Regional experiences on the governance of emerging technologies NRI Collaborative Session

Summary

This discussion focused on the governance of emerging technologies in various regions, with a particular emphasis on bridging the digital divide between developed and developing countries. Participants from different countries and organizations shared their experiences and perspectives on implementing and regulating new technologies such as AI, blockchain, and 5G.

Key themes included the importance of collaboration between governments, private sector, and civil society in developing inclusive policy frameworks. Several speakers highlighted the need for capacity building, particularly in developing countries, to ensure equitable access to and utilization of emerging technologies. The role of regional Internet Governance Forums (IGFs) in facilitating knowledge exchange, trust-building, and policy discussions was emphasized.

Participants discussed strategies for responsible deployment of technologies, including the development of ethical guidelines, data protection measures, and cybersecurity standards. The importance of adapting governance approaches to local contexts while adhering to international standards was stressed. Some speakers noted the challenges of balancing innovation with regulation and user safety.

The discussion also touched on the varying levels of technological advancement across regions, with some countries still focusing on 4G implementation while others are moving towards 5G and even 6G. The need for inclusive policy-making processes that involve multiple stakeholders was highlighted as crucial for addressing these disparities.

Overall, the discussion underscored the complex nature of governing emerging technologies in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, emphasizing the need for collaborative, flexible, and context-sensitive approaches to ensure equitable technological progress globally.

Keypoints

Major discussion points:

– The role of emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, and 5G in driving innovation and economic growth, especially in developing countries

– Strategies for ensuring equitable access and responsible governance of new technologies

– The need for laws and regulatory frameworks to keep pace with rapidly evolving technologies

– Mechanisms for knowledge exchange and collaboration between developed and developing countries

– Balancing innovation and regulation to protect user safety and privacy

Overall purpose:

The goal of this discussion was to exchange experiences and best practices around the governance of emerging technologies from different regional and national Internet Governance Forums (IGFs). Participants aimed to explore ways to bridge the digital divide and ensure developing countries can fully participate in and benefit from technological progress.

Tone:

The overall tone was collaborative and solution-oriented. Participants shared insights from their regions in a constructive manner. There was a sense of optimism about the potential of new technologies, balanced with pragmatism about the challenges of implementation and regulation. The tone became more interactive and energetic during the Q&A portion at the end as audience members engaged with the panelists.

Speakers

– Ahmed Farag: Chair of the North African IGF, member of Arab Mag and African IGF MEG

– Renata Mielli: Coordinator of the Internet Steering Committee in Brazil

– Eliamani Isaya Laltaika: Judge of the High Court of Tanzania, academic at Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology

– Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka: Minister of Transportation and Communication in Kurdistan region Iraq

– Chin Lin: Director of China Mobile Research Institute, Department of User and Market Research

– Qusai Al-Shatti: First UNHCR Chair in the Arab region, from Arab IGF community

– Judith Hellerstein: Online moderator

Additional speakers:

– Ali Miro: Representative of a leading telecom company in Kurdistan region

– Lillian Chamorro: Works with Black IGF (Latin America IGF)

– Omar Sharaf: From Libyan IGF

– Kossi Amessinou: From Ministry of Economy and Finance in Benin, chairperson of NGO Women Be Free

– Dr. Hosein Badran: Member of Canadian IGF and Arab IGF

Expanded Summary of Discussion on Governance of Emerging Technologies

This discussion, featuring speakers from diverse geographical and professional backgrounds, focused on the governance of emerging technologies and strategies to bridge the digital divide between developed and developing countries. The dialogue covered a range of topics including artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), 5G technology, and the role of Internet Governance Forums (IGFs) in shaping policy and facilitating knowledge exchange.

Key Themes and Discussion Points

1. Governance Frameworks for Emerging Technologies

The speakers emphasised the need for comprehensive governance frameworks to address the challenges posed by rapidly evolving technologies. Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka, Minister of Transportation and Communication in Kurdistan region Iraq, stressed the importance of developing inclusive policy frameworks that address ethics, privacy, and security concerns. He also highlighted the need to balance government regulation with private sector innovation, advocating for governments to focus on regulation rather than operation in the technology sector.

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika, Judge of the High Court of Tanzania, called for the enactment of strict laws to protect consumers and the environment, highlighting the need to balance innovation with regulation. He introduced the “PEST” formula (Political, Economic, Social, Technological) as a practical framework for advocating technology adoption to policymakers, linking it to tangible social and economic benefits.

Chin Lin from China emphasized the importance of formulating user-centric policies and strengthening public feedback mechanisms. This approach aims to ensure that governance frameworks remain relevant and effective in addressing the needs and concerns of end-users.

2. Bridging the Digital Divide

A significant portion of the discussion centred on strategies to reduce the technological gap between developed and developing countries. Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka emphasised the importance of investing in high-speed infrastructure and nationwide broadband expansion, viewing connectivity as a foundation for other digital innovations. He shared the Kurdistan region’s experience with 4G deployment and plans for 5G, highlighting challenges faced due to federal government regulations.

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika proposed promoting public-private partnerships for technology development and investing in STEM education and research centres. This approach aims to build local capacity and foster innovation within developing countries. He also discussed Tanzania’s approach to technology adoption and governance, emphasizing the importance of updating curricula to prepare for emerging technologies.

Renata Mielli, Coordinator of the Internet Steering Committee in Brazil, shared information about Brazil’s initiatives in AI research and development, highlighting the country’s efforts to stay competitive in emerging technologies.

3. Role of Regional and National IGFs

The speakers highlighted the crucial role played by regional and national Internet Governance Forums in facilitating policy discussions and addressing local contexts. Qusai Al-Shatti, First UNHCR Chair in the Arab region, emphasised the focus on capacity building and facilitating policymaking within these forums. He also mentioned the upcoming Arab IGF meeting in Amman, Jordan, highlighting its importance for regional discussions.

Renata Mielli viewed IGFs as platforms for multi-stakeholder dialogue, promoting knowledge sharing and consensus-building. Lillian Chamorro, representing the Latin America IGF, stressed the importance of addressing region-specific technology needs and contexts, highlighting that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to internet governance.

Dr. Hosein Badran shared insights about the Canadian IGF’s approach to policy discussions, emphasizing the importance of inclusive dialogue and diverse perspectives.

4. Challenges and Opportunities of 5G Technology

The discussion on 5G technology revealed both enthusiasm and caution among the speakers. Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka viewed 5G as a necessity for development rather than a luxury, emphasising its potential to drive economic growth and innovation. However, he also highlighted the challenges faced by Iraq and the Kurdistan region in deploying 5G due to federal government regulations.

Renata Mielli considered 5G as essential infrastructure for digital applications, while Eliamani Isaya Laltaika stressed the need for equitable deployment of advanced technologies to prevent widening the digital divide.

Kossi Amessinou from the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Benin pushed the discussion further by advocating for more advanced technologies like 6G for precision services, highlighting the varying levels of technological ambition across different regions.

Areas of Agreement and Disagreement

The speakers largely agreed on the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in addressing the challenges of emerging technology governance. There was a consensus on the need for capacity building, knowledge sharing, and investment in infrastructure to bridge the digital divide.

However, there were differences in emphasis and approach. While some speakers focused on comprehensive frameworks across technologies, others emphasized specific aspects such as ethics, privacy, and security. The perception of 5G technology also varied, with most speakers viewing it as crucial for development, while Kossi Amessinou unexpectedly argued for leapfrogging to 6G technology.

Thought-Provoking Comments and Future Directions

Several comments stood out for their potential to shape future discussions and policy directions. Renata Mielli’s proposal for guidelines to encourage local technology infrastructure and reduce dependence on foreign platforms, while also considering environmental impacts, broadened the scope of the discussion beyond mere technological adoption.

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika’s “PEST” formula provided a practical framework for advocating technology adoption to policymakers, linking it to tangible social and economic benefits.

Kossi Amessinou’s impassioned plea for immediate access to advanced technologies in developing countries injected a sense of urgency into the discussion, prompting reflection on the pace of technological adoption and distribution.

Unresolved Issues and Follow-up Questions

The discussion left several issues unresolved, including how to balance innovation and regulation for emerging technologies and ensuring equitable global access to advanced technologies. Questions were raised about the optimal role and influence of IGFs in policymaking processes and how to resolve tensions between federal and regional governance approaches.

Follow-up questions highlighted the need for further exploration of strategies to ensure equal access to new technologies in resource-limited countries, mechanisms for knowledge exchange between developed and developing nations, and ways to promote accountability for global tech platforms operating in specific regional contexts.

Conclusion

This discussion underscored the complex nature of governing emerging technologies in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. It emphasised the need for collaborative, flexible, and context-sensitive approaches to ensure equitable technological progress globally. The dialogue highlighted the importance of balancing innovation with regulation, addressing regional disparities, and fostering inclusive policy-making processes that involve multiple stakeholders. As emerging technologies continue to shape our world, the insights and challenges raised in this discussion will undoubtedly inform future governance strategies and international cooperation efforts.

Ahmed Farag: Thanks a lot. Yes. Channel 4 and they will bring the headsets. Channel 4, yeah. Maybe they will bring it. We are on channel 4. Let me first thank you for attending this NRI collaborative session. Today we will focus on our regional experience on the governance of emerging technology. Let me first introduce myself. I’m Ahmed Farag. I’m chair of the North African IGF. I’m a member as well in Arab Mag, as well as the… African IGF MEG. Today we will talk about the new and emerging technology which hold positive promises for the driving innovation, economic growth and sociality advancement on the global scale. However, the benefits of the offer are not unfortunately distributed with the developing countries often facing a barrier to accessing and efficiently utilizing this technology compared to their developed counterparts. The digital divide increases the existing inequality and hinders the ability of developing nations to fully participate in the digital economy and realize the potential benefits of technology progress. Through today’s session we will exchange our experience, our practice, okay, with our different regional, sub-regional, national IGFs, okay, and share together to focus on comparing the existing practice regarding ways emerging technology and govern and implementation of the society. This session are co-organized by about 40 NRIs. Today we’ll talk about EPR IGF, Arab IGF, Bangladesh IGF, Benin IGF, Cameroon IGF, Caribbean IGF, China IGF, Colombia IGF, Czech IGF, Dominican Republic IGF, Ecuador IGF, Ethiopian IGF, I will move IGF, okay, France, Ghana, Ghana youth, okay, Hong Kong, USA, Iraq, Italy, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Maldives, Mozambique, North Africa, Pakistan, Biro, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Iraq, Sudan, Tanzania, Gambia, Togo, Uganda, youth of the Columbia, youth of DRC, youth of LAC, IGF, and youth of Pakistan IGF. Forgive me if I miss any initiative. You missed Kurdistan. Kurdistan IGF. The most important one. Sorry. Okay. Today we have our distinguished speakers. Let me start first with Ms. Renata Mili. She’s the coordinator of the Internet Steering Committee in Brazil. Okay. Mr. Elimani Latikla, Judge of the High Court of Tanzania. His Excellency Mr. Anu Jawahar, Minister of Transportation and Communication in Kurdistan region Iraq, and Ms. Lin Lin, Director of China Mobile Research Institute, Department of User and Market Research. Thank you, and thank you for participating us today. Also, I would like to thank our online moderator and rapporteurs, Ms. Karol Nudassi, Ms. Judith Hellerstein, Ms. Aliko Matula, Ms. Umit Bajaro. Let me start our first question to His Excellency Mr. Anu. Okay. He will talk with us about what emerging digital technology are priorities for the Kurdistan region, and how you can see the wide gap between developed and developing country.

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka: Thank you very much, Mr. Ahmed. Thank you for all of you. I think my Arabic and your Arabic is better than our English, but we are obliged to speak English today. First of all, I want to extend my gratitude to the leadership and the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for supporting and organizing such a world-class event. I’m thankful for their hospitality and dedication to build bridges with all nations worldwide. Also, I want to extend my gratitude to IGF Secretariat and to IGF Kurdistan Region and Iraq, CAG Ramadan, and his dedicated staff for their efforts. Thank you very much. As Kurdistan Region Government, and especially after the declaration of KRG’s Digital Transformation Strategy and the vision for 2025 of His Excellency Prime Minister Masroor Barzani, which is a comprehensive strategy aimed to creating a digitally inclusive society, through this initiative, we are focused on advancing technologies such as AI, blockchain, 4G, hopefully 5G and IOT. A cornerstone of our work has been the development of high-speed infrastructure, including nationwide broadband expansion and the deployment of 4G and full preparement for 5G networks. This ensures that both urban and rural communities have equitable access to high-speed internet and digital opportunities. Our high-speed internet network of fiber optic cables has reached the villages, even the remote areas. The collaboration of the public sector with the private sector in Kurdistan Region has created… …reliance upon government budget, and as I mentioned earlier, supported our private sector companies to… to be more efficient and successful. Our focus on emerging digital technologies aims to bridge gaps, enhance infrastructure, and foster sustainable development. And our key priorities include providing high-speed internet connectivity, which serves as a backbone for other digital innovations. Connectivity ensures progress in sectors like education, health care, commerce, and et cetera. E-government platforms, digitalizing public services, and strategic priority is a strategic priority to enhance efficiency, transparency, and citizen engagement. Systems such as digital IDs, e-payment platforms, and service portals aim to streamline bureaucracies’ processes. Artificial intelligence and data analytics. AI is being prioritized for its potential to optimize urban planning, traffic management, and public safety. Harnessing big data will drive informed policy decisions and developed strategies. But we must confess that we are still in our very early stages. Cyber security and digital safety, building robust cyber security infrastructure, is essential to secure digital system and protect citizens and businesses from emerging threats. There is an excellent cooperation between private sector and public sector alongside the law enforcement agencies in this matter. Smart infrastructure and IoT, internet of things. Integrating IoT in transportation, logistics, and public utilities will facilitate smart urban management and reduce inefficiencies.

Ahmed Farag: Even this sector is brand new to Kurdistan and Iraq, but efforts are ongoing in this regard. Thank you. Minister. And now we will go to Ms. Renata. She will talk with us about how strategies can be implemented to ensure equal access and responsible governance of the new and emerging technology practically in the countries with limited resources and infrastructure.

Renata Mielli: Thank you very much. Thank you for the invitation, for being here to discuss this important theme. I believe we are at a particularly challenging moment to discuss the governance of emerging technologies such as AI, quantum technologies, IoT, among others. My first point is that it would be a mistake to start building governance structures for each type of technology, because if you want to be inclusive, if you want to be all the stakeholders, having voice in the structures of the governance of all this kind of technology, if we fragmented this for each kind of technology, we are difficult in the participation and incidence of all these stakeholders in this process. In this regard, we made significant progress at NetMundial Plus 10 that occurred in Brazil, Sao Paulo in April, by seeking to define a new framework for the scope of the governance, such as internet governance and digital policies and emerging technologies. Why not? In practice, this is what we have been doing for years, by including a variety of workshops and sessions that address these topics in the discussions of both here in the IGF and the regional forums. In Brazil, our regional forum, the Brazilian Internet Forum, are discussing this kind of new technologies in terms of governance and how to build safe, secure, and trustworthy new technologies for the good of people since, I don’t know, since the beginning of our IGF. Well, in this regard, we also, the CGI.br, are investing knowledge and investments in terms of money in trying to address the gap in knowledge and innovation about AI. We have invested funds in ten applied research centers for artificial intelligence. We already had seven sessions discussing this topic at the last two editions of our Brazil National IGF. We also lead discussions on the impacts of… discussion about the necessity of diversity in multi-language systems of AI. In our CGI.br, we also host the Brazilian Observatory of Artificial Intelligence, bringing into the CGI this discussion on the development and employment and use of AI in Brazil, besides other activities studying the impact of artificial intelligence. on the web, led by Ceweb, alongside other technologies, sovereignty and sustainability, that have the role to promote multistakeholder discussions and analysis of public policies focused on the development of emerging technologies, applications and innovation, emphasizing their impacts on digital sovereignty and autonomy, sustainability and Brazil’s economic development. We are proposing guidelines, we are going to propose guidelines, plans and actions to encourage the development and adoption of local technology infrastructure and applications, as well as reducing dependence on foreign platforms and solutions, and facilitate debate on the environmental impact of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and IoT devices, and propose solutions to minimize energy and resource consumptions. For now, we are fostering partnership between academia, government and the private sector to encourage research and development of emerging technologies and software and hardware solutions. This approach aims to promote national technology production and strengthen Brazil’s global competitiveness and also collaboration with other countries in this regard. Monitor global and regional trends in the development of emerging technologies and their applications, identifying opportunities and risks for Brazil, and propose mitigation measures to safeguard the technological autonomy and environmental sustainability. That’s it, thank you very much.

Ahmed Farag: Thank you so much for sharing your thoughtful thoughts and updates, and let me now I would like to move to Mr. Ilyamani, who is a high court judge in Tanzania and as a law expert, let me ask you, how can laws and regulatory frameworks keep pace with the rapid evolution of the emerging technology such as AI, blockchain and quantum computing?

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika: Okay, thank you very much, Facilitator. Like I was introduced, my name is Ilyamani Laltaika. Apart from being a judge, I’m actually an academic. I teach at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology. That’s what I was doing before Her Excellency President Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of our country, appointed me a judge and many people now are forgetting that I was a teacher before and in many capacities I’m invited as a former professor. My intervention will centre not only as a judge but also as an academic and I will give the interventions we are doing first from the academic point of view and second from the legal point of view. First, we know that the way of getting these technologies as part of African development is to bring them to the young people through science. So, Africa has invested heavily in STEM science, technology, engineering and mathematics and the Nelson Mandela Foundation has assisted Africa to establish four centres of excellency in art, religion, technology, engineering and And there are four universities spread across Africa, in Nigeria, in Tanzania, in Ouagadougou, and in South Africa. And these are all named after Nelson Mandela, and they are pioneers, they are really cutting-edge universities when it comes to research. So far, quickly, at Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology in Arusha, AI has been used in agriculture. Nowadays, it is very easy to predict the harvest, it is very easy to just get a leaf, put it on your phone, and know which kind of medicine you need, or which kind of fertilizer is needed. Artificial intelligence has been used to improve health, access to health. The students at Nelson Mandela in Arusha have developed a number of apps that assist women in detecting sicknesses and what time to reach to the hospital. Artificial intelligence has also been used to count wildlife and get the real number of problem animals. It has also been used to detect whether a lion is about to come to a village or not, and that is brought about safety. Legally, the African Union has its own mandate. After establishing in 2000, it is an instrument establishing the African Union. The African Union has pioneered enactment of laws that address emerging technologies. the Malabar Convention was adopted by the African Union to protect data and personal data protection even before this was very common. At the moment, we are launching a center for artificial intelligence, like we heard yesterday from the United Nations Commission for Africa that there are deliberate efforts to ensure that such a technology goes down. How do we quickly enact a law to address and keep pace with the emerging technology? The formula is a pest. Like the honorable minister from Kurdistan has said, connectivity is everything. If you get connectivity and your internet is okay, that is when you can now say you want blockchain, you want internet of things, you want, so first is connectivity. Now, our biggest tool, or can see that a lot of people are coming to assist us in getting a law that has been used in some country and customize it with our own and it moves on. Another way that we use is first to sensitize the politicians. Like I said, the formula is a pest. P stands for political. If politicians are well educated, they know that this is blockchain. We need this blockchain in order to enable women to access finances. We went to enable, to empower women to use their cell phone to access bank services. They will agree to enact a law that E is economic. We must tell them that you have the power to generate more money through data than even agriculture. For example, in Tanzania now we have a law to sell spectrum and we are putting spectrum of frequencies on the market and people come and say I need to buy frequency in order to run my radio or my television and they pay the government more money than farmers. So we tell them that economically it is important. S is social. We tell them that socially you can reduce women empowerment, crime against women if you use these technologies, we will detect people who are oppressing women and finally is technologically. This technology does not replace people. We are very careful not to tell, the minister will tell you that they don’t like technology that makes massive unemployment and a politician doesn’t want to hear that people will become unemployed. So we want to balance between employing people and adopting technologies.

Ahmed Farag: And now we will go to Ms. Lin Lin and let me ask you Ms. Lin, based on your experience as a user and market researcher, what mechanism can be established to facilitate knowledge exchange and trust building initiatives between developed and developing countries?

Chin Lin: Okay thank you. I think one way is to set up a joint laboratory. Just like AI joint laboratory to bridging the AI gap. There are mainly three aspects to consider when setting up the joint library. First, all the partners involved need to make clear their common goals. Such questions as, do we focus on the research and the breakthrough of specific technologies, or on promoting and improving the existing experience, and so on. Second, give full play to the unique advantages of each party. For example, leading technology enterprises can export technology and R&D capabilities, while local enterprises can make use of their market insights or advantages in labor costs. Third, set up a fair and reasonable cooperation with them, include their inter-correlation methods and resource input and sharing with them, and resource transformation, matching them, and so on, to guarantee the rights of all parties in the joint library. China Mobile has signed a deal with Indonesia’s senior mass group to establish an AI joint library. The benefits of setting up joint libraries, for one thing, it can be speed up the spread and transfer of technical knowledge a lot. Many technologically advanced countries have gained plenty of practical experience in computing power, data, and many other aspects. With joint libraries, this experience can be passed on to less advanced countries in a more direct way. and efficient way. For another, it boosts international scientific research, collaboration, and innovation to collaborate to unite force from all walks of life, such as research institutes and universities in different countries, breaking the boundaries of scientific research among countries. That’s my answer. Thank you.

Ahmed Farag: And now, let me go back to Mr. Anno. And I would like to ask him about how can governments and private sectors and all stakeholders actually collaborate to ensure accountability and transparency in the governance of emerging technology? And I appreciate if you can keep our answer in three minutes. Thank you so much.

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka: Of course, the public’s approach involving government, private sector, active civil society, and international organizations. Collaboration should focus on one. Developing inclusive policy framework, governments must establish clear, inclusive, regulatory framework that defines the ethical use of technologies. These frameworks should address privacy concerns, cybersecurity standards, and guidelines for emerging technologies like AI and blockchain. Two, public-private partnerships, PPPs, as my honorable judge and a skillful academic could understand as a unique and positive example, as I mentioned earlier. The gap that is really is created is that governments in developing countries interfere in nation, interfere in operation, interfere in the market, and that leads to the suffocation of the private sector. But here also could be seen as an exception. PPP policy is a priority. We have one example, not post-Iraq, past-Iraq, present here. They just informed me that they have maxed the record based on SEO factors. It’s the best operators for providing internet. And also, they are working toward establishing a tier 4 data center, spans over 12,500 square meters. This is the policy of Kurdistan region and the policy of Prime Minister Barzani for the collaboration between private sector and leveraging technology for transparency. Emerging technologies such as blockchain and AI-driven monitoring systems can improve transparency by reducing corruption, automating processes, and ensuring accurate tracking of public funds and services. Five, multi-stakeholder dialogue, establishing forums for regular dialogue among governments, tech developers, civil society, and academia can ensure that all voices be heard. This dialogue should be prioritized, aligning innovation with ethical principles and sustainable development goals. In this, we depend on our young creative partners in Kurdistan, such as the IGF Kurdistan Group, Kaak Ramadan, Tableau and Nassim Khan, Ahmed and Mateen, and their colleagues. Thank you.

Ahmed Farag: Thank you so much. Let’s go back to Miss Renata. And I will ask her about how are the new emerging technology can be governed in different regions, and what is the role of regional and international organizations? What is the role that they can play to assure a fair governance of this technology?

Renata Mielli: Thank you so much. Thank you. Are you listening? Thank you very much. As I said before, I think we have to find a way, first of all, to connect all these spaces because we need to be more collaborative, to be more strengthening our regional IGFs in terms of how we can address, discuss and achieve consensus about the core values that have been taken into account when we are talking about governance of emerging technologies. Of course, we need to have important focus on that data governance, because all these technologies at the end of the day are using our data, and we have to build transparency, we have to build a trustworthy environment in the way that 5G and 5G and others, blockchain, in a safe, secure and trustworthy way, because this is in the center of the agenda. I think government has a pivotal role in this regard, because the governance is a space to build consensus and to deliver outcomes pointing the very important issues, but governments have the responsibility to transform these kinds of recommendations into laws and regulations, so I think that’s the role of the IGFs, regional IGFs. and the governance, be a space where everybody can stay together to talk about these things, trying to achieve something that is in the best of the public interest.

Ahmed Farag: Now I’m back to Mr. Ilemani, and I will ask him about how can the policy and decision maker make the balance between innovation of the regulation and laws, between technology progress and the end user safety. You know there is always benefits and challenges and risks. How can we make this balance?

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika: Thank you very much. First is to subscribe to international standards. No country is an island. So if we say ITU, International Telecommunication Union, has said this is the standard for radio receivers, we should all follow. That is how we can protect our consumers. Secondly, we very much need to train our people. I am so much pro-training. I don’t know if I were not a judge, I was probably going to be appointed the Minister of Education. No, I’m joking. But I believe so much in empowering, in taking young people to study engineering in Europe, in America, in Arab countries. They will build the next generation of our scientists. But also coming to laws, we need laws to be there. For example, I want to talk about counterfeits. If you don’t have laws in your country, the market is growing. Someone will come and sell you very cheap things, but they are just dumping wastes, including hazardous wastes. You think someone is giving you computers for free for schools, but looking closely, these are hazardous wastes which cannot be used. be dumped in Europe, they pretend they are giving an NGO in your country, and then you bring them and they become hazard to the health of your people. So you need very strict laws, including international conventions to protect people. And for us in the court, we don’t take things for jokes when it comes to protecting the health and the environment of the people. We want laws which are very strict. If they are not strict enough, I can borrow a judgment from Iraq, from Pakistan, from USA, which has explained a concept about human rights and the environment, and use it to make sure that my government also enacts laws. We should not use poverty as an excuse to raise the standards of safety of the consumer and our people. Thank you.

Ahmed Farag: Now I will go back to Ms. Lin Ling, and I will ask her about how can we ensure the responsible and end-user-centric deployment of emerging technology, and what is the role of the end-user in this process?

Chin Lin: Okay, I think to answer this question, we have to know that to set up a user-centric deployment is a collapsible problem. First, it calls for the engagement of multiple stakeholders and the procession of consensus. At the same time, international organizations should play a leading role in working with different countries and stakeholders in their formulation of price imports and standards, and establish a globally unified ethical price port and technical standard, powering such as key demonstrations and fairness, transparency, security, and privacy protection. And the second focus is on the construction of the domestic governance system. At the national level, it’s significant to formulate and improve relevant policies, laws, and regulatory frameworks while maintaining flexibility. Additionally, a professional risk assessment should be built. Third, promote enterprises to take social responsibility. In the process of product design and development, enterprises should revolve around users’ needs, expectations, and behaviors, and develop comprehensive policies to protect users’ rights. These policies should include regulations on the legal use of user data, technical security, and product quality control. Furthermore, it’s indispensable to strengthen the public feedback mechanism. Through various channels, we can timely collect users’ openings and suggestions on their application of emergency technologies and popularize basic knowledge, potential risks, and benefits of such technologies to users. Thank you.

Ahmed Farag: Thank you so much. And now I would like to go to the floor. This is the interactive part of the session, the fun part actually, the part that you are playing the most important thing that you are sharing with us your experience or sharing with us your question for our discussion balance. So let me give you the floor. Okay. If you have any comment, intervention, anything that you would like to share about your experience in your region or sub-region, national.

Audience: Hello. My name is Ali Miro. I am here as a representative of one of the leading telecom companies in our region, which is called Kursan region, northern of Iraq. We are providing one of the latest services of technology, which is the 4G advanced. And as His Excellency Mr. Ano mentioned that we are now the leaders of the telecom services in our region by SEO. We presume to continue for more. Maybe we can provide the newest technologies such as 5G in our region. Also, as His Excellency mentioned, we as a new telecom, as we are working on to produce a tier 4 data center, which is for the first time in Middle East. This data center is 12,500 square meter, which is one of the biggest in the area. And we can provide more services such as cloud to not only internal, but international telecommunication or other companies which are in this field. And we’re really proud of what we are doing at the moment. And as I said, we keep continuing for the best and providing and cutting edge technologies, of course, by using the Excellency’s support and connecting our private sector to the public, which really helps and shows the way that our company wants to provide the services to the area. Thank you so much.

Ahmed Farag: Thank you so much for sharing this information with us. Thank you very much. And now we’ll go to Mr. Qusayesh Shati. Mr. Qusayesh is the first UNHCR Chair in the Arab region. Qusayesh Shati from the Arab IGF community.

Qusai Al-Shatti: First, let me commend you all on such activities and initiatives that we heard. We at the Arab IGF, if I were to talk from the start and where we reach right now, and let me take this opportunity to announce that we are going to have our next meeting in Amman, Jordan, between the 23rd and 26th of February. This is where the next Arab IGF will convene, hopefully. We saw the nature of our activity. It’s a mix between capacity building, taking initiatives, facilitating policymaking, and really bringing the community as all stakeholders together. As good as it looks, it’s a diverse role for the NRIs, or the regional IGFs, between capacity building, taking initiatives, policymaking, or let’s say advocacy, or bringing the community together. But from your experience, and from how you saw your NRIs develop, what do you see specifically talking about NRIs or regional IGFs rather than a global IGF? Is it more into facilitating policymaking, or more into capacity building, or taking initiatives, or we need to focus on bringing the community or the stakeholders together? Where do you see we should more focus or we should more put our efforts in rather than going into a diverse activity? It’s just a hypothetical question, too.

Ahmed Farag: Thank you so much.

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika: Thank you very much. I’ll give a perspective from Tanzania. For us, we very much focus on capacity building, but recently we have started initiatives to break the gap between the poor and the not-so-poor, the rural and the urban, take the unreached by bringing connection. Our president or vice… won an award and also got projects to take internet to secondary schools in very, very rural areas. So we are not yet very good in policy influence. We are more capacity building and also projects that empower community at grassroots.

Renata Mielli: Thank you for the question. I think in Brazil, and I talked a little bit about the regional, like IGF too, but in Brazil we are focusing in capacity building, but also in sharing perspectives and seeking for how to understand the different approaches of each sector regarding some specific and important topics like the regulation of artificial intelligence, for example. We are dealing with this in our IGF, regional IGF, besides we don’t use our IGF to do policy making, but at the end of the day, all the discussions we have has an impact on policy making, not only the regional IGF, but other initiatives we have in terms of, we have data protection seminar, for example, all the discussions we made for 15 years built a consensus in the community, private sector, government, civil society. society and academia that contribute to approve data protection law in Brazil. So I think these two things work together, hand by hand. And regarding the regional IGF, the Latin American IGF, I think we are in this moment focusing more on capacity building. But I am certain that we are going to move for the next level briefly. Thank you.

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka: Okay. Mr. Aziz, regarding this topic, I would like to answer you in Arabic, for every article, for every news story, and for every era, a country and men. We, with our IGF in Iraq and in Kurdistan region, and also the Middle East and Arabic IGF, we are also more focusing on capacity building and also for regulations. What they can do, as I mentioned, there are some difficulties in our countries, as not specifically to Kurdistan region, but to other parts of our country, about what’s the rule, the main rule of government, is regulation or operation. And as our partners mentioned, in our region, it’s more government going toward regulation and then operation, giving the private sector companies, such as Nowruz, Fastlink, Dell, Seven Net Liars, SART, and other companies, the other applications. So yes, we need IGFs, regional and also national IGFs, and their role is very important. Thank you.

Ahmed Farag: Now I’ll give the floor for our colleagues from the internet, online participation. Questions here?

Judith Hellerstein: We’ve got a couple of questions here. Oh, sorry. We have a couple of questions here. Oh, and this is not, it’s Judith Hellerstein,, not Carol Nadosi. Okay. We have a couple of questions here. First, from Iyab in Ethiopia, who’s interested in finding out the… strategy to advance 5G in Africa. And then also from Tahid, he was interested in finding out how do geopolitical tensions impact the safeguarding of critical infrastructure beyond borders? And if we could add one more, which you could choose also answer is, do you have any recommendations for local and regional IGFs to better follow the themes from policy makers?

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika: Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. I will address that from the DOSI on Africa. Like I said, we in Africa, our biggest tool is PPP, sorry. Always on PPP because I’m an academic and I prepare presentations. But really, we invite anyone who wants to invest and I’m happy Kurdistan is here, the minister is here with investors, is a wonderful picture. I think our ministers should learn from you that you are doing it practically, you can show that these are the guys who are doing it. And so that is one, we are inviting everybody. I want to be specific to my country. Last week, our president, Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, made a small reshuffle to our cabinet. And she said specifically to the minister of communication that I’m reducing information or journalism issues in your ministry to allow you to focus. on ICT, so it is a whole ministry on ICT. And the minister is here, I think you will see him around. He has been tasked by our president to explore every possible means to bring us cutting edge technology, be it G5 or blockchain or IOT, anything that will catapult us to be a part of the global economy. And I know the minister is a young lawyer, very energetic. If he comes and rub shoulders with a fellow minister here, I’m sure something may happen. We may probably be visited by my brother there to take us to G5. Thank you very much.

Ahmed Farag: Thank you.

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka: Something 5G, and by the way, you have an open invitation to Kurdistan. Yeah, thank you. All of you. Concerning 5G in Iraq and in Kurdistan region, we still have different perspectives. Kurdistan region government believes that the government must be more pro-regulation than operation. This is not the case with our partners in Baghdad. In Kurdistan region, we are ready for deployment of 5G technology since two years ago and until now. But unfortunately, we are banned from deploying 5G technology because of regulation from the federal government in Baghdad. Even this is not a constitutional decision. The constitution of Iraq as a federal country does not give the authority of this field only to the federal government. What is now known to us is that there’s a federal decision by the federal government for creating the fourth company of telecommunication, and it will be run by the government, which is really 100% different from our perspective in Kurdistan region. In Kurdistan region, we support, we empower to have a powerful, big private sector with powerful, small public sector that is regulating and supervising the private sector. So there are different perspectives. Still, we are negotiating that with our partners in Baghdad.

Ahmed Farag: I’m sure this situation will be solved soon, Shalva.

Renata Mielli: Hello. Hello. Just about the questions that mentions the geopolitical tension, the words, and how can we, as internet governance, digital governance, and the governance of emerging technologies, how we deal with this context. I think, first of all, we have to find ways to build some recommendations and consensus regarding these aspects in this kind of space like IGF. That’s maybe a starting point about how we build some common ground and framework to bring to our government and to multilateral spaces regarding the risks and the opportunities in terms of regulation and development and use of these technologies. And I think we have our own problems in our countries. Each country has its particularities in terms of political, cultural, and social. aspects, and we have to have the wisdom in how to use this common ground that we built together and to, in the benefit of a good best practice and use of this kind of new technologies.

Audience: You hear me? Good. Thank you so much everyone for the excellent presentations and I think it was a very good opportunity for everyone to share experiences and we have been learning actually from other contexts. There will be a lot of lessons learned to incorporate into our system as well. I had one question to His Excellency Dr. Anno regarding the promoting accountability for the companies like Meta, TikTok for example, that they usually run the platforms remotely because they have regional offices oversighting the operations in Iraq. And now as per the latest data, the percentage of Iraqis having access to internet is 70% with 65% like around that number using social media. And so there are a lot of issues with content moderation, there’s a lot of issues with fact checking and all those platforms somehow, especially for Kurdish language, which is our region, Kurdistan region. I wanted to ask His Excellency how he’s visioning the promotion of accountability in the future and engaging them in addition to the federal government to promote that in the future. Thank you. Thank you.

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka: Thanks to our colleagues at IGF Kurdistan and Iraq, our national IGF, and his colleagues, we had a very productive meeting with representatives, with regional representatives of TikTok. And as they informed me, approximately 25 million users, active users, in Iraq and in Kurdistan region. I asked them to visit Kurdistan region and to start negotiations with our law enforcement agencies and also with the ministry in order to address the challenges that you mentioned. So of course it’s important to speak, to have relations with the platforms of social media in order to protect the challenges, to protect our people, the privacy of our people, and also to address the challenges that’s coming with the spread usage of social media. Thank you.

Audience: Thank you so much, and now we’ll take a look at it. Thanks. Okay, now, if it’s possible, I want to ask a question from the different regions that are sitting there for the presentation. First of all, thanks for this great presentation. My question is more about the internal relation between health and the real internet, let’s say the 4G. Because now I’m not talking about the 5G because it’s all around the world. So I believe that now it’s been 10 years that 4G technology is officially working around the world. So we are, from our, let’s say, country, we are facing some problems that some people are thinking that this type of technologies, this type of frequencies are not good for their health. So I want to know that it is the same case in other regions, if it’s possible, if one of them, if any of them has seen any of these situations in their region.

Ahmed Farag: Thank you so much. Can you give us a reason? Oh, oh. for all different regions here?

Renata Mielli: Well, I think it’s important to understand the 5G as an important infrastructure to make, to have more quality in regards to access the digital applications and the infrastructure and even the internet and connecting all these devices. And I think it’s central and we have to understand the role of, because in the Brazilian perspective, I need to say that we have a structure, a governance structure that we have an agency to deal with the infrastructure and telecom infrastructure and we have another body to discuss what have been in the surface of this infrastructure. So I think this is a very important thing and thank you, but we are now, we have a very important we are developing this 5G and this technology, but in case of the internet governance, we don’t deal with this a lot in Brazil.

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika: Like you said, 4G is the current valuable resource really. And for us, we only get to hear about 5G from investors and big companies, telecom companies. companies, otherwise 4G is quiet enough for middle-income companies, for academics, for everyone. So the war of attracting 5G does not affect most of Africa so much because even 4G is not well spread. So we are waiting but we are hoping that there will be equitable, there will be justice, the geopolitics will calm so that this device or these facilities are deployed everywhere. It’s becoming an essential facility so every community from Kurdistan to Yassaland to Botswana everybody should be freely able to deploy 5G and continue its development. That’s what I wish that the international community starts looking at the Internet as an essential facility for human development and not for some patches because that will increase the gap between the poor and the rich. It will concentrate powers in one area so I’m hoping that future IGFs will discuss this so that we can have equity.

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka: As a government we don’t look to 5G as a luxury, we look to it as a necessity. Our people, Kurdistan region people deserve to have 5G Internet for transportation and many other services to countrymen in Kurdistan region. So what we think after good consideration with the Ministry of Health, yes it is safe to deploy 5G in Kurdistan because our people deserve to have 5G connectivity in Kurdistan. That’s the the legal and the official position of our ministry. Thank you.

Chin Lin: Okay, in China, I think this is not a typical problem because we have provided 5G service more than five years to their customer. I think nobody concerned about the health of the 5G. So I don’t think it’s a typical problem. And this topic discussed in ITOD department is a topic. We have some research results to support the input to the ITOD department.

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka: Mr. Ali, you need to get her contact information and get the reports, please.

Kossi Amessinou: Okay, we have more three questions. One, two, three, okay. Thank you, Ahmed. I’m Kosi. I’m a Sunni, I come from Benin. I come from Ministry of Economy and Finance in Benin. I’m also the chairperson of one NGO called Women Be Free. For me, when we talk about emerging technology, I don’t know if it is normal to talk about 4G. 4G, for me, is good. We need to talk about 6G. 6G, for me, is the emerging technology, not 5. 6G is our emerging technology. We need it for precision. We need today to have our women being very freely for us. When I’m a ski, I have… I have some problem with my doctors or school somewhere. In school, in hospital, in agriculture, I need precision in everything I need to do with technology. It’s not normal to have agriculture like we are doing since 100 years before now. It’s not normal. We need today technology we have today for our women being today. It’s not for tomorrow, it’s for today. Please, call our technology to be available for every person in developing country, in developed country, today, not for tomorrow.

Lillian Chamorro: Thank you so much. Okay, this is more a comment about the question. My name is Lillian Chamorro, I work with Black IGF, that is the IGF of Latin America. We want to say about that it is also for capacity building and also for bringing community together and that it has an impact in policymaking and despite it, we are not creating policy there, but I think it has an impact, but it would have something that is just what we are speaking. Each country have a different view of the technology. We listen now, we are thinking in 4G, we are thinking in 5G, we are thinking in 6G. Yes, then I think that the energy. the IGF in each country, in each region, have that capacity to take some technology and I said, like, make ground, like, have that technology, but in our context. And what is what is important for each country? What is what we want to discuss about that technology? That technology is affecting our country. Then is, I think that the NRIs countries, I mean, are a kind of appropriation of that technology, because there is where we find the opportunity to discuss what is important for each space. Just that. Thank you.

Audience: Go to my friend, Omar. As-salamu alaykum. This is Omar Sharaf, Libyan IGF. It’s more a comment than a question, but the guy who is, you know, concerning this comment is Mr. Qusay Shati. He is, he was asking about the role of the NRIs and, you know, the benefit of having such platforms. In our point of view, the local, at least in Libya, the local IGF was a tool just, not just for the capacity building or for the awareness campaigns regarding the emerging technologies or the, but it was the, you know, the platform for making the multi-stakeholders aware of the policy process. So we like a lot of, you know, policies to regulate our internet ecosystem in the country. So we had to have this platform to make the policy process more easy and more convenient for our stakeholders. Thank you. Thank you, Omar, for your information and your work on this. Thank you. And I just want to talk about the context of Africa. Yes, a number of things have happened in continent, looking at way back where we started from, or let me just say just from 2011 up to now, there has been a lot of improvement. We need to do more, and IGF have contributed a lot within the continent of Africa. We know how technology is growing very fast, and then we also have to adapt to that changes. So to adapt to that changes, the first thing that we need to be doing is to look at our educational sector. That is where I think transformation should begin from. The next generations that are coming are all coming from the educational sector. We need to have a kind of programs, or let me say syllabus updates, that when students are coming out from the universities or schools, and then are feeding into the workforce, then that transfer of knowledge is there. So when they get into that workforce, the changes that we are looking for will happen. Now the other side of it is the regulations and all of that. Now we have emerging technologies coming. Governments in our part of the world are quick to formulate rules and regulations and all of that, and also sometimes they tend to forget about the innovation part of that technology that is coming. So we should also look at that. We are not saying government should not regulate. Government can just look at that particular technology that is coming, look at it carefully and see which part of that needs to be regulated. If you take AI for example, privacy concerns is one. We all know we have our cultural concerns and all of that. So those are the areas government can look at. Now things of national security, those are the areas that government can look at and then begin to think, okay, let’s regulate. And those aspects that need to go to the community, should go to the community to promote innovation and all of that.

Ahmed Farag: Thank you so much. And now we will take Dr. Hosein Badran, our last speaker.

Dr. Hosein Badran: Thank you, thank you so much. My name is Hussain Badran. I’m a member of the Canadian IGF, but also a long-time member of the Arab IGF. From a Canadian perspective, and this could also be something to get input from the panel on, we have seen the IGF community quite interested in having a say in policy or proposed policies that the government, federal government, intends to put together. For example, regarding AI governance, there is already a governance structure in place, but how will this impact the internet? How this can be deployed? What are the ramifications? It’s something that we have been discussing with experts in Canadian IGF meetings for the last two and a half years to three years. The recent framework on online harms, which is an area to try to regulate and minimize the effect on content, on social media, on online in general. child abuse, terrorism, pornography, and so on. There’s regulation being proposed in Parliament, so IGF. Kenya IGF is a platform where experts convene and we invite parliamentarians, we invite, in some cases, ministers to come and have an open conversation. Youth IGF in Canada recently also invited the Minister of Justice to come, and he’s a champion of the online harms bill, to come and discuss the details and how we can collaborate in perhaps getting the concerns from civil society, from academia, from the private sector addressed. This kind of forum, is this something that is acceptable or this can be promoted for the communities in the respective countries? This would be a question, thank you.

Ahmed Farag: Excellent. Yes, okay, now we will give the floor in 30 seconds. 30 seconds, yes, for each one, okay. I will give you my service, you have one, you take it.

Chin Lin: I’m very glad to share and learn more from the session, I hope to have more coordination in this IGF.

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika: Let’s work together, and welcome to Dar es Salaam for Africa IGF next year.

Renata Mielli: I appreciate what Lilian brings, exactly, I completely agree, and the Canadian, yes, the regional IGFs needs to be all these things together but fits on the each country reality, each region reality. That’s the wisdom we have to share with each other. There is no model, I think that’s the. message. There is guidelines, but there is no model that fits all. That’s it. Thank you.

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka: To sum up, the magical word is collaboration and mutual understanding. And it must always be a win-win situation.

Ahmed Farag: Thank you so much. Yes, indeed. I think the collaboration between all the stakeholders is the key word, and keep the dialogue channels between all stakeholders. It will be the only exit door for any situation that we are facing. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you so much for attending. Can we take a photo for the banner, please? Thank you. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Agreement Points

Importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration

speakers

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka

Renata Mielli

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika

arguments

Establish forums for regular dialogue among stakeholders

Serve as a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue

Promote public-private partnerships for technology development

summary

Speakers agreed on the importance of collaboration between different stakeholders, including government, private sector, civil society, and academia, to address challenges in emerging technologies governance.

Focus on capacity building and knowledge sharing

speakers

Renata Mielli

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika

Chin Lin

arguments

Promote knowledge sharing and consensus-building

Invest in STEM education and research centers

Establish joint laboratories to facilitate knowledge exchange

summary

Speakers emphasized the importance of capacity building, education, and knowledge sharing initiatives to bridge the gap in emerging technologies between developed and developing countries.

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers emphasized the importance of investing in and equitably deploying advanced technologies and infrastructure to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas, as well as between developed and developing countries.

speakers

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika

arguments

Invest in high-speed infrastructure and nationwide broadband expansion

Focus on equitable deployment of advanced technologies

Both speakers highlighted the importance of regional IGFs in addressing specific technology needs and contexts, emphasizing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to internet governance and emerging technologies.

speakers

Renata Mielli

Lillian Chamorro

arguments

Address region-specific technology needs and contexts

Serve as a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue

Unexpected Consensus

Importance of 5G technology for development

speakers

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka

Renata Mielli

arguments

View 5G as a necessity for development, not a luxury

Consider 5G as essential infrastructure for digital applications

explanation

Despite representing different regions and contexts, both speakers agreed on the importance of 5G technology for development, viewing it as essential infrastructure rather than a luxury. This consensus is unexpected given the different levels of technological advancement in their respective regions.

Overall Assessment

Summary

The main areas of agreement among speakers included the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration, focus on capacity building and knowledge sharing, investment in infrastructure, and addressing region-specific needs in technology governance.

Consensus level

There was a moderate level of consensus among the speakers on key issues, particularly on the need for inclusive and collaborative approaches to emerging technology governance. This consensus suggests a growing recognition of the importance of multi-stakeholder engagement and context-specific solutions in addressing the challenges and opportunities presented by emerging technologies. However, there were also some differences in emphasis and priorities, reflecting the diverse contexts and experiences of the speakers.

Different Viewpoints

Focus of regional IGFs

speakers

Qusai Al-Shatti

Renata Mielli

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika

arguments

Focus on capacity building and facilitating policymaking

Serve as a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue

Focus on capacity building, but recently started initiatives to break the gap between the poor and the not-so-poor, the rural and the urban

summary

Speakers had different views on what should be the primary focus of regional IGFs, ranging from capacity building to policymaking facilitation and multi-stakeholder dialogue.

Approach to emerging technology governance

speakers

Renata Mielli

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka

arguments

Focus on comprehensive frameworks rather than technology-specific governance

Develop inclusive policy frameworks addressing ethics, privacy, and security

summary

While both speakers advocate for inclusive frameworks, Renata Mielli argues for a more holistic approach across technologies, while Ano Jawhar focuses on specific aspects like ethics, privacy, and security.

Unexpected Differences

Perception of 5G technology

speakers

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka

Kossi Amessinou

arguments

View 5G as a necessity for development, not a luxury

Push for more advanced technologies like 6G for precision services

explanation

While most speakers focused on the importance of 5G, Kossi Amessinou unexpectedly argued for skipping directly to 6G technology, which was not in line with the general discussion about current technological needs.

Overall Assessment

summary

The main areas of disagreement revolved around the focus of regional IGFs, approaches to emerging technology governance, and the prioritization of different generations of mobile technology.

difference_level

The level of disagreement among speakers was moderate. While there were differing opinions on specific approaches and priorities, there was a general consensus on the importance of technological development, inclusive governance, and bridging the digital divide. These differences highlight the complexity of addressing technological advancement in diverse regional contexts and the need for flexible, context-specific solutions.

Partial Agreements

Both speakers agree on the importance of infrastructure development, but Ano Jawhar emphasizes government-led initiatives, while Eliamani Isaya Laltaika advocates for public-private partnerships.

speakers

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika

arguments

Invest in high-speed infrastructure and nationwide broadband expansion

Promote public-private partnerships for technology development

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers emphasized the importance of investing in and equitably deploying advanced technologies and infrastructure to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas, as well as between developed and developing countries.

speakers

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika

arguments

Invest in high-speed infrastructure and nationwide broadband expansion

Focus on equitable deployment of advanced technologies

Both speakers highlighted the importance of regional IGFs in addressing specific technology needs and contexts, emphasizing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to internet governance and emerging technologies.

speakers

Renata Mielli

Lillian Chamorro

arguments

Address region-specific technology needs and contexts

Serve as a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue

Key Takeaways

Comprehensive governance frameworks are needed for emerging technologies rather than technology-specific approaches

Bridging the digital divide requires investment in infrastructure, education, and public-private partnerships

Regional and national IGFs play important roles in capacity building, facilitating policy discussions, and addressing local contexts

5G and advanced connectivity are seen as necessities for development, not luxuries

Collaboration between stakeholders and maintaining open dialogue is crucial for addressing challenges

Resolutions and Action Items

Establish forums for regular multi-stakeholder dialogue on emerging technology governance

Develop inclusive policy frameworks addressing ethics, privacy and security

Invest in STEM education and research centers to build local capacity

Promote public-private partnerships for technology development and deployment

Strengthen public feedback mechanisms on emerging technology applications

Unresolved Issues

How to balance innovation and regulation for emerging technologies

Addressing health concerns related to 5G and advanced connectivity technologies

Resolving tensions between federal and regional governance approaches (e.g. in Iraq/Kurdistan)

How to ensure equitable global access to advanced technologies like 5G/6G

Determining the optimal role and influence of IGFs in policymaking processes

Suggested Compromises

Focusing regulation on specific aspects of technologies (e.g. privacy, national security) while allowing innovation in other areas

Using public-private partnerships to balance government oversight and private sector innovation

Adapting governance approaches to fit local contexts while adhering to international standards

Balancing capacity building efforts with policy influence activities in IGFs

We are proposing guidelines, we are going to propose guidelines, plans and actions to encourage the development and adoption of local technology infrastructure and applications, as well as reducing dependence on foreign platforms and solutions, and facilitate debate on the environmental impact of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and IoT devices, and propose solutions to minimize energy and resource consumptions.

speaker

Renata Mielli

reason

This comment introduces a comprehensive approach to technology governance that considers local development, reducing foreign dependence, and environmental impacts.

impact

It broadened the discussion beyond just technological adoption to include sustainability and local empowerment, influencing subsequent speakers to address these aspects.

The formula is a pest. P stands for political. If politicians are well educated, they know that this is blockchain. We need this blockchain in order to enable women to access finances. We went to enable, to empower women to use their cell phone to access bank services. They will agree to enact a law that E is economic. We must tell them that you have the power to generate more money through data than even agriculture.

speaker

Eliamani Isaya Laltaika

reason

This comment provides a practical framework for advocating technology adoption to policymakers, linking it to tangible social and economic benefits.

impact

It shifted the conversation towards the importance of educating politicians and framing technology in terms of concrete societal benefits, influencing later discussions on policy-making and stakeholder engagement.

Collaboration should focus on one. Developing inclusive policy framework, governments must establish clear, inclusive, regulatory framework that defines the ethical use of technologies. These frameworks should address privacy concerns, cybersecurity standards, and guidelines for emerging technologies like AI and blockchain.

speaker

Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka

reason

This comment emphasizes the need for collaborative, inclusive policy-making that addresses ethical concerns and security standards.

impact

It steered the discussion towards the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in technology governance, influencing subsequent comments on public-private partnerships and international cooperation.

We need today technology we have today for our women being today. It’s not for tomorrow, it’s for today. Please, call our technology to be available for every person in developing country, in developed country, today, not for tomorrow.

speaker

Kossi Amessinou

reason

This passionate plea highlights the urgency of making advanced technologies accessible to all, especially in developing countries.

impact

It injected a sense of urgency into the discussion and shifted focus towards the immediate needs of developing countries, prompting reflection on the pace of technological adoption and distribution.

Overall Assessment

These key comments shaped the discussion by broadening its scope from mere technological adoption to encompass issues of local empowerment, sustainability, policy-making strategies, ethical considerations, and urgency of implementation. They fostered a more holistic view of technology governance that considers social, economic, and environmental impacts, while also emphasizing the need for inclusive, collaborative approaches that bridge the gap between developed and developing nations. The discussion evolved from technical aspects to more nuanced considerations of how technology can be leveraged for societal benefit and equitable development.

How can strategies be implemented to ensure equal access and responsible governance of new and emerging technologies in countries with limited resources and infrastructure?

speaker

Ahmed Farag

explanation

This question addresses the core challenge of bridging the digital divide between developed and developing countries.

How can laws and regulatory frameworks keep pace with the rapid evolution of emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain and quantum computing?

speaker

Ahmed Farag

explanation

This highlights the need for adaptive legal frameworks to govern fast-changing technologies.

What mechanisms can be established to facilitate knowledge exchange and trust-building initiatives between developed and developing countries?

speaker

Ahmed Farag

explanation

This question explores ways to promote collaboration and reduce disparities in technological advancement.

How can governments, private sectors, and all stakeholders collaborate to ensure accountability and transparency in the governance of emerging technologies?

speaker

Ahmed Farag

explanation

This addresses the need for multi-stakeholder cooperation in responsible technology governance.

How can new and emerging technologies be governed in different regions, and what role can regional and international organizations play to ensure fair governance?

speaker

Ahmed Farag

explanation

This question explores the potential for coordinated global efforts in technology governance.

How can policymakers balance innovation, regulation, and laws with technological progress and end-user safety?

speaker

Ahmed Farag

explanation

This highlights the challenge of promoting innovation while ensuring user protection.

How can we ensure responsible and end-user-centric deployment of emerging technologies, and what is the role of the end-user in this process?

speaker

Ahmed Farag

explanation

This question focuses on user-centered approaches to technology deployment.

What is the strategy to advance 5G in Africa?

speaker

Iyab from Ethiopia (online participant)

explanation

This question addresses the specific challenges of implementing advanced telecommunications in Africa.

How do geopolitical tensions impact the safeguarding of critical infrastructure beyond borders?

speaker

Tahid (online participant)

explanation

This explores the intersection of geopolitics and technology infrastructure security.

Do you have any recommendations for local and regional IGFs to better follow the themes from policymakers?

speaker

Online participant (unspecified)

explanation

This question seeks to improve alignment between IGFs and policymaking processes.

How can accountability be promoted for companies like Meta and TikTok that run platforms remotely, especially regarding content moderation and fact-checking in languages like Kurdish?

speaker

Audience member (unspecified)

explanation

This addresses challenges in regulating global tech platforms in specific regional contexts.