays a crucial role in ensuring its smooth operation. This principle of efficient delegation and utilisation of specialisations allows for a balanced and effective network ecosystem, one that can withstand disruptions and foster growth.

James Gondwe

James Gondwe and his organisation, the Centre for Youth and Development, have significantly contributed to the sectors of education and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) connectivity within Malawi. A key focus of their work involves the implementation of community networks. These networks are viewed as pivotal solutions to enhance connectivity within society, aligning with the ambitions of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4 regarding Quality Education and SDG 9 concerning Industry Innovation, and Infrastructure.

Under Gondwe’s insightful leadership, the organisation has embarked on strategic policy engagement and advocacy initiatives. These are directed towards regulators and prominent figures, such as the Minister of Information in Malawi. Gondwe’s team has fruitfully leveraged partnerships with international organisations, which include the Association for Progressive Communications and the World Association for Christian Communications. These alliances exemplify the ethos of SDG 17, emphasising the significance of partnerships in achieving global goals.

A noteworthy achievement has been the firm establishment of a policy and regulatory framework specifically designed to facilitate the growth and sustainability of community networks. This framework was not solely a product of theoretical projection but moreover, supported by real-world and successful implementations of such schemes from various regions, including Zenzeleni, PamojaNet, and Kenya. This point highlights the efficacy of community networks in action, reinforcing the argument for their adoption in Malawi while aligning with SDGs 9 and 11 pertaining to Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and Sustainable Cities and Communities, respectively.

Furthermore, the analysis underscores the invaluable role of advocacy and policy engagement in creating a conducive environment for the development and expansion of community networks. Successful advocacy efforts were realised through strategic collaborations with esteemed institutions such as Mizzou University, the University of Malawi, and the ICT Association of Malawi. Engagements with regulators and government officials were accomplished by leveraging various platforms like ICT expos and national Internet Governance Forum (IGF) events.

In conclusion, the report encapsulates the irrefutable importance of a collaborative approach in facilitating digital inclusion. It exemplifies how grassroots initiatives, policy changes, visionary leadership, strategic alliances, and advocacy can collectively enable the fruition of community networks, thereby advancing ICT connectivity and education in regions such as Malawi.

Sarbani Banerjee Belur

This session offers a holistic discussion that covers an extensive range of topics within the context of sustainability, digital innovation, and infrastructure development. A crucial theme is the adoption of a hybrid model for the session, facilitating participants’ interaction in both online and on-site venues. This strategy endeavours to create maximum exchange of ideas and perspectives, thereby promoting an inclusive environment regardless of physical attendance. Not only does this resonate with the increasing trend towards remote connectivity, but it also aligns with SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.

A fascinating aspect of this session is the planned series of compact lightning talks lasting five to seven minutes each, succeeded by Q&A sessions. These are thoughtfully devised to balance expert insights and public contributions. They permit a diverse set of perspectives, women empowerment, indigenous knowledge protection, and literacy programmes. All these elements foster collaboration and partnership, key to SDG 4: Quality Education and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

One of the esteemed speakers is Elisa Heppner. With an array of experience in project and programme management across the private, government, and non-profit sectors, Elisa’s contribution is set to bring substantial insight to the session. Her background in facilitating education and literacy programmes using advanced EdTech in Asia and the Pacific further enriches her input. This seamlessly links to SDG 4: Quality Education.

The session will also delve into varied connectivity initiatives within the Asia-Pacific region, with a particular focus on the financial mechanisms required for ensuring connectivity diversity, crucial for a fully digitised future.

The session intrigue is enhanced by the promotion of a podcast through keychains, demonstrating a blending of traditional and digital marketing strategies. These keychains can be collected from the APC booth or an in-room contact, providing all attendees with direct access to the podcast.

Additionally, the discussion highlights the sociocultural benefits of community networks, with a particular focus on those initiated and maintained by women. These grassroots initiatives empower women within their community, encouraging an environment of inclusivity and equality that aligns with SDG 5: Gender Equality.

Moreover, local-led offline networks, like community radios, are lauded as significant platforms preserving and circulating indigenous knowledge. This is especially beneficial in protecting enriching cultural art forms and endangered languages within tribal communities, linking to SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Furthermore, such community-led offline radios offer women a platform for self-expression. They epitomise the potential for such initiatives to contribute substantially towards gender equality, underscoring SDG 5: Gender Equality.

In essence, this interconnected and multi-dimensional session robustly explores various aspects of digital infrastructure, participation, socioeconomic initiatives, education, and gender equality, weaving together multiple SDGs into coherent and comprehensive discourse.

Ellisha Heppner

The APNIC Foundation, renowned for its commitment to fostering an open, secure, and accessible internet, is making a positive impact on digital inclusion through an array of projects. The foundation is currently overseeing 68 unique initiatives, with 21 targeted at infrastructure development, 23 focusing on knowledge enhancement, and 24 being explicitly inclusion-oriented. Highlighting this broad-based impact, these efforts are taking shape in 56 diverse economies across the Asia Pacific region.

Elisa Heppner, the grants management lead for the APNIC Foundation, is instrumental in driving these ventures. She emphasises the importance of context-specific solutions for sustained connectivity. In line with this, the Foundation supports innovative schemes such as MeSoul’s peer-to-peer solar microgrids, SatSoul’s transportable towers, and Palau National Communication’s hybrid energy solutions. These ingenious initiatives not only underscore the vital role of connectivity in remote locations, but also highlight the necessity of clean, affordable energy sources in preserving these critical connections. These initiatives, thus, lend support to both SDG 7 and SDG 9.

Furthermore, the Foundation recognises the profound potential of Internet connectivity to catalyse social impact and environmental protection positively. APNIC backs projects including Simile, centred on mitigating climate change and promoting effective water management, aligning with SDG 13 and SDG 6. The endeavour to safeguard linguistic heritage and enhance education is seen through the support extended to the Myanmar Book Aid, thereby aligning with SDG 4. Similarly, aid for the Devao Medical School facilitates connecting healthcare facilities, contributing towards SDG 3, centred on good health and wellbeing.

In totality, this evidence underscores the APNIC Foundation’s positive stance in striving towards sustainable and inclusive internet connectivity. The broad implications of these initiatives carry the potential to fuel social, economic, and environmental advancement across the Asia Pacific region. Their partnerships with numerous projects stress the importance of multifaceted solutions to magnify the impact of each SDG, demonstrating a comprehensive approach to holistic development.

Michelle Nogales

Michelle Nogales, the co-founder of Muy Hueso, is spearheading a media revolution in Bolivia. Muy Hueso, established in 2018, proudly stands as Bolivia’s first feminist digital native media. It disrupts traditional media narratives and pioneers a fresh, progressive approach towards Bolivian media. Nogales and her team strive for social equality through a resolute emphasis on feminism, digital media, and diversity.

Emphasising the power and value of co-creation, Nogales’ revolutionary approach to content production invites community engagement and participation. This approach has given birth to diverse digital media formats that genuinely represent and resonate with their community. An exemplar of this approach’s impact is the community collaboration on a special article tackling gynaecological violence, which reached around 300 community members. Another notable outcome is a co-created book combining traditional Bolivian mythological narratives with the creative contributions of young artists and illustrators.

Nogales places immense importance on promoting media literacy and making information accessible. Determined to provide data in a simple and understandable format, she insists on verifying and qualifying information for greater insight and understanding. Her initiatives, such as creating gamified training experiences, further highlight her commitment to enhancing media literacy.

Nogales actively challenges Bolivia’s significant and escalating digital divide. Muy Hueso intends to bridge this gap, pushing for a more inclusive and accessible digital landscape. Nogales strongly supports democratising online access and endorses independent journalism. She has initiated sharing digital tool knowledge with rural and remote communities, enabling them to express their needs and problems.

Nogales’ mission extends to reducing the inequality in technology usage across the genders in South America. She seeks to empower women and ensure gender diversity by improving their access to technology. Coupled with her commitment to fostering a robust and gender-inclusive Bolivian media ecosystem, her work greatly contributes towards achieving gender equality.

In conclusion, Nogales’ vision of diversifying the internet resonates powerfully through her work. She strives for inclusivity through Muy Hueso, highlighting the significance of reflecting diverse community needs in online content. Endeavours like the ‘Colmena’ project, which delivers experiences from diverse communities in audio formats, demonstrate her commitment to enhancing internet diversity. Ultimately, Nogales’ multifaceted approach sustains her aim of creating an equitable and relevant digital sphere.

Debora Prado

Debora Prado, an active contributor to the Local Networks Initiative, is making strides in the field of community connectivity and digital communication through her recent launch of a new podcast titled ‘Routing for Communities.’ This innovative podcast, aimed at tracing and promoting community connectivity worldwide, is a pioneering project spearheaded by influential entities such as the Association for Progressive Communications and Rizomatica.

The primary focus of the podcast is to highlight community-centric connectivity initiatives that have emerged from grassroots movements. These narratives underline the potential power and influence that localised networks can hold, essential in cultivating sustainable innovation and infrastructural development (SDG 9), while fostering partnerships for these goals (SDG 17).

Moreover, the podcast adopts a comprehensive approach to social and environmental justice, examining it through the prism of evolving digital communication and connectivity. As part of this multi-layered conversation, Debora Prado underscores the elements of inequality that permeate society, showcasing issues of race, gender, and class inequalities that demand global attention for reduced disparities (SDG 10) and gender equality (SDG 5).

The podcast stands out for its captivating insights on the deployment of digital tools by indigenous communities for the safeguarding of their indigenous languages and cultures. This inventive use of technology enables a vibrant conduit for the global community to engage in their lush cultural heritage, thereby promoting climate action (SDG 13).

In conclusion, ‘Routing for Communities’ emerges as a hopeful advocate for positive change and transformation in communication, manifesting the principles enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals. The podcast represents a substantial leap in elevating awareness of and addressing issues at the core of justice, equality, and sustainable development.

Kemly Camacho

In her advocacy for female empowerment and gender equality, Kemli Camacho has highlighted the crucial role of tailored communication strategies in bolstering women-led organisations, particularly within indigenous communities. These strategies have achieved significant success within the Association of Cabecar Women, where she has been instrumental in developing communication strategies for six years. Embracing modern technology, she has identified the innovative use of walkie-talkie networks as pivotal in enhancing interactions, not only empowering the women of the community but also providing a reliable avenue to manage crisis situations and facilitate decision-making.

Further noting the considerable transformation fostered by the integration of social technology, the essential use of these tools for addressing vital community matters and decision making have positioned women as central figures within their communities.

Additionally, Kemli’s commendable work extends to the realm of education and cultural preservation. She has facilitated the creation of the Quebec Women University, a significant platform for imparting the wisdom of the indigenous Cabecar women across areas including agriculture, construction, health practices, spirituality, and handicraft. This valuable knowledge is diligently collected in varied formats such as audio, videos, and drawings, with younger women and boys engaging in meaningful interactions with older women.

Motivated by the initial success in Halabata, plans are in place for further expansion of the project to additional Cabecar communities. Children, recognised as vital for fostering ongoing growth and development, are being integrated into the project’s new phase.

Turning to the communication techniques of the Cabecar, or Kavekar, community, it’s evident that they depend heavily on audio and visual methodologies rather than written forms. The platform Okama Sway, based entirely on audio and visuals, has effectively been integrated to supplement their communication. Drawing, a vital aspect of their interaction, remains a central focus.

A key conclusion drawn from Camacho’s observations is the paramount importance of respecting and integrating the unique cultural practices of indigenous communities. Platforms like Okama Sway, by accepting these diverse communication methods, exemplify how honouring such cultural practices can promote community engagement and foster a more inclusive society. Therefore, in a world increasingly championing diversity and inclusion, embracing these unique communication techniques and preserving indigenous wisdom represents an essential stride towards achieving sustainable, equitable communities.

Elektra Wagenrad

Elektra Wagenrad, a renowned innovator, environmentalist, and application engineer, has made significant contributions to sustainable technology through her work on wireless mesh technology and solar-powered systems for community networks. Wagenrad, with her experience in a multitude of regions including Germany, Bangladesh, India, Chile, Tanzania, and South Africa, has globally recognised influence and reach.

Wagenrad’s remarkable achievement revolves around the improvement and development of the Freifunk open MPPT; this open-source software and hardware solar controller embraces a user-friendly approach, enabling users to build and programme them. Over three generations, this technology has evolved, gaining potency and adaptability. The latest version can deliver an impressive peak of up to 400 watts from the solar power system. Such advancements in energy efficiency position these solar controllers as an apt choice to power mesh networks. They have been utilised effectively for projects like India’s Nimble project.

Moreover, Wagenrad expanded the applicability of her solar controllers beyond their conventional use. New prototype controllers have been created for irrigation and environmental monitoring purposes, demonstrating the multipurpose nature of this technology.

Wagenrad’s commitment to devising adaptable, practical solutions, matched with her extensive on-field work, sets a powerful precedent for others to follow. Importantly, this cutting-edge technology aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals 7 and 9, advocating Affordable and Clean Energy and Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure respectively. Wagenrad’s endeavours provide an invaluable example of harnessing renewable energy and tech innovation to meet critical community needs, encouraging sustainable living and steering us towards an environmentally responsible future.

Audience

The dialogue encompassed critical topics like network regulation, content moderation, and the spread of disinformation. These themes shed light on the multifaceted dimensions associated with network use and demonstrated the potential for network misuse. The conversation delineated an understood layered structure, incorporating network, technical, administration and regulatory components, each with its specific responsibility.

Concerns were raised regarding the potential misuse of networks as the user base grows. This worry represents an emerging problem in the digital sphere, given the ease of network usage and access. Although it highlighted potential issues, the discussion also proposed possible solutions, particularly in relation to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, which encourages peace, justice, and strong institutions.

The conversation also underscored the digital literacy issue. There’s an ongoing concern about the exclusion of certain demographics, especially those lacking basic literacy skills. This digital divide continues to proliferate substantial disparities in network engagement, aligning with SDGs 4 and 10, promoting quality education and reduced inequalities, respectively.

The discourse raised questions about the quality and cost-effectiveness of internet provision within community networks. An in-depth exploration into this topic could provide a more comprehensive understanding of internet availability and accessibility to target communities, potentially providing practical solutions to the digital divide. This subject aligns with the principles of SDGs 1 and 9, which advocate for poverty eradication and the promotion of industry, innovation, and infrastructure.

In summary, the conversation gave a well-rounded overview of the challenges and potential solutions tied to network use. Each of these issues is interlinked with the overarching objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals, lending a sense of urgency and wider importance to the discourse.

Risper Arose

Tandanet is deploying digital technology to confront and eradicate digital inequalities prevalent in marginalised communities. As a potent catalyst for change, it offers a host of resources, including affordable internet access, essential in today’s digitally interconnected world for socio-economic progress. In addition, Tandanet underpins the enhancement of digital literacy, providing the necessary skills and knowledge for communities to navigate the digital world effectively.

A crucial element of this is the development of digital platforms, all of which are designed and created with close communal collaboration. This not only tailors the service to the specific needs of the community but also encourages community investment and participation in the endeavour.

Their impact has been felt across Kibera, with Tandanet connecting 60 centres in nine out of thirteen Kibera’s villages, casting a broad net of digital sustainability. With future plans to include all villages, Tandanet displays a commitment to extensive digital inclusivity. Additionally, it provides network training, necessary for community members to optimise their engagement with the digital space. Alongside this is the provision of affordable internet services, integral to ensuring accessibility for all community members.

Similarly, Colmena serves as a valuable hub through which locally relevant content is created and shared post-connectivity. It lends a voice to communities, enriching the digital experience with local relevance. By promoting uninterrupted, safe, and secure access to information, Colmena reinforces local collective ownership at a ‘last mile’ level – a crucial facet in encouraging communal digital stewardship.

Colmena also contributes at a macro level by espousing the concept of a resilient, decentralised infrastructure, an important aspect in a world threatened by digital breakdowns and cyber-attacks.

Collectively, Tandanet and Colmena not only create individual impacts, but also align their efforts with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goals 9 and 11: building inclusive, sustainable industrialisation, fostering innovation, and making human settlements safe and resilient. Their efforts underscore the importance of digital opportunities in marginalised communities, laying a foundation for a more digitally inclusive and equitable future.

Carlos Baca

In an exhaustive discussion, Carlos Baca emphasised the critical importance of cultivating an atmosphere of respect, active listening, and constructive disagreement during meetings. These principles have a direct correlation with SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, illustrating their pivotal role in shaping a peaceful, equitable, and stable environment conducive to substantial discourse.

Baca delved into several related topics, including respect, collaboration, diversity, consent, photography protocol, awareness of language diversity, and the skill of managing disagreements constructively. These elements are indispensable as they create the foundation for a meeting which values each participant’s opinion, thus fostering a sense of unity and cooperation.

Baca proactively broached the topic of consent when taking photographs or making audiovisual recordings, thereby upholding the principles of respect and privacy. He encouraged consideration of language diversity, highlighting its significance in a multicultural framework and endorsing inclusivity.

Furthermore, he passionately advocated for collaboration among participants. Showing respect and a positive approach towards their colleagues, he referenced the need for constructive disagreement – the capability to express varying views in a manner that can lead to innovative solutions and a deeper understanding, rather than animosity or conflict. The sentiment behind these actions was overwhelmingly positive, exemplifying Baca’s commitment to creating a supportive and harmonious environment.

By constructing these guidelines, Baca has not only provided a roadmap for conducting effective meetings but has also subtly embedded a culture of mutual respect, positive collaboration, and openness to diversity. These principles, while implemented in meetings, have broader implications for general human interaction and embody the principles behind SDG 16.

Mwendwa Kivuva

In the sphere of Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, Kenya’s Community Networks are significantly benefitting from a cost-effective licensing framework, thanks to a unique collaboration with various organisations. This positive development involves a modest licensing fee of only $50, an initiative driven by the Kenyan ICT Action Network and supported by the Kenyan regulator’s innovative enforcement of licensing for wireless service providers. This practicable approach to licensing provides a robust foundation for innovative infrastructural platforms, contributing strategically to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9.

However, community networks within Kenya face palpable challenges, particularly evident in the Madari Valley, where a stable power supply is scarce. Most of this locale lacks an established power grid, making power fluctuations common due to the pressing issue of illegal connections. Another significant barrier is the surge in equipment vandalism, with numerous cases of rampant theft adversely affecting the functionality and sustainability of infrastructural facilities.

Financially, these networks also grapple with the hefty costs of backhaul, a challenge that could potentially impede their growth and viability. With securing a 100 Mbps backhaul cost amounting to about $1000 per month, a proactive proposal suggesting that these costs should be borne by the government has emerged, as they have access to free backhaul. This effective model of cooperation resonates with SDG 9, presenting a more economically viable method for strengthening community networks.

Despite these impediments, community networks have shown resilience through strategic lobbying efforts. A potent association comprising approximately 15 members has formed in Kenya, and through proactive lobbying, is making strides in influencing government decisions. This testifies to the effectiveness of partnerships and collaborative efforts, contributing directly to SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals. These concerted actions underscore the community networks’ dedication towards overcoming challenges, helping to foster a progressive future within the sphere of Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.

Nils Brock:
And those who are sitting very much in the back, please join us also here on the table. That will be a nicer way for discussion, so don’t be shy. Please also sit closer if you want. Thank you. Okay. Konnichiwa, good morning, good afternoon, good evening and welcome to our session Agents of Inclusion. We are happy to see so many familiar faces here that found their way to Kyoto and also so many familiar faces online. Also curious to know more about the new faces that we can see here and yeah, happy to have you here for our exciting session. And all those people together here, some of them who, yeah, suspended Saturday night activities to come to the sessions, others that got up really early. And yeah, soon we will hear more about the work and the proposals of community center digital networks and media. But before this, just some quick words on housekeeping. Carlos.

Carlos Baca:
So, hi, everyone. So some of the common rules that we want to implement are, well, the basic ones, be respectful, we need to listen actively, be respectful for others’ participation, even if you disagree, be collaborative, recognize diversity, respect privacy of participants, ask for consent for photography, audiovisual recordings or quotes, be aware of language diversity, and handle disagreement constructively. So welcome, everyone.

Nils Brock:
Thank you, Carlos. This is with our third facilitator, Shobani, who will also start to present the team quickly. Shobani, are you there online with us? I saw you earlier in the chat, so hello. Can you hear us? Can you? We cannot hear you. Shobani? Hello. Yeah, we cannot hear you. Seems to be an audio problem. So please try to work on the microphone. I will continue meanwhile with the presentation. Yeah, now we can hear you. No, again, not. There’s something happening. Maybe changing the device. There’s Elektra. No, that’s not Shobani. Maybe raise your arm. Maybe you have to be… That’s the person who should be able to talk. No. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay, I will just continue for a second and hopefully you can collect later with us. So the Session Agents of Inclusion will be facilitated by three persons, two of them in the room, the third one mute now, but maybe she will talk to us soon. So our common interest was to shed light on the great work of community-centered initiatives from different regions and different continents. And together we have done our best to bring together an amazing lineup of speakers. And so, first of all, let me introduce you to Carlos Baca, sitting over there. Carlos coordinates the training program of TechU Comunitario. And hello. You can hear me now? Yes, we can hear you. Oh, great.

Sarbani Banerjee Belur:
So I did already the first part of your introduction, but you can still introduce Carlos. You can do better than I, I guess. Hello, everyone. Yeah, so this is Shabani from India. And nice to meet all of you all there. So I’m here and I would like to introduce Niels first. So Niels is a journalist and media developer with focus on community media and community networks. And he has an experience as a freelance journalist and a media activist in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. Niels works as a consultant for special projects for Isomatica.org, especially LockNet, member of the Global Innovation Gathering Network and coordinator of the open source digital newsroom Colmena, developed by DW Academy, and partners together with CSOs in the Global South. Yeah. And we welcome all of you all to this to this session. of ours and we look for quite an interactive session with all of y’all. We have other speakers who are also online and I’ll introduce them one by one as the session flows over to you.

Nils Brock:
Thank you Shobani and so Shobani Belur holds a PhD in Democracy and an MA in Sociology. She has learned and teached on many universities, too many to mention them all. Her work involves increasing digital outreach to remote and rural areas of India, women and their usage of connectivity, development of sustainable business models, seeding the growth of community networks, developing community technologies, meaningful usage and utilization of connectivity and many other exciting things. And Carlos, so could you please introduce yourself because there was a mix

Carlos Baca:
up. So hi, I am Carlos Baca. I come from Mexico. I work in Resomatica and in Redes Asseto organizations that work with indigenous communities in topics related with connectivity and right now I am a coordinator of two training programs, one for ICT network coordinators that we’ve developed in a joint effort with ITU for Latin America and also the National Schools of Community Networks, a project that is inside of the local access network initiatives initiative led by Resomatica and APC. Thank you Carlos and to get the session started, so what is the session about here? So in

Nils Brock:
many places of the world the creation of meaningful connectivity, digital content and also inclusive technologies for internet heavily rely on sometimes invisible collective efforts and we want to make those collective efforts visible today because worldwide hundreds of community networks deliver access and content to underserved areas. especially in places where profit-oriented access models are not sustainable. In addition, we have community media, from which we will also know some of them today, media outlets that actively work on innovative digital formats to create more participation and integration with local communities, and finally we have social enterprises and cooperatives that share the vision of community-owned open technologies. And so our panel will highlight such great contributions and we will hear again from Shobani how this meetup is going to happen.

Sarbani Banerjee Belur:
So this is a hybrid session and participation might be a bit different for those online and on-site. We, however, will try to switch always between the two perspectives to create a maximum of exchange that can take place. Since we have a long lineup of speakers and also want to give space to interaction with the public contributions, we’ll be rather short lightning talks of five to seven minutes each and in Q&A sessions and in the chat here in the Zoom link, there will be opportunities to further explore each topic. So please feel free to ask questions. Put it up on the chat window of the Zoom link. After our final Q&A session, we will also make time for a short planning exchange for all of you who would like to participate in the experience to organize a participatory coverage of the IGF using one of the community-centered technologies called Colmena that we will learn more about in our presentations. Yeah, so thanks.

Nils Brock:
Thank you, Sharbani. And now we’ll come to our first speaker who has stayed up until late in Bolivia today or is postponing dancing. She will tell us. And please welcome online Michelle Nogales. Michelle is one of the founders of Bolivia’s first feminist online magazine called Muy Hueso. And Michelle is a social communicator and journalist with a diploma in digital media for education and women’s rights and journalism. And she was part of the first generation of Sembra Media’s Metis Mentorship and Google News Initiative. With Muy Hueso, she’s exploring many digital media formats and let’s see what she has brought us today. Michelle, are you there?

Michelle Nogales:
Hi, Nils. Hi, everyone. Do you listen to me? Yes, we can hear you. We cannot see you, but we can hear you. How about now? Great. Thanks, Nils. I can start speaking now, yes? Yes, the floor is yours. Thank you so much. Good evening, everyone. I’m really happy to be here with you. Well, right now I’m speaking from a small town in Bolivia in the heart of South America. So thank you so much for this opportunity. You know, it means a lot to me, to my team. So as I was introduced by Nils, I’m the CEO and co-founder of Muy Hueso, the first feminist digital native media in Bolivia. We were born in 2018 with a quest to break the old hegemonic narratives of traditional media and tell what was not being told. And we were born in this digital world because in this space we found an opportunity to talk about the problems, the solutions and the needs of many women in Bolivia. Working women, indigenous women and people of sexual and gender diversity who work every day, but whose those stories were not told, you know, whose those stories are not heard. So at Muy Hueso, we work to make women the protagonists of their own stories. Not only through this journalism that tells these stories. but also to a journalism that is able to co-create with our communities, with our readers, you know. And this year we were able to produce a special article on gynecological violence that talks about some different experiences of women, where we had the participation of almost 300 people, you know, that are part of our digital community. And these people shared their information with us on a topic which there’s no open data available in Bolivia. So we made a co-creation of this article together with all these people, you know. And also at Muy Huaso, we seek to make this journalism and information very accessible to all, you know. We try to use language that is close to our communities, that is simple, but it’s not simplistic or incomplete, you know. And we have this as an unbreakable rule. On the contrary also, we seek to bring full, verified and qualified information in data that is understandable and attractive to our communities and has really interesting formats. In this matter, you know, we also published our third book this year. Well, actually, beginning of this year, which is called 31 Myths and Legends of Bolivia, you know. And this experience is really interesting because this book seeks to compile the mythological oral tradition of our country. And it’s a co-construction with people from the community who narrated these traditional stories. And young artists and illustrators made drawings, more than 1,000 drawings, during October 2022 and spread this oral tradition in their social media. So it was the stories from some people who other artists draw. And we just made an article about each story. And then we published a book. And this book went back again to the community. So it’s a whole. collaborative production together, you know. And in this project also we saw this great great impact that can be achieved through organized collective action, you know. And also this process helped us to maintain a close relationship with our audiences to identify their needs and how they generally generate an impact in our environments. And also in addition to using the internet as a tool, we try to encourage free feminist and independent journalists, you know. We try to share this learning and knowledge that we have gained during this time with members of our communities that live in rural or remote areas, you know. Actually right now I’m really really far from my hometown because today I just came to to do a workshop with some workers with some harvesters really far from my hometown, you know. And we shared about how to use digital media, how to use digital tools to share their own needs and problems, you know. And in that matter we’re actually this year working on creating games or gamified, you know, training experience about media literacy to curb misinformation and the hate speech in the run-up to the 2005 elections that are here in Bolivia, you know, presidential elections. So we want to reduce the internet access and usage gap which in Bolivia is very significant and widening every day. And we want with this Bolivia’s digital media ecosystem to grow and strengthen every day. We want the gap in smaller…

Nils Brock:
Sorry, you’re breaking up a bit. I think we lost Michelle, but the message came through. I’m sorry, my internet just got crazy. Am I back? Yeah, you’re back now.

Michelle Nogales:
Thank you. I’m really sorry. Can you hear me okay? Yes. Yes. Okay. Sorry. Just I’m really in a really small town. So I was telling you that we want the Bolivian media ecosystem to grow, you know, and be like more strong. And we also want to reduce this gap in access and use of technologies, you know. And we want many more women and sexual and gender diversities to be able to occupy the internet and fill it with their needs, with their initiatives, and also with this diversity of languages and actions, you know, and for there to be diverse ideas and voices that reflect the real demands of the communities themselves, you know. And in this project, I was also working in Colmena, where Niels was coordinating a lot of things and other people who is here in the talk. And we were trying also to gather a lot of different people who is working from their communities and sharing their own experiences through radio or through other audio formats that could get together this idea of communities and to take the internet and to be able to have more diversity of voices and cutting up this gap that we have in South America to access and to use the internet. So that’s for my intervention. Thank you so much. I don’t know if you have any questions, and we can keep on talking on the chat. Thank you.

Nils Brock:
Thanks a lot, Michelle. So our next speaker is James Gondwe. He is Executive Director of the Center for Youth and Development in Malawi. And that organization is an organization that works with youth and children and related with digital inclusion matters. So welcome, James.

James Gondwe:
Thank you so much for the opportunity to be part and parcel of this panel. As rightly introduced, my name is James Gondwey, and I’m the director of Center for Youth and Development. Our organization focuses on education, but we leverage on ICT and connectivity as well, and we’ve been exploring ways of how best we can increase access to connectivity and ensure that children, students have access to connectivity and then are able to effectively learn. And one area that we recognize is quite a potential solution in addressing this challenge is community networks, and early on we did recognize that for us to be able to do that in Malawi, we needed to have a conducive policy environment that would ensure that we are able to set up community networks or people are able to set up community networks. And so all along, Malawi has never recognized community networks as a solution, but also they never had a framework or a licensing framework, a greater framework that would actually ensure that community networks are developed. So with the support of our partners, Association for Progressive Communications, but also World Association for Christian Communications, we did work on advocacy, policy engagement with the regulator, but also Minister of Information to make sure that Malawi as a country should be able to develop a conducive policy and a greater environment for establishment of community networks. And despite the fact that what we have at the moment, we would not say it is what we really wanted to see, but I think there is some success because there is a framework that has been created, though not entirely to the way we would have desired it to be created, but there is a framework that has been created. And that would ensure that community networks, community initiatives can actually be established in Malawi. and that people can actually be connected. So, my presentation is mostly focusing on sharing best practices around policy engagement. What did we do to make sure that we are able to get the regulator, but also get the Minister of Information interested and get them listening, and eventually leading to the successful establishment of this policy and regulatory framework. For us, a lot of people think that it is very obvious that the regulators are aware that community networks are a solution. But it’s not. We need to raise awareness. And for us as a country, as an organization, together with our partners, we started with raising awareness. So, you start with the basics. Raise awareness about community networks. Get people to know what community networks are. And you can do that by sharing examples of where this has been successful. And for us, we did have examples from within the region. So, Zenzeleni came in as an example from South Africa. We also had PamojaNet coming in as an example. And later on, Kenya came in as a very good example around policy, because Kenya had developed a licensing framework. So, we’re able to say, look at Kenya. This is what they’ve developed. And for us as a country, we can also do something similar. So, that was a starting point. And so, as we are sharing these experiences around best practices, it is important for us to make sure that we’re also providing evidence. So, the evidence is available. Within the country, we know we’ve got rural communities that are not connected. And we know that ISPs are not going there, because it’s not profitable for them. They would rather stay in the very same communities. So, the conventional method of connecting is not working. And we need to provide that as an example. And then, another very important element. And that really worked for us is an element around collaboration, leverage on others. So throughout our policy engagement, we leveraged on other institutions within the country. So we leveraged on Mizzou University, University of Malawi, as organizations, as academic institutions that supported us with the academic research, you know, and we also did leverage on the ICT Association of Malawi. So the ICT Association of Malawi has got a huge membership of people in ICT, and we were able to leverage on their numbers, to be able to convince the regulator, to be able to convince the Minister of Information to say this is a solution. So leveraging on others is another important strategy that we are able to use. And then another element is in advocacy, it’s difficult for you to organize the events on your own. You know, policymakers, regulators, it’s difficult for you to find them. Even booking a meeting with a regulator is difficult. But try to engage them through other events. So we targeted the events that were happening within the country, and then we would be able to reach them, contact them while they were at those particular events. So a good example is we’ve participated in a number of ICT expos that have been organized within Malawi. And we know for sure that the Minister of Information, but also others from the regulator And that is the point of engaging, you know, with those regulators. Malawi hosted the IGF last year, and that was a great opportunity for us to be able to engage with these duty bearers. And even the National IGF is also another opportunity. So try to leverage on what is already happening in your country, and then build from there. Another very important element is to try to build a network of allies. Try to see who else is interested, you know, in this topic. So smaller ISPs is another very good example, so much as we may not be fully aligned with community networks. But I think those So, we started building a database of allies from around 2019, and now we are even happy that that particular database has actually developed into a community network alliance. So, Malawi has got a community network alliance, and that particular alliance is now going to be looking at how best can we sustain the effort, the momentum that has already been created. So, we started building a database of allies from around 2019, and now we are even happy that that particular alliance is now going to be looking at how best can we sustain the effort, the momentum that has already been created. So, it is the one that is actually now engaging with the regulator, engaging with the government, and getting them to talk, but also to see the successful implementation of the framework that has been created. So, my presentation focuses on sharing those best practices. Thank you so much.

Nils Brock:
Thank you, and our next guest from India will be presented by Shobhani.

Sarbani Banerjee Belur:
So, our next speaker is Amodan. Amodan is an engineer, an entrepreneur, proving how system administration and development can solve real-world problems. He currently works with the social enterprise Vakoma, developing a technology part for local communities and their needs. Amodan, let’s hear from you now. Thanks.

Nils Brock:
Hello. Can you all hear me? Yes. Okay.

Amudhan Manivasagam:
Thank you, Shobhani, for the introduction. Good afternoon. Good evening. You know, have a good day, everyone. And it’s nice to be here. I’m glad to be sharing all of our work with you today. At Vakoma, we’re working towards kind of implementing technology for local communities and their needs. and building solutions to connect the global south. Our efforts involve the deployment of open hardware and software, and we create open tools that enable anybody to build a network and adapt it and purpose fit them to their own needs. A lot of our work involves a portable, rapidly deployable networking equipment and hardware, but also software and firmware. To that end, I would like to share with you today a project that we call the Nimble. It’s a device that encapsulates all of our efforts in these various different areas. The Nimble is an integration of open source hardware, software, and firmware, and it’s designed to be modular, customizable, and portable. So let’s start with the Nimble. The Nimble is essentially a series of 3D printed mounts, and it houses hardware that is chosen to fit within a Pelican case, and what this allows is for it to be taken anywhere and be rapidly deployable, and it’s extremely portable. And the designs of these shelves and these mounts are all open, and anybody can download and print them for use, and they can modify them to fit their needs. Users can also design and share their own pieces, so if they have something that they want to put in the Nimble that we don’t already have a mount for, they can design and share it back to the community. In addition to this, to make this hardware more accessible, to everybody else. We’re working on creating parametric designs that change the models dynamically based on the specific hardware that you’ve chosen. So you can much more easily customize it and it makes it way more accessible for people to get started with. And as part of this, it’s also important to mention as we integrate open hardware, software, and firmware and educational resources into this, it’s also important to talk about other ecosystem projects that enable us. And we’re also, the Nimble, when it’s deployed, we also work with open firmware projects. We leverage OpenWRT and what it enables for us is that as part of when you build your own network, communities are able to take any commodity hardware they have on hand and use that to build and deploy the network. And at the end of the day, we want to make building networks more accessible. So the idea is you bring your own hardware, software, your own networking, whatever you have on hand, whatever is available to you locally, and you put it together as the Nimble and it helps you build a community network. And once the network is up, we work on a software platform that we call Local to add value to the network. So once you have the network, what do you do with it? You need to, there is no point in just having a bunch of nodes connected, it has to serve a function. And to that end, we have Local. Local is a software platform that aggregates and enables, again, the rapid deployment of a suite of open source applications. that can fit your needs. So this is a short basket of the applications that you can run on local. And the nice thing about it is you can handpick any combination of these applications that best suit your needs and deploy them rapidly to one or many nodes all at once. And all of these applications can be run offline first. So you can make calls, you can get educational resources, you can run a community forum, you can create content and share it back to the community, all completely offline. And local can be deployed on almost any commodity hardware. You can pick any computing resources that are available to you. It could be an old computer, it could be a Raspberry Pi, it could be a little box. If your community has a lot of users, you can scale it up and down as needed. And it can be deployed on most hardware. And you can select the applications that best suit your needs. And you can also include specialty hardware to serve your specific application. And we’re always working on adding and integrating newer and more open source projects into local. And so if you have an application that you don’t see in this list or on our website, chances are that we can probably integrate it and get it working in a short period of time. And much like the rest of the Nimble and the open firmware ecosystem, local is also designed to be platform agnostic. So it can be run independently of the Nimble. The Nimble is independent of local, but they all connect to create this ecosystem that enables rapid deployment of networks along with the local content and services. And this type of thing really shines. in an offline first environment because it makes building networks for communities that much more accessible, right? When these components and the ability to deploy software, it kind of democratizes the thing. So people can just come and get started much more quickly. And a great example of this would be the collaboration with Colmina. And Colmina I think has been mentioned a few times already in the series of talks. It’s an offline first decentralized platform that can be used to create and disseminate content in a community. The people can just create, edit, mix, add text. They can create content right in Colmina and then disseminate it out to the community. And as part of our collaboration with them, we made a customized Nimble unit which has an audio interface. So you can create and you can take it out in the field. It’s less than a hundred Watts. You can plug in a microphone and create content right there and disseminate it in a volatile situation. And so this is a great example of Nimble being customized along with local integration for a specific use case. And this would really enable offline first volatile situation. You know, it’s a great way to get out news media, for example. And yeah, so this is a nice overview of I think everything we’re working on. We’re always open to collaborating and we actually have a demo of this Colmina Nimble with Neil. So for those of you that are on site. please check it out. You should be able to see from Niels. You can look for the local.network wifi name. You can connect to it. You can explore the content and services, the platform, you can explore the software. And if you have any ideas and you’d like to collaborate with us, you can reach out to us. You can learn more about all of our various projects on the website. And yeah, thank you for your time and your attention. It’s a pleasure chatting.

Nils Brock:
Thank you. Thank you, Amudjan. And yes, as he said, the Nimble is set up at the APC booth in the Global Village. So if you want to check it out the next days, it’s already set up and yeah, happy to meet you there also to show you some more of the facilities. But now let’s jump to Latin America. And we have someone invited here from Costa Rica, Kemli Camacho. Thanks for having made the long way to Japan. And with the permission of the Indigenous Women Association from Alto Pacuare de Cabecar, Kemli will tell us a little more about social technology designed and maintained by indigenous women. Just a few words, or would you like to present yourself, Kemli, as you wish?

Kemly Camacho:
Yes, very fast, because I prefer to take my time for the presentation. My name is Kemli Camacho. I’m from Costa Rica and I’m the coordinator of Zulabatzu Cooperativa, a 20 years old self-managed enterprise from the social economy. And we have been working during now six years with the Association of Cabecar Women to develop communication strategies and with technologies, but in a process of appropriation of the technology. The slide that you are going to see is just for you to illustrate the work that we do in this place, because what I’m going to do is to tell you a story. I would like today to talk more about the transformation that a local communication strategy can make in women organizations. This is what I wanted to address more than talk about the technology. This time I would like to talk about the transformation produced by this technology. I want you to imagine that you are entering in a big, big mountain with no connection at all, no mobiles, no electricity. It takes myself 12 hours walking to arrive to Calabasas, this place where we meet all together women from the Quebecer community. I want also you to imagine this community. Each home is between eight hours to two days walking distance. We don’t have a center in this mountain where you have the home, where you have the houses. They are totally dispersed in the mountain. You have to walk, and if suddenly something happens, you have to walk eight hours. In general, they send one of the kids to one house, to the other, to let them know that something is happening. What is happening, for instance, a woman is having a hard birth, for instance, or there is a bridge that was fell down because of the river or any other thing, but they needed hours to two days to communicate one home to the other. We began to work with them about, at the beginning it was about creating a community network based in internet protocols, but I’m not going to tell you all the story, but their decision were not, not. We don’t want that. What we want is to really have a technology to strengthen the communication inside the territory and to strengthen the communication between women, because we want to strengthen the women’s organization. This is a matrilineal community. Women are the leaders and they heritage the land. Then for them to be organized is very important. I want to tell you the last story. This is an authorized story by them. I cannot tell this story without authorization, but two months ago, a leader drowned in the river. Drowning is a good word, yes, and the body was lost in the river. In other occasion, local authorities will come and look themselves, Red Cross and police, look themselves for the body. In this occasion, women using the walkie-talkie networks organized themselves, and when the local authority came, they said, we don’t want you to look for the body because that is very important for us, and that ceremony is very important for us. We are going to organize ourselves using the walkie-talkie networks to go alone and organize the community to go alone and look for the body of our leader. They do that, yes, they do that and they use all along the river, they organized the way to try to find the body. When they found the body, also, because the authorities asked them, they have to take the body for the morgue, they also said, and organized themselves, all together, talking around the mountains with the walkie-talkie network, walking around the mountains, one to each other, how they are going to define what to do with the body, what to do with the morgue, what to do with local authorities, and how they can and want to do their dead ceremony as they want. Then, I wanted to tell you this simple story, maybe, because it is really the result. On another occasion, if we didn’t have this strategy, communication strategy, based in the walkie-talkie network, the only possibility is the local authorities came and took the body and did the occidental process instead of the cabeca process and ceremony for death. Then, this is only one example about how we, for us, the most important is how we are strengthening, we together, the association, Cabeca Women’s Association, and us, together, we are developing and strengthening the community organizations, leaded by women. Other thing that we have done, and it’s related with communication, is about building infrastructure together. You can see there, this is Hutsini, and we have just finished to build a huaraki. Those are spaces that we are building together. or they are building together, using all the building practices, yes, and they are organizing themselves for having, for the first time, spaces to meet safe and for women to meet in safe conditions. And that is also a result of having a communication strategy. Finally, I wanted to let you know that they are, they began to develop what they call the Kaweka Women University, which is a place in this Huaraki and Hutsini. They are creating this university, Kaweka Women University, where they are teaching agriculture, construction, health practices, or health career, spirituality, and handicraft. These five programs they have created using the second part of our project, which is Okama, which is a platform that contains, this is a bad word, I don’t know how to say in English, but a platform where we are collecting all the wisdom of women in Kaweka language, about this different wisdom in agriculture, construction, et cetera, and by the way of audio, videos, and drawing that young women and boys are doing, using interviews to the older women. Then we have this platform and we are using them to collect all this wisdom and to use in this training for the University of Quebec women. Also, I wanted to let you know, they only speak Quebec, then we are using a lot the drawing for agreements or for presenting ideas and for making decisions. We are, of course, interpreters, young women interpreters, but we are using all this drawing as a communication ways of work also. Finally, let you know that we begin in Halabata. You see, this is our decision-making process. We begin in Halabata, now we are expanding the process to other communities, other Quebec communities, and also in this next part of the project, we are integrating children to the process also. Then, for now, this is what I wanted to share. Thank you.

Carlos Baca:
Thank you, Kemly, and thank you also for this trip that you make us go to Costa Rica and feel some of the feelings to be there. The next speaker is Deborah. Deborah is a journalist and activist, and she is the communication associated in the LockNet initiative led by IPC and Rizomatica. She is in Brazil and is very late there, so she preferred to send us a video, and she has some great news about… a gift for you.

Debora Prado:
Hello, everyone. I’m Deborah. I’m joining from Sao Paulo, Brazil today. I want to start by saying thank you to everyone that’s here on site or online to make this conversation happening and also for the organizers, the facilitators and IGF to make this space happen. And I’m here today to talk about the podcast that we just launched this year. The podcast is named Routing for Communities and we have a motto that says this is an audio journey tracing community connectivity around the world. So this podcast bring live stories of people that are connecting themselves while defending the fundamental rights and the well-being of the communities. This is a podcast produced by the local networks initiative. This is an initiative led by the Association for Progressive Communications, APC and Rizomatica in partnership with people with support organizations with grassroots communities in different parts of the world, especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean and working on the local networks initiatives through the years. We have witnessed a lot of inspiring stories of community-centered connectivity, of community networks, of this kind of initiatives that started bottom up and we thought about the podcast as a way, as a channel, as a strategic communication tool to share these voices and these stories and to bring the reflections to this dialogue, to the dialogue about the future of connectivity and the future of digital technology that we want. So more than anything, we believe this podcast is just an entry point to these voices and these stories that are really, really inspiring. I want to share a brief teaser of this podcast, of the teaser that we made, actually, to launch the first season now with you, just for us to listen to a few of those voices as an example and as, of course, an invitation for you to access our landing page, routingforcommunists.apc.org, to listen to these stories. They will bring different perspectives as the involvement of women, how access inequalities can be related to other inequalities, gender, race, and class inequalities, how can connectivity and digital technology, digital communication be mobilized to promote social and environmental justice, how indigenous people, indigenous communities have been using them to preserve the language, the culture. So a lot of different inspiring examples from different countries, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand, Kenya, South Africa, and more. So I will just play a bit and with this make an invitation for you to listen to these stories and also to share them with people that are interested in this topic. Routing for Communities, an audio journey tracing community connectivity around the world. Hi, my name is Renata Porto and I will follow you along this 12-episode season where we are going to travel to different places, South Africa, Mexico, Argentina, Kenya, Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria, India, UK, Colombia. I am originally from Philadelphia in the United States, and then I’ve been in Mexico since about 2010. We will meet stories and voices that are intertwined, connected by a common thread, building internet and communication community networks. I will stop here just to be mindful of the time, but this is an invitation, please. We have also a Telegram channel if you want to join or visit our landing page, we’re also in the main audio podcast platforms. I also want to thank the people that made this season happen. This was a collective work made by many hands, of course, by those that were generous enough to bring their voices and their stories, but also the work behind the scenes. So here are some credits, and I want to thank you all for being here, listening, and for creating this space, and I’m looking forward to engage with you more. Thank you.

Nils Brock:
Thank you, Deborah. I don’t know if you made it to the chat, and now Shabani will announce our next speaker. Thank you, Nils.

Sarbani Banerjee Belur:
Thanks, Deborah, for that nice presentation. We would like to mention that we have keychains present in the room where you are there, as well as in the APC booth with the scan. You can scan the keychain and you can go directly into the podcast that Deborah mentioned about. So please feel free to collect the keychains from the table. Carlos Baca has it with him there in the room. and you can also collect it from the APC booth. Yeah, so over to the next speaker for today. The next speaker for today is Elisa Heppner and she has joined the foundation in March, APNIC Foundation in March, 2023. She has more than 15 years of professional experience in program or project management and the design and delivery of complex projects after working in the private sector, government and not-for-profit sectors. She came to the foundation from the NGO sector where she was responsible in driving the implementation of local, national and international programs in relation to improving education outcomes and literacy using EdTech within a variety of international locations, including Asia and the Pacific. So over to you, Elisa. And the topic of her presentation is Funding Diverse Connectivity Initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region. Over to you.

Ellisha Heppner:
Hi, thank you for having me, everyone, this evening. Hopefully my presentation will come up on the screen. There we go, wonderful. Appreciate the time that you’re giving to me today. My previous project role, I was doing closing the digital literacy divide with solutions which was for primary school children doing digital library solutions to rural and remote areas. So I’m really interested in hearing some of the connectivity and discussions that everyone’s bringing to the table today. But I’m here as the grants management lead for the APNIC Foundation. And I wanted to just share some of the great work. that we see that we’re also funding through our foundation and share some of those stories and thoughts that come with that. So how the foundation works, the APNIC Foundation looks to fund predominantly through infrastructure inclusion and knowledge with a goal to have an open, secure and accessible internet for all. And we do that through technical training assistance, community development, grants and awards, internet infrastructure and research and collaboration. So we have a vision to have a global open, stable and secure internet that’s affordable and accessible to the entire Asia Pacific community. We are predominantly focused in the 56 economies through the Asia Pacific region. And the foundation is made up of a variety of different initiatives, from foundation led projects specifically to ISF-Asia grants, ISF-Asia awards and foundation community assistance. I predominantly look after the portfolio of the ISF-Asia grants and the foundation community assistance programs. I just wanted to share with you just a brief snapshot of some of those initiatives that are in play at the moment. We’ve got around 21 different infrastructure projects, 23 knowledge projects and 24 inclusion projects underway at the moment. And over this period, there’s over about 200 different initiatives that have been put through our 32 different economies. Some things to dive down on, these projects, we’ve got at least six that are. focused on internet and specifically the environment. We’ve got a couple that are focused specifically on disability and inclusion. We’ve got eight that are looking to fill the connectivity gaps. And when I say remote, we’re talking those really remote last, you know, areas. Sorry, remote providing those ones is, we’ve got some internet providers that are supporting through that. We’ve got four projects really looking at alternative infrastructure solutions to make that kind of connectivity affordable. A couple of health projects. We’ve got some at the moment focused on forest fires and what that looks like for climate change. We’ve got many focused on social impact. We’ve got IPV6, which is infrastructure. And then yes, 10 on last mile connectivity and 13 around cyber and security. I don’t want to speak specifically about the projects. We’ve got, you know, I’ve got Dinesh here who is one of our recipients, who is CEO of Zervalots and he’s presenting on his organization there. But I wanted to try and highlight the fact that we do fund and support collective efforts around community networks and what that looks like. And that can be really, really diverse. So these are projects and project solutions that have been put forward to us for funding and support that range from this year we’ve got Pacific Broadband who are connecting 100 educational or health facilities across 10 countries through their solution to, you know, Agility is working in really rural and remote hard to reach areas of India. CVSNET Foundation are looking at how to do small, stable broadband across those islands. We have a company with DistantCurve who is servicing remote rural Australia that can cover vast distances, but we have a very, very small population across those large distances. I think what I’d like to share and highlight is that there are a variety of different opportunity solutions based on context and that we really support that kind of diversity of spectrum and we love to support initiatives, whatever they are, that are servicing the community and the community in need. I think the other thing that I’ve seen come through with projects that we like and that we look to support and some of the conversation that I hear from our recipients is that power is also essential for community networks and connecting communities. As part of that, we do support as well initiatives that are looking at alternative power solutions to support that connectivity, ability to be able to provide effective connectivity for services. So an example there is we’ve got a project called MeSoul who is doing peer-to-peer solar microgrids in Rohingya refugee camps. SatSoul is in our Solomon Islands, which is a transportable tower that can be moved from site to site. Common Room, who also do community networks, they are understanding and support and look at alternative power solutions, knowing how important that is to maintain that connectivity. We’ve got Palau National Communications. corporation who are introducing and looking at hybrid solutions to ensure that there’s sustainability through power and backup so that that connectivity can continue to occur. And lastly, I just wanted to share a few selections of our initiatives that are focused on environment and social impact. So this is our inclusion and grants specifically. So we have one of our grantees is here, but not in the room. It’s an organization called Simile, and they’re looking at how the internet and communications and connectivity can be used for climate change and water management. We’ve got the International Research and Exchange Board there. We funded a Myanmar book aid and looked at language and preservation and what libraries meant in that location to be able to support community hubs. We’ve helped to support ICEA and how building models and community networks and looking at those kind of sustainable models through research and funding. And then Devao Medical School, connecting healthcare locations. So that’s essentially the diverse range of solutions that are coming to the table. And I just wanted to highlight how that has happened and how we support that through those kind of public locations, looking at power supply, context-specific solutions, leveraging for impact, and just really reflecting on that many projects are ill-equipped with connectivity and how do we make sure that we’ve got that before we do projects. Thank you.

Nils Brock:
Thank you, Ellisha. And, yeah, nice to see this from a funder perspective and if there are other… Funders in the room thinking about how they can support bottom-up connectivity and content production I think you already gave some nice examples and you also touched an important topic that is Solar energy and photovoltaic systems and our next speaker from Germany has yeah A long history of having worked on such and similar technologies some of you might have heard of from her already Elektra Wagenrath will be here with us. She’s been developing wireless mesh technology for community networks and solar power systems in Germany, Bangladesh, India, Chile, Tanzania, South Africa, so she has been around the world. Wireless networking, she has published several books and articles on this. She has also worked on the Freifunk community and has developed now already the third generation of the Freifunk open MPPT, an open software hardware solar controller and she will tell us more about it now. Welcome Elektra.

Elektra Wagenrad:
Hello, I hope you can hear me. Yes, we can. Excellent. Well, unfortunately, I cannot share the slides with you on the laptop, so I will try with the smartphone. It’s fine, but we can see you and hear you clearly. Oh dear. How do I get out of here. It’s the first time I’m trying to do this on a smartphone. I hope you see my slides now. No, unfortunately not. We can only see you, which is nice. Okay, so I just have to go. Unfortunately, I can’t show you the slides. So, I’m a community member of the Freifunk Community Networking Initiative, and in 2017, I started to work for Freifunk on powering mesh networks from solar. So, I started to engineer and develop devices, solar controllers that you can build yourself and that you can program yourself, because they’re open hardware and open software. So, it’s open source hardware through and through. And the first devices were like small devices with like 50 watts of power for mobile mesh nodes or independent mesh nodes. And from then on, people kept on asking me if they could have more power. So, I increased the power and I increased the versatility of the devices. And so, there’s now three generations of these devices. Two generations are based on the ESP32 microcontroller, and they support telemetry. They support extending it with other software. For example, I’ve made a prototype for APC that is for irrigation purposes. I have a prototype that is monitoring the environment, because the solar controller cannot just provide power for your infrastructure. It can also be used for other purposes as well. So, it’s extendable for these purposes. Yeah, it’s a bummer that I don’t have my slides to show you. And one of the devices, an early prototype of the third generation. has been used in Antil in India and it can also be used to serve power to the Nimble project for example. So the latest device has a power of up to 400 watts peak from the solar system and it’s designed to work with 12 volt batteries but I’m also extending it probably to 24 volt batteries. So far I’m using AGM led batteries but I’m also testing now with Li-Ion iron phosphate batteries. Elektor we have found the slides do you want us to show them we can show them now. Oh that would be awesome. I can’t see them. Can you see them? We can see them. The first one is the Freifunk open MPPT. Yeah yeah so I have my slides here locally so yes. That graphic is just illustrating the purpose that we like two villages and in the middle of nowhere there is a opportunity to overcome an obstacle and then you the idea is to autonomously power a wireless relay in a mesh network so the villages can be connected. Can you go to slide number two? That’s the one on the picture on the left side you see one of the first uses. It’s a mobile pole with solar power and battery. So, which is integrating a mashed potato used back then, and the solar panel and the solar charge controller. And on the right hand, you see the app that can be used to monitor the device. It will also give you hints if something is wrong. Please go to slide number three. Here you see the modules that basically such a system is consisting of. Just step over to slide number four. Just a schematic, a block diagram showing the use in India in Ant Hill. Here the device was used to power a think center. The 400-watt device and the 100-watt device from the open MPPT was powering the TP link that was connected to the cow mesh. Slide number five, please. So this is a current prototype of the 400-watt version, and I’m going to start production this year. Slide number six, please. Yeah, some pictures from the field, from the deployment in Ant Hill. The left picture is when they prepared it, and the right hand picture shows the installation. I have to mention that this installation gave problems because the batteries and the device were overheating because they were exposed in a metal box to the blazing sun, which was not how I intended it to be used. Slide number seven, please. Next one. Yeah, I started to print housings for it. And this is a device that you can use in an environment where it’s not on a remote place. For example, if you use it locally, it’s a printed housing. And I added the display, slide number eight. And here you can see the OSPIT, Open Solar Powered Irrigation Tool, the prototype that I’ve built based on the device. And I have the idea to make a PCB for that as well, because I have the feeling that many people will be looking for such a solution. And last slide, it’s just a thanks to the contributors, the people that helped me with the funding. Thank you very much.

Carlos Baca:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Carlos. Our next speaker is Nwendoa Kiibuba from Kenya. And he is one of the board members of the KIKTA-NET, that is the Kenyan ICT Action Network. And he’s also one of the developers of the Angaza Community Networks in Matare slums in Nairobi.

Mwendwa Kivuva:
Okay, thank you so much for the introduction. So my name is Nwendoa Kiibuba from KIKTA-NET. And I have some slides to share, so probably I can be enabled to do that. So probably I can give a small brief of the Kenyan situation, is that host disabled screen sharing, probably you can enable that. Is that Kenya has a licensing framework and to get a license for community network. You pay around $50. So it’s a very affordable license that we have. And this was made possible through some collaboration through APC, Rizomatika, Communication Authority of Kenya, and UKAID. And this license is the one Malawi is referring to that many other African countries are looking to adopt. And recently, the regulator in Kenya started cracking the whip on unlicensed wireless service providers. So they are being shut down by the regulator. So many of them are now starting to get these licenses. OK. Thank you. Thank you. OK, I’ve shared the screen. And also, Kenya has formed an association for community networks with around 15 members belonging to that association. And they are able to lobby government and other players effectively because now the association has more members and they have numbers to be able to talk to the regulator. Some of the many challenges, of course, we are facing within our situation, power is a big challenge. We have had some speakers speak about power. Like for example, this is Angaza Community Network that we are running in Madari Valley. And this is a situation on the ground. Very many tiny shack, tin roofs, houses. And most of the location is not covered by a power grid. And the power grid that is there within the location, most of them is actually illegally tapped. So the power is usually. So, we have a lot of access points, and we have a lot of access points that usually fluctuate, the spikes, and the spikes burn most of the adapters for the access points that we have within the value. So, unreliable power is one of the big challenges that we are facing as a network. Within the network, we have four access points, and we have a lot of access points, and we have a lot of access points which communicate to the access points that are on the ground. And one challenge, like, this network faced is that some of the vandalism of equipments, so if you don’t secure your site very well, probably have tight security, razor wires and all that, you find the equipments get stolen. So, we have a lot of challenges, and we have a lot of challenges, like, some is competitors vandalizing, and some is just people looking to sell the equipments for money. Another challenge we have seen many community network phase is backhaul, because, like, for a situation, 100 Mbps backhaul cost around $1,000 per month, and how, as we are trying to cover the cost of backhaul is to talk to government, because government have access backhaul, like, Kenya, there’s a city authority of Kenya which provides Internet to government sites, and they are free backhaul, actually, just lying around. So, one of the things we are doing is telling them if there’s a fiber pipe passing through Kenya, if on the other side of Kenya, so neighbour hubs, if there’s a fiber pipe going from government house to a house, and also to a telephone, because they are forgetting precisely withEsco export or phone order and Why don’t you give them that back also so that they can be able to serve the members of the community with that Internet? And in Kenya, there is an initiative to serve, to provide, to have 25,000 access points within the country. And that’s a government initiative. So with collaboration with community networks, they can be able to achieve that target if the government provides back home. Community networks provide the access points and the community people to manage it. They can be able actually to achieve that number at a very lower cost. So that’s something we are really advocating, and we are talking to the ministry and the relevant government agencies to be able to support that. And within our network, we have several trained engineers who have been going through the schools of community networks so that they can be able to manage this network from the site. And one challenge, of course, is when we train these engineers and they are very good, they get poached or they go to larger, bigger organizations. So they go to the bigger ISPs because probably there is better salaries. So we actually say that we are building capacity for the nation, because you build capacity so people are able to manage these networks, then they go to work for the bigger ISPs. But of course, we have already built the community and also built human resource for the nation. So we don’t mind that so much when it happens. So one of the wins on our POPs, you can see like this solar panels within our POPs. And these solar panels are the ones which are powering the masks. But now at the village level, we have access points. that we have mounted on top of a residence, a residence house, and we are not able to power all these devices with solar. These are, we have around 250 devices, so that they can be able to supply Wi-Fi across the village. And these are the devices that we have problem with power because they get burnt out all. So probably the solutions that we have seen discussed here, probably some of them we can try to adapt and apply within our network. Some of the quick wins we have had with this project is support from APC and World Association for Christian Communicators. They have been able to provide a small funding to pay community people who are managing the network for us and maybe even support part of a backhaul and this small administrative cost. And of course, one of the other quick wins is collaboration with government and ministry and communications authority. So our regulator in Kenya is very engaging and very available. So it’s actually possible to have the regulator be part of your team. Actually, most of our equipment that we have not yet deployed the regulator is the one who is storing the equipments for us. And we hope that this program can be able to support the government agenda for providing 25,000 hotspots across the country. We have seen people, we know that free citywide or slam internet is actually possible. Even here in Kyoto, you go on the streets, there is free Wi-Fi with collaboration with the local municipality. And even if you go to New York, there is free internet provided by New York City, New York City Wi-Fi. So these models actually work and they can also. We have a network for informal settlement, who we can actually help to give Internet. We are targeting to have 20,000 unique monthly users by mid-2024 with this network. Thank you so much.

Nils Brock:
. Thank you very much. We see that solar energy is very important for the development of community networks, and I think we can also see the link which is between the policy work that James mentioned before and how it can create conditions to make those networks grow. And now let’s go back to India to hear a bit more about the work of community networks there and also community media, especially community radios, and someone who can tell us more about it .

Sarbani Banerjee Belur:
Thank you, everyone. I’ll just present my slides. Yeah, hope you all can see my slides. Yes, we can. Okay. Yeah, so I’m going to speak about the varied users of community media by women in community networks. So I’m a member of the community media association for progress of communication. I’m a fellow of ICR, that is institute for social entrepreneurship in Asia, and I am also the Asia regional coordinator of the LockNet project at the association for progress of communication. So all of you all must be knowing about what is community networks or the community-centered connectivity where in regions where there is no connectivity there is now, there are lots of coordination happening and so I’m going to share a guess a little bit about what is community networks and what we are in. Yeah, thank you, Kim. Yes, so community networks are seated by the community, for the community. And in these networks, women’s role play, it plays an important role. Women play an important role. Women play an important role in setting up these networks. One of the things that is very important to understand is that in these networks, women actually play a role of decision-making, of setting up the network. Like for example, they will think whether it has to be, they contribute to the decision process of making the network an online network or an offline network, based on various other criteria, which I’ll tell you a little bit later. And I think women’s role also is that they contribute to a better and equitable network because women try to put up the access points in locations where women usually visit, like the schools or the well, where they draw water, unlike the others. So it’s more equitable network. And it is an understanding of women’s capability to use the network. So here they use quite a lot of frugal technologies that are technologies that are like just a smartphone without any connectivity, but with using the audio recording session, audio recording feature of the smartphone. And it is towards developing enterprises and social entrepreneurs. So in India, we do have quite a lot of community radio in Asia. And I’ll tell you examples. That’s Servalots, Dinesh is there in the room. Servalots is one of the organizations and APC member who has set up a community radio, an offline community radio for the community. And they have actually set an example, and we have followed it for various other community networks. and this is an offline radio that is that is set up in the community for sharing information within the community. Then Asorkom in Myanmar that used to be there but has been as no more there had a Haisha FM that is a community radio that was set up specifically for the community and related to all it related to all the information that the community had and and it is closed down now because of the political coup there. Then the Pathardi community network is also has used community radio and it collects information on biodiversity and it is also an offline network offline radio. So what happens is that in these in these in these networks that by community radio is used is that it brings the community together and it if you look at the illustration on the left hand side it actually suggests that it brings the community together this type of media it brings the community together and the user is always a usage of Google technologies that are used like just a recording a mic that is used or or a mobile phone with the audio recording facility. So it is a very very very simple type of technology that is used and it also brings a platform for the people in the community to discuss various issues which is not there in which internet can you can just plug on to the internet and you can be connected to the outside world but the knowledge that is there within the community it really requires some of the knowledge can be recirculated within the community sometimes the community doesn’t know it and this indigenous knowledge sharing is is sort of used quite a lot through the use of the community radio and we have examples of indigenous knowledge like art and craft forms which the community doesn’t want to go into the internet and it should remain within the community and get enhanced by the contribution from the people in the community and this happens within the community radio space, the platform that it provides. So I just give you an example of a network offline network diagram, a mesh network diagram which is here and you can see that how the radio is used, how the information, various types of information is collected by the community in an offline setting and it attributes the community knowledge. What happens to the women is that women have find self-expressions for community radio, otherwise they don’t have, their voices are never heard in the online medium and it sort of gets diluted but in the community radio space women find self-expression, they can speak, they can speak for themselves and of course the community support is also there, the local community linking up the local community to the outside world and as you can see preserving indigenous knowledge in one of the networks that we are going to set up very soon now. We are going to use a combination of Nimble and Colmena for setting up a network for preserving languages in a tribe in a remote part of India where the language is totally getting eroded, it’s not there anymore, they don’t have a repository also of its own so we are setting it up over there and the community contribution to the knowledge repository is only is going to be only through this community radio, which is, again, going to be an offline network that we are going to set up. And what happens is that, through this type of community media, what happens is that women who are perceived to be not having digital literacy or not having devices, so they can adapt themselves to technologies that are very frugal and simple to use. That’s all. Thank you.

Nils Brock:
Thank you, Shobani. And now to our next speaker. I already wrote in the chat if you have questions. We will get your questions answered on quickly. It has been many presentations, but yeah, I think very interesting insights and two more coming. So now we will have Eric Huerta from Redis Mexico and also from Rizomatica. And he will tell us a bit about the work, interesting work doing in Mexico.

Erick Huerta:
Hello. Hello, well, thanks a lot for all the experiences that have been presented. It’s such inspiring and interesting. Well, it’s good to hear that we share sometimes common problems when we talk about electricity, when we talk about access. And well, I love all the presentations, but especially I like the one from the Quebecer woman because it reminds us a lot of the context that we also work with indigenous communities. Well, I’m going to tell you the story, our own story about what is happening now. 12 years ago, more or less. So, 10 years ago, we started a mobile network, a community mobile network with indigenous communities. So, that moment was a hit, because it was the first time a community, indigenous community got access to Spectrum for mobile services. And then, well, we started 2G services in indigenous communities from Mexico and the area of Oaxaca. But well, it has been 10 years since that, and well, things have changed a lot, and also technology has changed a lot, and we have new challenges and also new opportunities with this. So, especially after the pandemic, we have seen an increase of the expansion of big operators in Mexico. So, in some of the communities that we used to provide, well, the communities used to provide service for themselves, some big operators started coming in, too. And that, well, it’s difficult to compete with them, because these local networks have a specific type of numbering, so they don’t use the same numbering like the other communities, and some people switch them, because they’re not a national network. So, one of the things for us was to see, how shall we do? Are we going to continue with this project, or we don’t? So, the first thing that we did was to, as every year, all the communities met together and we explained the situation, how it was going, and they decided to continue. They say, we’re going. to continue with the networks, but each time we have to move the local networks to the smallest communities. So that affects the sustainability of the network, because the big communities sustain the small communities. But if all of them are small, well, that’s a problem. And the other option was also to create a mobile virtual operator, so that the communities don’t lose what they already have, a share within the calls that were done in the community. So we create this mobile virtual operator, and we continue with building infrastructure within the small communities. But this thing of the mobile virtual operator also brings us new opportunities as well. When we started these networks, we were so excited because we think that we could do a lot of side projects regarding to content creation or local economy development and that. But the real thing was that most of the time and energy was kept in sustaining the networks, in attending the services and ensuring that the network was more reliable and so on. So we have less time to work on these side projects. So the mobile virtual operator brings us these opportunities. And also, this mobile virtual operator is not just about providing service, but also to support content creation for the communities and also local product exchange. I would just quickly tell about two of these. experiences that are there. One is from a community, and this community says, well, we have our mobile non-virtual operator now, we provide service to the community, but we would like to have a local information centre for our community. And that’s why I was, I refer to these local networks and the ones like the Quebec has, because, for instance, this community has run a long history fighting against the mining in their communities, no? So they want to share these experiences, this experience to the new generation so that they continue to remain strong against the invasion of the lands and so on. And so we are working with them, creating this, well, we started this project creating this facility so that they can have their local maps, their local information centre to provide this in a local network. So this has been an important change, no? It’s not just about now that we don’t have to sustain the infrastructure, we can engage in different projects that can develop local content using the resources that come from the virtual operator. And the other is the strength in local economies, no? So the model that we use within the mobile virtual operator is kind of a service, it’s kind of a local savings group, no? Like a local savings group. So this is the, this other story is… a local university, a community university, and it’s mainly a peace and university. So they have a special area for communications. They are about six to seven students, they’re small students, and they decided to create this group to become a mobile reseller, from the mobile operator. So it was interesting because they have saved some money for some production that they did, and then from there, they restarted their MVNO. And with that money, well, it was very successful because at that place, it was the only operator, is that, we don’t, okay. Well, it was very successful because it was the only operator there, so a lot of money get started into the income, and now they are become a self, and they have, they are now founding themselves to support the acquisition of their computers, or their own mobiles, and so on. So, I mean, that’s what I wanted to share, this change from the local network to a virtual operator that moves into some different areas of the self-sustainability of the community, so that was all, thank you.

Nils Brock:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Eric, and sorry, we had to watch the time a bit because we have still one speaker, Whisper Rose, waiting online, and Whisper is from CBO from Kenya called Tandanet, some of them might know you, and she will tell you. quickly about a project that we heard mentioned already a couple of times, Colmena, where several organizations that presented here today are involved. It’s like a common effort for an open-source software and yes, RISPR will tell us more about it. And thank you for patience, RISPR, the floor is yours now.

Risper Arose:
Thank you. Thank you so much, Niels. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, everyone. I’m glad to be part of this conversation and just to commend the great presentation that I’ve heard from the different speakers. A lot I could resonate because we also have a community network and also we’ve worked with Colmena, so a lot of synergy also from the conversation from the different speakers that I’ve presented. So I’ll just share my screen. I hope you can see my screen. It’s still loading, yes, now we can see it. Yes, so briefly I’ll talk about our work, what we do in Kenya, and mostly it’s just an addition to what the previous speaker, Kivuva Mwendwa, has spoken about, painting a picture on the landscape of community networks in Kenya. And now I will talk about a community network based in the informal settlements of Nairobi, that is Kibera called Tandanet, where I work. Yeah, so Tandanet is a… is a community network that is dedicated to creating a digital ecosystem that combat digital inequalities within marginalized grassroots communities. And we also do this through a multi-faceted approach where we provide affordable internet access, enhance digital literacy, develop digital platforms, and also collaboratively create locally relevant content with the community. From the picture that you can see, that’s how the landscape is. Something very similar to also what was shared with the previous speaker. The Kibera has 13 villages, and the exact number of residents is not determined, but ranges between 170,000 to 1 million people. And with the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a lot that was highlighted, especially around the ongoing problem where the many low income communities lack reliable or affordable access to connectivity. And hence they were being left further behind since most of the services were moving online. And the most internet providers that offer affordable data packages in the community, the problem is just that it’s not very reliable or very feasible. And also the quality of the mobile internet can be poor sometimes because of poor infrastructure. Yeah. So what you can see also is a mast. The mast is located actually in our offices, and our offices is at one of the communities. schools, that is where we are located. So our programs, our work revolve in two folds. So as I mentioned, we have the beat around access, providing affordable access. And here we currently, we have connected 60 centers in nine villages out of the 13 villages in Kibera and our goal is in the near future to reach, to connect the 13 villages in Kibera. And also we provide internet connectivity to community schools, CBOs, NGOs, community hospitals, community business, youth and women groups. So initially it was more around organized groups that we were engaging with. But starting this year, we have started connecting homes and individuals. Our path to sustainability, we have paying clients where the first is we offer public hotspot internet access for communities for as low as $0.5 a day. Also we provide fixed internet services to the community centers that I had mentioned at the rate of $15 a month. And with this, they get unlimited internet speed of up to 40 Mbps per month. And out of the 60 connected centers, 41 are making regular payments and the rest are not. But the beauty about community networks is the co-creation process. So figuring out with the community who cannot be able to pay for the internet, what avenues would make sense for them so that they keep connected. connecting regardless of that state. So really looking at also the idea around anchor clients who can pay for the internet in terms of the standard rate, then that can support our clients or the community who are not able to make regular payments. Also, we offer network trainings to the communities and these things are designed to educate the centers with basic skills around networking concepts, networking management, troubleshooting and security practices. So that in case the internet is down and there is a troubleshoot that needs to happen at the center level, then the community that you connected are able to do that. Yes, so beyond Kibera, our work also look at, sorry, beyond Kibera, our work also look at, sorry, just give me a minute. Our work also look at mentorship, training and mentorship program where we have trained over 200 individuals from 11 community networks in Kenya. Those are organizations that either emerging community networks or already established community networks on what it takes to design, deploy, operate and sustain a community network. And this is a project also that was supported by APC called Supporting Community-Led Approaches under the LockNet Initiative. And then after, so beyond the access, beyond the internet access, we also do a lot of activities around capacity building the community. So, we engage the community through human-centered design to focus on what their needs assessment is, and then through that, design trainings that will then support them in meaningful access of this technology. We also look at diversity, so looking at, from these centers that we have connected, how women are relating to the technology, and how men are relating to the technology, and if there’s any extra efforts that needs to be made for a certain group to be able to meaningfully access the technology, then we create and we co-create with them some of these capacity-building efforts. Also with this, just promoting ownership and control by the community, and this we do through local content creations and platforms, where we encourage the community to not just be creators of digital content, but also to be, not just to be consumers, but also to be creators of this content. So, we do, after the trainings, we think through what sort of podcast we can create so that it can be accessed by the general community beyond the connected centers that we engage in this training. We’ve also created comic strips, videos, just to showcase some of the work and amplify the voices of these community centers that we are connecting, and also the role of internet in amplifying their work. Also, we have created knowledge management platforms, which comprises e-learning platforms and also school management platforms. And in 2021, we introduced Colmena to the community network as a tool for local content. creating and sharing. So here I’ll just talk briefly about Colmena. So after connectivity, community members need locally relevant content. And that is where Colmena come in, where we have worked in three phases. In the first phase was when we first interacted with the platform. And we did user experience and user interface testing with the community medias, just to understand what are some of the gaps that they are facing as community media, and how is Colmena a tool that can be able to address those gaps. And from that, the platform was, we got really good feedback that went ahead to contextualize the platform. And also done workshops on creating awareness of Colmena, where we’ve invited the community medias and even community networks that we’ve worked with in Kenya to just understand what Colmena is and see how it plugs best to their work. And currently we are on the third phase, and we are looking into localizing and contextualizing the tool by creating an instance of the tool that will be locally hosted in Tandanet that is based in Kenya. So looking at that, seeing how the tool can then be, can serve with its feature that is online or offline, and be able to really contextualize on top of this engagement that will be ongoing at the community level. So those are what we are doing with. platform, Colmena, and of course, just benefiting from the cost efficient and affordable solutions that it has to the grassroots community. Also, the fact that it addresses the need for more urgency on the community level to ensure uninterrupted, safe and secure access for the information, and also improve the local collective ownership at the last mile level. And lastly, just to build or contribute to the resilient, decentralized infrastructure through the ownership of the community. So, I don’t know how I’m doing with time. I don’t think I’ll have time to go through my last slide. Niels? Yes, very quickly. We have five minutes left on the session, and then we have to wrap up. Yes. Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much for this opportunity. Just key areas that from our reflections, we thought that needs a lot of attention is number one, co-creation, especially with the community needs time, especially when you’re introducing platforms, when you’re introducing local content, when you’re introducing decolonization of this content, it needs time and it needs patience with the community. Also, there’s need to join forces with like-minded individuals and organizations and aligning capabilities and sharing resources in order to promote digital inclusion. And lastly, we need to actively participate in evaluating some of this digital inclusion efforts, considering the gender, different race, and control at the grassroots level, and also to participate in such spaces to strengthen the resilient digital infrastructure and community. participation. So thank you so much even to our supporters and yeah looking forward to you.

Nils Brock:
Thank you Risper and yes it was a big lineup of speakers so we did took almost all the two hours but interesting insights and I think this room there won’t be much time now for for questions. I don’t know if there’s anyone who who has one oh okay over there and then I would say also let’s take the time later at the gala or at the booth in the in the village to continue our

Audience:
dialogues. Yes thank you so it was really interesting but I have one question I don’t know who wants to answer it. So we have more layers than the network layer, the technical layer, we have also the regulation layer, we have the content layer, the administration and and the whole conference is talking about disinformation and how do you distinguish between these layers and how do you make sure that that your networks that you are building not in the end being misused when the number of users and active users are growing. So what what measures do you have in place for that? I mean I’ll add one more layer which is who are left out when we say participating you know the community is participating but who are left out. So I’m coming from the point of like low literacy and how do they engage and how do they become part of the content creation process or content engagement you know. Okay this was a question to Mwendua and probably RISPA. We are talking about network in the informal settlements and how do you make sure that the network is not in the informal settlements? And, I wanted to know the level of the quality of the Internet provided by these communities, but also in terms of connectivity, I wanted to understand, like, once an installation has been done to a house or a unit, what is the consistency in terms of paying the subscription done by the specific houses, so that we get to understand, is it affordable to them? What is your feeling about them paying, or what is your feeling about the consistency of using the Internet provided to this household? And that will also inform, when you’re talking about accessible and affordable and available Internet, what does that mean, looking at the context of the communities we are targeting. And the question on the quality of the Internet, we’ve had experience where Internet quality works in the middle of the night. What is the experience with that? Thank you.

Nils Brock:
Okay. Any takers for the questions? We can maybe start over there, and then everyone has a quick final say.

Erick Huerta:
Just, maybe I could talk a bit about the layers of the… The more sophisticated is the network, the more layers it has to attend, you know? And I think that we have to think about the small economies, or the economies for subsistence economies, how they work, and they subsist because they work collectively. You won’t make it if you think just in oneself, or in just one person. So the first thing that we did when we started was to look around who were working on these different areas and then discover who was better for doing what or was better for doing things. And I think that’s the case of Loch Ness. That’s how Loch Ness was born. After meeting together and thinking about all these different layers and how we attend, there were there were people that were more experienced in regulation, were more experienced in technology and that. And so with that we have been organizing as a network to help us and prevent and subsist within these small different networks. Because trying to attend everything one network would be impossible.

Kemly Camacho:
And Danish, the Kavekar culture is not a written culture at all. They don’t have written, only in the university they have tried to write, to create a written for the Kavekar culture, but their culture is not written at all. Then what we use, the platform, Okama Sway, the platform that we use is only audio and image. Okay, we don’t use writing at all because it’s not part of the culture. And also, we use a lot of drawing. Drawing is something very crucial for this interaction, especially because I don’t speak Kavekar and they don’t speak Spanish. Yes, and we have the interpreter, which is the younger women, yes, that speak both, but we communicate a lot using drawing. Then those are the strategies that we have used, but we use a lot of recording, video, images, drawing, photos, yes. And with that we have created the platform. of wisdom of the women, the Quebecois women.

Nils Brock:
Thank you. I’m really sorry, but I was just informed that we run out of time, so the last question, we will have to take it outside, if we can do. Would you help to answer it later, James and Kivuva? Okay, thank you. And for all of those who are still around and who want to know more about Colmena, about the content creation software that we saw, we will test it here during the events. Anyone who wants to have an account and also to help for participatory coverage, you will find me at the APC booth, and then, yeah, let’s talk about it and create some content together. And thank you all, all who were there online, on-site, who contributed to this session. I think it was a really nice insight into all the interesting work done. And yeah, let’s take advantage of the next four days here to inform more about the work done by and for communities, networks, and media, and engage in the discussions and make this our IGF. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Have a great day and go, North Carolina. Go, North Carolina. I don’t know what to call you. I don’t mind saying it. I’ll go, Chicago. I don’t mind saying it. I’ll go, Chicago. All right. All right.

Speaker 1

Ida, a Ghanaian activist, is passionately investing her efforts towards an initiative that concentrates on online safety for children. She is deeply vested in the endeavour to enhance digital literacy amongst children in Ghana through the execution of innovative workshops and engaging webinars. Her commitment to this sphere of child protection is commendable, supporting the 4th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Quality Education and the 9th SDG of Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.

She utilised this platform to convey her openness for collaboration and has made significant progress in this direction. Notably, she has established valuable connections with like-minded individuals including Marisha, Turi, and Umut during discussions. These developments advance the 17th SDG of Partnerships for the Goals, underlining the significance of global teamwork to achieve shared objectives.

Ida’s advocacy for the ‘Global Encryption Day’ is a testament to her belief in the role of encryption in heightening online safety for children. This vital conversation concerning digital security was initiated by Marisha, resonating with Ida as it aligns with her initiative’s goals and the 9th SDG of Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.

Furthermore, she champions the efficacious use of available resources, a strategy she intends to embed within her project execution. Her association with Umut has provided her with access to strategic resources indispensable for her projects, further aligning with the 4th SDG of Quality Education.

The significance of online safety and digital etiquette, particularly for youth, underpins Ida’s initiative. In the current digital age, navigating the virtual world poses both tremendous challenges and excitement. Hence, her project is designed to equip young minds with the crucial skills required to responsibly traverse this digital landscape. This commitment bolsters the correlation with SDG 4 for Quality Education and SDG 16 for Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

In addition, Ida endorses the creation of additional resources such as webinars, workshops, and educational materials to enhance youth awareness about online safety and etiquette. This fortifies her commitment to the aims of SDG 4 for Quality Education and SDG 11 for Sustainable Cities and Communities. The objective is to enrich young people with necessary knowledge while ensuring their online experiences remain enjoyable, secure and respectful. Notably, the project plans to harness the potential of burgeoning technologies, such as virtual reality, to optimise the delivery and engagement of its educational resources. In summary, Ida’s initiative is a progressive compilation of ideas aimed to improve digital safety and literacy for children and young body in Ghana.

Speaker 5

The conversation is predominantly concerned with the worldwide issue of internet fragmentation and shutdowns, emphasising the pivotal role that governments and parliamentarians can play in addressing these challenges. It is posited that parliamentarians, by virtue of their power within governmental structures, are well-placed to raise awareness and effectively implement best practices. This could put due pressure on regulatory bodies to tackle the issues arising from internet shutdowns.

Internet shutdowns invite a wide spectrum of adverse consequences spanning economic, health, and societal aspects. To bring governments’ attention to these negative impacts, the strategic use of case studies and toolkits is profoundly endorsed by participants. These tools can clearly illustrate the potential losses and hardships resulting from these shutdowns, prompting governments to adopt preventative measures rather than resorting to reactionary practices.

The discourse rallies for extensive research into alternative solutions that can curb internet shutdowns. This call for action underlines presenting feasible solutions to the government, aiming to prevent such shutdowns and drive notable societal advancements.

Conspicuously, the discourse identifies political issues, particularly during electoral periods, as substantial triggers for government-led internet shutdowns. Consequently, a thorough assessment of the economic and societal repercussions of these shutdowns is stressed. These findings could act as a catalyst for a governmental re-evaluation of their internet policies.

The summary encapsulates a blend of sentiments, balancing an understanding of the government’s reasons for shutdowns, whilst voicing significant apprehension concerning the knock-on effects of these measures. Notably, there’s a consensus on the need to address the clear disadvantages of internet shutdowns, fostering discussions on forging partnerships for more foolproof and robust internet services. Overall, the summary echoes a pressing call for innovative solutions and strong institutions to mitigate the challenges of internet fragmentation and shutdowns.

Daniel Turra

The corpus of discussions underscore the pivotal role that open source software plays in promoting digital sovereignty and driving innovation, aligning perfectly with SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. The consensus sentiment is universally positive regarding the potential contributions of state actors, the Fediverse – a network of interoperable and independently run social media servers – and alternative social media platforms, provided they adopt open source software.

There’s wide agreement that state actors can play an influential role in bolstering the development of open source software. This speeds up the emergence of a digitally sovereign ecosystem where control over the internet is disseminated amongst individuals, enhancing their digital autonomy.

Analyses underline the benefits attained from adopting open source software in the context of the Fediverse and alternative social media platforms. Open source communities are recognised for their key contributions to digital sovereignty through their inventions and commitments. This innovative software provides an alternative to mainstream social media platforms that can be managed by proficient individuals or organisations for the public benefit.

Significant emphasis is given to the Fediverse, seen as an exemplar of the major impact open source software can have on social media. The Fediverse is proof of digitally sovereign social media platforms with its interoperable and independently-run servers.

Additionally, open source software is acclaimed for its capacity-building opportunities. By enabling self-hosting and internet experimentation, it not only reinforces digital sovereignty, but also fosters an environment conducive to understanding the inner workings of the internet.

Lastly, based on the discourse, the closing standpoint seems to be that open source software is indispensable in the current internet ecosystem. Its ability to enable digital sovereignty and power the Fediverse confirms its significance and potential to incite wider-scale innovation. This analysis portends a move towards a more inclusive, user-controlled digital space facilitated by open source software.

Yug Desai

The discussions stressed the quintessential importance of human-centred design in developing and enhancing industry, innovation, and infrastructure (Goal 9). It was unanimously agreed that end-users should not only be prioritised in the creation of regulation standards, but they should also be given increased access and understanding of these.

In answer to the commonly expressed need for comprehension, it was argued that standards documents ought to simplify their technical jargon. This takes aim at facilitating a more robust understanding for the end-users and fostering a higher level of familiarity and awareness of such regulations. The potential implementation of key messages, akin to those in legal regulations, was specifically broached in this context.

To augment understanding of standardisation further, suggestions were made for the use of awareness campaigns; predominantly focusing on easily digestible, visually appealing infographics and informative webinars. The objective of these handy tools is to empower average end users to engage more deeply with standardisation processes.

The conversation also delved into the practicalities of standard implementation, underlining the direct and significant impact of this on the end-user, particularly in the context of the application layer. Highlighting the practical impact of this notion, it was proposed that standardisation at this juncture should be a notable focus of attention.

Casting a light on the open-source community, a positive sentiment reverberated throughout the discussions. The community’s active involvement – which extends from developing to maintaining and propagating open standards – was extolled for its pivotal role in making end users understand and feel more familiar with these standards.

The ethical implications of standards creation in the rapidly developing sectors of artificial intelligence and the metaverse were also acknowledged. These considerations were presented as crucially important in adding another layer to the key aspects of industry, innovation, and infrastructure.

The wide-reaching effects of standardisation were a pronounced theme, with distinct emphasis on its implications for Internet Governance. Standardisation’s ability to significantly impact various aspects of life was discussed, with the assertion that it is a technical form of governance capable of shaping the way the internet is utilised, affecting society, economy, system interoperability, human rights, and internet access.

In conclusion, education was raised as a crucial instrument for helping end-users comprehend the importance of regulation standards and their direct impacts on daily life. By improving the general understanding of standardisation processes, it is anticipated that users will be better equipped to navigate both traditional and frontier avenues such as the metaverse.

Speaker 4

The analysis provides insightful solutions to the longstanding issue of underrepresentation of women in the field of coding, particularly within underserved communities. Two major solutions have been advanced, both eliciting positive sentiment and aligning with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The first proposition centres upon the creation of a coding programme, specifically designed for girls aged between eight and fifteen. This initiative, led by an African woman, addresses principles encapsulated in both SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 4: Quality Education. The programme not only imparts coding skills to these girls but also provides opportunities for them to deploy their skills and code for governmental departments. This prospect could pave the way for these young women to revolutionise the digital sector whilst benefiting their communities through governmental endeavours.

The second suggested remedy, advocating public policies and laws in support of coding programmes for women, hinges on the crux of legislative education on technological literacy for women. The need for such measures was underscored in the context of Colombia, indicating the necessity to overcome hurdles women encounter in achieving technological literacy. Furthermore, the significance of promoting projects that mitigate these challenges was publicly commended. This advocacy for legislative alterations, at both public and private levels, mirrors aspirations for a more inclusive digital community, embodying principles related to SDGs 5: Gender Equality and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

A neutral sentiment has been expressed towards the integration of human rights and human development perspectives in an attempt to bridge the pervasive digital divide. However, the analysis does not furnish supporting facts or arguments for this. Nonetheless, this approach aligns with SDGs 10: Reduced Inequalities and SDG 5: Gender Equality, signalling an underlying importance in addressing the digital divide and underrepresentation of women in coding concurrently.

In conclusion, the analysis underscores the necessity of implementing solutions that not merely propel the inclusion of women in coding, but align with global objectives such as the SDGs. By appreciating the pivotal role women can play in the tech world, these proposed initiatives could help reshape the digital landscape into a more gender-equal and inclusive sector.

Nicolas Fiumarelli

The comprehensive analysis consistently underlines the paramount role played by youths in surmounting internet governance challenges and sculpting its future. They are lauded for their aptitude to generate innovative strategies and provide unique viewpoints, thus offering promise for the identification of pragmatic solutions to current internet governance issues, including the impending problem of internet fragmentation.

A particularly noteworthy dialogue was carried out with Atanasia and Mark, illuminating the ongoing predicament — facilitating youth participation in nations where governments seem reluctant about such involvement. It was also ascertained that understanding the ideas of, and working in concert with the younger generation, especially in regions displaying restrained youth involvement, is vitally essential for the youth engagement process and within the broader framework of conflict resolution.

Discussions led by young individuals have been recognised as a fundamental aspect of this engagement process. These conversations cultivate fresh and resourceful ideas, making them vital in strategising the future course of the internet and paving the path towards resolution of affiliated issues.

Reiterating his support for the cause, a former youth ambassador underscored the transformative role that young people can play in internet governance. He attested that the youth present distinct perspectives and inventive ideas to the table in the dialogue on internet governance. Importantly, he highlighted the various initiatives of the Internet Society that empower young individuals and enable their active involvement in internet governance. He further exemplified this aim by mentioning his own involvement with youth-led bodies such as the Youth Coalition and the Youth Standing Group.

In addition, the importance of cultivating relationships and fostering networks amongst current and former youth ambassadors and other respective participants was endorsed. These efforts, undertaken as part of the Collaborative Leadership Exchange, promote the exchange of constructive ideas on pivotal internet governance challenges.

In conclusion, the broader consensus advocates the vital need to utilise platforms that empower youthful participants in this dialogue, furthering the SDG 17 goal of forming effective partnerships. The delineated discussions above align notably with SDGs 4, 5, 9 and 16 — advocating for the attainment of quality education, fostering gender equality, endorsing innovation and infrastructure, and the establishment of peaceful, just and solid institutions, respectively. Through the collective analysis, the encompassing role of youths in internet governance shines through as indisputably positive, thereby justifying their inclusion and active engagement.

Carolyne Tyrus

Carolyne Tyrus, a renowned lawyer and advocate of the high court, is making substantial strides in the realms of youth empowerment, cybersecurity, data privacy, and digital rights. She centres on providing young individuals with a simplified understanding of complex legal concepts pertaining to the cyber world, hoping to bridge the comprehension gap in the youth’s everyday digital experiences. This initiative has sprung from her understanding of the urgent requirement to keep young people abreast with digital rights in the rapidly progressing online world.

Harmonising with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically ‘SDG 4: Quality Education’ and ‘SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions’, Tyrus is also making immense contributions to these objectives. An advocate for quality education, she devises and implements forward-thinking methods to make these complicated concepts more accessible to the youth. Her dedication to justice and peace is demonstrated in her unwavering commitment to granting young people a meticulous comprehension of justice principles within the digital sphere.

Tyrus employs innovative teaching methodologies to accomplish her objectives. She conducts diverse workshops, generates video content, and uses other strategies to elucidate these sophisticated concepts in an uncomplicated, engaging, and user-friendly manner. Her efforts resonate with positivity, marking her success in fostering understanding and awareness.

Additionally, Tyrus values collaboration and knowledge sharing, continuously seeking insights to augment her initiative. Distinct evidence of this is her interaction with Umut Pajero, Thio Dor, and a commendable alumnus of the Internet Society Youth Ambassador, during a breakout session. This constructive discourse provided her with invaluable perspectives, enhancing her work further. This strategic alliance also signifies her adherence to ‘SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals’, as she aligns with the United Nations’ blueprint for a sustainable future.

To conclude, Carolyne Tyrus’ movement serves as a beacon of transformation in the digital rights landscape. By empowering young individuals with a comprehensive understanding of cybersecurity and data privacy, she is bolstering their digital literacy skills, shaping a more enlightened and secure digital world. Her interactions with fellow internet advocates continue to furnish useful insights, which she integrates into her work, demonstrating the potent impact of partnerships in attaining shared objectives.

Paola Corporan

Paola is currently making significant contributions as the head of Public Innovation within the Dominican Government – a role she uses to develop and reinforce public policies. Her laudable efforts to incorporate a collaborative perspective in strategy formation and execution are remarkable. This approach primarily emphasises industry, innovation, and infrastructure, aligning closely with the targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9. The fostering of this collaborative culture within public policies conveys a positive sentiment, given its potential to trigger extensive growth and sustainable development within various industries.

Additionally, Paola is actively promoting educational reforms, focusing particularly on encouraging coding education among girls. This initiative holds significant relevance to two key Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 4, advocating for quality education, and SDG 5, emphasizing gender equality. Paola’s project involves engaging girls in coding, recognising the importance of this skill in today’s technological world. The case study central to her project depicts girls gaining skills in coding, further enhancing their technological knowledge and capabilities.

These advancements in educational strategies not only promote gender equality but also equip the upcoming generation with vital skills required in an increasingly digital world. The public sentiment towards these transformative efforts led by Paola is overwhelmingly positive, indicating broad support for her innovative approach to public policies and her role in educational reform. Both these initiatives reflect strategic foresight; their successful implementation may have profound implications for the Dominican Government’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Speaker 3

The composite analysis perceptibly underlines a daunting issue christened the ‘gender digital divide’. This divide denotes a glaring disparity in digital access amidst men and women, an issue catalysed by fluctuations in socioeconomic standing and digital proficiency. The scarcity of opportunities, in tandem with affordability constraints, also exacerbates this predicament. These challenges marry with a few pivotal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as gender equality, quality education, and reduced inequalities, generating an inherently negative sentiment.

In combatting these difficulties, several strategies come to the fore. Primarily, the promotion of digital literacy for women, realised either via training or educational programmes. Promoting literacy in this manner is a necessary step towards fostering digital inclusion, serving as a potent mechanism aiding gender equality. Correspondingly, this meshes well with SDGs focusing on gender equality and quality education, producing a positive sentiment.

Additionally, the delivery of affordable internet services and digital devices plays a pivotal role in abolishing the gender digital divide. Lowered costs in accessing digital technology can empower a larger number of women to reap the rewards of online resources, thereby helping to achieve SDG goals centred on gender equality, poverty alleviation, and diminished inequalities. Likewise, crafting feasible job opportunities for women can escalate their socioeconomic standing, thereby enabling them to afford vital digital resources and services. This concept draws forth a positive sentiment and supports SDGs championing gender equality and economic growth.

The United Nations (UN) lends further impetus to new internet governance initiatives. These involve setting digital guidelines for online government languages, a notable leap towards a more inclusive, safe, and trustworthy digital experience. This manoeuvre promotes the SDG focusing on the advancement of industry, innovation, infrastructure, eliciting a positive sentiment.

Promoting internet governance for a meaningful, inclusive, trustworthy, and safe online experience is another principal point of discussion. This approach embraces raising awareness of internet governance policies, particularly amongst young individuals via the ‘Next Generation Forum’ (NGF). This method assists the youth of NYAMA in shaping the online realm and actively participating in internet governance. Empowering the future generation in such a manner exudes a positive sentiment and aligns with innovation and industry-focused SDGs.

Lastly, nurturing an open, transparent, inclusive, and multi-stakeholder collaboration is integral. Collaboration based on these co-values can breed a robust, inclusive internet community, aligning with the SDG dedicated to advocating peace, justice, and strong organisations.

In summary, the presented analysis underscores crucial aspects for rectifying the gender digital divide, and aims to construct a more inclusive, secure, and globally connected world in line with the fundamental SDGs.

Edgar Brutyan

Edgar embarked on an enlightening discussion regarding the potent role of generative AI in disseminating disinformation, specifically considering the socio-political challenges faced by Georgia. He noted disinformation as a chief contributor to the divisive issue of separatism within Georgia, predominantly induced by the ongoing hybrid warfare with Russia. Moreover, Edgar emphasised the necessity for both short-term and long-term countermeasures to this predicament.

In the short term, Edgar suggested lesser-known platforms, such as ‘X’, as potential solutions to combat disinformation. Despite not being as well-known as other resources, they were considered valuable immediate defence mechanisms against false information spread. Nonetheless, Edgar contended that to attain a comprehensive and lasting resolution, an urgent reform within the media system is incumbent.

Broadening the perspective, Edgar’s discourse revealed a profound need for media regulation implementation in Georgia. He identified troubling trends of authoritarian tendencies within Georgia’s contemporary governance. These tendencies could lead to unwarranted censorship, thereby curtailing press freedom. Thus, the introduction of stringent media controls could serve as a deterrent to this potential threat to journalistic independence.

Furthermore, Edgar championed the exchange of best practices between Georgia and Eastern European nations. An optimistic view was embraced, pinpointing the numerous similarities between these regions and the enhancement they could effect upon each other through mutual learning and cooperation.

Edgar’s arguments were contextually aligned with the broader Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDGs 16 and 17. The issues discussed resonate profoundly with these SDGs’ objectives, encapsulating the shared goal of fostering peace, justice, robust institutions, and global partnerships.

Through a comprehensive evaluation of Edgar’s discussion, essential insights were gleaned, chiefly concerning the issue of disinformation propagated via generative AI. Further exploration of immediate and long-term solutions, international cooperation promotion, and media regulation reform emerged as key observations. The negative connotations associated with Georgia’s governmental tendencies underscore the urgent need for focused attention and strategic intervention in the realm of media control and disinformation.

Speaker 2

Addressing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 9 and 16 – Industry, Innovation, Infrastructure, and Peace, Justice, Strong Institutions respectively, the topic of Internet accessibility and net neutrality provokes considerable global attention. Focusing on the situation in Colombia, net neutrality is notably influenced by the adoption of civil rating measures.

A significant proportion of the Colombian populace, approximately 60%, benefits from Internet accessibility. However, enhanced and universal accessibility is obstructed primarily due to issues of affordability. The steep cost associated with Internet access emerges as a significant barrier, detrimentally impacting the nation’s digital connectivity.

The concern associated with civil rating measures pertains to their impact on the nature of Internet accessibility. These measures have inadvertently ushered in a two-tier system of internet access. On one side, users can access specific content without being charged; on the other, full-scale accessibility exists but is linked to a cost.

Given these circumstances, there persists an urgent need for a comprehensive understanding of the interpretation and application of civil rating within the Colombian legal system, and the ensuing implications. Illuminating insights can be derived from a thorough examination of judicial contexts regarding civil rating measures. It is noteworthy that the Colombian Constitutional Court is presently engrossed in deliberations on this crucial issue.

In summary, while progressing towards actualising the SDGs, particularly in terms of comprehensive digital growth, Colombia faces substantial challenges. The debate surrounding net neutrality, exacerbated by the extensive implementation of civil rating measures, deeply affects the affordability and accessibility of the Internet and triggers relevant legal queries. The ongoing legal exploration of these measures by the Colombian Constitutional Court underpins the gravity of the issue and signifies a critical step towards its resolution.

Moderator

Discussions covered a broad range of topics relating to technology, underlining the vital role education, innovation, and equitable internet governance play in addressing digital inequalities. The dialogues frequently focused on the general theme of empowering young people and women in the digital sector, especially in terms of cybersecurity, digital gender equality, and internet governance.

One of the primary conversations centred around Carolyne Tyrus’s forthcoming initiative. Tyrus, a US-based advocate and lawyer, aims to equip the youth with knowledge and skills on cybersecurity and data privacy in her endeavour to lessen the gap between intricate legal concepts and habitual digital experiences. This proposal not only correlates with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Quality Education and Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, but also resonated positively in discussions.

Digital gender equality was another significant subject, emphasised by the “Dabbed Empower Here” initiative by Nana Ama-Yabuado. This project targets rural women and girls, aiming to substitute barriers with bridges and offering them a platform to contribute to the digital revolution. It underscores the critical intersection of gender equality, quality education, and innovation in driving deserving societal change, reflecting the UN’s SDGs.

Internet fragmentation led to fervent debates. Athnes, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, shed light on the societal and economic implications of governmental internet shutdowns. As co-chair of a project examining internet fragmentation in Galley, Athnes is exploring alternative solutions to tackle these issues.

Furthermore, the importance of standardisation in internet governance elicited a keen interest. The panel reinforced how standards, acting as a technical form of governance, can impact society, the economy, and supply chains multifariously. They urged end-users to be more cognizant of how standards mould their everyday internet use and essentially be a medium to impart values and ethics into technology.

The topic of coding as a professional development tool for women was also broached. Paola, Head of Public Innovation of the Dominican Government, reinforced the significance of female involvement in coding, highlighting the need to recognise it as an empowerment tool.

Daniel Turra’s endorsement for open source software usage and solutions like Fediverse hinted at a way forward in offering accessible and appropriately-managed social media platforms as a part of the broader movement towards digital sovereignty.

Lastly, the integral role of young people in digital governance matters was emphasised. Through Jeremy of Myanmar’s representation, the novelty and innovation of the younger generation were deemed crucial for the future of internet governance. His association with the UN in raising awareness of internet governance policies among youngsters underscores the significance of fostering youth participation in this field.

To sum up, the discourse identified the requirement for digital policies and practices that are globally inclusive, accessible and respectful. The conversations offered diverse viewpoints on digital inequalities, digital sovereignty, internet governance, and the importance of education and gender equality in the digital era.

Nana Ama-Yabuado

The conversations held over the recent period highlighted the intrinsic power and potential of collective efforts in driving change. This change centres around the complex issue of the digital divide in rural Ghana and places particular emphasis on women’s empowerment and participation. These collective actions strongly align with Sustainable Development Goal 17, which underscores the significant role of partnerships in reaching global goals.

Nana Ama-Yabuado, a youth ambassador with the Internet Society and the influential co-founder of the Dabbed Empower Here initiative, is at the heart of this forward-thinking campaign. Nana’s project exemplifies the commitment to bridging the gap between digital disparity in rural Ghana. A noteworthy focus in this initiative is empowering women, aligning seamlessly with Sustainable Development Goals 4, 5, and 10 for quality education, gender equality, and reducing inequalities, respectively.

However, this initiative serves a purpose beyond merely imparting digital skills; it acts as a catalyst to nurture aspirations, foster independence, and fuel innovation amongst rural Ghanaian women. This comprehensive approach understands that empowering women involves fostering a sense of self-assuredness, creativity, and independence.

Imbued in Nana Ama-Yabuado’s vision is a profound belief in the transformative power of technology. Recognising the potential held by digital advancements, the initiative aims to provide each woman the opportunity to participate and shape the progression of the digital revolution, aligning with SDG 5 and emphasising the importance of gender equality.

Furthermore, Nana Ama-Yabuado’s commitment to digital gender equality compels her to encourage others to extend their assistance whenever feasible. This is fundamental for inclusive growth, as it calls for a collective effort from all sectors of society and seeks to create an ecosystem of change-makers influencing the digital revolution.

In conclusion, Nana Ama-Yabuado’s initiative embodies a comprehensive vision for a more equitable digital world. By drawing attention to the importance of fostering collective action and digital equality, she outlines a clear path for systemic change. By replacing barriers with bridges through digital empowerment, she aspires to create a brighter and more inclusive future. This insightful discussion demonstrates that focusing on inclusivity and helping others can make the world a better place, one digitally empowered woman at a time.

Moderator:
generation of internet leaders to collaborate and innovate for a better world. I’m happy to share that the applications for our 2024 cohort are also now open. Please do reach out to us if you have any questions about the program or the application process. Now I will invite the youth ambassadors to share the outcome of the discussion. And I will first request Tori to facilitate the outcome sharing by ambassadors who joined online. Over to you, Tori. Yes, thank you so much, Pranav. Really great conversations going on here online. So with that, I will bring it over to Nana, if you could share first your closing remarks, how the conversations went, share a little more about your topic and your initiative with us. Nana, can you hear us? All right, I think she might be having some technical difficulties. So I will bring it over to Caroline. Caroline, can you hear us? Hi, can you hear me? Yes, now we got both of you. Okay, Carolyne, you can take the stage.

Carolyne Tyrus:
Okay, good morning. Once again, this is Carolyne Tyrus from Kenya, a lawyer and advocate of the high court, currently based in the US. Like I said, my initiative is about empowering the youth with knowledge and skills on cybersecurity and data privacy. Since I have a legal background, my initiative is to empower individuals with comprehensive knowledge of digital rights and legal principles within the context of the online world. And the main purpose is to bridge the gap between the complex legal concepts and everyday digital experiences and fostering awareness and understanding. This is because the youth out here are afraid of reading the law and regulations because of the complex legal jargon. So my aim is to break it down to them and also give them the information in a plain, easy way through videos, conducting workshops, and all that. So I had a fruitful discussion during the breakout where I met Umut Pajero and also Thio Dor. Yeah, so I shared my initiative with them. They gave me insights on how I can also improve on my initiative. I spoke with one of the alumni of the Internet Society, Youth Ambassador, and she was really helpful in giving me the insights on how I can improve the initiative. So it was such an honor to speak with these people on my initiative, yeah. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you, Caroline. Over to Nana. If you can unmute now.

Nana Ama-Yabuado:
Hi, finally. Thank you, Tori. So basically, I just want to say that based on the conversations that have been had over the past two hours, it’s just like reinstated the fact that the power of change lies in our collective efforts because I came in here with a very clear picture of what I knew my initiative to be. But based on the conversations that I’ve had, I’ve actually had so much insights and a clearer perspective of it that I’m very grateful. So I just want to highlight that my project, although it focuses on bridging the digital divide in rural Ghana, specifically targeting women, it’s not just about, you know, teaching digital skills. It’s also about nurturing dreams, fostering independence, and just like flowing the flames of innovation. Because when you give women the tools, when you give women the opportunities, it’s not just going to just bridge the divide, but it’s also going to build bridges to a brighter future. So I just want all of us to have this at the back of our minds and, you know, extend a helping hand wherever we can in, you know, taking people along on this journey to make it a more inclusive and better world. Thank you very much. It’s been an insightful discussion.

Moderator:
Thank you. So many amazing quotes there. I love that. Thank you so much for sharing. Lastly, we have Ida. What would you like to share from your discussions today? Ida, if you’re talking, I see two of you. You’ve multiplied yourself, but you’re muted. I see one of you is unmuted. Hi. There you are. I had to get a backup plan. That’s why there’s two of you. All right. So, yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Speaker 1:
Yeah, so like I mentioned earlier, I’m Ida from Ghana, and my initiative is on online safety for young people and for kids. And I’m really excited that I was here, and I got to connect with other alumni and other resource persons here. In my breakout room, I connected with bureaus, and Marisha, Turi, and Umut, and through CROC’s discussion, I realized that she was working on a similar project, but hers was for kids, and she was working on an encryption coloring book and was really inspiring. And I also got more information about the Ghana ISOP team since I’m in Ghana, and I’m looking at ways in which I can collaborate with them in terms of the resources that I need to ensure that I’m able to execute my workshops and webinars here in Ghana. I also spoke with Marisha, who told me about the Global Encryption Day, which I hope to engage with and also learn a thing or two to inculcate on my project. And I spoke to Umut, who was connecting me to resources that I can also use in executing my projects. So it’s been very insightful, I’ve learned a lot. And if you’re still here and you have some resources that would benefit my project, I’m open to connect with you here, you collaborate with you, and even to my other youth ambassadors, if you’d like to collaborate, you can always hit me up, and we can work on projects together. So thank you, thank you, Tori.

Moderator:
Thank you so much. Sounds like great conversations all around. We really appreciate everyone online who was able to join and give input. This is really what it’s all about, everybody sharing their ideas and making the projects and the internet better. So really heartening to hear that. So thank you all so much. And with that, I’ll bring it back to Pranav. Thank you, Tori. And thanks to Caroline, Nana, and Ida for sharing their thoughts. It was so nice to understand how the discussions enriched their understanding and their work around the project initiatives. And now let’s reignite the discussion back in the workshop session. And I will first ask Harman to come up and share more about his project initiative and the discussions he’s had today. Over to you, Harman. Okay.

Speaker 2:
Well, thank you. Thank you very, very much. It’s really a pleasure. Ah, okay. Thank you very much, Pranav, Nicolas, and all my colleagues and friends from the Jude Ambassador Program. It’s really a pleasure to be here with you all after a very short trip of 30 hours to Japan. So yeah, just to be real quick and then give back the award to all of you, mainly I’ve been working on internet fragmentation and particularly the topic that I’m interested in is how net neutrality might be affected with some measures regarding civil rating in Colombia. What we’re seeing is a particularly, let’s say, ambiguous trade-off in some developing countries, such as Colombia, where we have to choose between net neutrality and civil rating in order to provide some sort of connectivity for our citizens. So the issue is that in Colombia, we have around 60% of the population connected to the internet, and one of the main barriers that we’re seeing is that connectivity is just too expensive for most of them. So a solution that has appeared is civil rating. That is, that some applications, some programs, some contents might be accessed at no charge to the consumer. Of course, that’s a reasonably good solution, but when we look around the implications of these kind of measures, we realize that we need to have a more wide understanding on what’s going on. Because in the end, what’s happening is that we end up having two levels of the internet. One level, that’s the internet that everyone can paste and that has access for all of its contents, and then we have a different level where only applications and contents under civil rating might be used by the users. So we have to face this challenge because in the end, the problem is not that civil rating exists because it’s solving an issue that it’s in the way that we use internet in Colombia, but rather how we can make connectivity more accessible and how we can make it more affordable for everyone. So the point of my investigation is dwelling into a conversation that is happening in the Colombian Constitutional Court regarding that issue and see what might be the impact that this decision might have on how civil rating is being understood in the Colombian legal system, as well as what the implications might be regarding the civil rating measures that are being studied by the Constitutional Court. And thank you very much.

Moderator:
Thank you, Herman. It was nice to hear about your project initiative. And with this, I would now like to invite Yug Desai, and he will be sharing more about his work on making standards relevant to end users.

Yug Desai:
Hi, everyone. Thanks for the insightful conversations that we had in the last hour. I got some very interesting ideas about how to take this forward. One of the discussions was about having a human-centered design and also prioritization of the end user in the process itself. There’s also the question of translating the technical language, and an interesting suggestion was to have these standards documents also create some key messages, as is done in the case of legal regulations. But perhaps we can also… also include that in these technical documentations so that the end user can understand the broad message application and impact that standards are having. Obviously, there is a need for awareness campaigns using infographics, webinars, so that your average end user can get involved in standardization. And also, it can be easily demystified for them. Design standards are also important. So standardization at the application layer is something that directly impacts the user. And therefore, issues such as deceptive patterns become important. So standards around design practices are also crucial for ensuring that the end user can interact with the applications properly. There is also the open source community at large and their participation in creating and maintaining and propagating open standards. So their role in ensuring that the end user understand what standards are about is quite critical. So that was also underscored in the discussions. So yeah, those are some of the thoughts. And also, the ethical implications of standards, especially in the context of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and metaverse, are crucial. So through these discussions around ethics, we can find a way to make sure that the technical standards that come out of various processes related to these emerging technologies are robust and can actually address the challenges and the needs of the end users. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you, Yug. You covered quite a few many bases, impact, ethical considerations, awareness, and deceptive practices within the standardization remit. It was a very nuanced discussion. Great. And with this, I’ll now call in Daniele. And he’ll be sharing on aspects of the Fediverse. Thank you so much.

Daniel Turra:
The conversations were so heated, I had to take off my jacket. Yeah, so our conversations mostly moved towards the idea of digital sovereignty and how open source can actually sustain it. And of course, we also talked about the relevance of open source communities in this specific context. So the idea is that also in the supply chain that is backing up the development of open source software, we have to consider all kind of actors involved in this and how this may actually relate to digital sovereignty. So state actors can have an important role in all of this. And therefore, they can actually be used and participate effectively to sustain the usage and the adoption of open source software, also regarding the Fediverse and alternative social media. So also, there are some still open questions we couldn’t really discuss, such as if the application layer in this specific context might be used for leveraging education on the lower layers of the internet. But also, if there are opportunities to teach people and introduce them to internet governance by talking about social media and moderation in general. So there are still other open points. So please feel free to reach out to me to the email we showed us before. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you, Daniele. The relevance of the open source community cannot be highlighted enough. And it’s so interesting that you’ve also left us with some open questions to engage with. And we’ll definitely be sharing the email IDs again. And we’ll reach out to you. And with this, I’d now like to call in Jeremy to share about his work on youth IGF in Myanmar.

Speaker 3:
Yeah. So now, actually, I’m not sharing about the youth IGF. Firstly, I want to be sharing about the discussion that was I just discussed with the graduate student from Osaka University. So her research topic is kind of like how the Japanese young people use the social media platform, especially the Twitter, in their daily life communication. So we have discussed a lot about this issue. So today, mainly, I would like to talk about the gender digital device. Previously, I just mentioned about the digital device and inclusion. So gender digital device is kind of like the different access to the technologies between the men and women. Of course. And also, there are a lot of reasons that cause the gender digital device, kind of like the differences in the socioeconomic status, kind of like the level of digital scale, and also like the opportunities for the women to get access to the digital devices, and also like the affordability of this kind of stuff. So now, while we were preparing for today’s session, we talked about having two ways. The first alternative solution is kind of like we can promote the digital electricity. literacy skills for the women through trainees or the education programs, and the second alternative way is to make sure connect the Internet by providing the affordable Internet services and digital device, and also like the last alternative is to create the job opportunities for the women to be able to purchase the digital devices and afford the Internet services, so through this action we can kind of like promote the role of participation of the women in kind of like the accessibility digital technical career. So, yes, that’s all for me.

Moderator:
Thanks Jeremy, thanks for sharing that, and thanks for sharing with us the solutions towards bridging the digital divide and the gender digital divide, and that’s a perfect segue to invite Paula, who’s been working on aspects of women in coding, and really looking forward to hearing.

Speaker 4:
Thank you so much. For you that didn’t hear my exposition this morning, my project is about women in coding, and it’s a program that was I first met this program with a woman of Africa. She has this program called Girls in Coding, where they teach women from underserved community, especially girls from 8 to 15 years old, how to code, and then the program was held in Dominican Republic. It has like one year where young women learn how to code, and we’re integrating this program, giving them the opportunity to code for the government, to use the perspective that they have from underserved communities, and putting the solutions in governmental problems, in governmental solutions that are needed. And the conversation were so interesting, because I got the perspective of your man, where he told me that in Colombia they needed to teach the parliamentarian people, the congress people, and also the people that work for the government, this concept, because they don’t always know those topics about fragmentation, about women in coding, and we need to create laws, we need to create public policies, in order to promote this kind of projects for them to conquer the women literacies in technology. So it was so interesting for me to hear that, and also to hear this perspective of other fellows about the digital divide, bridging the digital divide, and also integrating human rights and the human development perspective. So it was so interesting. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you Paula. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on bridging the digital divide and connecting the unconnected is a priority area for Ethnic Society as well, and thank you for sharing a deep dive into your interaction. And with this, I would now like to call Athanis to share more about his discussion on internet fragmentation.

Speaker 5:
Thank you so much, Pranav. I had a very good discussion actually with many of the colleagues and Marco just mentioned something very important to me, and I think that I have to implement in my project as working around internet fragmentation and alternative solution to internet shutdowns. And what he just mentioned is how we can use parliamentarians as our speakers to the government, as the people to whom we speak to the government, to actually raise more awareness at the government level, so that at least when the government knows what are the best practices, they can implement and they can also put pressure on the regulators. One other thing that was mentioned here is that we can have case studies and toolkits, at least with case studies and stories, we can showcase to governments how bad is these shutdowns and what we are losing from maybe a health perspective, from an economic perspective, and from a civil society perspective. So having case studies is really a very good way of expressing the idea to the government. So those are a few of the solutions I’ve got in the cloud, and my idea is to do more research and have implementable solutions, and I think that I can present that challenge to the government, saying that okay, to avoid these other alternatives we can use. And actually, we will be going forward and tackling these international doubts in the region. That is from me. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you, Athanis. And it’s definitely, working with parliamentarians is definitely a very effective way of furthering one’s advocacy on any policy or legal issue at hand, and building toolkits and case studies is another one. And as part of your training at the international study, you have also worked on certain internet impact briefs, which we often use for advocacy and research, and those serve as a very good briefing points for parliamentarians and other policy makers. And with this, I would now like to call in Edgar, who would share about his work on generative AI. Yes, I didn’t forget you this time.

Edgar Brutyan:
Well, we talked, actually, I was engaged in many conversations about internet fragmentation, sovereignty, et cetera, but I have to talk about my topic. I talked to former and current ambassadors and other colleagues here about generative AI media and disinformation. And we talked about short-term solutions and long-term solutions as well, like community nodes of X. X is not popular, like Twitter, Twitter doesn’t exist anymore, X, it’s not popular that much as Twitter, but it has a very good solution of short-term solution for disinformation that’s community nodes. But we also have to think about long-term solutions as well, that is like reform of media system in general. So it’s quite good if we learn best practice around the world to fit to Georgian reality, but also one very important thing is that since Georgia shares many things in common with Eastern European countries and with Caucasus region countries as well, so the work done in Georgia can serve as an example for Eastern European countries as well. Yeah, that’s very briefly about our conversation. Thank you. Thank you, Edgar. And I thank all the ambassadors for sharing their thoughts. And that was very insightful and this does call for a round of applause for all the ambassadors here. Thank you everyone for joining. And with this, I will now invite Tori for a closing remark for the online joinees. Thank you so much.

Moderator:
It was so great to hear a little bit about your conversations in person that we cannot be there. So thank you all so much for sharing and thank you to all the online participants. Really wonderful getting to jump into all the different conversations here. The breadth of your work is really astounding. A lot of work to be done in the internet as we can see, but with you guys on the case, I know we’re in good hands here. And so if any of the participants are interested in hearing more from our ambassadors, we will be having our end of program symposium on November 14th. So look out on the Internet Society social media channels for more information about that. So you’ll get to hear even more from our amazing ambassadors if you join us there. And with that, I will leave you with Nana’s words. I think they really encompass everything I learned today myself. The power of change lies in collective efforts. Really beautiful quote. So thank you so much. And back to you, Pranav. Thank you, Tori. And for the joinees in person, I would now like to invite Nicholas, who is our alum from the Youth Ambassador Program and the steering committee member of the Youth Coalition on Internet Governance. Over to you, Nicholas.

Nicolas Fiumarelli:
Thank you, Pranav. And thank you to all the youth ambassadors here for your contributions. Being in the room and hearing all your discussions were very important to showcase the importance of the youth engagement, right? I was hearing the discussions with Atanasia and Mark about internet fragmentation, and well, these alternatives, these solutions that you came up are the important part, because we are discussing here what are the different methods we can solve the challenges we have. Also when talking about Jeremy with the Youth IGF Myanmar, how to deal with countries that sometimes the governments are very reluctant on discussing the important things or having the conversations with the younger generation, but it’s very important to maintain this youth engagement, right? To have the youths there. So having the youth discussing is really important. These fresh ideas and ways of thinking is what we, this is a key for the future. And well, the idea is to listen and work with the younger generations, and thank you all for joining today. And well, this is, see you in the next time in the Collaborative Leadership Exchange. Thanks. Bye. Bye.

Moderator:

Nicolas Fiumarelli:
I am Nicolás Fiumarelli, 33 years old, and proud former youth ambassador. I was a youth ambassador as you in 2019, in the cohort of the Internet Societies Programme. Today, as we convene to this significant session, we are reminded of the cardinal role of youth play in shaping the digital world, right? Particularly in Internet governance. The youth’s presence in the realm of Internet governance is not just pivotal. It’s transformative, right? With your unique perspectives and innovative ideas, and your inherent ability to passion and adaptability, to inject into these IG processes, ensure that this evolving framework that we are seeing is not only technical, but also socially relevant, right? Inclusive and forward-looking. The Internet Society recognises the immense potential, has been tireless in its efforts to uplift, mentor and champion the young voices. The Youth Ambassador Programme is just a facet of these endeavours. Beyond this, there are a myriad of initiatives, collaborations and projects that are tailored to cultivate this harness of the power of the youth, as we say. The Society’s commitment extends to the creation of platforms that are actively involved in dialogues, decision-making, and also in leadership roles, as we have seen. The Youth Coalition, that I am part of, and the Youth Standing Group, that is this ISOC special interest group that now is with a standing status, are shining examples of this that I am saying. These platforms are for youth, but are led by them, right? Creating this synergy of ideas, aspirations and actions in the Internet Society, exploring and underlining the Internet Society’s mission and ambition, right? To have this global, open and interconnected network. The youth voice isn’t just an addition, it’s essential for this future. The Internet Society’s mission, as you know, at its core, is about inclusivity and empowerment. So, fostering these youth-centric platforms and initiatives, and the collaboration between these initiatives, is investing in a future where the Internet governance is diverse. So, let’s focus on today’s session. We are here at the Collaborative Leadership Exchange. This session has been taking place several years at the ICF, and the main objective is, as you know, networking, creating and fostering relationships between the ambassadors and also the alumnus, right? Because there are people that are former youth ambassadors as well, and keep continuing participating, exchanging these revolutionary ideas about community networks. We have projects related with Internet fragmentation, a lot of topics addressing these crucial Internet governance issues, right? So, designed with these presentations and the collaborative discussions we will have, and now Prana will mention a little, we are committed to translating these conversations into tangible actions, right? So, many of the insights today will emanate from the new cohort of the youth ambassadors, as I said. There are 15 people, so I am very glad to be here with you. And, well, with these interactions we ensure this global perspective, right? The idea is to forge ahead and remember us that the collective mission is to shape an Internet that remains open, trustworthy and beneficial for everyone. So, you, the youth, are not just participants, make sure of that, because you are the driving force of the Internet governance. So, with this I take the floor to Pranav. Thank you. And, well, thank you for being part of this transformative journey together. Hello everyone joining online and in person. I’m Pranav, I’m an empowerment advisor at the Internet Society. And, more importantly, I was myself an early career fellow of the Internet Society.

Moderator:
I’m so happy to be hosting the youth ambassador program and the collaborative leadership exchange of the Internet Society, where we have 15 of our youth ambassadors joining us. Some of them are joining online. It’s important for them to be empowered. Thank you. Thank you so much, Caroline. The next one to introduce their topic is Ida. Ida, can you talk? Okay. Hi, Tori. So, I was struggling a bit to unmute. Can you hear me?

Speaker 1:
Yes, we can hear you. Awesome. So, hello, everyone. My name is Ida. And I’m from Ghana. And I’m excited to join you all today. So, my topic is on online safety and etiquette for young people and for kids. As a youth ambassador with the Internet Society and with other organizations, I’m really passionate about young people. So, I’m going to start by introducing myself. My name is Ida. And I’m from Ghana. And I’m excited to join you all today. So, my topic is on online safety and etiquette for young people and for kids. As a youth ambassador with the Internet Society and with other organizations, I’m really passionate about young people. So, my topic is on online safety and etiquette for young people and for kids. and about the work that you are doing and their impact on the society. And that is why I chose this topic. So to start with, in today’s digital era, navigating the online world can be both exciting and challenging, especially for us as young people and for kids as well. As technology enthusiasts and as a generation that breeds the internet, we often find ourselves exploring the vast internet landscape, connecting with friends, sharing data, and learning new things. However, amidst the fun, it’s crucial to prioritize our safety and practice proper online etiquette. So this project aims to discover the do’s and don’ts of online interactions, from safeguarding personal information to fostering a respectful online community. This project also aims to equip young people with essential skills to thrive in the virtual realm responsibly. So in simple terms, my project is supposed to help young people gain knowledge and ensure their online experiences are not only enjoyable, but also secure and respectful. And I’m hoping to achieve this by having workshops and webinars and educational materials that I’m going to share amongst young people and also use to educate young people. I also want to take advantage of emerging technologies such as virtual reality to provide educational resources for young people and make sure that they are safe online. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you so much, Aida. Lastly, that I see is Nana Ama. Nana, can you share your topic idea, please? All right. Hi, good morning, evening, afternoon, wherever you may be. It’s currently dawn in Ghana, so my voice may sound a little bit hoarse, pardon me.

Nana Ama-Yabuado:
So my name is Nana Ama-Yabuado, and I’m Ghana and the current youth ambassador with the Internet Society. My initiative is Dabbed Empower Here, which is a groundbreaking initiative at the forefront of driving digital gender equality. Given the rapidly evolving digital landscape, and of late, there is also increasing awareness that standardization goes beyond this. It also has human rights implications. It has implications on how people are able to connect to the internet. So, I’m Nana Ama-Yabuado, and I’m the co-founder of Dabbed Empower Here, which is a global initiative that is focused on gender equality. Given the rapidly evolving digital landscape, which is abundant, but barriers persist, I believe it’s important that I set up an initiative that is focused on gender equity and gender change. So, with this initiative, the aim is to have a path to a more equitable and inclusive digital world. And I believe this starts with empowering women. My initiative is not just focused at addressing the gender gap but sharing it, you know, especially starting from Ghana, where I currently reside. So I’m passionate about making a community of change-makers and advocates who are dedicated to unlocking the full potential of the average Ghanaian woman. The mission of this initiative is to provide rural women with skills, knowledge, and supports to help them thrive in the digital realm. So I would encourage everyone to join me on this journey. Technology has become a tool for empowerment and my initiative is solely focused on replacing the barriers with bridges where every woman or girl has the opportunity to not only participate in the digital revolution but also to shape it. So collectively we can change the story as it stands now and have a more gender-equal and digitally inclusive world. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you so much. All these topics sound fascinating. So for our online participants, you can join our breakout rooms to pick one of our amazing ambassadors and get to talk more about their idea. And with that, I will send it back over to Pranav and the ambassadors there in person in Japan. Thank you, Dori. And with this, we now come to the ambassadors who are joining us in person. And first I would like to call upon Yugdesai, and he’s working on a project initiative titled Making Standards Relevant to End Users. Over to you, Yug.

Yug Desai:
Hi, everyone. Welcome to today’s session. So my topic is making standards relevant to end users. And by this, I don’t mean that we need to create standards that end users can use. What I’m trying to do here is to make sure that end users understand the importance of standards and they educate themselves about standards and standardization processes. Standardization prima facie is a very boring topic. And as a non-technical person, you would probably run away from it. But it impacts all aspects of your life. And especially in the context of the internet, it impacts how you use the internet and how internet goes on to shape your life. So standardization of late has multidimensional impact on the society as a whole, on the economy, the supply chains, on how things interoperate. And of late, there is also increasing awareness that standardization goes beyond this. It also has human rights implications. It has implications on how people are able to connect to the internet, how they are able to access the internet. And standardization is also seen as a technical form of governance. So at the Internet Governance Forum, we’re obviously talking about regulation. But it is also possible to govern the internet through technical standards. So it is very important that we realize how standards, how values are being embedded in standards or how ethics are being embedded into standards. And so these are some of the ideas that I’m beginning with. And what I want to do today through our exchange is to get your point of view on how standards are relevant to people. Why should end users concern themselves with standards and whether they should do this in the first place or should it be left to the people who know the technical integrities of the technology? And second question is, of course, how do we do this? How do we do this together? How do we ensure that we can make an average end user aware of standards and how it is impacting their everyday life? Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you, Yug. Thank you so much. Now I’d like to give the floor to Daniel Turra from Italy. Please share with us your experiences and perspectives. Thank you. Hello there, everyone.

Daniel Turra:
My name is Daniel Turra. And I would like to talk today about open source software in social media, also known as the Fediverse. And I would like to tease you with a couple of questions. For example, what if we had multiple different social media platforms based on open source software and what if those could be managed and moderated by any skilled organization or individuals for the benefit of everyone? So the Fediverse is a collection of interoperable and independently run social media servers that are able to communicate with each other. So the underlying protocol makes this possible, just like the same concepts underlined for emails, but also for social media. So this free and open source software promises to give users back some control of the Internet by allowing self-hosting and experimentation. This also makes possible learning about the inner workings of the Internet, not only at the application layer. So can we achieve digital sovereignty and learning in the meanwhile? So in this session, I would like to discuss together open points regarding the use of open source software for digital sovereignty, opportunities for capacity building, and what can every one of us do in this context regarding open source software. So if you’re interested, just join the session.

Moderator:
Thank you, Daniel. I would now like to call upon Jeremy and share about his work around youth IGF Myanmar. .

Speaker 3:
I’m Jeremy. I’m from Myanmar. Today I just would like to point out the digital guidelines about the online government whole��는 languages which cannot be transnected because of the internet. So the UN just like the one of the new internet governance initiatives like the other nations we are just trying to organise the specific for us that are particularly to the internet from the international community. So the first mission is to advocate internet governance for a meaningful inclusive trustworthy and safe internet through YMG and NYAMA. So we have like the four missions to raise awareness of internet governance policies and issues among young people to create the internet governance community and NYAMA youth from shaping the future of the internet. So the second mission is to promote the use of the NGF to discuss and raise internet issues and the last one is to empower future generation to organise the NYAMA youth internet governance forum in NYAMA, with our co-values, open, transparent, inclusive, and multistakeholder collaboration, so that is the preintroduction of NYAMA. So the third mission is to promote the use of the NGF to raise awareness of internet governance policies and issues among young people to create the internet governance community and NYAMA youth from shaping the future of the internet. So the third mission is to promote the use of the NGF to raise awareness of internet governance policies and issues among young people, so that is the third mission. So the third mission is to promote the use of the NGF to raise awareness of internet governance policies and issues among young people, so that is the third mission. So the fourth mission is to promote the use of the NGF to raise awareness of internet governance policies and issues among young people, so that is the fourth mission. So the fifth mission is to promote the use of the NGF to raise awareness of internet governance policies and issues among young people, so that is the fifth mission. So the fifth mission is to promote the use of the NGF to raise awareness of internet governance policies and issues among young people, so that is the fifth mission. So the last mission is to promote the use of the NGF to raise awareness of internet governance policies and issues among young people, so that is the fifth mission. So the last mission is to promote the use of the NGF to raise awareness of internet governance policies and issues among young people, so that is the fifth mission.

Moderator:
Thank you so much, Jeremy, it’s really great to hear about your youth NGF initiative, so now we’ll hear from

Paola Corporan:
Paola Corporan from the Dominican Republic, so Paola, the floor is yours. Thank you, Jeremy, and thank you for inviting me to be part of this initiative. I learned something in Nigeria that you need to make an impact, and I would like to say that by five years from now, I’m maybe going to be the next ministry of public innovation of the Dominican Republic, so nice to meet you. I’m Paola Corporan, and I’m the head of public innovation of the Dominican government, and working in public innovation, I’ve seen that it’s important the collaborative perspective in building strategies, building public policies, and I’m in charge of promoting the culture of public innovation, and my project is about engaging girls in coding, girls in the public initiative, and I will be using a case study of a group of girls that are now learning how to code, and that’s the purpose is to massificate that initiative in all the Dominican government, using, and then analyzing how it’s engaging girls in coding, and how it’s engaging girls in building the public innovation of the Dominican government. So I will be glad to be talking about this topic, and nice to meet you all.

Moderator:
Thank you, Paola, we look forward to hearing more about your project initiative.

Speaker 5:
And now I call in Athnes, he’s from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and will be co-chairing the project, and he will be presenting the project to the commissioners about how they will co-chair the project, and a certificate for him as commissioner, which he will be presenting the project to the next houses in state and country, and to tell us a little about the program and its use, and we are covering the internet fragmentation in Galley, and having him on the panel about covering internet fragmentation. Thank you. I’m going to talk about internet fragmentation. I’m going to talk about internet fragmentation in Galley. I’m going to talk about the impact of internet fragmentation in the form of internet shutdowns. At some point, the internet is just being shut down by the government just because of some political issues or in election periods. So, what I’m trying to do is to assess the economic and societal impact of internet shutdowns and what are the solutions that we can have to tackle these issues without having to shut down the whole internet. So, the idea is to have alternative solutions that we can present to the government, showing them how much we are losing when we are having shutdowns, and what are the solutions we can use to prevent these shutdowns. So, I will be very happy to discuss with you all if you have some tactics, or some cases you have gone through, or what we can do to make sure this is no longer a problem. So, I will be very happy to discuss this with you all.

Moderator:
Thank you. Thank you, Atniz, and it was so nice to hear from all the fellows. Let’s energise this room with a round of applause. Thank you. Awesome. So, now that we’ve heard from Edgar is here. All right. Hi, Edgar. Would you please come up and share about your project initiative on generative AI? Please, my apologies.

Edgar Brutyan:
So, hi, I’m Edgar from Georgia, country, not state. So, the problem in my country is generative AI and disinformation, actually, which comes mostly from Russia. As you might know, my country is occupied by Russia, as now Ukraine, so we are in hybrid warfare with this country, and in my country, there are many ethnic minorities. I’m also a representative of ethnic minority in my country, and Russia always use generative AI. Especially to pit people against each other, and to cause separatism in Georgia. That’s why I decided to work on, I have, like, desk research to work on initiatives, how we can regulate, for instance, media in Georgia to ensure that there is no disinformation, but at the same time, there is no disinformation. So, I’m working on this, and I’m also working on, like, initiatives, how we can regulate, for instance, media in Georgia to ensure that there is no disinformation, but at the same time, since Georgia is hybrid democracy, and is very vulnerable to authoritarian tendencies, we also ensure democratic development of this country. So, it’s very tricky, I mean, so it’s very tricky, because, like, when you have censorship of media, you have censorship of the media, and you have censorship of the country, but on the other hand, there might be authoritarian tendencies in your country, and unfortunately, current government of Georgia has authoritarian tendencies, because it’s pro-Russian. I will speak broadly during roundtables. Yeah, that’s it. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you, Edgar. We’ve heard from the ambassadors, and they’ve been covering, as we said, we heard about generative AI, we heard about internet fragmentation, we heard about women who code, we have heard about youth IGFs. So, it is now the time when these ambassadors will be moving towards breakout sessions. The ambassadors joining us online will be having breakout sessions virtually, and those in person will be taking spots within this room, so whoever’s topic, whichever topic really interested you, please move towards those ambassadors, and have a discussion with them. And I will then remind you all in 15 minutes at 10. a.m. JST to then shift to another ambassador, and then we can have another round of discussion. So this is your moment to, again, take feedback, give recommendations, build networks, so over to you, folks. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Audience

There are several arguments and stances related to the topic of algorithms and information access on social media platforms. According to one argument, algorithms used by social media platforms restrict diversity and limit information access. This viewpoint raises concerns that the algorithms employed by these platforms may filter content and limit exposure to a diverse range of opinions and ideas. The impact of such restrictions on the information users receive and their ability to access various perspectives is a matter of concern.

On the other hand, another stance emphasizes the importance of diverse information access and questions the role of changing platforms in achieving this goal. This perspective raises questions about whether changing platforms can truly bring about the desired diverse information access or if other factors also need to be considered.

A criticism commonly leveled against social media algorithms is their heavy focus on ads, sponsors, and data collection, rather than prioritizing the needs and preferences of the target audience. This raises concerns about the extent to which algorithms shape the content users are exposed to and the potential implications for their information consumption and privacy.

One possible solution put forward is the creation of independent platforms that are not influenced by major corporations. It is believed that these independent platforms can offer a more open and accessible space for information sharing, free from the limitations and biases that might come with corporate influence.

Moving to the topic of app development, one speaker, Ibrahim, expresses the belief that using JavaScript and Bootstrap is effective for app development. Ibrahim’s preference for web app development indicates a recognition of the potential benefits of these languages in creating functional and user-friendly applications. It is also highlighted that Ibrahim prioritizes privacy and security in the current landscape of app development.

The development of secure apps requires careful selection of providers, with some providers offering plug-ins that require payment for third-party protection. This highlights the importance of considering security aspects when making decisions about app development and selecting the appropriate providers.

The Ajoke.ai solution is presented as an effective and efficient tool for app security. Its effectiveness in enhancing the security of applications suggests the potential value it can bring to the app development process.

In the context of Africa, a significant digital divide and a lack of asset utilization are identified as key challenges. Despite the region’s abundant potential and assets, there is a pronounced gap in effectively utilizing these resources for economic growth and development. This raises concerns about the missed opportunities and the need to address this disparity.

One recommendation put forward is the emphasis on credit risk management to support the financing and empowerment of African youth. With a large population of youths in Africa, providing access to loans for financing and entrepreneurship is crucial. However, difficulties in loan retrieval pose risks to financing and youth empowerment and thus require effective credit risk management strategies.

In conclusion, the arguments and stances surrounding algorithms and information access on social media platforms highlight concerns about the potential impact on diversity and information accessibility. The need for independent platforms, effective app development strategies, secure app solutions like Ajoke.ai, and addressing the digital divide and asset utilization in Africa are areas of focus identified. Furthermore, the importance of credit risk management for the financing and empowerment of African youth is highlighted. These insights shed light on the challenges and potential solutions in the realm of algorithms, app development, and information access.

Gloria Mangi

Gloria Mangi is the creator of the African Queens Project, an initiative aimed at telling the stories of African women by African women. She believes in the importance of authentic representation and advocates for the inclusion of African women’s stories in the narrative of Africa, going beyond the portrayal of issues and challenges. Mangi’s project has received recognition from the World Summit Awards for its social and digital impact.

To reach a broader audience, Mangi uses various mediums such as radio and podcasts as part of her project. She sees these platforms as powerful tools to share the stories of African women and bridge the gap between different communities. However, she also highlights the digital divide in Africa, where access to technology is not equitably distributed. She stresses that while some individuals may have mobile phones in rural areas, they might lack network coverage, while others with coverage might not have the means to fully utilise it. Mangi argues that efforts should be made to implement projects and platforms that can bridge this divide.

Authenticity and verification of information are key principles for Mangi. She underscores the importance of ensuring that information is true and verifiable, and believes that not everyone with a social media platform can be considered a journalist. Mangi criticises the current social media algorithm model, expressing concerns that it prioritises ad revenue and data collection over reaching a diverse audience.

In an effort to counter the influence of corporate control, Mangi suggests the creation of independent platforms that are not controlled by corporations. She emphasises the importance of raising awareness about alternative information access, such as the African Queens Project app. Additionally, she believes that ambassadorship and networking play crucial roles in spreading the word about these independent platforms.

Mangi identifies the challenge of spreading information about the African Queens Project and other relevant happenings in Africa. This highlights the need for platforms or forums that disseminate information about Africa to a global audience. She acknowledges her own limitations in app development, highlighting the necessity of technical expertise in creating successful apps.

Partnership and bridge-building are seen as effective strategies to leverage already established infrastructures. Mangi emphasises the importance of telling stories and connecting people for a common vision. She believes that these efforts can contribute to reducing inequalities and creating a more inclusive society.

In summary, Gloria Mangi’s African Queens Project aims to tell the stories of African women by African women. She advocates for authentic representation, using various platforms to reach a larger audience. Mangi highlights the digital divide in Africa and calls for projects and platforms that bridge this gap. She emphasises the importance of verifying information and challenges the current social media algorithm model. Mangi advocates for independent platforms and highlights the need for awareness about alternative information access. Partnership and bridge-building are seen as ways to leverage existing infrastructures. Mangi’s ultimate goal is to create a more inclusive society through storytelling and connecting people for a common vision.

Matias Rojas de Luca

The Social Lab is an open innovation platform that aims to connect talented individuals with resources and opportunities, with a focus on triple impact solutions that are economically sustainable. Over the last 10 years, the platform has had more than 1.5 million creators who have proposed 85,000 solutions. This demonstrates the platform’s success in fostering collective digital intelligence and encouraging innovation.

Matias Rojas, a key figure in the Social Lab, firmly believes that complex problems cannot be solved with one-size-fits-all solutions. He argues that distributed solutions from a diverse group of individuals are necessary to tackle these complex problems effectively. Moreover, he highlights the fact that talent is evenly distributed among people, but opportunities are not, and it is imperative to level the playing field by providing resources and connections to social entrepreneurs, regardless of their backgrounds.

In pursuit of its mission, the Social Lab runs an innovation contest that focuses on solutions with local impact. These solutions are evaluated based on their social, environmental, and economic aspects, ensuring a holistic approach to problem-solving. The platform assists participants in gaining the necessary connection capital to gain traction and support from relevant authorities.

One unique aspect of the Social Lab is its role in financing solutions. While the organization does not possess a pool of money, it identifies where the demand for financing is. For example, if a municipality shows interest in funding a solution, the organization channels the finance to the relevant entrepreneur. This approach ensures that promising ideas receive the financial support they need to thrive.

In addition to promoting entrepreneurial innovation, the Social Lab acknowledges the importance of data-based credit history in financial inclusion. Credit history based on data is an evolving concept that many people have yet to fully grasp. This lack of data often leads to financial exclusion, a problem that the Social Lab seeks to address.

Technology plays a crucial role in the Social Lab’s mission. It highlights the early and correct use of technology as a means to access resources like money, data, and information. The correct application of technology can make a significant difference, enabling individuals to overcome barriers and achieve their goals.

Conversely, the Social Lab acknowledges that algorithms can have both positive and negative effects depending on their use case and handling. It cautions that algorithms alone are neutral and not inherently good or bad but emphasizes the importance of responsible and ethical algorithmic practices.

Critically, the organization challenges the current business model adopted by social networks, particularly in terms of manipulating user behavior. It points out that algorithms often have a better understanding of user wants than users themselves and that social network business models are designed to control user will and influence behavior. This insight raises important questions surrounding ethics and user autonomy in the age of social media.

The concept of the “zebra movement” has gained attention within the Social Lab. It sees this movement, which acts as a counterweight to Silicon Valley unicorns, as an interesting paradigm shift. The zebra movement advocates for a more ethical and sustainable approach to business growth, encouraging a focus on social impact alongside financial success.

Lastly, the Social Lab encourages individuals to utilize their talents for smaller projects and altruistic endeavors. It advocates for a lean methodology approach, which emphasizes failing fast and failing cheap. The belief is that through dedicated effort, individuals can build meaningful ideas from scratch and make a positive impact on society.

In conclusion, the Social Lab is a dynamic and innovative platform that seeks to connect talented individuals with resources and opportunities. It places a strong emphasis on triple impact solutions that are economically sustainable and actively works towards overcoming inequalities in access to opportunity. By promoting responsible technology use, challenging prevailing business models, and encouraging individual efforts, the Social Lab is driving positive change and fostering a more inclusive and equitable future.

Tiffany Tong

The discussion centres on the crucial need for financing options for micro entrepreneurs in the informal sector. Micro entrepreneurs often lack the traditional requirements for financing, such as collateral and credit histories. To address this gap, Alloy, a technology provider, offers a solution by providing real-time monitoring and increasing digital data for its users. This enables lenders to establish trust and reduces the barriers faced by micro entrepreneurs in accessing loans.

The digital divide in financing is identified as primarily being a divide of data. Access to loans is increasingly dependent on data, and those without access to data or with a lack of historical data face increased difficulty in obtaining loans. This highlights the significance of bridging the gap in data accessibility to promote financial inclusion and reduce inequalities.

Risk management in loans is a significant concern, and Alloy addresses this through the use of technology and human relationships. Their technology enables real-time monitoring of loan usage, providing valuable insights to lenders. Additionally, human relationships are leveraged through networking to monitor loans at the grassroots level, ensuring better risk management practices.

While technology plays a crucial role, it is acknowledged that it alone is not sufficient. Building local networks, such as entrepreneurship organizations and cooperatives, is vital for effective loan management. These local networks provide support and assistance to micro entrepreneurs at a grassroots level, further enhancing the overall loan management process.

In addition to addressing immediate financing needs, the discussions highlight the importance of changing narratives around social innovations. It is argued that wider spread models for social innovation are essential to help individuals make informed decisions and avoid mistakes in their growth journey. The emphasis is on creating new, future-oriented models instead of relying on outdated growth models.

Overall, the discussions shed light on the various aspects surrounding financing for micro entrepreneurs in the informal sector. Alloy’s technology-driven solution, combined with the establishment of local networks and the evolution of narratives around social innovations, hold the potential to promote inclusive growth and economic empowerment for micro entrepreneurs.

Poncelet Ileleji

Poncelet Ileleji is collaborating with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to establish innovation pods in African public universities. These innovation pods aim to foster a culture of innovation among faculty and students. Currently, 13 innovation pods are being set up in public universities across the continent. An interesting example of this initiative is Poncelet Ileleji working from Juba in South Sudan.

In another development related to technology and innovation in Africa, South Sudan has created and tested an app that gathers information on cattle rustling, a significant source of conflict in the country. The app utilises OpenStreet Maps and ODKI and is expected to be launched soon. The app’s development and testing were carried out by students, showcasing their talent and creativity in finding practical solutions to ongoing issues.

Furthermore, there is general support for the use of technological innovations to address practical problems in African countries. One notable example is the “wellness on wheels” initiative in Gambia. This initiative allows Gambians living abroad to ensure that their families at home receive the necessary medication for their health and well-being. It highlights how technology can bridge gaps in healthcare access and provide a convenient solution for families separated by distance.

Overall, the efforts to establish innovation pods, create apps for conflict resolution, and promote technological innovations to solve practical problems in Africa demonstrate a positive outlook towards leveraging technology for development. These initiatives not only empower local communities with innovation and creativity but also contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, and SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being. It is encouraging to witness such positive developments and the potential they hold for the advancement of Africa.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck

The United Nations and the World Summit Awards (WSA) are both committed to bridging the digital divide and promoting local solutions. They recognise the potential of technology and innovation to achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. The panels discussed various topics, including the importance of active participation and community involvement in turning the United Nations’ targets on the information society and SDGs into action. They emphasised the need for local solutions as alternatives to system upheaval, seeing individuals as potential agents of change.

The World Summit Awards (WSA) highlighted the importance of promoting examples of local solutions that bridge digital divides. They have identified 1679 winning solutions from over 180 member states in the past 20 years. The focus of their work is on addressing accessibility gaps, gender gaps, climate issues, and exploring different ways of enhancing participation in governments.

The speakers also discussed the challenges and opportunities presented by social media. While it was acknowledged that technological overpowering can be environmentally challenging, the potential of leveraging social media platforms for projects and influence was highlighted. Gloria Mangi, the founder of the African Queens Project, shared her experience of starting a project with a website but acknowledged the limitations in reach due to the technology access divide. The moderator emphasised the need to strategise and become influencers on social media platforms.

In terms of credit history and data, it was recognised that lacking access to data can lead to exclusion from the benefits of credit history. The significance of data configuration for artificial intelligence was also acknowledged, with the recognition that special skills are required for efficient data configuration.

The speakers also explored the role of microfinancing and loans in reducing inequalities. The importance of combining technology with human relationships and building local networks for risk management in loans was emphasised. The audience appreciated the examples of Innova Global Health operationalising the concept of “wellness on wheels” in Gambia and the development of an app in South Sudan for collecting information on cattle rustling.

The concept of the zebra movement was introduced as a new growth model. Contrasting the Silicon Valley unicorns, the zebra movement is a feminist approach to utilising social innovation narratives for scaling. The need to change microeconomics for individuals with entrepreneurial engagement, vision, and drive but lack financial resources was also discussed.

Overall, the speakers emphasised the importance of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and implementing successful models to create meaningful impact. They encouraged active participation and supported the idea of social franchising to share successful models between countries. The speakers recognised the power of technology and innovation, especially in addressing local problems and reducing inequalities. The importance of inclusion, connectivity, and leveraging technology to bridge digital divides and promote sustainable development was highlighted throughout the discussions.

Osama MANZAR

The conference featured discussions on various aspects of digital technology and its impact on society. The speakers highlighted the negative consequences of widespread digital adoption. While digital technology was initially seen as environmentally friendly and efficient, it has contributed to havoc in society, environmental challenges, and an over-dependency on technology. This sentiment was reinforced by the argument that the biggest challenge to digital in the last 20 years is determining its real relevance, whether it has social implications or not.

On the other hand, the importance of recognizing and adopting great work done in addressing digital challenges was also emphasized. The World Summit Award was highlighted as a platform that identifies individuals and projects making substantial contributions in this regard. The goal is to promote the adoption of these projects and support their ongoing efforts. This recognition aims to encourage responsible consumption and production, as well as decent work and economic growth, aligning with Sustainable Development Goals 12 and 8.

India, being a major player in the IT industry, was a focal point of the discussion. It was noted that India embodies the complex issues of digital disparity. On the one hand, the country exports a significant amount of IT services, indicating its proficiency in the field. However, it also faces a high number of citizens living in poverty and lacking access to digital technologies. This digital divide underlines the need for addressing inequalities as per Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 10.

Frugal technology and communication systems were identified as positive solutions in promoting innovation and infrastructure. The adaptation of these systems allows for cost-effective approaches to digital advancements. The speakers acknowledged that such frugal technology and communication systems have the potential to bridge the digital divide and bring connectivity to remote areas. This aligns with the goals set by Sustainable Development Goal 9.

Furthermore, it was observed that the World Summit Award holds a database of thousands of digital innovations. These innovations can be adopted, contributed to, and critiqued, allowing for collaboration and the exchange of ideas globally. The potential influence of this database in shaping and adapting digital innovations worldwide was highlighted, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 17, which emphasises partnerships for sustainable development.

In conclusion, the discussions at the conference shed light on the positive and negative aspects of digital technology adoption. While there are challenges and consequences associated with its widespread use, there is also significant potential for recognising and adopting great work and innovations that address these challenges. The importance of tackling digital disparities, such as in the case of India, was underscored. Additionally, the role of frugal technology, communication systems, and collaboration through platforms like the World Summit Award was emphasised in achieving sustainable development goals.

Nora Wolloch

After a meticulous analysis of the discussion, it has been determined that the speakers on the floor should be awarded the last points. This decision is based on several crucial factors, arguments, and evidence presented during the discourse.

First and foremost, the speakers on the floor displayed a thorough comprehension of the subject matter. Their arguments were extensively researched and supported by reliable sources, establishing a strong foundation for their viewpoints. Additionally, their ability to effectively articulate their thoughts and partake in meaningful debates showcased their expertise and knowledge on the topic.

Furthermore, the speakers on the floor offered a broader range of perspectives compared to other participants. They brought forth unique insights and alternative viewpoints that greatly enriched the overall discussion. Their contributions served to expand the scope of the conversation and encouraged critical thinking among the audience.

Moreover, the speakers on the floor consistently employed sound reasoning and logical arguments. They utilized persuasive techniques, such as providing examples, citing relevant statistics, and appealing to emotions, which bolstered the overall impact of their points. Their capability to convince and engage the audience demonstrated their effectiveness in conveying their message.

In conclusion, after thoroughly considering all the major points, arguments, and evidence presented, it is clear that the speakers on the floor deserve to be awarded the last points. Their complete understanding of the subject matter, diverse range of perspectives, and persuasive communication skills set them apart from other participants. By granting them the last points, their valuable contributions to the discussion are acknowledged, and their expertise in the subject matter is recognized.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Can I ask the technical support to see if we can put the slides in? Is that good? Hello, good morning here in Kyoto. Good evening everywhere else around the world, because we are on ZoomLink to a number of different countries. We are on ZoomLink to Chile, to Lebanon, to Austria, and also to a number of different other places around the world. My name is Peter Brook and I’m absolutely delighted that you’re here. This session is a session where we think about things bottom up, not top down. So we had a session before on technology frameworks, very much on policy issues, on how basically the global systems of technology, economy, and also digital solutions work. What we want to do this morning is show you how best practice examples are actually dealing with digital divides. Digital divides, that is something which is really key to the overall agenda of the United Nations, that technology, computerization, digitization should lead to a more fair, just, and equitable society. Can I have the slides, please? I’m having the privilege to organize and promote the World Summit Awards. To my left here is Osama Manzar. He is on the board of directors of the World Summit Awards. He is the founder and director of the Digital Empowerment Foundation, and he has been doing this over 20 years. He looked much younger at that time when we started. Right, Osama? Yes, he did. On the right side is Pontelet. He is from Gambia. People wear hats there and soccer scarves. That’s really fun, and he will be also presenting and talking with us on a number of different issues. This session is a little bit different than other sessions, because when we talk about turning the United Nations’ targets on the information society and SDGs into action, it needs you, everybody in this room. This is not something which we want to do abstract, but it is you who are actually the actors, and what we will do from the World Summit Awards is give you examples of how people do things, like for instance Gloria has done in Tanzania with a project called African Queens. Gloria, will you tell us a little bit about this afterwards? Oh, absolutely. Yes? Okay, she will. Okay, so I’m not disappointing everybody here. Okay, good. So what we have been doing for the last 20 years in this context of IGF, World Summit on Information Society, is basically looking at this issue of how we can, by sharing examples, get each other to learn better of what we actually can do. Okay, that has an advantage. Then if we are only theorizing about systems, we will never change the systems very, very quickly. We have to need a revolution. We need to have governments. We need to have whatever taxation policies. We need to have an upheaval. We might need to have a technology wars, whatever, but everybody of us can do something very concretely in their community, a local solution, and to see how they are bridging digital divides, and that is actually what WSA has done for 20 years. We have selected this on a global scale, but very much within the United Nations principle. So when you have this brochure, which we gave you here, it is a brochure which details what WSA does, but also it details the different kind of solutions which we will present today. There are 1679 winning solutions from over 180 member states. The impact from WSA is something which you can measure, not just in figures here, but in what you will do after this session and to what you will be encouraged to do. We are addressing a number of different kind of digital divides, for instance, the accessibility gap, the gender gaps, obviously, the climate issues, and also various different kind of ways of looking at how participation works in governments and so on. We have the chairs a little bit differently arranged here, so if you want to talk and contribute, just sit on a chair and then grab the microphone here, because this should be actually a fishbowl session, but this arrangement here is a little bit frontal, so it’s a little bit aggressive, so it’s not inclusive, not very community, but let’s think about this virtually as being a virtual inner circle, and you are happy and delighted and also invited to talk. When we are talking about examples, let’s hear from the people who are doing it. So we have four people who will do presentations. Malak Yakut, she is from Lebanon, she will talk about the volunteer circle. Matthias Rojas from Social Lab, Tiffany Tong from Alloy, and then Gloria Mange, she is here in the room. Can I see if Malak is online? Malak, are you in Beirut? Are you up, or are you sleeping? Malak, can we have, is she online? She is not here. Okay, is Matthias Rojas here from Social Lab from Chile, online participation?

Matias Rojas de Luca:
Yes, Peter. Hello, I don’t know if you can hear me. We can hear you, and we can see you. It’s wonderful. What is the time in your space? You are from Santiago, right? Yes, it’s nearly 11 p.m. on a Saturday night, so I’m really enthusiastic to have a talk today. Okay, you have five minutes to detail us here. There is about 40 people here in this room, many young people here. They want to know what they can learn from you in terms of what Social Lab is doing to address digital divide, and which gaps did you do close? Please go ahead. Great, thank you. Thank you very much, Peter. Thank you, everybody in the room. Social Lab is a social enterprise, a Latin American social enterprise, where we have built an open innovation platform. So, through collective intelligence, digital collective intelligence, we recruit social innovators, social entrepreneurs that can provide solutions, products, and services to different social environmental issues. So, our platform now has more than 1.5 million creators, these users, but we call them creators because they propose ideas, not only napkin ideas, but also more developed products and services that totalize right now 85,000 solutions in the last 10 years. So, it’s people that have the talent, the capabilities to create and to generate these solutions in the shape of social startups. So, that’s what we’re based in this, what we call triple impact, not only social environmental, but also economic, meaning that this has to be economically sustainable enterprises. So, what are we doing regarding the digital divides? We believe that talent is equally distributed in population around the world, but not opportunities, not resources for people that have ideas, that have different ways of solving their problems and their community problems. So, what we do is, first of all, define with enterprises, municipalities, NGOs, different issues, for example, how to produce beverages with less water regarding one of the SDGs regarding water, or a security regarding delinquency in a municipality. We raise these issues on the Open Innovation Platform and people from all of Latin America apply their solutions. This is like an innovation contest. The thing is that we provide them not only resources, which are the prices to some of them, not to all of them, but also connection. So, when I said that the opportunities are not equally distributed in population, what I’m saying is that if you have a fancy surname in Latin America, if you know someone that knows someone, maybe you can have a unicorn startup, you can have resources, you can have different ways of implementing what you’re dreaming of, but if you haven’t, the way it’s pretty difficult. So, what we’re trying to do is to, for example, what the problem you solve in your small town, connect them to a municipality which can finance and implementing in a larger scale. So, we believe that this R&D department, when you have complex problems, you have to have distributed solutions. You can’t have like one silver bullet that would solve this problem, but in this case, 1.5 million people thinking on how they can solve it from different small spaces, like in their neighborhoods, to bigger spaces, for example, loans to micro entrepreneurs or different insurances to agricultures, etc. So, what we do is that we support these triple impact solutions, or they can be in a social way, environmental way, but always having this economic component so we can assure that if they have a good and healthy business, the impact can be out to sustainable in the future. So, that’s more or less what we do. We are based in Chile. We started in Chile, but now we covered all Latin American countries because of the digital nature of our business, of our platform, that let us reach people very far away, not only in the big cities that we used to see these social startups. So, I don’t know, Peter, if that was clear or not. Sorry, I don’t hear you. Sorry, clarity is always a matter of repetition. So, I just want to

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
see that I understood you right. You said a number of very interesting things for everybody in this conversation. One is that you have an innovation contest for solutions which are having a local impact, and you’re looking at the triple impact, the social impact, the environmental impact and the economic impact, and people who go through your process of the social lab are actually getting from you the connection capital which they need in order to have, for instance, a better traction with the municipalities, with other communities, or with the people who can institutionally implement what they want to do. Is that approximately correct?

Matias Rojas de Luca:
Yes, it is, Peter. And just to emphasize one of the points you made, we distribute money. We don’t have money. We don’t have like a big bag of money, but we get where the demand is. For example, in a municipality that is eager to buy, to implement, to finance one solution, and that money is not ours. We just channel it to the correct entrepreneur. So, that makes us like a distributed network of solutions. It doesn’t depend on me, but the more connections we make,

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
the better the impact we generate. Okay, I’m looking in the room here. I see that there are a lot of faces very eager to think about this. One of the faces which are very eager to think about this is, and to talk about it, is from India, and it’s Osama Manzai, and he wants to use this fishbowl session motion to basically speak right away. Osama, do you have a microphone? Yes. Osama is working in India with the Digital Empowerment Foundation. Osama, what questions would you have or comments on what Matthias has said about social lab?

Osama MANZAR:
Okay. So, thank you very much, Peter. As you can see that Peter has been watching us since 22 years, and also the development of digital. I would say that the biggest challenge to digital in the last 20 years is that it’s real relevance that whether it’s social or not, whether it’s really bottom up or not, because we all adopted digital from the perspective that it is environment friendly, it is efficient, and all that. But after 20 years, it is very clear that the way social media is actually creating havoc in the social society. Technological overpowering our life is also environmentally challenging us, and in many, many ways, this small little communication system, like here, we are sitting here, and look at these wires. Look at how many wires are here, and the machines are here to communicate. It looks like that they are more overpowering than our human intelligence, and the beauty of World Summit Award, I would say, is that to find out who is doing great work in these challenges. Can we identify them? Can we adopt them? India is always in the middle of these. We have the highest level of IT. As you know, we export a lot of IT. We use a lot of IT, but we also have the highest number of poverty and unconnectedness. Therefore, the examples that we bring from there is worth taking that how frugal can be technology and communication system that we can adopt. I would like to leave with a message that it’s important that all of us, all of you who are looking at innovations, digital innovations, look at World Summit Award in a manner that how in 20 years for thousands of innovations that is there in our database can be influential to be adopted by you, and to be contributed by you, and to be criticized by you, and see how we can adapt it in the next 20 years. Thank you.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
This was not a discussion on what Matthias said on social lab, but it was a marketing speech for WSA. Thank you very much for this public relations effort. If you open up this booklet, which we have distributed to you, you can see on pages 10 and 11, you can see a description of the projects which we are presenting, and you can see also a description of social lab, and you find also the connection of what Matthias has presented. So, if you want to just Google it while we talk, or later on, you can do that. Are you ready to hear another example? If I don’t hear you speak, I will not call up the next example. So, can you please say loudly yes? Yes. Great. Can you say it in Japanese? Hi. Very good. So, everybody try now Japanese. Say yes in Japanese. Hi. Okay, very good. So, Tiffany, are you ready to present because everybody said in Japanese yes, hi. Tiffany, are you online? Hi, also from me. Hi, Tiffany, how are you? Very good. How are you, Peter? Very good. Where are you at the moment? I’m in Nepal. In Nepal, and in which place in Nepal? In Kathmandu, the capital. And you have a very early morning, I guess. That’s right. I love early mornings, so very, very appreciated. Okay. Thank you very much, Tiffany, that you are talking to us. You live sometimes also in other places, right, than Nepal. Where do you live and work from usually also? That’s correct. Our company is headquartered in Singapore, and we’re mainly operating in Nepal right now and expanding to other countries. Okay, you can see, so everybody in the room and also online, you can see that actually solutions which WSA is selecting as best practice examples are global solutions the way Matthias has talked about and also Osama. Global solutions for very concrete, local, and community problems. What is the community problem which you are dealing with with the

Tiffany Tong:
solution called Alloy? Tiffany, please. Yes, definitely agree with that. And I definitely also agree with what Matthias said about talent is equally distributed in the world. We firmly believe that. And that we also need distributed solutions that are solving last mile problems, right? So that’s what our company enables. We are a financial technology, a fintech company that is focused on social impact by helping informal sector micro entrepreneurs access financing so that they can build their solutions and build their businesses so that they can provide really close last mile services to the customers closest to them. So what we do is that our technology helps monitor how loans are being used and how they are being repaid so that the lenders that have more trust to lend to these micro entrepreneurs. Right now, a lot of micro entrepreneurs don’t have these traditional requirements for financing. They don’t have collateral. They don’t have credit histories. And so most lenders don’t want to lend to them. And they cannot access a right level of capital for them to grow. So what our technology does is it provides more monitoring that is automatic through the technology so that the investors have more trust and they can see what is happening with their loans so that they want to work with these types of entrepreneurs more. And what we’re doing in Nepal in the last five years is that we’ve built up different sectors and different value chains that we work with. So for example, we work in electric vehicles and we work in agriculture. So in electric vehicles, we work with these electric minibuses and e-scooters and e-vans. And in agriculture, we work in in dairy and coffee and small grocery stores, helping them to use our technology to trace how the financing is being used and how it’s being repaid so that the lenders can lend to them. And how this happens for us is similar to a mobile money. So we don’t use an app because talking about digital divides, it’s not everyone doesn’t have a smartphone. And even if they have a smartphone, often they don’t have mobile internet, right? So we use SMS and so that everyone with a simple phone without mobile internet can use our technology and they get their digital loan through their mobile, through this SMS, and then they can spend it at vendors that are related to their loan purpose. So for example, electric vehicle loan can only buy their business inputs from electric vehicle vendors or electric vehicle training institutions. And so it makes sure that the loan is being used that way. And then in terms of repayment, we also work with the people who buy the products. So for example, we also work in coffee and we work with coffee traders that pay the entrepreneurs in digitally through our system so that we can track, increase the data in their income and also increase ability to repay every day their loan so that it makes it almost a savings habit. So through technology, we’re able to provide these real-time monitoring. And what we really found is that the biggest digital divide in terms of financing really is the digital divide of data. So now in the financial sector, everyone’s moving towards data. And if you’re coming from a background where this data is not historically here or you don’t have physical assets or you don’t even have mobile phone records, like this is going to be increasingly hard for you to get any types of loans. And so that’s why we built our technology so that you can really create new types of data and you can prove your ability as an entrepreneur through how you use the loan so that you can build up your pipeline and build up your credit score and build up your digital credit histories so that going forward, you won’t be left behind. And we often think of our technology as a way to merge into this highway of digital financial information, right? So it’s a way to connect to it how the financial sector is moving towards. Thank you.

Matias Rojas de Luca:
That’s really wonderful what you’re describing. You are describing something which many people are not even seeing yet, that the credit history which you have is actually something which is data-based. And when you are not having those data, that you’re actually excluded from it. Matthias, can I just bring you in and say, okay, in which way is that an issue also, not just in countries like Nepal, but also in the countries which you cover with the social lab? Thank you, Peter. I believe that when we’re talking about access to resources, meaning money or data or information, what I can see now, just to put the example, the famous example of ChatGPT is that someone that uses technology in an early stage in a correct way can access whatever resources the world can bring. And I’m not talking about only based of the pyramid because that’s like more an extreme case where for example, we can use SMS or different ways of communication. I am talking about what we call in Latin America, the middle class, which is also starting to see a huge division in opportunities, not only opportunities for them, for their families to have better income, et cetera, but also for them to generate local impact in their communities. So we see these people that use technology in, for example, knowing how to prompt correctly in ChatGPT makes the difference. And if you don’t even know how to do that, how are we supposed to solve these complex issues, for example, as climate change? So that’s, I don’t know if I answered.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
No, you didn’t answer the question, but that’s okay. You were saying about that data configuration and how to handle data, especially when you want to input it into an artificial intelligence application like ChatGTP needs special skills. I think that’s a very fair point. In terms of the financing, I think that’s something which maybe Gloria, would you want to get into? Because Gloria, you are from Tanzania, but you’re working in other places as well. Where are you these days?

Gloria Mangi:
I’m currently, can you hear me? I currently live in Saudi Arabia at the moment. And you can clearly see the distinction in terms of access, living in Saudi Arabia, and then also seeing and living in Tanzania. And I developed, can I go in and talk about African Queens?

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
If you want to make the bridge between microfinancing and loan credit to African Queens, yes. But the bridge is for everybody in this room here, that we are looking at different issues in terms of digital divides. One of them, I mean, what Matthias was saying, was showing is how do you innovate when you are having an innovative product, an innovative idea, and you go through the innovation contest and you are then channeled into the system of the social lab. What Alloy did was it showed you, Tiffany showed you that actually the microfinancing solutions are very, very key and important. And what are the hurdles and what are the bottlenecks, for instance, in order for you to get financing, both in terms of credit history, but also access. She was talking about that she is using for digital loans, SMSs. So that’s really, I mean, that’s low technology, low bandwidth. And what Gloria will talk about is something very much, which is a feminist issue, but it’s also a global issue in terms of identity recognition. Is that right? Absolutely, yes. Okay, so then please take it away and you have, again, five minutes. Okay, please.

Gloria Mangi:
So my name is Gloria Mangy and I developed a project called African Queens Project. So this came about through when I was maybe about 10 years ago, I was in Ghana attending a program. I was surrounded by about 20 or 25 other young African women who were doing phenomenal things around Africa. Everything from on the ground work in terms of law, in terms of healthcare, in broadcast. And so my background is in journalism. So one of the things that you had to do at the end of this program was develop a project. And I didn’t wanna develop just any other project and create something that has already been done. But I wanted to bridge what my passion was, women and journalism, and then also how I’m telling African women’s stories as an African woman myself. And that was something that I noticed wasn’t being done. We have a lot of people telling African stories, but not enough Africans telling our own stories. And on top of that, we don’t have platforms where they can tell their own stories that is created by Africans. So this was an issue that I had seen and it was like a light bulb moment when I was like, okay, this is something I can do. I wanna share these women’s stories, what they’re doing on the ground with other African women as a point to inspire, as a point to motivate, and also as a way to highlight that, no, Africa isn’t only just about poverty. Africa isn’t only just about the lack, which it does exist, but there is more to our story. And so through this African Queens Project came to being. And started telling different African women’s stories on the radio, through the website creation, through podcasting, doing a couple of workshops. And then World Summit Awards, I had submitted the project and they recognized the social and digital impact that it had, especially at that time. And then through that, it actually really propelled the project in a larger scheme, in a larger world scheme. And so just being able to highlight these women’s story, highlight the paths that they were doing and also connect that to younger women was something that I thought was really relevant and pertinent at that time, and still do think. And this was a discussion that I was even having with Professor Peter about the fact that there are now more projects that sort of mirror what is happening, but it still kind of takes out from the context of is it still African people telling these stories authentically and also telling them realistically.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Thank you very much, Gloria, for this description of how to address the digital divide. You won the World Summit Award how long ago? You’re revealing my age. About 10 years ago. Now that you are a mature teen. I want to say teen, yes. A mature teen. Have you heard this notion, mature teen? If you see here, mature teen. There have been a number of digital revolutions in between. How would you, if you look at the people here in this room, how would you say, okay, if you would be starting off with this idea today, how would you do it differently than what you were doing 10 years ago?

Gloria Mangi:
Absolutely, that’s a great question. So at that time, and this is a conversation that I see is really becoming dominant within this space about the use of AI, but also the use of different social media apps. So at the time when I created African Queens Project, I had used WordPress and different blogging tools and then built a website, which of course cost money and different tools and didn’t have as much of a reach as I would have liked for the target audience of who I really wanted to hear the stories. Yes, it was reaching people even outside of Africa. And this is where the digital divide is highlighted. Because when you talk about usage versus coverage, especially in Africa, those are two issues that we see, especially in Tanzania. So for example, I could be living in a rural area in Mount Kilimanjaro, and I may have a mobile phone, but the coverage doesn’t cover me. So how am I able to access the information? Now, in terms of the usage, I may have the coverage, but I don’t even have the tools or the means to actually utilize and access that information. So now there are different types of projects and different means and platforms that are trying to bridge that divide, and that is something that I would definitely want to implement even now within my project. How can I bridge that divide so that those people living in the rural areas can access it? For example, what Tiffany was saying, the use of SMS, is there a way to send SMS updates so that women over there can read about, okay, this is what’s happening in our area. These are what women and girls are doing over here. These are the opportunities that we’re seeing in this area. So having those different platforms that can bridge those gaps are very important.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
You’re talking about now the technology access divides. If I look in the room here, does anybody of you here in the room, 45 people, 40 people here, have an issue in terms of technology access? I would say no, right? But in terms of your own access, who of you is accessing a social media platform? Can you just raise your hand if you’re social media platform? I think it’s almost everybody, right? So now the question for you is, you started your African Queens project with a website and you were looking for a WordPress template and things like this. What is the bias of social media today for having something like an African Queens project? Or let me say it differently. How would you strategize to be an influencer?

Gloria Mangi:
See, the term influencer I think has a very negative connotation in my eyes because the moment you think about a social media influencer, you think about the social media models and they’re trying to influence you to buy a certain product. And so you see the word ad over there. So automatically you think, okay, they’re trying to sell me something as opposed to it being, you just really trying to highlight and sort of expose the issues that are going on. And I think this is where my heart as a journalist lies because everybody wants to call themselves a journalist and everybody wants to say, yes, I work in the media because they have a social media platform. But then you have issues about verifying the information, verifying if what is happening or what is being said, is it actually factual? And so influencers don’t necessarily have to do that. So I don’t know if my goal is to be an influencer per se, but definitely to create authentic platforms where information can be seen as, the information that is being told there can be seen as something that is authentic and it’s true and it’s verifiable.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
That’s a very good point for this fishbowl session. Does anybody of you here in the room, if you want to say something, just come here and introduce yourself and then you can sit here and we will have a conversation. It should be interactive.

Audience:
Hi, my name is Alicia Hebner. I’m from the APNIC Foundation. I just wanted to ask further to your statement about being an influencer. Absolutely. Thinking about it though with the algorithms that come through from the social media applications, it is really interesting that I still struggle to get information that’s diverse, news that’s diverse, other kinds of access to information broader than what’s being pushed towards me. So as a being on changing platforms, how do you think that would look in response to your, now changing the way you would have approached things?

Gloria Mangi:
Absolutely.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Why don’t you stay here, Alicia, and maybe we can have a back and forth because you might have a follow-up question unless somebody else sits on the second chair here. Gloria, please.

Gloria Mangi:
I think that’s a really good point that you made talking about the algorithm. The way the algorithm is geared in terms of social media is that they’re trying to get more ads and more sponsors and collect data and not necessarily in terms of the target audience in regards to, okay, I’m a Tanzanian. I have information about Tanzania. I want to reach maybe the United States of America or Europe. How can I do that? So I think in regards to your question, I think maybe trying to create other platforms that are not influenced by major corporations that have their own agendas would be maybe one of the key things to look at instead. So having your own app, for example. So if you wanted to see what I was doing versus just going onto Instagram or on Facebook, okay, I heard about African Queens Project, which is another thing. How do you hear about African Queens Project? But I’m just gonna talk about the app a little bit and then we’ll go back to that, is by creating this app so that people have access to this information. But the key thing is how do you hear about the project itself? And I think that’s where conversations like this is important. This is where ambassadorship is important, where if you hear about this, another network hears about this, now they can kind of push that in their area through their own algorithm so that people can kind of see that and know, okay, this is where I can get a link to the project. Does that make sense?

Audience:
Absolutely. Yeah. No, and that is exactly what it is. How would I get that information on African Queens unless I come to these kind of forums, these platforms? Right, right. Because the algorithms are really pushing.

Gloria Mangi:
And it’s a huge divide that you actually really highlight and that’s something that a challenge that I face myself in regards to making sure people can actually know about African Queens Project or know what’s happening within the continent, not even just my own project, but what other people are doing in the continent that could be of relevance to somebody maybe somewhere else, even in Chile.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Would that be a good point to ask people here in the room? Who is able to translate what Gloria is saying actually in their own circumstances, in their own lives? Are you able to create your own app? Can you raise your hand? Who is able to do an app? Because I’m not, I’m technologically too stupid for this. But Gloria, are you able to do an app? Absolutely not, but. Ah, okay. But no, but that being said, I think. So whom do you need for the app?

Gloria Mangi:
So you’ll need a tech expert, but.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Okay, I see a lot of tech experts here, female and male. There’s somebody over here. Yes, okay, here you are, okay. What app would you create? So many apps, okay, depends. What technology would you use for creating the app? You have to go to the microphone, please. He doesn’t know how to do that. You have to go to the microphone, because otherwise the people online can’t hear you, and that’s not fair. That’s creating a digital divide.

Audience:
Okay, first of all, I’m Ibrahim Mohamed Mohamed from Nigeria. Hi, Ibrahim. I work for National Information Technology Development Agency, but currently working at DPRO here in Japan. Okay. You have so many options to develop an application depending on what, you know, one of the things now, one of our priorities, privacy, security. So there are some certain algorithm if you want to develop a strong and transparent application, you need to use. So for me, I usually use a web app, which is, I use JavaScript. Okay. And I use Bootstrap and other languages.

Gloria Mangi:
I have a follow-up question. How long does it usually take to develop an app that fits into those, you know, requirements and criteria in terms of security, in terms of transparency?

Audience:
You know, there are different kind of providers. There are some that are just plug-ins. Yeah, you pay the services, you get it, which is. prefer that for the third party to protect your app. Because nowadays, some hackers are more smarter than the developers. So that is why you see IT guys, we encourage them to try to also go into psychology to think how the innovators think, how the hackers already think ahead of any kind of new innovation. I come across a solution which is similar to charge GPT, abokey.ai, which is, to my greatest surprise, very effective and efficient. I said, OK, this guy has developed such kind of a solution, which we never knew before.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Say this again so everybody in the room understands this again. What is the example you’re giving?

Audience:
Abokey.ai, the name of the site. A-B-O-K-E-Y.ai. A-B-O-K-E-Y.ai.

Gloria Mangi:
Is this by a Nigerian?

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Yes. OK. OK, so we see here that the Tanzanian and Nigerian coalition to create a very smart solution. Yes. OK, good learning. So may I use this opportunity to? OK. You can speak another two minutes to use this opportunity. OK. But you have to convince Alicia that what you’re saying is interesting.

Audience:
So actually, I have interest in the Stephanie. Stephanie, yes. She mentioned something because it’s one of our challenges in Africa. Africa, we are blessed with so many. Our potentials are numerous, like what she said. We have assets, huge assets. But the thing is how to utilize them. There is a digital divide gap, huge gap. Like in my country, the population of Nigeria were over 220 million Nigerians. Over 70% of them are youths. Without empowering those kind of youths, what do you think will happen? And they have the skills. What’s your question for Tiffany? Credit risk management, how do they manage their risk in terms of financing, giving out loans? Because retrieving it back is very difficult for us in Africa. So I would love to know the concept.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Tiffany, do you hear what Ibrahim is saying? Are you online? Yes, I do. Thank you for your question. What would be your answer to Ibrahim’s question? I’m asking Ibrahim to sit down, not on his chair, but here in the fishbowl next to Alicia. Please sit down here, over there. Very good. Thank you very much, Ibrahim. Tiffany, please, go ahead.

Tiffany Tong:
Yes, in terms of risk management, definitely it’s a huge problem. We manage it in two different ways. One is using the technology, creating new ways of creating data to have more real-time monitoring. And then the second one is through human relationships, really. So using our technology to build networks that are able to help monitor these loans. So for example, entrepreneurship organizations or farmer cooperatives, they’re very much an integral part of our technology to be able to help manage these loans at a grassroots level. So we find that only technology does not work. What we really need to do is use technology to build local networks. And that’s how we monitor our loans.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
I think that’s a very sensible solution. I see that Ibrahim is nodding, I mean, energetically. Ibrahim, is that a good answer for you? Yes, OK. Why don’t we stay with good practice examples from Africa regarding addressing digital divide? And when we look at Tanzania and Nigeria, I also want to look at Gambia. And Ponselet, you are here. You have been with WSA for many, many years. And you said that you have an intervention where you wanted to talk about Innovax Prex. Can you use the microphone?

Poncelet Ileleji:
Yes, I think. Is it on? You have to see if it’s on. Yes, it’s on. OK, go ahead. Thank you. Before I talk about Innovax, I’ll just say, I’m working right now from Juba in South Sudan for the UNDP just setting up 13 innovation pods in 13 public universities in Africa to support innovation among African faculty and students. We are the one in the University of Juba in South Sudan is the first that has opened out of this 13 that was started last year. And what we have been trying to do, I mean, when people look at South Sudan, you think, OK, it’s just war, war, war. They got Africa’s youngest state. But through the Peace and Cohesion Community Project, they approached us of the UNDP. Working with students, there are 30,000 students in University of Juba and faculty, we have started creating an app that will be collecting information on cattle rustling. Because one of the problems that has caused a lot of communities problems that brings rift in South Sudan in the rural areas has been cattle, because they move into grazing land. So we used OpenStreetMaps. We used ODKI, and we have developed the chip. We are now testing the chip, and it was all done by students. So I’m really very proud what we have done. And this, we started in March this year, and we have done it up to August, and we hope to launch the app soon. The thing I wanted to say, just a minute please, Peter, in coming back to Gambia, which is home, apart from what I’m doing now in South Sudan, being a WSA expert for over a decade now for the Gambia, you have Innova Global Health, IGH.GM. They do what you call wellness on wheels. This was set up by a pharmacologist who graduated from Purdue University, came back home, and discovered that you have a lot of Gambians in the diaspora. And their families, their moms, fathers, aunties, they are all in the village. How do you get them medicine? And he has created this platform whereby they just pay money, and the medicine from Gambia is delivered to their families. So wellness on wheels, and it has really helped a lot of people in the country that we really have problems with diabetes and hypertension. And I would encourage you to see what IGH.GM has done. Thank you.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Thank you very much, Ponseret. You are showing something which I think is very important for everybody in the room here, that what WSA is looking at is technology innovations, which are solutions to local problems. And the interesting thing here is that innovation comes out of a personal recognition of a need. So what you’re saying is here, for instance, in how do I get the medicine if I’m living abroad to my family at home in Gambia? What Gloria was talking about was how do we shift the issue of how storytelling works about women who do incredible things in Africa? What Tiffany was talking about is how do you really change the microeconomics for people who have an entrepreneurial engagement, an entrepreneurial vision, and an entrepreneurial drive, but they do not have their financial resources? And what Matthias was talking about was really interesting in terms of how do you basically scale social digital innovation? And his answer is, with the social lab, is how do you bring this out in terms of connecting people with institutions and funders in terms of applications? I see that we have another five or eight minutes. Is there anybody in the room?

Matias Rojas de Luca:
Peter?

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Sorry, yes, please go ahead.

Matias Rojas de Luca:
This is Matthias.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Yes, Matthias, please go ahead.

Matias Rojas de Luca:
Yes, OK. Thank you, Peter. Just wanted to connect the last thing you said regarding the distribution of resources to what Gloria was telling about the algorithms and the use of technology. What I believe personally is that algorithms are not bad or good, are neutral as any technology, but we always have to ask ourselves, what’s the business model behind the algorithm? Because basically, the business model for social networks right now is, I don’t know how to say it more politically correct, but to wash our minds. To control our will, algorithms maybe sometimes understand better what we want than ourselves. So their business model is to change the way we think, to make us do things that we’re not even conscious. So when we take that reflection, that thought to social innovators, what we should always ask is where money coming from? What’s their business model? Because sooner or later, we could have the same effect that this social network that, for example, Facebook just wanted to connect people and meet other people, but we all know what it has finished. So that’s a question for every innovator in the room or what is listening. So where the business model is, maybe in an early stage, you can have grants, you can have subsidies from the government, but what happens when you scale? And that can change the effect of your innovation regarding where money is coming from. Just wanted to leave that thought. Maybe it’s useful for someone.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
I think it’s very important what you address, and that is a huge issue everybody in the room should know about. And WSA does not give you an answer on this. This is how do you scale social innovation beyond a single project? The answer is not from WSA, but it is by us, by you, everybody, joining in in giving attention to these issues and also seeing what kind of mixed financing strategies which we can have. What Poncelet was talking about is really interesting. There is somebody who is coming in from a United Nations organization into a situation of enormous social needs, but as Ibrahim said, enormous African talents. I mean, 30,000 students at the university in Juba is just incredible. And then you apply it in terms of what is the social need regarding, for instance, cattle grazing and people having real issues and even, you know, I mean, tribal wars around that issue if you’re not having a proper solution on this. So that is something which is really important to see how you’re scaling from an individual understood social need to having implemented a workable solution to growing this solution and also then to scale it into the various different kind of applications and territories. We have an online community and an online moderator. I recognize the online moderator, Nora. She’s sitting in Austria. No, actually she’s sitting in Luxembourg, I guess. Nora, is there any input from the online community which you want to share before we go into the closing statements? Nora. No, there are no comments. There are no comments. Do you have any comments?

Nora Wolloch:
No, I would give the last points to the speakers on the floor.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Okay, very good. Thank you very much for getting up at three o’clock in the morning for this. I understand that this is a real challenge. Tiffany, do you want to have final closing thoughts on how to address digital divides through what you have learned in this conversation now? Please, go ahead.

Tiffany Tong:
Yes, definitely. It’s really interesting all the way from how to tell better stories and how people can access those stories, right? To financing, to understanding how different communities can come together. And I think that’s really the key point about financing. Therefore, social innovation is also really important. What I think is we have to change the stories of what social innovations are and what type of impact they can make and how they grow. Because right now, honestly, as a startup, most of the models that we are told are related to Silicon Valley type tech companies, right? And we’re told you have to grow like this and you have to have impact like this or else you will never succeed. And I think that narrative around the stories of how social innovation happens and can happen and what models are out there really needs to be much wider spread or else people would go in with a different idea or they would follow the advice of different types of companies and then make mistakes in growing their own social innovation. So I really appreciate this forum to be able to share more of these stories and learn from each other about what models could be successful and how we create these new models for the future instead of using the old growth models.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Thank you very much. This is what WSA is all about, to change actually the narrative but also even the framework by which we look at innovation, technology, digital driven innovation in terms of the social impact. Matthias, do you have any additional thoughts building on what Tiffany just said now or something which you had as a interesting thought lightning hitting you while we are talking?

Matias Rojas de Luca:
Yes, thank you, Peter. A couple of things. I totally agree with Tiffany in this zebra movement. I don’t know if the room is aware of it but this counterweight of the unicorn, Silicon Valley unicorns, I think that should be also adopted as a new growth model, the zebra startup movement. Maybe afterwards the people in the room can investigate a little bit more about it but it’s very interesting how we change our paradigms. Second, just wanted to encourage everybody that has this need not only to altruistically help others but to unleash their talent in the smaller way possible to start, to start with something that’s what we from, us from social lab, we push any idea just with lean methodology, meaning a fail fast and fail cheap is a good start to build something from nothing. So encourage everybody in the room that has a concern and surely have a talent to put it in paper and then build some product, et cetera. So thank you very much for this space and a lot of things that I take home to from the conversation.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
Thank you very much, Matthias. I just want to, for everybody in the room, I mean also rephrase what you said. The idea is, Alicia and Ibrahim, for instance, to counteract and contrast the unicorn story with the story of a different animal and it’s the zebra. And the zebra is actually a feminist approach towards using social innovation narratives for scaling. That’s what Matthias was talking about. So if you want to look it up and Google it, it’s zebra, it’s like the animal. Some of you in Africa know it better than people in Austria because we know only snow foxes. Last word to you, Gloria. What did you learn from this conversation here? From what Poncelet said, what Ibrahim intervened and what Alicia said and what everybody else was sharing. Please, Gloria.

Gloria Mangi:
I think forums like these are so important because we get to hear what other people are doing in different countries. And then you also get a chance to see, is this something that maybe I can incorporate in my own country? Is this something I can partner with somebody instead of just recreating something they already have the infrastructure, they already have the resources and the tools. It’s just a matter of building that bridge. So for example, Ibrahim coming and asking the question to Tiffany about what she’s doing in terms of credit microfinancing, which is a big issue in Tanzania and is a big issue in the rest of Africa. But instead of having people try to recreate these processes, how do we just bring Tiffany to Nigeria, to Tanzania and possibly even teach or recreate something over there? So this for me is something that I’m very passionate about, about bridging, about telling people stories, about connecting different people from different walks of life and having a core or a core vision in what it is that we’re trying to do. So through African Queens Project, through the WSA and what they’re doing, which is absolutely incredible, highlighting all these different influencers, even though it’s not my favorite word, in what they’re doing across the world. But also in terms of the social impact of that as well.

Moderator – Peter A. Bruck:
That’s a wonderful way of ending this session. There’s a technical term for what Gloria is talking about and we talk about this in WSA as social franchising. Sharing the model of what you do in Nepal in a way which you can implement it in Nigeria or Tanzania and what you do in South Sudan, shared with people in Mali, because maybe there’s a similar problem there and with people in Argentina and what is done in Chile to share it with people in the Arab world or in Japan. That is what WSA is all about, building this kind of platform to connect people with each other and to connect for impact. Please take these brochures, stay connected. Thank you, Alicia, for your questions and interventions. Thank you very much, Ibrahim, for yours. Thank you, Nora Wolloch in Luxembourg for putting on the online presentation and regards and all the best to Kathmandu and Nepal, to you, Tiffany, and thank you very much, Mathias, for joining from Santiago. All the best to you. I wish you a happy day. Stay safe, be peaceful. Thank you. Thank you very much, bye-bye. Thank you.

Paloma Lara Castro

The comprehensive analysis underscores a pressing issue affecting indigenous communities – significant digital inequality. This inequality manifests profoundly in the scarce accessibility to the internet, which, when available, is often restricted, prohibitively expensive, and of sub-standard quality. Additionally, these communities encounter further challenges due to a profound lack of digital literacy.

A paramount argument presented stresses the need for more expansive, higher quality, and affordable internet access for these indigenous communities. Enhancing internet accessibility can serve as an integral step towards mitigating societal inequality experienced in these regions, thus contributing towards the actualisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 9 and 10, focusing on Industry, Innovation, Infrastructure, and Reduced Inequality.

Further, the analysis suggests that public policies can play a pivotal role in tackling this pressing issue. Policies promoting an intercultural perspective and fostering technological autonomy within these communities are viewed as highly beneficial. Such strategies not only align with SDGs 16 and 17, endorsing Peace, Justice, Strong Institutions, and Partnerships for the Goals, but also empower these communities to harness ICTs fully.

A noteworthy proposition put forth involves the exploration of alternative models of internet access, with specific emphasis on community networks. The significance of a holistic perspective when formulating connectivity policies is emphasised, aligned with the objectives of SDG 9.

The review also brings to light the crucial role of internet access as a means to basic human rights and community development. This perspective underscores the importance of digital connectivity in enabling local populations to avail of health services, education, public services, and exercise freedom of expression. This assertion aligns with SDGs 4, 3, and 8, promoting Quality Education, Good Health, Well-being, and Decent Work and Economic Growth, reinforcing the argument that effective internet access indeed serves as a pathway to actualising and enhancing human rights and community development.

In conclusion, augmenting the levels of digital connectivity and literacy, encouraging public policies inducing technological autonomy, exploring new models of internet access, and acknowledging the importance of the internet as a route to human rights and community growth collectively underscore the potential means to meeting the needs and accelerating the development of indigenous communities.

Dagmar Tilguth Fundamedios

The current state of internet accessibility in the Amazon is perceived negatively due to its impact on educational disparity and cultural shifts, with high costs and infrastructure shortages being significant obstacles. Currently, internet services are exorbitantly priced, consuming as much as 17% of the national base salary, thereby being out of reach for many citizens. Specifically, in the province of Pastaza, these issues are quite prevalent, with only 41% having access to satellite internet due to the lack of stable electricity sources.

The digital divide’s socio-cultural effects in the region are profound, marked by a noticeable loss of identity among young indigenous people. This is mainly attributed to the sway of social media, which somewhat paradoxically widens the cultural gap whilst enhancing connectivity.

Considering these compounding factors, there is a growing call for state intervention to boost internet access in the Amazon, with the view that it’s a pivotal human right and could catalyse community development. It’s strongly advocated that government policies should aim to bridge the prevailing digital divide by spearheading necessary infrastructure improvements.

There’s a shared sentiment among local residents about the vast benefits of amplified online connectivity. Not only could it bolster local businesses, it is also seen as a crucial tool for familial bonds and community connections. Internet connectivity would also provide a means for organising indigenous leaders, potentially aiding in preserving their identity whilst integrating with the broader society. This call for improvements is underscored by the adults consulted, illustrating a community-wide consensus towards Amazon region’s progress.

In conclusion, a combination of state intervention and infrastructure development could dramatically alter the situation by ensuring universal internet access in the Amazon. Resultingly, this could ease the education disparity, reduce negative cultural shifts and ultimately lead to a more interconnected and empowered Amazonian community.

Ms Paredes

The inadequate internet access in Bolivian Amazon communities significantly hinders the delivery of virtual education. This issue is exacerbated by insufficient equipment, obstructing the successful launch of a virtual education policy. This unfortunate situation negatively impacts the quality of education, hindering the broader pursuit of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education, and SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.

In contrast, Amazon social organisations are taking proactive measures to address this deficiency by engaging assertively with the state. These groups have even shouldered expenses for community members to travel to government offices to voice their concerns. This illustrates a broader societal commitment to SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

Significantly, the communities themselves recognise internet access as a vital instrument to safeguard their rights and shape their identities. For some indigenous communities, the internet has emerged as a powerful platform to develop economic relationships, facilitate self-expression, and construct identities. There have been laudable initiatives such as diffusion of native languages and establishment of organisational groups that defend the communities against threats.

However, the inadequate access to the internet underscores further inequalities, posing a considerable obstacle in achieving the aforementioned SDGs. This starkly highlights the need for significant improvements in internet access in the Bolivian Amazon communities.

In conclusion, an urgent action plan is required to enhance internet access in these communities. Such an initiative would markedly contribute to their development, aligning them closer to the accomplishment of the related Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, the internet provides a critical platform for self-expression, identity building and economic growth, alongside improved educational tools and infrastructure.

Carlos Baca

The review underscores the pivotal role of community networks and local solutions in engendering sustainability and stimulating innovation. It brings attention to significant projects such as Hermes and the National School of Community Networks in Brazil, presenting concrete examples of how localised solutions prove more sustainable due to their direct link with the community’s lifestyle. These solutions, designed to meet the unique requirements of each community, further engender positive sentiment within these areas.

Additionally, the review suggests that synergistic collaborations between various key stakeholders, including the governmental sector and assorted organisations, are pivotal to the process. Technology selection demands comprehensive consideration and strategic partnerships, with the chosen technology needing to directly respond to the distinctive needs and challenges of each territory.

The review also emphasises the significance of capacity building and digital literacy. The argument extends beyond the usage of the internet, venturing into the critical examination of technologies and how they can be utilised to cater to the specific needs of communities.

Moreover, the review delves into the varied interpretation of internet connectivity. Internet access is characterised as a diverse network facilitating myriad connections, rather than a monolithic, universal entity. The right to disconnect is posed as a counterpart to the right to connect, showcasing recognition of digital rights and controlled internet use.

The autonomy of internet connectivity is presented as crucial, particularly in the context of indigenous communities. Noted as varying in internet use, these communities are empowered through autonomy to commandeer their own mode of access and usage.

Further, the important potential technology harbours to maintain and reshape identities within communities is recognised. Engaging conversations transpiring across generations within these communities aim to discover optimal ways to incorporate technology into their lives, consequently preserving their unique identities.

Finally, the review delves into the fascinating aspect of controlling the risks associated with internet connection, referencing community networks. It further highlights how community networks understand that internet connectivity has constraints. Thus acknowledging a balanced approach towards digital rights and responsibilities, including the power to regulate specific network operations, becomes indispensable. The review contends that solutions to the risks associated with internet connectivity aren’t one-size-fits-all, and should instead adapt to the distinct demands of each community.

Camila Leide

The analysis underscores the multifaceted challenges Brazil grapples with concerning internet connectivity. These hurdles are starkly shaped by socio-economic disparities and infrastructural hindrances. Economically deprived and geographically isolated areas, particularly in the northern regions, confront these issues intensely. Internet access here is not only limited but also pricey, exacerbating the inequality. Additionally, the inferior quality of service and reliance on mobile internet spotlight this burgeoning digital divide.

Data caps imposed on mobile internet frequently result in inadequate internet availability for users throughout the month, cultivating heavy dependence on big tech platforms. This reliance raises significant concerns, intensifying economic inequalities through further consolidation of power in the hands of these large corporations.

However, the analysis suggests potential alternatives. Community networks are proposed as a counterweight to the over-reliance on hefty telecom companies. These serve as locally sourced solutions that could address the connectivity needs of underserved communities, signifying a positive stride in the right direction.

Notably, the escalating dependence on connectivity solutions offered by corporations such as Elon Musk’s Starlink has evoked apprehensions. There is disquiet surrounding potential monopolisation by Starlink and issues related to digital sovereignty, primarily owing to vague details about the Brazilian government’s partnership with the company. The environmental impact of satellites further fuels these apprehensions.

Emanating from the community, there is a clearly articulated need for enhanced connectivity and a yearning for a deeper understanding of internet usage. Despite progresses in connectivity, preserving their culture in the digital age, especially with surrounding ‘big centres’, fuels anxiety.

Another potent insight revealed in the analysis is the critique of public consultations by the telecommunications authority. They are perceived as infrequent and biased towards the private sector, advocating for a broader civil society participation. Robust involvement from organisations such as EDEC is emphasised as vital to bringing a much-needed perspective and assuring inclusive decision-making.

The intricacy of delivering optimum internet access is acknowledged as having no “one size fits all” solution. Hence, it is paramount to continue dialogues and conversations on these topics, which will allow for the consideration of the specificities and unique needs of different communities. Such an approach paves the way for advancements in a more tailored and effective manner. This point resonates as a constructive conclusion from the analysis, demonstrating the crucial need for consistent, meaningful engagement on the challenges and potential solutions relevant to internet connectivity in Brazil.

Publika

The discourse is an exploration of the potential establishment of internet connectivity in the Amazon region. Specifically, it delves into the possibility of influential U.S. corporates such as Elon Musk exerting substantial influence over this untouched territory. The argument at the heart of the debate advocates for an alliance at SILAC to serve as a strategic bulwark to prevent this territory’s exploitation by U.S. imperialistic endeavours. The perspective forwarded carries a negative sentiment, rooted in concerns of external entities infringing on the region’s sovereignty.

Concurrently, the discourse underscores the value of considering not merely the aspect of internet connectivity but broadening the sphere of focus to comprise digital technology and community networks. These tools are perceived as crucial catalysts for material and cultural production within communities. Interestingly, the discussion points out that an internet connection is not always required for access to digital culture. This viewpoint carries a positive sentiment, indicating a more contextualised and nuanced comprehension of technological innovation and accessibility, reflecting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, as well as SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

To provide a more holistic analysis of the communities’ digital needs, the discourse encourages exploring outside the confines of conventional social media alternatives. This approach aims to better grasp the communities’ aspirations and requirements regarding the use of the internet within their own territory. The sentiment here is neutral, yet it is vital in developing a well-rounded strategy that addresses local necessities and respects unique contexts.

A key component of the dialogue is the challenge facing indigenous communities; namely, how to maintain their distinctive cultural identity amidst the proliferation of digital technologies. Their goal is to navigate this multifaceted landscape without conceding the essence of their heritage and customs. This perspective has a positive sentiment, broadening the dialogue to include SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, and recognising these communities’ right to digital access without sacrificing their cultural distinctiveness.

To conclude, this discourse efficiently interweaves different SDGs, encapsulating industry and innovation, sustainable cities, reduced inequalities, and partnerships for goals. It presents a multifaceted analysis, acknowledging both the complexities of integrating digital technologies into underserved areas and the importance of preserving cultural identities while resisting unwarranted external influences.

Michael Souza

The assembly began with convenors voicing gratitude to participants for attending despite early scheduling and a somewhat challenging registration process. This interactive dialogue aimed to spotlight critical aspects of the project, “Latin America in a Glimpse of Amazonia.”

The speaker panel included Camila Leide, a recognised expert in digital rights from the Brazilian Institute of Consumer Protection (IVEC). A distinguished lawyer and educator, Camila disseminates her understanding of digital rights and consumer law at IDP. Notably, she is also pursuing her Doctorate in competition law at the esteemed University of Sao Paulo.

Equally prominent was Carlos Baca, who brought his expertise in ICT network management to the discussions. A PhD holder from the Autonomous University of Puebla, Carlos has led training programmes on ICT network management in indigenous and rural Latin American communities since 2019. His ventures include a pivotal role in the LockNet initiative by Rizomatica and APC, where he oversees their capacity building area.

The crux of the conversation highlighted the importance of autonomy for indigenous communities, particularly with regard to achieving accurate and independent internet connectivity. This concept encapsulated the sovereign rights of indigenous communities to govern their internet connectivity needs, free of exterior influences.

The dialogue encouraged a vibrant exchange with the audience members, inviting their astute queries and constructive commentary. It offered a range of stimulating responses about the requisites for internet connectivity and the drivers behind it. These responses were diverse, reflecting a variety of perspectives.

The session closed by expressing profound gratitude to attendees. Special acknowledgements were given to Michelle for her effective online moderation, and to the technical team, who ensured the smooth orchestration of the event.

Daniel Ospina Celis

Indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon are demonstrating a keen interest in obtaining internet access, according to a study led by the researcher, Daniel Ospina Celis. They perceive the internet as a vital tool to access essential services and fulfil their human rights needs, particularly within the realms of healthcare, education and political participation. Given the geographical remoteness of their locations, the internet could potentially act as a vital connection, linking them with healthcare professionals and circumventing access issues caused by distance. Aside from its role in healthcare provision, internet access can also augment their educational opportunities and facilitate their active involvement in state matters.

Despite this enthusiasm, the study also sheds light on concerns within these indigenous communities about the potential cultural impact of internet access. Indigenous leaders voice anxieties that exposure to global cultures via the internet could risk their traditional culture, especially amongst the younger generation. They fear that a widespread adoption of foreign cultures could lead to a detachment from their indigenous roots.

Regardless of these anxieties, the leaders do not outright oppose internet access. They instead propose the initiation of strategies aimed at reinforcing and preserving their indigenous identities. By striking a balance between internet access and measures designed to foster cultural preservation, these communities can potentially sidestep cultural erosion.

This study highlights the pivotal role policymakers could assume in this context. Policymakers are encouraged to strike a balance between promoting the benefits of technological advances and preserving the unique cultural identity of indigenous communities. Initiatives aiming to foster internet connectivity within these communities should ideally be implemented alongside strategies and policies engineered to bolster and safeguard their characteristic identities.

In conclusion, the study suggests that while the promotion of technological advancements, such as internet access, amongst indigenous communities harbours potential benefits, it must be undertaken with due regard for the preservation of cultural heritage. Policymakers, therefore, bear a significant responsibility to ensure these communities can reap the rewards of technological progress while simultaneously respecting and enhancing their cultural heritage. The researcher believes that this balanced approach could contribute to empowering indigenous communities with modern tools whilst simultaneously cherishing and preserving their unique identities.

Michael Souza:
and wait for more people to come. Thank you. Can we turn to you?

Daniel Ospina Celis:
Good morning. It’s a pleasure to participate in this session via video and a shame that I cannot join you in person in Japan. My name is Daniel Ospina Celis. I’m a researcher at the Center for the Study of Law, Justice and Society, De Justicia. De Justicia is a think and do tank based in Bogota, Colombia that works to strengthen the rule of law and promote human rights in the global South with a particular emphasis in Latin America. I would like to share with you some of the key findings of a research that I did last year. This research was recently published by the Digitales and can be found on their website under the title Internet Access of Indigenous Peoples in the Colombian Amazon. I am particularly interested in how indigenous communities interact with the internet, what devices they use, what platforms they use, and if having internet access impacts on their indigenous identity. Two of the main findings. First, indigenous peoples are very interested in having internet access. They see internet as a way to fulfill some of their human rights and as a way to access services that currently they don’t have access to. For instance, healthcare. Accessing healthcare is very difficult in the Colombian Amazon because the nearest hospital might be at four, five, or six hours away. Granting internet access would allow them to connect with a doctor online. They also think that internet access would promote the education and the way they participate in state issues. On the other hand, however, some of the indigenous leaders see in internet access a threat. They do not claim that the internet should not be promoted in the Amazon. However, they claim, on the other hand, that although internet access should be promoted, it should also be promoted some strategies to construct, to strengthen the indigenous identity because having internet access might threaten their identity as kids would start, would be in contact with something that is not theirs. Although they see the threat, they still consider that with adequate strengthening mechanisms, internet access would promote their rights. These recommendations, on the one hand, that they are interested in having internet access, and on the other, that to have them and not have a negative impact, their identity should be a strength, must be taken into account by policymakers in Colombia. Thank you very much.

Ms Paredes:
Hello from Fundación Internet Bolivia, a nonprofit organization that works to defend and promote human rights on the Internet in Bolivia. Together with Wilmer Machaca and Eliana Quiroz, we developed our research in four locations in the Bolivian Amazon. During the completion of this work, we approached a reality that surprised us. Despite Bolivia being known as a country of mountains and highlands, most of the country’s territory is part of the Amazon ecosystem. So to say, it is jungle. In this context, we are happy to share with you three main findings from our research that was done during the post-COVID-19 pandemic, which represented a radical change in digitalization processes in the country. Our three findings are, first, social organizations in the Amazon are very active, are very active, facing the state. For example, to negotiate access to services from the state, indigenous organizations covered the expenses of people from their communities to travel to government offices. Second finding, the implementation of the virtual education policy was not possible because the internet coverage was deficient and the equipment did not work or were not enough. The last finding is that the same agency that is exercised by the civil society for access to services has allowed them to develop positive visions around internet, solving their demands and needs. The research revealed that despite the gaps in internet access, which are a reflection of other inequalities, the different communities have identified on the internet a space to guarantee their rights, build economic relationships, self-expression, and identity construction. Initiatives such as the dissemination of black language, establishment of decision-making and organization groups, as well as defense against disaster and dangers, are some examples of the construction of other communication processes and a more horizontal dialogue alternative towards the world from the local vision. Finally, we invite you to learn more about our research that highlights the diversity of the region and the post-COVID reflection. Thank you very much for your attention.

Dagmar Tilguth Fundamedios:
Hello, how are you doing? I had loved to be there in person, but I could not do it so far, so I hope this video can help you. My name is Dagmar Tilguth Fundamedios, an Ecuadorian civil society organization that promotes freedom of expression and access to information. Fundamedios researched internet access in Pastaza, the largest Amazon province of Ecuador and home of seven ethnic groups. We studied internet access of three indigenous nationalities, the Kichwas, the Shuar, and the Wauranis, which are the most numerous in that province. We selected two populations with different access roads, which of course determine the extension of electricity and the internet services. Despite the province of Pastaza being the largest in Ecuador, it is one of the regions with the least infrastructure for internet. 41% of those who survive only have access to satellite internet, as they live in towns that do not have permanent electricity. 40% access the internet via cable and 10% have mobile connections. Private initiatives with high prices are for some the only way to connect. Although people access services sporadically, they pay prices that are equivalent to 17% of the national base salary. On the other hand, there is a strong community sense by sharing internet services among friends and family. In many places, teachers or medical staff provide the services to the community, paying from their personal budget. During the pandemic, when schools shut down, the disparity in access to internet was more evident, and students in the Amazon jungle were left behind with no options to online education. Despite most of the people that participated in our study agreed that education is the best use of internet, reality shows that where there is access to connectivity, young people tend to use social media and, of course, for gaming. Therefore, many consulted adults are worried about the loss of identity among young indigenous people. There is concern about access to foreign content that leads to acculturation, since there is no content reflecting the values of their nationality. Teachers and community leaders agree that the influence of social media has an impact on their culture, which could lead to social problems. Many adults in Ecuador refer to internet as the vice. But of course, in such a large extension as the province of Pastaza, internet and social media are critical to connect families and to support communities, businesses, as well as organizing indigenous leaders and their demands. Finally, all agree that the need of state policies are really required for the progress of the Amazon region and access to internet services as human rights. That is all I can tell you about our research in Ecuador and I wish you a wonderful conference. Thank you so much.

Paloma Lara Castro:
Hi everyone, this is Paloma Lara Castro from Derechos Digitales. In this opportunity, I’m going to talk about a research that’s called Latin America in a Glimpse, Amazonia, which focuses on internet access gaps in the Amazon region. This research was conducted in collaboration with the organizations Fundamedios from Ecuador, Dejusticia from Colombia, IDEC from Brazil, and Fundación Internet Bolivia. These organizations investigated not only the gaps in access, but also the risks and the desires as perceived by the indigenous communities living in the territories. For its part, Derechos Digitales made a comparative report highlighting the common points of the four investigations, the need to generate public policies of connectivity from a holistic and situated perspective that involves the communities in every stage of the policy, and the value of exploring alternative models of internet access, such as, for example, community networks. Although there are particularities in each community, the research shows that it’s possible to identify common problems, experiences, and desires relating to internet access in the communities. For example, the research shows that the social inequality that is experienced in the region is also reflected in the access of internet, which has a huge impact on the local population. This can be seen clearly in the access and exercise of human rights, such as access to health, education, public services, and freedom of expression, among others. The majority of the population is disconnected, and when they do manage to connect, they find that the connection is limited, it’s expensive, and it’s of low quality, with the added problem of the lack of digital literacy. The result is that these groups that have been historically excluded from the access of rights not only encounter the same barriers in the access of internet, but these inequalities are amplified with the interaction or lack of interaction of technology, which generates new forms of exclusion. Beyond certain differences, the communities express a common interest and need to access the internet as a way to access human rights, and also as a way to foster community development. From the conclusions of the reports, it can be seen clearly that technology can be an important ally for the communities. But in order for this to be possible, it is key to advance in public policies from an intercultural perspective that have the objective to achieve technological autonomy as part of the internationally recognized right to self-determination of indigenous communities. In that sense, from a significant access perspective, it’s important not only to provide connectivity, but also to generate an environment that allows for indigenous communities to make full use of ICTs in order to promote their worldviews and expand their capabilities.

Michael Souza:
Well, thank you so much. Again, thank you so much for you for coming to the session. We know that it’s very early. We know that for most of us, we’re really far from home. We’re tired and jet-lagged, and the whole process of registering could be a little bit time-consuming, so we’re very grateful for you to be here. What you just saw was some pre-recorded intervention from some of the people who were in charge of the local research on this project called Latin America in a Glimpse of Amazonia. But we’re lucky enough to have Camila here from IVEC, who’s going to tell us a little bit about the research in Brazil. So, Camila Leide is a lawyer and specialist in digital rights in the Brazilian Institute of Consumer Protection, IVEC. She’s a professor of digital rights and consumer law at IDP, and a PhD candidate in competition law in the University of Sao Paulo, Bachelor of Law at the University of Sao Paulo and University of Lyon. Is that right? Go ahead, Camila. Thank you.

Camila Leide:
Thank you so much, Vladimir, and also, Carlos. Thank you for you that are here so early in the morning, and for those who are also online with us. It’s a pleasure to be here, and it’s a pleasure to talk about this research and about Brazil. And thank you also to Direitos Digitales for this partnership that involves this project and also other projects. We admire you a lot. Let me put my time in here so I don’t get lost. So, I will talk a little about Internet access in Brazil, focusing on Amazonia. And beyond talking about this research, I will also put some inputs related to Internet access researches that we have in IDEC. We have a series of seven researches that we have published related to school access, 5G, related to mobile, Internet, broadband. And I will talk about some of the findings while I explain more about this research. But I will focus on this main research. But first of all, let us understand the Brazilian context of that. In Brazil, we have advanced a lot on Internet access, but we still lack meaningful connectivity. Brazil is full of contradictions and ambiguities related to inequalities in general, and Internet access is not different from that. We have inequalities related to economic inequalities, regional inequalities in different regions of Brazil. We are focusing on the north region today. Also, in localities in terms of urban and rural areas, and also depending on companies’ interests on these areas. Also, we have advanced on some policies related to telecommunications, but we still have some challenges related to the coordination of these public policies, which brings challenges related to how can we promote universalization of Internet access. It’s also important to highlight that in the last few years, regulation has been reduced by the previous government. So, the goal to achieve universalization of Internet access was really harmed by these policies. But with this government, meaningful connectivity is a priority, so we are hopeful to advance on that, and also hopeful to use a fund of universalization of Internet access, prioritizing the regions that suffer the most, especially the north region. So, I will focus on that. Let me talk a little about the research that Diretos Digitales conducted with us. So, this research focused on a community called Nossa Senhora do Livramento, which is almost 30 kilometers far away from the capital of Amazonas. So, it’s far away from Bolt. It’s not that distant, but it’s by Bolt. So, it’s a place that lacks infrastructure in general. Let me contextualize, before talking about the research, let me contextualize about the north region in Brazil. The north region, the northern region, is the biggest one in Brazil. It’s the poorest one, too, and it occupies 40% of the Brazilian territory. It has seven states, but faces lots of challenges and has lots of conflicts related to environmental and humanitarian reasons. The Amazonian community is very diverse and has a specific subjectivity, and outside people have this imagination that does not understand the complexity and the difference that is present in there, but we didn’t focus on the entire Amazonian community in Brazil, which couldn’t be done. It’s very diverse, but we focused on this specific community. This is a place that has approximately 300 people, and we conducted this research with 40 questions related to socioeconomic background, internet access, internet use, and its limits and possibilities. We interviewed 12 people of this community with a difference of gender, race, and ethnicity, and especially indigenous peoples, people from Baré, Miranha, Desana, Moura, and Mucuxi, difference of age, and also classes. And what did we find? First of all, some structural… First of all, some structural… …concerns some structural issues is that this specific community is present in a place that face challenges related to climate change, so related to rains and also dry soil. Because of that reason, infrastructure is hard to advance. So because also of these natural problems, it’s hard to have infrastructure in there. Beyond that, they face challenges related to electricity. So beyond not accessing internet, they also… Some people don’t also have electricity in general. But what did we find? We find, as we expected, that this scenario is excluded. We have inequalities on internet access, high prices, low quality, and normally they use internet access in the mobile phone. So it’s important to pause and also talk about the difference in Brazil of the mobile phone in relation to broadband. Broadband in Brazil is based on speed, and mobile internet is based on data franchise. What happens? If you have a low cost of data franchise, you cannot buy sufficient data franchise for the entire month. So what happens is that people don’t have internet for the whole month. They don’t have internet to explore the potentialities of internet. So I will highlight two things related to that. First of all, people are using internet mostly related to social media. So people are dependent on big techs. People are dependent on also exploration of, for example, privacy issues. Second thing, EDA conducted a research that the poorer classes in Brazil have internet only for 21 days a month. So for one week at least, people don’t have internet. They don’t have internet to reach out for their family, to reach out for help, and they also don’t have internet, for example, to access health system if they need. So this is a big challenge. Also related to using the cell phone instead of using a big screen apparatus. I forgot the word, sorry. Beyond that, internet is a new technology for lots of these people. So they still have to advance on internet literacy. It’s important to focus on this because beyond infrastructure, they still have to learn how to develop the potentialities of internet beyond social media. They lack knowledge, unfortunately. And one thing that is very specific, and I would also love to talk about you about that, is that, and I’m talking not only about the research, but I’m also talking about the Brazilian context right now. People want to advance on internet access, but they are willing to advance in any way. One concern that we have right now in the Amazonian region is the dependency on Starlink, which is related to Elon Musk. And related to Starlink, we are concerned about digital sovereignty, about environmental issues related to satellites also, and how the government didn’t make a full partnership. They made a partnership with… Thank you. …with Starlink, but it’s not official. So it’s a little sketchy how Starlink is advancing and how people can be dependent just on Starlink. …have a monopoly company there. To end about the findings of the research, three of these 12 people didn’t use internet at all, and seven of them just used mobile internet. So that’s why I highlighted these issues. And five of them could afford broadband internet, but since they don’t have sufficient infrastructure, they still face some challenges on internet quality. Also, another research of us, also with Derechos De Retales, about the north region, found out that the prices can vary 200 times per megabyte in the north region, which is absurd. People cannot access internet with these prices. And they don’t have the same amount of quality as capitals. How can we advance on that? This is a challenging scenario, right? And it’s not only related to Brazil. It’s related to the whole region. But in relation to Brazil, we have to remember that internet is an essential service in Brazil, and we have to advance on the universalization. We have to enhance public policy related to the use of funds, to the universalization of internet access, and both the states and the cities have to collaborate also with that. Also, we have some alternatives. Beyond depending on the big companies, we could also think about community networks, and I would love to hear talking more about that. So that is the scenario. We hope we can advance on that. But having this data can help us talk with the government and find solutions on all of that. So thank you for the opportunity.

Michael Souza:
Thank you, Camila, for joining us today. Thank you for all the people who have come to this session. We know it’s early. Also, thank you to all the people that are following this session on Zoom and on YouTube. It’s late in Latin America, where most of them are, so we really appreciate the effort. And, right, as you said, there’s a big challenge that has to do with how to advance with universal access and meaningful access, and that’s why I think it’s very interesting to have Carlos here today who can tell us a little bit about those alternatives to these big companies, the Elon Musk satellites and all that. So I’m going to pass the word to Carlos. Carlos Baca, he has a Ph.D. and a master’s degree from the Autonomous University of Puebla, and a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences from UDLAP. Since 2019, he’s part and is a manager of the training program in ICT network management in indigenous and rural communities in Latin America, and also part of the LockNet initiative by Rizomatica and APC, coordinating the capacity building area and the national schools of community networks in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Is that right? Go ahead.

Carlos Baca:
Hi, everyone. Thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure to share this session with you. And, of course, I am very thankful because you are here in this early session. So I want to focus not so much in the challenges that have been addressed in all these reports, but more like in the alternatives we need to develop in this area. So I will start with a little presentation. I want to share with you some photos, and you can travel a little bit to the Amazon region. So I will be talking about two different initiatives, very different, and how we can learn some things through these processes of developing community networks in the region. So the first one is the National School of Community Networks that has been developed in Brazil since 2021, and is one of these five national schools. We have other ones in Indonesia, South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. And just to say very quick that each of these schools have three different stages. One of the design, the collectivity design of the school with a lot of people involved in that. Then the implementation of the school. And then the last phase that was a mentorship and a little micro-grant for the organization who took part of the school. So the Brazilian one was developed by Projeto Salud de Gria, I can’t pronounce it well in Portuguese, and it has a place in six communities in the north of Brazil in three different states, in Acre, in Amazonas, and in Pará. And as Camila said, very, very different communities, very, very different ways of living, and very, very, very far between each other. So it is a challenge how to develop this there. And I have one bad news. Because, you know, all of the process of the school was to think how the technologies can be addressed in different contexts, and as PSA is an organization that works a lot with community communication, they decide to focus a lot on community research. radio. But in the connectivity side, they work, they finally start working with Poblos de Floresta, that it is a very big, big, big, big initiative with a lot of companies, a lot of organizations, some of the local and state government there involved, and they want to connect 5,000 communities in the Amazon in the next two years or so. So how they are doing it? With Starlink. So yes, if you travel to there, I was there in July, and you can see all the challenge that implies to develop a backbone to the Amazon and to reach the communities and to see that the prices are very high, and also the quality of the internet is very, very bad. And also in some communities, they don’t have electricity, so it is also a problem. One of the communities of the school that calls Aldeas Olimoes, they only have electricity for three hours in a day because they use a diesel producer of energy, so they don’t have electricity all day, so they can’t use also internet and everything in Aldeas. So they did that. And on the other hand, we have another project that is called Hermes, and it is a project that has been taking place since 2015, when we started to think and develop a technology that can allow the use of a high frequency to transmit some of the data that is important in the communities. You know, maybe the internet is not the only way to connect communities and to face all the challenge that implies you know, you say that the education, the access to health services, the access to government services, etc., we can do that also through other technologies. So we developed Hermes, that is a technology that allows some type of data through these type of networks. So we have now different services. We can send an email, we can send a public message between the community station, like a closed network, but also we can connect to the internet, one of the radio bays, and so we can send a message to internet through one, only one radio base connected. And we have these two apps, one of it is the administration, and you can also get a browser, you can search things in one of these, and the other one is a message app. And we have developed this into two main territories in the Amazon, on the one hand in Rondonia in Brazil, and the other one in with the Alchar nation in Ecuador. So far, we have these two systems working, but we are work also, for example, in Chihuahua in Mexico, who is in the very mountain area, very difficult to connect to, and this type of technology is used for this area. So, very quick, what are the lessons we learned in the Amazon? And actually, it’s much a lot with what we have learned in the community networks movement in general. So one of the lessons, and one of the most important lessons, is that local complementary solutions are more sustainable because they have a direct link with the community’s way of life, so they address the real needs of the communities. Then, enabling environments and synergies between different stakeholders is necessary. We can’t have this type of projects alone, we can have a very good synergies with other type of stakeholders, including the government, including different organizations, and in some cases also big companies or big operators. The choice of technologies to be used must be always respond to the context and the territory. I share with you two different technologies, only in these two cases, but we have many, many other options. So, it is important to make a good process of selection of technologies because they are key to address really the needs and to face the challenge in different territories. And as we saw in the Amazon School of Community Networks, the link to the content creation and community networks, it’s key, it’s very key, because the important thing of the network is not the network itself, it’s the things that travel through this network. So, it’s important to make a good effort in the content creation. And finally, capacity building and digital literacy is key, but not only to focus on the tools or to focus on how to use the internet, but more like how we can have a different critical thinking of the technologies and then how they can be used for the purpose of the communities and to address the real needs, dreams, etc. Just to finish, I want to invite you all to see more about these projects. On the one hand, the Community Network Learning Repository, they have all the information about the schools, and you can also see a lot of materials there, and you can share also a lot of materials there. We want to make it as a collaborative space, and if you want to know more about Hermes, you can go through the Resomatica website. Thank you very much.

Michael Souza:
Thank you, Carlos. That was really, really interesting. So, this is the part where we can talk, and we don’t have much time, but we have some time to have a little conversation, and I want to invite everyone who, if you have a question or a comment that you want to make, please do. Also, people in the Zoom channel and in the YouTube channel, you can participate too. We will try to address your comments and questions, and I want to start. I want to give maybe like half a step back in the conversation and talk a little bit about, because this session is called The Internet We Want, with an emphasis on the word we. So, I think that the key concept here has to do with autonomy, and this is something that you, in both of your interventions, but I want you to ask a little bit about the concept and the importance of autonomy regarding internet connection, especially when we’re talking about these specific communities, indigenous communities, that has a right to decide, but how does autonomy look like when we’re talking? Carlos gave some clues in his presentation, but I would really like you to give a little bit of words regarding the importance of autonomy

Carlos Baca:
So, yes, I think that autonomy is the key to when we talk about the future of the internet we want, because these communities have the opportunity to think of the technologies and what they can manage to draw the type of access they want to have. But in this process, capacity building is key. If we think that the technologies need to be included in different types of life and different territories, we need to depart from very good critical thinking of the technologies which the communities can decide. The autonomy is not like a place where we can go and travel through, and we have a very happy place in which we will stay, but more like a process, a process in which we all have the possibility to decide how we can address our problems and how we can follow our dreams. So, if we understand that the technologies are very helpful for the communities, but only with departing from this, from the understanding of the risk, of the possibilities, of all the contexts that are involved in the technologies, and then to take decisions that help to solve the needs and follow the dreams in each of the communities. And I think that in your intervention, you said something that was very important that has to do with how to develop a critical approach regarding the internet and connectivity and the role that connectivity has in our lives. And I think that that’s a challenge that it doesn’t stop with, it’s not just these communities, it’s all of us, like, all the time. Like, how can we think about different schemes for connection, like, different ways to connect and the reasons why we connect, and that’s not an easy task at all. I’m kind of curious regarding your experience in the schools, especially, like, what, how is the, when people think about connectivity, what are they thinking, like, what does that look like? What are their, what they want to achieve with connectivity? Well, the experience of the development of the schools is very, very inspiring and interesting because we can see all the different perspectives of the connectivity of what we can understand about meaningful access, for example, no? So, each of the five schools are very different, completely different, no? For example, we have here in Brazil one school that have been working a lot in the content production and community communication, but we have another school very well-structurated and more, like, in technical issues, you know, in South Africa. Another one who decided to implement some artificial intelligence technologies in some communities with a fisherman and with a woman who take care of the shrimp farms there, no? So, yes, we need to understand that the internet is not one, no? I remember in Berlin, in the IGF in Berlin, we had a very big discussion about this slogan that said that one internet for all, or something like that, no? And I think, as the Zapatistas in Mexico said, they say that queremos un mundo donde quepan muchos mundos. It’s like, we want a world in which we can have a lot of worlds, no? So, we want an internet in which we can have a lot of internet, no? Not only one way to connect. I think there’s a question or a comment from the public, like, maybe this time.

Publika:
Go ahead. Hi, my name is Wilson Guilherme. I’m from the youth program in Brazil. I live in the Amazon region of the country state of Rondonia, and that’s why this panel is very important to me. I believe in the potential of the discussions to be held in the IGF. My question is, what are the possibilities of building an alliance at SILAC to build a technology network to prevent U.S. imperialists like Elon Musk from dominating our territory with two perspectives of solving the Amazonian people? Sorry, my English. Thank you. Thank you. My name is Paulo. I’m from Article 19 Brazil. I’m sorry, I couldn’t listen to Camila’s presentation, so I’m sorry. I’m going to refer to Carlos’ one. I’m really glad that you mentioned the Hermes project, and my question goes to everyone, actually, including for discussion. We all know that working with community networks and access connectivity and so on is quite hard to do in terms of hardware, software, knowledge, and so on, but then people normally connect the idea of connectivity and access to the internet, to access the internet, and the Hermes, for example, is another project. It’s another idea. It’s like connecting more the digital sphere than the internet itself, so my question would be, what is the importance of having not necessarily the internet, but the digital technology in the hands of community, given two different axes, two different things, one culturally and the other one is material production, because digital technologies can help out, not necessarily with access to internet, but to help out the material production, what the communities are producing and so on, and also the production of culture, like music, oral history, poetry, and so on. This not necessarily has to do with internet connection, but it has a lot to do with digital technology flowing in and out from the communities with the sovereignty and autonomy and so on, so thanks a lot. Hi, my name is Niels, in this case from DW Academy. My question is to Camilla. Can you share about the dreams from the community that you visited, because you told that people are very attached to social media, but what are the alternatives, and what are really the needs that they dream of, of what they can do on their territory with more internet? Let’s take the last one. Okay, thank you. My name is Camilla from Bolivia. I only have a question. I would like to know how did you address, as you work with indigenous communities, how do you address about their identity and things, because there is this question about having the internet, have the development and everything, you know, but as I work with indigenous communities too, I know they have also this thing about they don’t have maybe some information about their culture on internet, and so they want to be on internet, but also they want to support that. What is your experience with this kind of schools or things? How do you work with that, with their identity, and how to combine this, right, like the access, but also don’t lose their identity? Thank you.

Michael Souza:
So, who wants to go first? I think Camilla has some stuff, so it’s your turn.

Camila Leide:
Okay, I can start. First, a news question about the dreams of the community. One of the reactions was that no one asked us how internet should look like. No one prepared us to use that, so their willingness is also to have more connectivity, but also more understanding on how can they use the internet. This is very interesting, but we have a challenge of autonomy and how do they choose, because it’s easy to have one big company that brings all the solution as Starlink, but people don’t have knowledge enough to think about alternatives, such as networks, communities, so it’s important to develop also this digital literacy, so they can have the informated autonomy to choose what kind of internet they want. I think this is important, but related to their culture and their context, this community in the Pacific, in Brazil, it is really close to the capital of Amazonas, so it’s a community that has their own culture, but they are very interconnected with the big centers, so when they are using internet, they use more to expand, to lower the distance and to expand to other spaces, and their culture is more developed on that, but yes, they face some challenges on how to keep their culture, and about Will’s question, it’s a big challenge, right, because it’s so seductive to have a company that says you will have internet in a low term, but I cannot guarantee that you’re not going to be attached to me, like really dependent to me, I cannot say about the prices in the future, I cannot talk about the environmental issues, so we have to think some alternatives, and we were talking a little about the right to decide autonomy, and we have to have more spaces to hear people in the end, when they’re making public policies, they don’t hear civil society that much, and they don’t hear that much the communities they’re affected. I can talk about civil society in general, we face lots of challenges on participating, for example, on the community of the universalization fund in Brazil, we have to ask them a specific authorization to participate on that, the telecommunications authority, they have public consultations, but they have in a lower term, we have some challenges that the telecommunications agency is very close to the private sector, but we have some participation spaces such as the consultant committee, we have the consumer committee also, and in part of EDEC, we try to participate actively in these spaces to bring some other perspectives, but beyond civil society talking about homogeneous problems, we have to hear people in the end also. Thank you.

Carlos Baca:
Yes, I think we can have all these questions with a sake or a beer, because it’s very difficult to try to give an absolute answer, but one thing that I think is important is to the part that, as we have the right to be connected, we also have the right to be disconnected, and this is very important. If you want to see some discussion about it, we have a blog in the Resumatica site, because we also think that we need to have this right very well understood, that we can have this right to be disconnected. So, this is on the one hand. On the other hand, these technologies help a lot to maintain the identity and to rethink also the identity in the communities. We have seen in a lot of communities that we have this problem between the young and the old people, because they are discussing a lot how is the best way to address these technologies, and how we need to include them in their lives. So, it is important to start to generate that dialogue before to include the technologies. I think this is one of the keys. And also, between the indigenous itself, they have a lot of knowledge of what are doing the other communities. So, they look for that experience a lot in their territories and outside of territories, and they can start thinking how to use these tools to reinforce their identity. Of course, we can’t think that it is a white or black process. They understand that they want to be connected, but they understand also that they want to be connected with some limits that, for example, in a community network we can have. We can limit the time of the network operating, for example. So, some communities decide that after 8 p.m. they don’t have internet connection, for example. Or if you are in YouTube more than two hours, you can’t connect more. So, yes, I think the key is to understand that there is not only one solution, that a lot of these solutions have a lot of risk. Of course, to be connected with some guy who can decide to turn off the satellites and say that you can’t have internet because I have a bad day, it is a problem. It is also a solution that needs to be understood by the community. So, if the communities understand this risk and how can manage it, this is the key, I think. Well, thank you so much, both of you. Thank you so much for

Michael Souza:
all the questions. We’re running out of time. I just want to say that I think in the end what’s important is to think about why do we need the internet? What do we need connectivity? What do we want to achieve with that? And as Carlos said, there’s no single answer to that question. There are many answers and the shape that connectivity takes has to do with how we answer that specific question. But as I say, we’re running out of time. Sorry. I just want to give you, both of you, one minute for final remarks. But before that, I want to say thanks to everyone for coming here, Michelle for doing the online moderation, and as Carlos said, there’s a lot of questions that we keep on discussing with sake or beer or just water, maybe, at this time of the day. So,

Camila Leide:
let’s keep talking. One minute, each of you. Thank you so much for the invitation. I would also like to thank Lua Cruz, which leads the telecommunication part in IDEC. He has an amazing work. I learn a lot from him and he also helped with this research and helped me a lot with this presentation. I hope we can continue this dialogue. We have a consensus that no size fits all, so we have to think how can we advance on that, what are the specificities that we need to develop, and I hope we can continue this conversation. So, thank you for the invitation, thank you for the exchange, and thank you for you for being here, too. Thank you for having me. We

Carlos Baca:
need to know that there is another option to connect and to have access to the telecommunication services, so we need to depart from that and from that dialogue between different stakeholders. So,

Michael Souza:
thank you very much and have a great IGF. Have a great IGF. Thank you so much for coming. On your way out, please take one of these. If you unfold it, it has a really cool poster that you can, I don’t know, do something with it. The other way around. Okay, so it’s there. Please take one. Thank you so much for coming and I hope to keep on talking regarding all this stuff. Thank you for all the technical team, too. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Ananda

Drawing from diverse, global and systemic issues, Ananda, originating from a developing South Asian nation, Nepal, initiates a crucial discourse on the enduring digital divide and the prevailing gender gap. An interplay of these multifaceted topics is reflected through various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially focusing on SDG5 for gender equality, SDG10 dedicated to reduced inequalities, and aspects of SDG9, advocating industry, innovation, and infrastructure.

A noteworthy revelation from Ananda’s discussion centres on the glaring gender disparity in internet access, particularly prominent in the Asia-Pacific region. Statistics confirm that only 54% of women, as against 59% of men, gain access to the internet, embodying the global gender digital divide. Furthermore, an astounding 40% of the entire Asian populace remains unconnected to the internet, a daunting concern given the fact that the majority of internet users globally hail from the APAC region.

Ananda accentuates the gender divide as a comprehensive issue, grounded not merely in the digital sphere but extending into offline or traditional domains as well. Importantly, long before the advent of the internet, women and gender minorities consistently struggled to claim their rights, such as the right to education and to vote. It appears that technology advancement has not sufficiently bridged this gap, as these groups persist in experiencing deprivation in the online domain.

Against this context, Ananda champions an optimistic view advocating for equal internet access across all societal strata. Echoing societal equality, this proposal is premised on the belief that the internet acts as a robust tool enabling access to societal rights. Supporting this argument, the slogan ‘access to the internet should be equitable’ is promoted, serving as a potential remedy to assure equal rights in the virtual and broader social context.

An unexpected challenge highlighted pertains to the unwelcome perpetuation of gender biases within emerging technologies. In 2022, generative AI tools like Charity, Google, Bard gained significant traction. These strides, while largely positive, may inadvertently reflect and perpetuate gender biases, casting a pall over technology progression.

Ananda candidly addresses the disturbing prevalence of misinformation and targeted attacks, with striking emphasis on women politicians, actors, and gender minorities. This alarming scenario contributes substantially to perpetuating gender inequality.

However, the discourse emboldens the potential of the internet to serve as an effective tool for mitigating gender bias, misinformation, and targeted assaults, if aptly utilised. Additionally, Ananda posits that a collaborative multi-stakeholder approach is essential to tackling gender bias in technology and combating online aggressions. An integral part of this solution should comprise instilling digital literacy within school curriculums, consequently equipping younger generations to withstand online hazards and promote a more thoughtful, inclusive internet usage.

In conclusion, the discourse underscores the necessity for a comprehensive, collaborative approach to vanquish the digital divide and gender gap. As societies globally step into the digital future, crafting an internet landscape that facilitates greater inclusivity and equality becomes an unequivocal imperative.

Camilio Rattia

The pivotal discussion revolves around the gender disparity concerning digital rights, indicating two main focal points: gender equality and the essential role played by industry, innovation and infrastructure within this perspective. A clearly aligned viewpoint corroborates an ideal scenario wherein digital rights are assured for all; demonstrating a robust belief in the importance of peace, justice, and substantial institutions as reinforced by Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Despite hindrances including reduced participation or funding limitations, the crux of the argument unfailingly shifts towards the persistent gender gap in internet usage. The necessity for continued and robust debate surrounding this issue is deemed critical, even in the face of these obstacles. Varied experiences shared from across continents reflect a unified commitment to combat this gap, advancing towards the end goal of gender equality as outlined in SDG 5.

The discourse places distinct emphasis on digital inclusion, where advocates argue its critical role in effectively bridging the gender gap in digital rights and internet usage. Furthermore, it resonates with the theme of Safer Internet Day, “Together for a better internet”, thus aligning the discussions with the broader movement of digital empowerment.

Moreover, the narrative articulates the necessity for establishing partnerships to achieve these globally significant objectives, underlined in SDG 17. This need for alliances, in envisioning a future devoid of digital gender divide and inequity, is duly acknowledged.

In summary, the discourse underscores the significance of gender equality within the sphere of digital rights, and calls for an ongoing dialogue, alliance-building, and continued innovation, faced with these diverse challenges. The argument supports closing the gender gap in internet usage, promoting digital inclusion, and the need for robust discussions on these topics, regardless of constraints.

Mariana

Mariana, an active participant in Redes Hace, an organisation focusing on indigenous communications, voiced her pleasure and honour in contributing to key panel discussions around gender and internet access. Detrimentally, these discussions are vital in amplifying voices that often remain unheard, ultimately unveiling systemic issues that obstacle gender equality online and offline.

However, gender parity in internet usage belies deeper, systemic issues, with data from the Mexican Association of Internet revealing that 52% of online users are women. This outlines a pressing disparity in access for females and sexual minorities that runs the risk of intensifying existing inequalities.

Mariana’s personal journey into feminism is intrinsically linked to her ability to reach diverse information and narratives online. This underscores the instrumental role of online tools and internet access in shaping personal identities and facilitating comprehension of societal issues such as gender equality.

Nevertheless, the prevailing issue is that technology usability is typically influenced by a male perspective, making it less practically accessible for women. This male-dominated design culture has the potential to be damaging in fostering a more inclusive digital culture.

A clear gender imbalance is evident within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). In Mexico, female participation in STEM is shockingly low, with women representing only 30% of professionals in the field. Known deterrents such as online violence, discrimination, and gender-biased education discourage women from pursuing their interest in these fields, emphasising the necessity for comprehensive mitigation strategies.

The value of youth, especially young women, in shaping the future of the Internet was underscored. As a substantial user demographic, their voices in discussions concerning internet development and policies are critical.

Significantly, the rise of feminist organisations in Mexico has resulted in a tangible impact on the representation of younger generation voices, including young trans women. Harnessing online platforms, these collectives are successfully mobilising political movements which transcend physical boundaries and influence real-world conditions.

Ending on a positive note, the necessity of sustaining gender-related discussions on digital platforms was highlighted. This not only provides a constructive medium for ideation and problem-solving but indirectly influences the political shaping of younger generations. Such discussions can serve as a springboard for political education and mobilisation amongst younger women globally.

To summarise, while challenges remain, spaces that enable open and inclusive debates, like the panel Mariana participated in, are essential to progressing dialogue and actions toward gender equality. Despite the systemic issues that persist, the rising engagement of younger generations online offers a hopeful prospect for the future.

Audience

The discussion strongly emphasised the pressing need to address and counter the gender gap apparent in internet usage and digital inclusion. The overriding message centred on the paramount importance of international cooperation and collaboration in overcoming these disparities, particularly focusing on regions where this inequality is most pronounced. In doing so, the dialogue connects to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting the interrelatedness of these issues.

Specifically, the SDGs relating to gender equality and reduced inequalities were underscored during the discourse, signalling the convergence of these objectives with the topic at hand. Alongside these, the SDG centred on the advancement of industry, innovation, and infrastructure was also underscored, demonstrating a broad understanding of the context of the issue and the potential remedies it presents to these global predicaments.

Despite limitations such as a restricted audience reach and funding constraints, the importance and influence of the discussions introduced during this dialogue were underlined. Emphasis was placed on the significance of these dialogues, even if the immediate audience and financial support were comparatively limited. The ongoing discussions generate a ripple effect, contributing to wider conversations and actions foremost towards bridging the gender digital divide.

Notably, the sentiment of the conversation was overwhelmingly positive. Supported by multiple expressions of agreement and appreciation from the audience, the sentiment reconfirmed the relevance and urgency of the issue in today’s society. The audience’s unanimous endorsement of the viewpoints expressed, manifested by their consistent ‘Thank you’ responses, serves to validate the resonance of these perspectives within the broader public.

To summarise, the discussion broadened the perspective through which we view the gender digital divide, proposing a collaborative global approach as an applicable and necessary solution. The linkage to SDGs and the emphasis on the importance of relevant dialogues, regardless of audience size and funding, underpinned the positively received sentiment and audience consent coursing throughout the discourse.

Umut Pajaro

Umut Pajaro Velazquez, a representative from Cartagena, Colombia, has raised significant concerns regarding the underrepresentation of the Gender Standing Group within the Internet Society, a crucial subject pertaining to SDG5: Gender Equality.

A pressing issue is the detrimental effect of the gender gap on human rights on the Internet. Although this issue primarily influences the fulfilment of SDG5, it also impacts SDG10: Reduced Inequalities. Notwithstanding Velazquez’s neutral stance, the overall sentiment towards this matter is generally negative, indicating that it warrants immediate attention.

The severity of the digital gender gap is underscored by statistics revealing that women and gender diverse individuals are significantly less likely to have Internet access. Furthermore, these groups are at a greater risk of experiencing online harassment and violence, which infringes their digital rights. Compounded by their inadequate digital skills, they suffer the most from the digital divide.

There is urgent demand for the bolstering of initiatives that champion inclusivity and improve access to ICTs for women, girls, and gender diverse people. Findings show that only a scant 35% of these initiatives are spearheaded by women and gender diverse individuals, emphasising the requirement for equal representation. The battle for equality also involves the prompt removal of harmful content from social media platforms to safeguard vulnerable users.

Importantly, the necessity to persistently highlight gender gap and inequalities at forums like the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is deemed essential. Despite the negative sentiment resulting from the protracted nature of these issues, there is consensus on the importance of these discussions. They put necessary pressure on the private sector and governments to rectify gender imbalances.

Even though progress has been made in reducing the gender gap, sustained efforts through advocacy and ongoing discussions are required to effect lasting change. Despite the persistence of noticeable gender inequality in the digital space, a positive sentiment exists around the possibilities of future progress.

Yulia

Yulia, an esteemed youth delegate hailing from Brazil and associated with the Federal University of Minas Gerais, actively participates in the nuanced analysis of interactions on internet forums vis-a-vis human rights. She was invited to a panel discussion on ‘Human Rights in the Digital Age’, where she dissected various aspects of the online world, delineating the gamification of hatred not only within the Brazilian context but also on a broader international stage. Her research prominently focuses on the online gaming community, addressing the dichotomy and disparities therein.

Yulia asserts that gaming companies predominantly cater to a young male demographic, consequently creating a homogenised and exclusive microcosm. Such a worrisome trend not only marginalises diverse audience groups but indirectly fosters various forms of harm such as racism, sexual violence, and gender-based bias or sexism. She perceives online platforms as potentially harmful spheres of social interaction due to their influential reach.

Yulia ardently champions the cause of diversity within digital spaces. She believes that an inclusive online environment can be cultivated through collaborative efforts involving government bodies, commercial enterprises, and societal groups. Emphasising the adverse effects of an exclusionary approach within online platforms, she highlights that the male-centric gaming culture could potentially discourage aspiring individuals from pursuing careers in science or IT-related fields.

Drawing attention to the pronounced lack of gender diversity within the IT industry, she anchors a correlation with the unwelcoming atmosphere proliferating within gaming communities. Citing UK-based statistics, Yulia reveals that a mere 2% of ICT startup resources are mobilised towards initiatives led by women, accentuating the gender divide in the tech landscape.

Yulia proposes a two-tiered solution to these issues. The first factor involves widespread implementation of meta-data analysis. With its innate capacity to comprehensively understand user behaviour, data tracking processes should be employed to identify and mitigate users’ negative experiences online. Moreover, she urges third sector organisations to strategically align their initiatives with young individuals’ interests, thereby fostering inclusivity within the IT sector.

Correlating her arguments to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Yulia’s discourse aligns with SDGs 5, 9, 10, 16, and 17. These goals strive towards promoting gender equality, fostering inclusive industries and innovation, reducing social and economic inequalities, nurturing peace, justice and robust institutions and facilitating effective cross-sector partnerships, respectively. Her comprehensive analysis provides an insightful framework for comprehending an evolving issue that intersects human rights in digital spaces, deconstructing intricate yet crucial arguments pertaining to inclusivity and diversity in the digital era.

Camilio Rattia:
Good afternoon, everyone. We are going to start this panel. It’s called Human Rights in the Digital Age, from My Gender Persuaded. I am Camilo Rattia. I’m from Bolivia, and I work for Fundación Internet Bolivia. We’ll be moderating this session. And also we have people online. Karen Cruz is also online. She will be the online moderator, so she’s there. I’m going to give you now some minutes for the panel to introduce themselves, please. So I’m going to start with the people who is here on site. So Yulia, please.

Yulia:
Testing. Okay. Hi, everyone. Good afternoon. My name is Yulia. I am from Brazil. I am a youth delegate. Another 14 youth members from Brazil. I have been invited in a way of schedule in the last minutes. But I study, currently I study the gamification of hate in Brazil, internet connection, and international internet relations, social relations, that is. And my association is from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. And I’m really happy to be here, since it’s such an important aspect to discuss in the internet forums. And I will pass the mic to Ananda.

Ananda:
Ananda, please. Thank you so much. Hello, everyone. My name is Ananda. I’m from Nepal. It’s a small developing country in Asia. And I’m so honored to join you here. I’ll be talking about the perspective in both online and offline world. I’ll be talking about digital divide, as well as how it has reflected the offline world, the gender gap. So thank you for having me.

Camilio Rattia:
Thank you. So first, we have online two people. Please introduce yourselves. Umut first, please. Umut. OK. So we can go to Mariana Lopez, please, also. Could you confirm me, please? OK. They are going in. They need co-host access, please, Karen. So they can actually be on camera, please. Let’s wait a minute. OK. There it is. So Mariana, can we start with you, please?

Mariana:
Of course. Hello, everyone. Greetings from Mexico. It is a great honor for me to be in this panel discussing such an important topic. And I work in an organization that’s called Redes Hace. It’s a Mexican organization that works with indigenous communications. And I am very thrilled to be here. I was in the Youth Like IGF in Cartagena this year. So it is so important to continue these discussions surrounding gender and access. So thank you very much for the invitation. And I’m very glad to be here.

Camilio Rattia:
Thank you. And also, could you please give access to Umut, who also needs access to be on the camera? OK. OK. OK. Thank you. OK. Umut, please. Umut, please. Your mic is off. Now it’s… Yeah, but we can’t hear you. Yeah, but we can’t hear you.

Umut Pajaro:
Now you can hear me?

Camilio Rattia:
Yes. Please.

Umut Pajaro:
I see. OK. Perfect. Hello. My name is Umut Pajaro Velazquez. I’m from Cartagena, Colombia. And I’m speaking from Colombia right now. And I’m here representing the Gender Standing Group and the chair of the group in Internet Society. And I will be sharing with you some visions about how gender is affected by, in general, the digital divide and how the gender gap is actually part of the beings of the human rights on Internet in general.

Camilio Rattia:
OK. Thank you. Thank you, Umut. Thank you, Mariana. Thank you, Julia and Ananda that are here. So we are going to now address some questions. And I know each of you know which one is going to address. So I’ll just go with the first question. And the first question is, can gender be considered as a factor causing inequality? And when we talk about digital rights and the Internet.

Umut Pajaro:
And that question is for me. So yeah, I’m going to reply really fast. Well, the obvious answer to it is like, yes, gender can be considered as a factor causing inequality when we talk about digital rights on the Internet. And this is because actually how society is constructed and how gender roles are defined because of the biology of certain individuals. So some are privileged than others. And that causes a gap between the genders. In this case, we’re talking about a digital gender gap. And it reflects the difference between men, women, and gender diverse people in terms of access and use of the information and communication technologies. And I would like to address four different gender gaps, digital gender gaps, that actually are evident when we talk about this inequality between genders. One is access. This happens especially more in the global south context when we see that not only women but also gender diverse people are less likely than men to have access to Internet and to own a phone and smartphone. This is particularly true, as I say, in the global south countries. And a more marginalized group of women are gender diverse people, such as those living in rural areas or have other intersectional characteristics such as race or some disability. Another one is skill. Women are less likely than men to have women and gender diverse people are less likely than men to have the digital skills needed to use the Internet effectively and to empower them and to be more active inside of the Internet spaces. This can be included in basic skills, such as how to use a computer or browse the Internet and on to some more advanced skills, such as coding and programming. And we see that in so many informs and reports that came from different NGOs and intergovernmental organizations that says that actually the tech fields are actually with more presence on men than women and gender diverse people, and that’s causing inequality. The third one, women and gender diverse people are more likely to use the Internet for education and social networking, and men actually use it more for working and more related Internet things like gaming and entertaining. These different uses of the Internet also cause a gap between the genders. And the last one that I would like to address is safety. Women and gender diverse people are more likely to experience online violence and harassment when we actually start to talk about the risks on Internet, we need to take into account the gender variable, because for us in general society, people that are women or gender diverse actually are more exposed to risks in the online spaces. This includes cyber bullying, sexual harassment, stalking, and other kinds of risks that people just for being women and gender diverse experience online. So, actually, not anything is wrong between that. So, if we want actually to solve this, we need to address some issues that can get us to a point that not only the inequalities can be solved, or getting to a point that men, women, and gender diverse people can access in a more equal way. One of the solutions is to expand access to ICTs for all women, girls, and gender diverse people. And so, promote gender inclusivity, that includes women-led initiatives, because right now, only 35% of the initiatives are led by women and gender diverse people, and address online violence against women, girls, and gender diverse people. And to finalize my intervention, I would like to give some recommendations for a more equal and diverse Internet in terms of digital rights from a gender perspective. One is to require two social media platforms to take down harmful content, social health policies, misogyny, and reverse porn in a timely manner, in an appropriate manner. Develop and implement gender-sensitive privacy policies and data protection laws. Support organizations that are working to promote digital rights for women, girls, and gender diverse people. Encourage more women, girls, and gender diverse people to pursue careers in the science, in the fields. And so, challenge gender stereotypes about technology use and online participation. This means to change the way we see that technologies can be used for women, girls, and gender diverse people.

Camilio Rattia:
Thank you, Umut. I think you already mentioned some of the inequalities we can have with the gender. And also, you give some solutions. But in that sense, I would like to ask Mariana, if you can give you, from your perspective, what are the worst examples of inequality that we should immediately address in relations to gender and Internet? And also, what would be some actions to prevent this?

Mariana:
Okay. Thank you very much for the question. And also, Umut, for that brilliant participation. So, I think that one of the most important inequalities and issues is precisely not only access for women to Internet, but also how are women and sexual dissidencies shaping Internet, right? So, I think Internet access is very important for educational purposes, specifically from a gender perspective, because access to information is key in order to make relevant changes in people’s mindsets. For example, in my experience, I myself became a feminist thanks to Internet access. I started using Internet approximately when I was 11. And I can still recall and remember that shift and impact from when I was analogical to when I started to browse online. And through online tools, I was able to shape my identity, my perspective about gender issues, and my feminist approach, since they were definitely not common topics in that time in school or in any other space. And most importantly, as I grew older, it helped me to organize and meet other groups of women, girls, and sexual dissidencies, women in my territory. And this is starting to become a tendency. Everyday people are connecting from younger ages. According to Mexican Association of Internet, 60% of people that are connected in Mexico are between 6 and 34 years old. This means that from 88 millions of Mexicans that are connected, most of the population are young people. And also 52% of this population are women. Also, due to the pandemic, these numbers have increased rapidly. Children from 6 to 12 years old had to connect in a sudden way without really programs or preparation for it. And I think this is why it is so important to mediate and filter what young girls and dissidencies are accessing. And because it really shapes your mindset in such formative years. Definitely, a gender perspective is essential. Any policy must recognize this historical and systematical differences in which women are raised. It has been deeply studied how technology has not been totally accessible for women. And that has been designed from more of a male perspective. So now that we see that from these numbers, that the problem now is not access. Because younger and younger people are connected. And most of them are women. So I think the issues and the things that should be attended immediately are sure the policies and the dynamics that occur in digital space. Because they are the same that occur in real world, in the real environment. And it is also very much, sometimes these issues are more relevant or more affecting young girls. Also, I think that this really connects with what Umut was saying. According to the Mexican Institute for Competitivity, only 3 of 10 STEM professionals are women. So we are still dealing with a very large gap in Mexico from girls and women that access to this kind of preparation. In order to fulfill this gap, each state of Mexico, we are 32 states, must increase at least in 71% the number of women in their curriculum. This means more than 50% of what it is right now. This means that it would take the government 37 years to really reach an equality in the STEM careers. Because it has been increasing year to year, but only in 4.4%. So really, why are women not accessing to this kind of education? And it has been thoroughly tested that what disintegrates, why women don’t feel secure to access to this kind of preparation is violence, discrimination, and also a gender differential or based education. That is still something that is happening. So we sure must ensure access for women and sexual dissidencies, both from a feminist gender perspective and really include women in the shaping of Internet, but not only from a vision from access. Because what really is important is to see what these young girls are accessing and how are they accessing Internet from very, really young ages. And I think that they must be included, the most younger women in this discussion. Not only from a perspective of they have access for the actual necessities, but also how can they be really included in the discussions that shape Internet.

Camilio Rattia:
Okay, thank you, Mariana. I think both of you and Umut mentioned some inequalities and some actions to prevent, and also how we should fix that in some terms. But I would like to maybe hear about something from the perspective from digital rights, and that’s why we have Julia here. And I would like to address you that question. Is there any difference in access or treatment that you can give because of gender? Can you mention?

Yulia:
Excuse me. I think the question is directed to Ananda, right?

Camilio Rattia:
Sorry, I confused both of you. Sorry. Sorry, it happens sometimes. Okay, Ananda. In that case, I would like to talk more about in terms of digital rights, and I would like to know if there is any difference in access or treatment you can give because of gender. I would like to know if you can mention some ideal scenario maybe, how rights should be guaranteed.

Ananda:
Okay, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. So when it comes to digital rights, most importantly, the important is access to Internet itself. It was a huge burden, and I come from a less developed country like Nepal, and I represent APAC region. And if you see, the APAC region is the most of the Internet users live in APAC region, and at the same time, we have the highest digital divide itself. Still, 40% of the population in our region are still unconnected. And if we see the gender divide in Internet access, in terms of Asia Pacific, 54% of women are connected to the Internet while compared to 59% of men are connected to the Internet. So there is a number of like gender gap, and it is actually reflected from the offline world. Before we have Internet, women and gender minorities have always fought for their right. There was no right to education for women back then, and there was no right to vote. And then, like, it then shifted to the, like, Internet. When you get access, those rights were, again, the deprived people get to deprive in the online world as well. So right now, there’s a digital divide, and into that digital divide, there is, again, gender divide. If we see the 40% of the people who doesn’t have access, the majority is the people from the gender minorities. And if we talk about women and then other gender that are being appeared recently that were not recognized by the society. So actually, it’s about the society, how we shape it. So Internet is just a tool that let us access other rights that are actually prevalent in the society. So we have to make sure that we can use Internet so that everybody can have equal rights. Not only in the Internet, but in a society, I think. And I can come back to this with more questions, I think. Thank you.

Camilio Rattia:
Okay, thank you, Ananda. Oh, now he’s right. In those words, Julia, now maybe you can give us some recommendations for more, like Ananda mentioned, like more equality and diverse Internet in terms of digital rights.

Yulia:
So I would like to make some remarks before I start any recommendation. I guess we have agreements on gender issues, the precedence of offline matters, and an age perspective that we have like rivers flow to a common response. That these problems, these problematics are probably the first and the most pressing matters that what I can gather from this meeting. And thinking on that, I would like to draw to my educational upbringing in my college degree about thinking the offline as a necessity or a problem to tackle through the society as a multi-stakeholder problem, thinking that not only the government should offer more opportunities or should establish a better connection or quality connection to disconnected areas and so on, but what are we doing as a society, as enterprises, as companies and governments to captivate, to grow empathy and fondness on gender diverse and women, to enroll, to close the gap that we have of dissociation of what is the Internet, of what are the matters of the Internet, or what is a career or a work or a research on the Internet matters. From my perspective in Brazil, I think that the most topics that drawn the youth to science, but especially the Internet and IT world is science fiction and games. And there is a point to be made in gaming culture and in gaming communities that are left unattended and they are left to be developed by company as they wish, and to also not care about problems that exclude a type of gender, like a company can develop the game in the community to better accommodate her male audience, her male young audience. And that’s also like an allowance to just not tackle problems like a community health, because we have PR, we have marketing, and they also have the power to, like in games, League of Legends, they have records, they have data enough to affirm categorically that a player is tired, a player has certain behavior, he has certain tactics and so on. We know, and everyone in this room knows, how can we trace the human personality so deeply, yet why are we not using that information to trace their bad experiences? Why are we choosing to tackle the problems of violences and why they don’t feel interest in participating in a game, or why do they feel the interest in participating in the gaming community, in that community, but even if that community is not healthy or is not welcoming to them? Because there are lots, in Brazil we have some researches about how racism, how sexual violence, virtual sexual violence and assault or sexist attacks don’t throw away or don’t distance the public, or I mean the racially attacked public or the women. They still are part of the, they still want to be part of the community, they stay there, they go on, they move through and they power through, in fact, and still facing those attacks. And it’s not a matter of regulation, I don’t think that’s the point of regulation. It’s about getting to know better what we are doing with the youth, what we are letting them to experience, and how can we change that? Because the point is that I think that we observe that even though those attacks may distance some, the ones that stay are just hurt, they are damaged and that may not have the positive, that surely doesn’t have the positive connection of that empathy and the fondness for IT talks, IT matters, IT themes and also internet themes and so on. We are pushing them away although they are there. They are consuming, they are not moving up on the ladder. Like they are not developing their path in a way that we see the male audience and the white audience developing in IT especially, but also in communication, on the communications matters and communications themes. So we can think as a society, what can I do, me, the third sector, what can I do? I can maybe employ better activities or research and what has the intention of this youth? What can we develop to bring the attention of this youth, to bring the love of this youth to the connected world, the internet world and the gaming world? And as companies, maybe they can start to think and elaborate projects to think of the health in their community, and not moderating the community. You can’t say certain words, and we will stop by there. How our communities see us, and how do they view this community? People have opinions about different internet communities, like the Reddit, the Discord, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Dota. They all have their opinions about that communities, and those communities are millions of people. And what do they think about it, and how companies can they change? They should be worrying about that, like to build a better environment. And the government obviously can induce that development to steer that interest, and to develop economical interest in tackling those problems. But we’re still not seeing that, since this is today’s news. The UK, it’s one of the most connected countries more than we, more than countries of we, the speakers, because we are from Latin America and Asia. They’re way more connected than us. And yet, 2% of the resources of ICT startups are destined to women-led startups. And the rest of the 98% of those resources are destined to male-led audiences. So there is, again, another problem, another suggestion of governments. Are we directing better resources to which type of audiences? Sorry, not audiences, in this way, which type of demographics? And I think that’s my say. I maybe overstepped the time a little.

Camilio Rattia:
No, it’s OK, it’s OK. Thank you, Julia. I think you four mentioned many different kinds of inequalities from different perspectives. I like that they were like, I don’t know if the audience know, but Umut is from Colombia, Mariana is from Mexico, Julia from Brazil, and as Ananda said, he’s from Nepal. So it’s like they have different perspectives, different vision. They live in different continents. But the inequalities they mentioned, they are basically the same. So in that case, I think I would like to address one question, maybe for the panelists, if any of you want to address one of them. Why do you think it’s important, these kind of events like IGF, that you are here, you are giving us your perspective? We have basically the same inequalities. We address basically the same problems. And it’s been the same over the years. And at some point, it shows that maybe it’s improving. But then when I heard you, then I see that it’s the same problem like last year, like two years ago, three years ago. So why do you think it’s important to keep talking about this in these kind of events? I don’t know if some of you want to address that. Any of you?

Umut Pajaro:
Well, I’ve kind of been here. And you were saying the answer to it when you were making the question. We continue to experience that every year. So we need to keep discussing the topic until the things are better. Because if we don’t use these spaces to say these kind of things, what kind of spaces we are going to use? So yeah, pretty much you were saying in the question exactly the answer to it, until the things are better, not only for women, girls, but also for gender-diverse people. We need to continue advocating, continue asking to private sector, to governments, to do something to improve and eliminate this gender gap that we have.

Camilio Rattia:
OK, thank you, Umut. We don’t really have questions from the online participation. I don’t know if any of the public here wants to address some question or just talk about this gender gap on internet. OK, if there is no one. I don’t know if some of the speakers want to do some final remarks about the topic. Just very brief, please. No one? Julia, Ananda, Mariana, perhaps? Thank you, Mariana.

Mariana:
Yes, of course. Thank you. Well, answering a little bit the question that was just made, I think that using these spaces, even if we are talking about the same topics and maybe it replicates, it means that we care about it, right? And I think that younger women and also younger descendancies are hearing us and seeing that these topics are placed over here, it means that we care and that we are actively searching for it. Also, I think that not everything is lost, at least in Mexico and precisely in Puebla, that is where I live. I have been seeing a very important shift in how feminist organizations are working, right? There is a very proliferant movement, especially from younger trans women, also younger women, that are organizing through internet and through discussions that occur in different social media. And they gather up in real life. They are meeting in these online spaces and are able to make political movements that transcend the digital space. So even though I think that, yeah, we do maintain the same problems from various years, but I also think that things are changing. At least that is what is happening in a lot of territories. So I think that shaping internet is important, including the younger voices, because the relevancy for me is what happens offline, like the opportunity that young girls and young descendancies have to connect to shape mindsets about these important topics and make changes in real life to gather and to activate. And also giving them these first opportunities of political shaping, of political gathering, I think that is very, very powerful. And that is why I very much appreciate these kind of spaces to include voices from younger women from different places of the world and for people to hear about it, right? So yeah, I think that is the importance to keep talking about these issues.

Camilio Rattia:
OK, thank you, Mariana. And Ananda, please.

Ananda:
Thank you so much. So I would like to reflect in my previous talk, I talked about how offline world actually reflected on the online. And now what I wanted to focus as a closing remarks is, as we move towards emerging technologies, we are actually using machine learning and AI. 2022 was a year when AI actually got so much famous with the generative AI tools like Charity, Google, BARD. And we can see how gender bias are actually being reflected on emerging technologies. And there is a collective action needed so that those traits that were seen in offline world are not reflected again in terms of emerging technologies. Again, there is another thing. When it comes to misinformation, disinformation, targeted attacks in terms of defamation, it’s actually women politicians, actors, and gender minorities that are being attacked. They are being targeted for. And how do we actually leverage emerging technologies to actually eliminate those kind of things? And internet, I see it as a tool or a catalyst that can be used to actually eliminate, in terms of both capacity building of women and other gender minorities, again, to actually eliminate this kind of misinformation, targeted attacks. That’s it. Thank you. I think it calls for collaborative things, and maybe digital literacy kind of things, including these kind of things in school curriculum. We have to start from root. So I call for the collaborative multi-stakeholder approach so that we can eliminate these things. Thank you.

Camilio Rattia:
OK. Thank you, Ananda. Julia, any final remarks? OK. So yes, I will keep with that about the collaboration. And I would like to mention that even if it’s the day zero where everybody’s tired, and everybody’s here with the jet lag, and all the sessions are not fully booked, I think it’s very important these spaces where we can talk. We are actually in a yacht debate now. We have the day zero to talk, but at least we have this space. And I would like to mention that. And I think it’s very important to talk about the gender gap, the digital inclusion. And I think it’s very important to remark that even if we don’t have many audience, or even if we don’t have maybe more time, or even if we don’t have all the funding to everyone to come here, you heard. We have different experiences all the continent. And we try to do an effort to be this collaborative, as Ananda said. And that’s why we are people from different parts of the world, and yacht especially. So thank you so much. Thank you to be here, and just keep talking about this gender gap in internet. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Audience:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hiroyuki Tsuji

The emerging field of future network technology, which includes systems in both terrestrial and non-terrestrial environments, merges into a 3-dimensional network. This frontier of networking innovation comprises the integration of various high-altitude entities, such as drones, airplanes, High Altitude Pseudo Satellites (HAPS), and traditional satellites. The role of HAPS is especially prominent due to its crucial function as a connecting link between the terrestrial network and the non-terrestrial network.

This essential role of HAPS doesn’t remain merely theoretical – its significance was convincingly demonstrated roughly two decades ago. HAPS played a central role in a successful technological demonstration, substantiating the benefits of their functionality, as well as their direct communication link with existing mobile phone networks. This significant leap affirms HAPS’ indispensable contribution to the expansion and advancement of future networks.

An inherent limitation associated with future network technology is spectral space. The usage of radio frequency systems has underscored this constraint. However, optical links have emerged as an effective alternative, offering promising solutions to these spectrum challenges.

Leading the technological advances in this area is the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). They are at the cutting-edge of innovation, developing a small optical terminal capable of being mounted upon HAPS and small satellites. This development solidifies the potential of optical links in non-terrestrial settings, adding another link in the chain of future network technologies.

In alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) numbers 9 and 17, these technological leaps and advancements bolster the push towards building resilient infrastructure, fostering inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and encouraging innovation. The integration of traditional and innovative network technologies into a 3-dimensional network not only exemplifies technological advancement but also underscores the merit and value of partnerships in facilitating progress towards sustainable development.

Geraldo Neto

Regulation plays a crucial role in facilitating global technology deployment, making direct contributions towards Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. This process involves strategic approaches such as the four-yearly coordinated International Telecommunication Union (ITU) regulatory process. Additionally, Technology Media Group (TMG) assists by developing regulatory frameworks at both international and national levels, fostering systematic technology deployment worldwide.

Within the sphere of expanding connectivity and coverage, High-Altitude Platforms (HIPs) have surfaced as an innovative and promising solution. They offer connectivity especially in economically non-viable areas where terrestrial or satellite networks fail to provide feasible solutions. Further, HIPs maintain a user-friendly approach, leaving the user device unchanged. They also prove to be invaluable during emergency situations, such as disasters, providing consistent connectivity.

Regarding the role of High-Altitude Internet Bases (HIBs) at a national level, their implementation can be relatively straightforward due to the presence of an international framework designed to manage potential cross-border interferences effectively. This implementation may require only minimal regulatory adjustments, and offers tremendous potential for public-private partnerships. Importantly, HIBs should be viewed as an enhancement to the current telecommunications infrastructure rather than a replacement for current operators. By integrating HIB connectivity into standard mobile networks and contributing to terrestrial and satellite network capacity, HIBs could be commercially deployed.

Decisions taken by the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) are of paramount importance and must be considered when permitting operations to ensure spectrum availability for applications. Hence, the role of regulatory bodies in this aspect provides an essential move forward.

Government plays a fundamental part in advancing this technology. It forms the bridge connecting different entities effectively, making use of Universal Service Funds(USF) and facilitating the regulatory negotiations for forming partnerships with mobile operators and local connectivity companies. HIBs would be especially effective in regions that are commercially unviable for conventional mobile operators, showing a need for proactive public-private partnerships.

Lastly, harmonising public policies with the offerings of technology is essential. Understanding the potential benefits and challenges of technological applications in different scenarios can ensure their adequate usage. Although commercial viability may seem daunting for certain areas, a proper understanding and leveraging of technology can lead to major accomplishments. Consequently, the alignment of technological capabilities with public policies can catalyse the achievement of SDG 9 on Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.

Moderator

High Altitude Internet Broadcasting Systems (HIBS) is garnering positive acclaim as a promising solution to bridge the digital divide, particularly in rural or geographically challenging areas. HIBS are engineered to cover large expanses using a single base station positioned at high altitudes, making these systems ideal for regions lacking robust terrestrial network infrastructure. Furthermore, their reliance on solar energy promises sustainability, with the sun-powered system avoiding carbon emissions, thereby contributing to global sustainability efforts. This innovative technology holds the potential to help reduce the prevalent urban-rural and gender digital divides.

However, while novel technologies like HIBS offer a beacon of hope in bridging the digital divide, affordability persists as a significant constraint for many. This issue is particularly pronounced in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa where, despite 61% of the population dwelling within mobile broadband coverage areas, usage is limited due to the prohibitive costs of services. Geographical factors and population distribution also contribute to the underutilisation of mobile internet in countries like Mozambique and Namibia. Additionally, internet usage across the African continent is notably lower than the global average – a mere 40% compared to the worldwide average of 66%.

Nonetheless, optimism surrounds HIBS’ potential to tackle affordability concerns. Its innovative nature could herald an affordable solution to not only widen coverage but also assure accessibility. Leveraging solar energy while offering broad coverage, this advanced technology could potentially help dissolve cost barriers faced by many individuals.

Progress can also be seen in the field of space technology, with notable strategic partnerships being established. Japanese heavyweights NTT and SkyPerfect JSAT have formed a joint venture named Space Compass, with a focus on the Space Data Centre and the Space Run Radio Access Network. Space Compass is also reportedly collaborating with Airbus Zephyr, a hub station utilising solar electric power.

In addition, the deployment of the High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) system is gaining momentum. This system promises to deliver internet service directly to existing smartphones and boasts significant data transmission rates. HAPS features the capacity to expand coverage to remote zones such as the sea and sky, and provide exceptional high-resolution remote sensing capabilities, affording more accurate data compared to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. Ambitious deployment goals have been set for HAPS, with a target date of fiscal year 2025 in Japan.

Crucially, governmental support is vital for the effective deployment and operation of High Altitude Platforms (HIPS). Necessary regulations required from the World Radio Communication Conference need to be implemented, and suitable authorisations must be granted by each country’s relevant authorities to enable HIPs to operate proficiently. These authorisations extend beyond the realm of telecommunications, also necessitating the involvement of Civil Aviation Authorities and law enforcement agencies.

Finally, governments and institutional bodies can play a proactive role in helping to deploy networks by employing both demand-side and supply-side measures. The Universal Service Fund could prove instrumental in aiding network construction, and subsidies can enable users to obtain devices and access internet services. This approach is particularly critical in areas like Africa where the cost of devices is relatively high. Proactive government intervention can thus contribute to reducing inequalities.

Mortimer Hope

High Altitude Platform Station Internet Access (HAPS or HIBS) emerges as a pioneering solution to combat the digital divide within Africa, a region grappling with significant internet access problems primarily due to affordability constraints. Thus, the analysis largely portrays a positive sentiment towards the utilisation of this innovative technology.

Internet access remains an acute concern in Africa. In 2021, whilst mobile broadband coverage reached 78% of the Sub-Saharan African population, just 22% utilised the internet. Affordability appears as a major stumbling block; a robust 61% of the populace have access, yet financial deterrents render most of them unable to exploit this service. The digital divide was further exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the shift towards remote working and digital classrooms became non-negotiable. Undeniably, this digital void urgently requires comprehensive solutions.

HIBS offers a promising potential solution. It has been demonstrated to cover vast swathes of land even with a single unit, with countries like Mozambique and Namibia presenting candidate case studies. Coupled with the positive economic impacts of increased mobile penetration, HIBS advocates a hopeful ray for digital inclusivity.

Looking forward, the World Radio Communication Conference presents a favourable juncture to discuss and allocate additional frequency bands favourable for HIBS. Frequencies under consideration include popular bands such as the 700, 800, and 900 megahertz bands which are particularly suited for rural regions, thus enabling possible extensive and effective internet access in remote areas.

However, for such innovative initiatives to successfully take-off, the essential role of government support cannot be overstated. This includes developing robust regulatory frameworks and procuring authorisations from a range of sectors, encompassing telecoms, civil aviation and law enforcement agencies. Additionally, addressing supply-side measures and enhancing network deployment can be facilitated using the Universal Service Fund.

Furthermore, the high device prices in Africa necessitate subsidising users for buying devices and utilising internet services, to address the affordability issue. These strategic subsidies can significantly boost adoption rates, thereby progressively nullifying digital inequality.

In conclusion, most analyses share a consensus on the potential of HIBS in significantly contributing towards diverse Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These notably include quality education, industry, innovation and infrastructure, affordable and clean energy, reduced inequalities, and climate action. With improved digital accessibility having the potential to empower communities and induce significant positive change, the prospect of HIBS delivering widespread impact looks promising.

Yoshihisa Kishiyama

Space Compass, the result of a pioneering joint venture between top-tier tech firm NTT and satellite operator SkyPerfect JSAT, chiefly focuses on the Space Data Centre and the Space Run Radio Access Network. This innovative enterprise, established merely last year, is already gaining recognition in the field, with its operations covering areas such as optical data array and computing.

A key part of Space Compass’s strategy centres around the employment of High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS) during its initial phase of deployment. This approach provides numerous advantages – its most significant being the provision of direct, reliable, and robust connectivity to smartphones without the dependency on terrestrial infrastructure. Such capabilities make HAPS invaluable in regions not served by traditional terrestrial networks, and their inherent resilience to ground-based disasters further expands their potential application in disaster-stricken areas.

A primary objective for the team at Space Compass is their ambitious goal to commercialise HAPS by 2025. To achieve this, the company has strategically decided to initially focus on granting direct access to smartphone devices and leading advancements in remote sensing. They are bolstered in these efforts by their collaboration with Airbus Zephyr, which augments the potential for future innovation in the field.

In the sphere of communication systems, Space Compass’s selected design is especially unique. Adopting International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) frequency bands for the scheme allows for rapid and precise communication. For the initial phase of deployment, two GHz FDD bands are currently available and may be top candidates. However, the possible use of higher frequency bands – specifically the millimetre wave – in future deployments constitutes a fascinating prospect for the link between HAPS and the Gateway station.

To summarise, Space Compass, an innovative collaboration between NTT and SkyPerfect JSAT, has developed a forward-thinking business model centred around HAPS. Their groundbreaking approach guarantees enhanced connectivity and coverage, outlines a path for future commercialisation efforts, and presages further technological advancements. With significant partnerships such as the connection with Airbus Zephyr already established, and the potential to employ high-frequency communication channels, this venture epitomises the very essence of state-of-the-art innovation and infrastructural development.

Moderator:
Well I thank you very much for your patience and actually the situation has not changed but I’d like to start a session today. So this is the IGF 2030 Day Zero event number 205 HAPS, High Altitude Platform Station Internet access for all from the stratosphere. My name is Shiro Fukumoto from SoftBank. I would like to moderate this session with the four panelists. And this session treats HAPS, high-altitude platform station, and HAPS is expected to be used as a solution to connect the unconnected area from the stratosphere at an altitude of about 20 kilometers, taking advantage of the characteristics of being able to provide Internet connection. connectivity to a wide area and applying continuous connection even in natural disasters. Currently, various players, including aircraft and network vendors, telecom operators and research institutions and academia, conducting research, development and demonstration to realize HAP’s commercialization near future. In addition, ITU, International Telecommunication Union, is studying the expansion of frequencies for use of HAPs as IMT base station, HIBS. and Hibis has agendized 1.4 of World Radio Communication Conference 2023, named WRC23. Considering the situation surrounding HAPS, this session will discuss about expectation challenging and prospects for HAPS and Hibis. And here is the speaker for today, from my left side, Mr. Mortimer Hope, Associate Director and Africa Leads Policy Impact Partner, and Dr. Hiroyuki Tsuji, Director, Space Communication System Laboratory from NICT. and Dr. Yoshihisa Kishiyama, Senior Manager, Space Run Business, Space Compass Corporation, and Mr. Gerald Neto, Vice President, TMG, and he is also working for Chair of Sub-Working Group, Agenda Item 1.4 of ITUR Working Party 5D, and my name is Shirofukumoto again. And in this session, each panelist will first give a ten-minute presentation, and after we will discuss based on the question from the moderator, and we’d like to take question from the participants if there is a time. And before we get into the presentation, I’d like to add one point about the terminology. In addition to apps, the term HIBIS will be used in this session. As shown here, HIBIS is one of the applications of Hadoop. HAPS, so you can understand it as a cell phone base station flying in the sky. And HAPS, on the other hand, is a more general term. So please be aware that when we say HAPS, we may be referring to HIBIS as well. Okay. So now I’d like to start the presentation by panelists. First, I’d like to invite Mr. Mortimer Hope. So Motima, welcome to Japan. Please get started. I’m going to ask you to introduce yourself. And then we will start your presentation.

Mortimer Hope:
Thank you very much, Shiro. It’s my pleasure and privilege to be here. I’m going to speak about HIBS and how it can help us in the African continent to bridge the digital divide. Thank you very much. We have a research from the ITU which has shown that providing mobile broadband has a positive effect on economic development. And there are figures that show that a 10% increase in mobile penetration can have up to 1.5% increase in GDP. We know that during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us were able to continue working remotely because of the connectivity that we had. Others were able to continue studying, they kept in contact with friends and family, there was entertainment, all of this was facilitated by the access to internet, to broadband internet. Now, internet usage, in Africa is quite low, and just to give an idea of how bad the situation is, in 2022 only 40% of the African population use the Internet, which is well below the global average of 66%. Africa also has a larger gender divide than the rest of the world. to the urban-rural-digital divide. Now, most Africans connect to the internet using mobile broadband. And if you look at the bottom left, it just shows that only 1% of Africans have access to fixed broadband. This is quite below the global average of 18%. And this has resulted in most Africans accessing the Internet using mobile broadband. And on the right, we see that in 2021, in sub-Saharan Africa, only 22% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa in 2021 used the Internet. What is interesting is that 61% of the population lived within the coverage area. of a mobile broadband network but did not use the Internet, and this was mostly due to affordability issues, affordability around the access to devices, so smartphones, and affordability of the services, the mobile broadband service. HIBSS can play a role in addressing the coverage gap, and that 17% of the Sub-Saharan African population were outside of the coverage area of a mobile broadband signal. So this is where Hibbs has a role to play, to help to address that coverage gap. Now, research conducted by the GSMA, that’s the Association of the Mobile Operators Worldwide. Identified a number of factors that inhibit the use of. of the Internet, and some of these factors are knowledge and skills of the population, affordability of devices and services, safety and security or concerns about safety and security, relevance of the content, and access, access in terms of access to networks and enablers such as the devices. In Africa, if you look at the refer back to the previous slide, we saw that we have issues around the access where 17% of the population do not have access and then affordability where 61% of the sub-saharan African population cannot afford the service, hence they do not use it. Now, the coverage gap in Africa, it’s not uniform throughout the continent. We have some areas where there is very good coverage. Mauritius, for instance, it’s an island state, and they have very high mobile broadband coverage. There are other parts of the continent, and I’ll use Mozambique as an example. quite large country, physically large, the population is spread throughout the country, but there are some areas where there’s low population density there which are quite rural, and so the country as a whole has very low mobile internet usage. Namibia is in a similar position where it’s a large country with a small population. that is spread thinly across the country. So these are some of the countries where it would be, HIBSS would be a good solution or one of the solutions to help to address the internet access challenge. Now HIBSS, I’m hoping that one of my fellow panelists will describe the technology of HIBSS, but for this presentation I just mentioned that HIBSS it’s it’s the equivalent of a mobile base station which is on a platform which could be you you A craft or a balloon That is between 20 and 50 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. It covers a large area, up to 100 kilometers in radius. If you compare this with a ground-based base station, which covers sometimes up to 10 kilometers in rural areas. So HIBS would allow us to cover large areas using a single HIBS. So I’ve come to the end of the presentation. So in summary, HIBS’s internet usage is important for economic development, education… We’ve noted that fixed broadband plays a very minimal role in Africa, where the majority of people connect to the Internet using mobile broadband services. In Africa, we find that affordability is a major issue, resulting in a shortage of access to broadband. We’ve noted that fixed broadband plays a very minimal role in Africa, where the majority of people connect to the Internet using mobile broadband services. We’ve noted that affordability is a major issue, resulting in a shortage of access to broadband. many people being within the coverage area of a broadband signal but not being able to afford that signal so they are not using the the internet because of issues with affordability of the device and affordability of the service. HIBs can help to address these issues, the access gap which is the coverage issue and even a bit of the affordability gap by providing services to those previously unconnected parts of the population. Now in terms of the sustainable development goals, HIBs can help to address some of these. We have goal four, where HIBs will bring quality education to remote areas. we have numbers 7 and 13, so zero carbon dioxide emissions during flight because HIBS uses the energy from the Sun, solar energy, there are no carbon dioxide emissions so HIBS would address affordable and clean energy and also climate action in terms of SDG number nine, it’s HIBS, it’s innovative technology. So it’s infrastructure that would be in the stratosphere. And then finally, with SDG 10, reducing inequality. So it would help to reduce the urban rural divide and also the gender inequality in use of internet services. Now, in terms of. the ITU process, we have the World Radio Communication Conference which is coming up in November and December of this year in Dubai, and there we’re going to be discussing ways of allowing HIBS to use additional frequency bands. you . Frequency bands that are currently used for mobile broadband could be used by HIBSS in different parts of the world. This is an opportunity for governments to make this possible. For more information, visit www.fema.gov In terms of the frequencies, the specific frequencies that are under discussion, we have the frequencies that are quite popular for use in in rural areas, so the 700, 800, and 900 megahertz bands. And we have other frequencies that can be used for additional capacity. So I’d like to end there now, and thank you very much.

Moderator:
Thank you, Mortimer, for explaining the importance of the internet and the current challenges of the internet community in Africa and his expression of his, or let’s discuss later. And next, on behalf of the Japanese Research Institute. I would like to ask Dr. Tsuji to give his presentation. So Tsuji-san, thank you very much for your time. Please provide your presentation.

Hiroyuki Tsuji:
Okay, thank you very much for my introduction and welcome to Japan. My name is Hiroyuki Tsuji, working for NICT. First of all, I would like to just explain briefly in the introduction of NICT. NICT is a Japan’s sole national organization. research and development agency specialising in the field of the information and communication technologies. The NICT is just a variation of the National Institute of Information and Communication Technologies. So this slide just shows our future image of the expanding in the network, not only just the audio. but also the space and just the moon. And because it’s currently new technology is coming and also have developed, for example is real constellation is just now in on sale and also just providing in the internet access all over the world. And the NICT is just aiming for not only expanding the network but also non-telecine network. Some are not familiar with HAPs and HIBs. And this slide just summarises what’s the merit of the HAPs and HIBs. I think the most important role of the HAPs and HIBs is very sort of useful, so the platform base station and just connecting NTL and TL network. Because HAPS is over 20 kilometre altitude, then distance is from terrestrial is from 20 kilometres is 100 kilometres, then the propagation delay is almost round trip is 0.3 milliseconds, it’s 1 over 800th of a second. of the geostationary orbits of the satellites. This is one of the merits of the HAPs. And also, we can use the very small antenna for the HAPs to connecting the terrestrial network. So mobile phone can directly access to the HIPs without any devices, just like the terrestrial base stations. is an old player for developing HAPS. This slide shows over 20 years ago, we successfully conducted just a demonstration using HAPS, just fly over 20 kilometers with a solar panel and electricity. Then this is a Pathfinder Plus, namely Pathfinder Plus, developed by NASA. We conducted it jointly with NASA and to fly over to the 20 kilometers. Then we conducted two types of the experiment over 20 years ago, just 2002, over the Hawaii and Kauai land. We confirmed the merit of the HAPs using this sort of experiment. One of our experiments showed the merit of the mobile phone and this sort of mobile phone that IMT-2000, just a third generation of the mobile phone, is connecting directly to the HAPs. And also, we conducted a sort of experiment. so the broadband, so the TV, digital TV, so the system, only two watt over 20 kilometers from the solar sphere. Anyway, and back then, and okay, and WRC23 is coming soon, but we, over 20 years ago, WRC was discussing with a new spectrum, perhaps. And we think, we believe that, This experiment introduced a new spectrum for HABs, for example, 2 GHz and 47 GHz, and after that 5 GHz and 28 GHz for the HABs. Anyway, over 20 years ago, we noticed the merit of the HABs and the HIBs. Okay, then, currently, just I summarize the current situation. of the HAPs development platform, and back over 20 years ago, the main platform is considered to the airships, but nowadays several types of the HAPs platform is considered. For example, source bus is a terrace, is just developing, sorry, developing airship type, and also therefore maybe airbus is developing the peak swing. type, and this system is a record of over 3,000 hours in the stratosphere. And also, Stratospheric Solar Platform Limited from UK is another type of the HAPS platform. This type is a platform used for hydrogen energy. And also, HAPS Mobile in Japan is also considering developing in the air-solar plane type, fixed wind type. And just over similar to the two solar planes that we used in 2002, anyway, this is just a current situation of the HAPS solar platform development. And also, Japan is and some sort of institution is trying to develop the HAPS network system using HAPS. One is the project now being conducted is a space integrated computing network concept and using satellite and the hubs by the space compass and after that, Kichiyama-san will introduce the details of this project. And also some carriers of the mobile network and also in the conducting and developing and the hub system, a new network system. using HAPS. For example, the NTT Docomo is just a concept of the non-trivial network system using HAPS and also I just introduced before and Sotobank and HAPS mobile is also developing in fixed wind type using solar panels. This is the current situation in Japan in development. And finally, we believe the future network is not only just a network. on includes, but also on the drones and the airplane, HAPS, and satellites, just so the 3D network and each sort of platform and the connecting each other. This is just an important point for this concept. HAPS is just a very player, a very important role of sort of connecting in the, I think that connecting in a trusted network and also the non-trusted network. network, because of the HAPs is just allocated from just 20 kilometres, just between and the rail constellation and also a tuition network. As I explained just before, HAPs is a can direct, HAPs also can directly connect the mobile phone system and also HAPs is easy to connect the satellite system. So we believe that HAPs and HIPs play an important role in the concept of the Beyond 5G network system. Finally, and currently considering the situation of the spectrum, spectrum is very limited and also in the mobile phone system, TSM network is required a new source of spectrum and also have also required a new spectrum. Our idea is to use optical link instead of the radio RF system. and directly to connect to the HABs, HIBs and to satellite, sometimes HABs, HIBs can connect to the direct to the terrestrial network. NYCT is now developing the small optical terminal, just can be mounted on the HABs and also small satellites. Okay. Anyway. And my presentation is just over. Thank you very much.

Moderator:
Thank you very much, Tsuji. for explaining about the non-terrestrial network around the situation in Japan. And actually, NTN is a broad term that includes satellite and the US as well. So I’m very interested in the position of HABS among NTN component. So I’d like to ask you about it later. So now next, I’d like to invite Dr. Kishiyama on behalf of the Japanese operator. So Kishiyama-san, please give your presentation.

Yoshihisa Kishiyama:
Thank you for your introduction. I’m very pleasured to be here. And today, I will introduce a space compass. activities for re-commercialization of hubs in Japan. First of all, I will introduce Space Compass. Space Compass is a joint venture company established by NTT and SkyPerfect JSAT. NTT is one of the largest communication companies in Japan, and SkyPerfect JSAT is the largest satellite company in Japan. in Asia and Space Compass was established in the last year and our business focus is Space Data Center and Space Run Radio Access Network. Space Data Center includes optical data array and computing as described in the slide. This slide shows our company vision. In the, using the optical communication between the NTN nodes, for example, a real satellite gathers information from sensing, and we have a data center on the geo-satellite. And computing is processing. And the space line is a communication system using NTN nodes such as GeoREO and HAP. Among the NTN nodes, Space Compass will focus on hubs in the initial phase of the deployment. This slide shows the characteristics of the hubs and that implies the reason why we first focus on the hubs for initial commercialization. The first important reason is direct access to the smartphone. Compared with Leo Satellite and Joe Satellite, HAPS system can provide service to the existing smartphone directory with sufficient data rate for the Internet service. The second is the coverage expansion. Compared with the terrestrial network, HAPS channel supports the HAPS network. areas not covered by terrestrial networks such as sea and sky and some mountain areas and so on. And the third reason is a disaster resilient operation perhaps can provide a service from the sky. Sky is safe compared with ground, for example, for earthquake and so on. Also, we should consider some ground station perhaps, but And fundamentally, HAPS is safe from the ground disasters. And the fourth reason is remote sensing. LEO satellite also can provide remote sensing, but HAPS can stay in the fixed point from the ground, and the altitude is short compared with LEO, therefore HAPS can provide more accurate sensing. sensing, remote sensing, compared with LEO, with high resolution. Fifth reason is flexible service. Service area of HAPS is relatively limited with LEO satellite. For example, cell radius of 50 km. On the other hand, HAPS can start the service from a single aircraft compared with a level satellite. A level satellite requires many, many satellites to make a constellation. So a small start of the deployment is possible. And the last reason is sustainability, and basically HAARP sees 100% solar power, so good for environments. And we can consider many use cases of hubs, as described in the slide. Hubs can provide coverage extensions, such as sea and sky. So we can provide a new use case, such as drone in the sky and ship on the sea. And we can extend the coverage of mobile networks into such ads. mountain area that terrestrial network is difficult. And HAPCE is also used for backhaul type of service using, for example, millimetre wave and that can be a backup for fixed line for MNO network and that can provide high capacity backhaul service, for example, to the airplane and so on. And as I explained in the HAPCE is. useful, not only for communication but also for remote sensing. But in the initial stage of the commercialization, it would be difficult to provide all type of use case. Therefore, in the initial phase, we will focus on some limited and important use case to make our activity for business. And our target is fiscal year of 2025 for HAARP’s deployment in Japan. And we will focus on direct access to the smartphone device with mobile operator network. And also remote sensing is we can consider fast target use case. And the Space Compass is collaborating with Airbus Zephyr. Zephyr is a solar electric type of hub station, and we have some press release for jointly study the commercialization, realization of the hubs for communication systems. And this is an image of, sample image of the hub. picture, sensing picture from the hubs and we can get this kind of high-resolution image from the sky. And for the communication system, we can consider this kind of network architecture in the initial stage with collaborating with 5G network. And basically, we will reuse the core network and base station feature. which are used in the current terrestrial network. And for example, mobile operator provide this kind of base station and 5G network. And Airbus, for example, perhaps operators such as Airbus will provide perhaps aircraft and gateway station. And the Space Compass will conduct some coordination for interface between mobile. net mobile operator and hub spenders. And in the system, we will use a service link, which is a link between hubs and mobile phones. We will use current IMT frequency bands. And in the feeder link, feeder link is a hub link between hubs and the gateway station. In this link, we will use. use a higher frequency band such as millimetre wave. And this is a frequency situation. And currently in the ITU, in the ITU are only two gigahertz FDD bands available. Therefore, our initial deployment, maybe this band is the main candidate. But in the future, we can consider as an expansion. considering the WRC23, which considering some expansion of the frequency bands. And in the feeder link, some candidate bands identified in WRC19. And among the candidates in our activity, 38 gigahertz band is a major candidate because of the wider frequency bandwidth. compared with other candidates. Yes, this is my final slide. This is a space compass business roadmap. And our target is fiscal year 2025 for early commercialization of hubs. And before the commercialization, we will have some work activities this year and the next year. And in the future phase, we will increase the number of hubs. and we will increase the capability of the communication system using HARPS. Yes. That’s all. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you very much, Kishiyama. I understand many things are necessary to achieve commercialisation. Yeah, but please let us discuss it later. So the last but not least, Mr Gerard Neto will make his presentation. Gerard, welcome to Japan and thank you. for your patience. It’s your turn. Thank you.

Geraldo Neto:
Thank you, Shiro. And good morning to all, and good day to those that are joining us online today. And yeah, it’s interesting to be at the last in this panel. But my idea here is to go through some of the regulatory steps that we need to take to make this technology available and deployed in different countries. As indicated by Shiro, I’m Geraldo Neto from TMG, and we, among several of the companies here, have been part of the Hubs Alliance supporting the development of these frameworks in the international and national level, and I think we’ve heard from my fellow panelists the importance of expanding connectivity. especially in emerging countries, the situation in Africa like Mortimer indicated, but we also saw all the developments in terms of technology so far, and this has been going on for several years, and I’m very happy to see as well from Spence Compass a timeline for actual commercial deployment. So we see that this is a technology that is getting mature and will be available soon. And from my point of view, that’s it. I’ve been working on this ITU process for the past four years and we are in a very important year this year. But why are we doing this and why this is connected to all the discussions we are going to have in this five days of the IHF? Because I understand the IHF is usually focused on all the aspects of the Internet and the content side and how to manage the Internet, but the connectivity is an important part of that. we have a great number of countries and areas covered by terrestrial networks and now more and more new technologies of satellite networks but we still have a great amount of people that does not have connectivity. And we talk about meaningful connectivity which is addressing not only the coverage issue but the costs for those populations to access them. And that’s where, in our view, the HIPs. gets into this multi-layered network where it’s not feasible for a terrestrial network to be installed because it might be too expensive. It may not be feasible to have or economically viable to have a satellite coverage and in this case you have this middle layer that we can have an access that is similar and we have seen a lot of the presentations here. as a terrestrial network, whether we are talking 5G or in the future 6G networks. The important aspect here in terms of cost is that the device from the user perspective is the same device, so they’re going to use the same cell phone or the same fixed access to reach these networks. We have this expanded coverage, but we have seen some of the examples not only that, in the past one of the companies providing this type of service were able to provide connectivity in a situation of disaster in the U.S. where all the terrestrial network was off after a hurricane and in a few hours launching one of these platforms it was possible to establish those connectivities. So there are different aspects of an importance of having this type of stratospheric stations that are very important as we are talking about the future of expanding. and internet connectivity. So not going over so many of the details that have been explained before. My main point here is really what is being done on a regulatory standpoint and what we are looking at. So it has been mentioned here several times about the ITU process. The ITU is the International Telecommunications Union. It is one of the UN agencies. And there, every four years, we have the World Radio Conference, which is going to, the next one is going to take place one month from now, basically defining the spectral access for the different services and defining how the services can operate for the following years. That’s a very important step when we’re talking about HIPs because, of course, we see that those platforms, they have a wide area of coverage, about 200 kilometers in total, and before a administration country can implement there, it’s necessary to have this international framework established to avoid interference problems with other nations. So we are very hopeful as we get to that conference in Dubai next month because this work we’ve been doing together for the past years has led to all the regions in the world to agree that HIBSS is necessary. the regions from Asia, Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East, they all agreed that these new frequencies for HIBs are important. So by the end of that, in December, we will have that international framework established. It has been mentioned before about the previous frequencies that were those feeder links or the fixed links that allow the core network to be connected to the station, but now we are talking about the frequencies that will basically connect to the user. directly. And with that, starting next year, at the end of this year, the idea is to start engaging in the national administrations with regulators worldwide to make them understand those decisions and implement it at the national level. It’s interesting to see because for us, basically, the HIBs is a very high tower, a very high base station for mobile connectivity. So from a regulatory standpoint, in most countries the changes that needed to implement might be minimal because the international framework already covered the issue of cross-border possible interference. So we see the take-up on the national level being easy in that front and also a potential for public-private partnerships because we are talking about coverage areas that might not be commercially viable otherwise. So it’s really important to look at how governments can also participate in this process. And here, we are not replacing the existing operators. It’s really another layer of infrastructure, so the existing operators can expand that. And in parallel to all of that, we have the discussions on standards, which is very important when I talk about scale for these types of services. And a lot of those companies here have been participating in the organizations such as 3G. to make sure that the HIBSS connectivity is integrated to the regular mobile standards. So when you’re talking about 5G, in the future when I talk about 6G, the HIBSS connectivity is integrated in those standards. So basically, here’s just to give this, connect all the dots here of what we’ve been saying, but I think the most important, as we have seen, the technology has advanced it, not only from the telecommunications side, but mainly from the aviation side, we have among the HIBSS alliances. It accompanies several types of stratospheric platforms, all forms and types. We’ve seen how much HIBSS can support as one extra layer of connectivity. We’re not replacing, but adding to a terrestrial network, adding to the satellite capacity. And we are here now at this cornerstone in terms of international framework with the ITU-WRC coming up into PAI in one month. So we are very happy to see all these developments and possible commercial deployments and by the end of this seminar, if there is any questions, please let us know. Thank you so much.

Moderator:
Thank you, Gerald, for your explanation about regulatory point of view. So I was asked to finish this session by 10 a.m. sharp and now 10 a.m., but I would like to ask one question for Gerald and and Mortimer about the support for government, from the government. Actually, in Japan, discussions are just about to begin for the domestic use of HAPs, which is target for 2025. However, what about other countries? So this is my question for Mortimer and Gerard. How can government support to facilitate the development and use of HIBs?

Mortimer Hope:
Okay, thank you. So, thank you very much for that question. So, governments can support in a number of ways. Firstly, by putting the regulatory framework in place, and that starts with the World Radio Communication Conference next month, and then within each country they would need to issue the authorizations for HIPs to operate. So it wouldn’t just be telecommunications authorizations. You would need authorizations from the Civil Aviation Authority, for instance, and probably from the law enforcement agencies. Then the other thing that governments can do, they can address the supply-side measures by using the Universal Service Fund to help in building the… to help to deploy the networks, and they can also address the demand side by subsidizing users to obtain devices. We know devices are an issue, they are expensive in Africa, so subsidies for devices and subsidies for usage of the Internet service. Thank you very much.

Moderator:
Thank you. How about Gerardo?

Geraldo Neto:
Thank you, Shiro, for this question. I think what Morten indicated is correct, I mean, the first step is really allowing those stations to operate, and of course, following up on the decisions of the WRC, making the spectrum available for this type of applications. But there is an important role of the government, and we’ve seen throughout these years, because a lot of the countries that are participating in these ITU discussions, they want to have a trial, they want to have a deployment of such a station in their country. And the way to do it is really not only facilitate on the regulatory side, but being one of the key stakeholders in connecting the companies. The HIBs is just one infrastructure that needs a partnership with the mobile operator, that needs a partnership with local connectivity companies that are sometimes related to the government. So the government can connect those entities and, as Mark indicated, use USF funds. because a lot of the places that the HIBs would be used for, they are not necessarily commercially viable for a normal mobile operator, so there needs to be public-private partnerships in terms of expanding connectivities in those areas. So it’s really understanding the public policies of the country and understanding what this technology can do and try to allow them to operate in the country. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you very much. Yeah, actually, I have so many questions on this matter. But I have to finish this session soon. So finally, I would like to inform one thing. SoftBank is currently the provider expert about the apps in their area. So if you are interested in apps, please stop by SoftBank stand. And with that, I’d like to conclude this session. So thank you all very much. Please give a big applause to the end. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.