High-Level Dialogue: The role of parliaments in shaping our digital future

Summary

This high-level dialogue focused on the role of parliamentarians in shaping the digital future, co-organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Parliamentary Union (IPU). The discussion brought together parliamentarians from Egypt, Uruguay, Tanzania, and Thailand to address digital policy challenges and opportunities in their respective countries.

ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin opened by highlighting that while digital innovation has created opportunities for economic growth and civic engagement, one-third of humanity still lacks internet access. She emphasized that parliamentarians are uniquely positioned to ensure digital technologies serve the public good through transparent, inclusive, and rights-based legislation. IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong stressed the need for parliamentarians to stay ahead of technological developments, noting that the IPU has adopted resolutions on AI’s impact on democracy and human rights.

The parliamentarians shared both hopes and concerns about their digital futures. Egypt’s Amira Saber celebrated bringing 12 million people online and launching nationwide 5G, while expressing concerns about freedom of expression and the digital divide. Uruguay’s Rodrigo Goni emphasized that parliamentarians cannot remain reactive but must develop “political intelligence” to anticipate technological changes. Tanzania’s Neema Lugangira highlighted the need for capacity building and access to AI tools for parliamentarians, particularly in developing countries. Thailand’s Senator Nophadol In na praised his country’s digital transformation while worrying about urban-rural digital divides and cybersecurity threats.

Key recommendations included creating mechanisms for parliamentarians to engage directly with tech companies, establishing policy radars to map global digital developments, improving online safety particularly for women, and developing debt-swap programs for digitalization. The discussion concluded with commitments from both ITU and IPU to continue supporting parliamentary capacity building and facilitating stakeholder collaboration in shaping inclusive digital policies.

Keypoints

## Major Discussion Points:

– **The Critical Role of Parliamentarians in Digital Governance**: Parliamentarians are positioned as key actors rather than observers in shaping digital policy, with responsibilities for creating ethical frameworks, ensuring inclusive access, and regulating emerging technologies like AI while representing citizen interests.

– **Digital Divide and Inclusion Challenges**: Persistent gaps between urban and rural areas, developed and developing nations, and different socioeconomic groups in accessing digital technologies, with emphasis on bringing connectivity to underserved populations and ensuring no one is left behind.

– **Need for Parliamentary Capacity Building**: Recognition that lawmakers cannot effectively regulate technologies they don’t understand, highlighting the urgent need for digital literacy training, technical skills development, and knowledge-sharing platforms for parliamentarians globally.

– **Balancing Innovation with Risk Management**: Discussion of both opportunities (economic growth, better services, employment) and threats (cybersecurity, online harassment, misinformation, threats to democracy) posed by rapid technological advancement, particularly AI.

– **Multi-stakeholder Collaboration Requirements**: Emphasis on the necessity of bringing together parliamentarians, tech companies, international organizations (ITU/IPU), civil society, and other stakeholders to address complex digital challenges that transcend traditional boundaries.

## Overall Purpose:

The discussion aimed to establish how parliamentarians can effectively contribute to shaping a more inclusive and equitable digital future, while identifying specific support needs and collaborative frameworks between the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to enhance parliamentary engagement in digital governance.

## Overall Tone:

The discussion maintained a tone of cautious optimism throughout. Speakers acknowledged significant challenges and risks while expressing hope about digital transformation’s potential. The tone was collaborative and solution-oriented, with parliamentarians sharing both concerns and concrete examples of progress in their countries. There was an underlying urgency about the need for immediate action, but this was balanced with practical, constructive suggestions for moving forward through partnership and capacity building.

Speakers

**Speakers from the provided list:**

– **Gitanjali Sah** – Role/Title: Not specified in transcript, appears to be moderating/organizing the event

– **Doreen Bogdan-Martin** – Role/Title: Secretary-General of ITU (International Telecommunication Union)

– **Martin Chungong** – Role/Title: Secretary-General of IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union)

– **Amira Saber** – Role/Title: Member of the People’s Assembly in Egypt, introduced the first draft bill on AI governance in Egyptian parliament

– **Rodrigo Goni** – Role/Title: Member of the House of Representatives from Uruguay

– **Nophadol In na** – Role/Title: Senator from Thailand, Vice-chairperson of the Working Group on Science and Technology of IPU

– **Neema Lugangira** – Role/Title: Parliamentarian from Tanzania (specific parliamentary position not clearly specified in transcript)

**Additional speakers:**

None – all speakers mentioned in the transcript are included in the provided speakers names list.

# Comprehensive Report: High-Level Dialogue on Parliamentarians’ Role in Shaping the Digital Future

## Executive Summary

This high-level dialogue, organized as a closing session of the WSIS Forum and co-hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), brought together parliamentarians from Egypt, Uruguay, Tanzania, and Thailand alongside international organization leaders to address the critical role of parliamentarians in digital governance. The discussion demonstrated strong consensus on key challenges and established a collaborative framework for enhanced parliamentary engagement in shaping an inclusive digital future, with concrete commitments for ongoing ITU-IPU cooperation.

## Opening Context and Framework

Session organizer Gitanjali Sah set the stage by emphasizing the importance of parliamentary engagement in digital governance and the opportunity presented by the upcoming WSIS+20 review in December.

ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin established the discussion’s foundation by highlighting the dual nature of digital transformation: while digital innovation has created unprecedented opportunities for economic growth, learning, employment, and civic engagement, one-third of humanity still lacks internet access, with many more lacking the skills and resources to benefit from digital technologies. She emphasized that parliamentarians are uniquely positioned to ensure digital technologies serve the public good through transparent, inclusive, and rights-based legislation.

IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong complemented this perspective by stressing the urgent need for parliamentarians to stay ahead of technological developments rather than merely responding to them. He highlighted the IPU’s Charter of Ethics on Science and Technology and noted that the IPU has already adopted resolutions on artificial intelligence’s impact on democracy and human rights, providing a roadmap for national-level parliamentary action. Chungong emphasized the importance of strengthening collaboration between policymakers and the scientific community to ensure evidence-based conversations.

## Parliamentary Perspectives: National Experiences and Achievements

### Egypt: Leading AI Governance Innovation

Amira Saber, Member of the People’s Assembly in Egypt who introduced the first draft bill on AI governance in Egyptian parliament, presented Egypt’s significant digital transformation achievements. She celebrated bringing 82% of Egyptians online and launching nationwide 5G infrastructure, including the symbolic launch at the pyramids. Her AI governance bill received support from 60 Egyptian MPs, demonstrating parliamentary engagement in digital policy.

Saber articulated a fundamental principle that resonated throughout the discussion: “We cannot regulate what we don’t understand, so there is a huge role for the IPU to get more parliamentarians capacitated on digital skills and how to govern for the best interest of the people.” She emphasized concerns about online safety, particularly regarding deepfakes and their disproportionate impact on women, noting that women can face life-threatening consequences from AI misuse.

She also advocated for innovative financing mechanisms, suggesting debt swap mechanisms for digitalization similar to climate debt swaps, recognizing the financial barriers facing Global South nations in digital development.

### Uruguay: Embracing Collaborative Governance

Rodrigo Goni, Member of the House of Representatives from Uruguay, provided insights into the need for adaptive governance approaches. He argued that “parliaments were always reactive. We looked at what was happening, and then we came up with a law. Now, it’s the other way around, because we cannot follow the speed of this digital era. A parliament that wants to tackle these issues reactively is useless.”

Goni introduced the concept of “political intelligence” as a framework for addressing digital challenges, emphasizing that cooperation is necessary for addressing digital safety and protection issues. His perspective highlighted the need for parliamentarians to develop anticipatory governance models rather than responding after problems emerge.

### Tanzania: Addressing Power Imbalances

Neema Lugangira, parliamentarian from Tanzania who rushed from her daughter’s graduation to attend the meeting, provided crucial insights into the power dynamics between global technology companies and developing nations’ governments. She observed that “most of the tech companies, especially the multinational tech companies, are from the global north… their annual turnover in terms of their sales at times is more than our national GDPs.”

This observation led to her recommendation that ITU and IPU facilitate mechanisms for bringing senior decision-makers from tech companies to meet directly with parliamentarians. Lugangira also highlighted how AI accelerates online gender-based violence, particularly against women in public office, undermining democratic participation.

She emphasized the importance of informed regulation: “We are only going to be able to regulate what we know. But if we remain not knowing it, we’re going to have stringent regulations, which then are not going to be helpful for the growth of the digital sector.”

### Thailand: Digital Transformation in Practice

Senator Nophadol In na from Thailand, serving as Vice-chairperson of the Working Group on Science and Technology of IPU, showcased Thailand’s comprehensive digital transformation under the Thailand 4.0 vision. He highlighted specific achievements including the Prachachat Internet project, PromptPay digital payment system, e-government applications, and the Personal Data Protection Act.

His contribution centered on human-centric governance principles: “Technology must serve people, not replace them. As we enter the age of AI… Our digital progress must be guided by human values and shared responsibility.” He also addressed emerging cybersecurity threats and emphasized the importance of AgriTech applications for rural development.

## Areas of Strong Consensus

### Parliamentary Capacity Building as Foundation

All speakers demonstrated unanimous agreement on the urgent need for parliamentary capacity building in digital technologies. This consensus emerged from the shared recognition that parliamentarians cannot effectively regulate technologies they don’t understand. The agreement encompassed technical skills development, access to AI tools for policy analysis, and knowledge-sharing platforms for global parliamentary cooperation.

### Digital Divide as Critical Challenge

There was universal agreement that the digital divide represents a critical challenge requiring coordinated action. Speakers consistently framed digital access as essential for inclusive development, with particular emphasis on rural and marginalized communities. This consensus extended beyond mere connectivity to encompass digital literacy, skills development, and meaningful participation in the digital economy.

### Proactive Parliamentary Engagement

All speakers agreed that parliamentarians must play an active role in shaping digital governance and policy. This consensus emerged from the shared recognition that traditional reactive approaches are inadequate for the speed of technological change, with strong support for collaborative and anticipatory governance models.

### Online Safety and Democratic Protection

Speakers shared deep concern about online safety issues, with particular emphasis on protecting women and vulnerable groups from digital harms. This consensus encompassed concerns about deepfakes, online gender-based violence, misinformation, and cybersecurity threats that undermine democratic participation.

### Multi-stakeholder Cooperation

All speakers emphasized that digital governance challenges require structured cooperation between governments, tech companies, civil society, and international organizations. The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) framework was recognized as providing a trusted platform for such collaboration over 20 years.

## Key Initiatives and Partnerships

### Women’s Leadership in Digital Governance

The discussion highlighted the Women Political Leaders partnership with Smart Africa and GIZ for the FEM AI champions initiative, demonstrating concrete efforts to enhance women’s participation in digital governance.

### Parliamentary Engagement Platforms

Several platforms for parliamentary engagement were mentioned, including the Internet Governance Forum parliamentary track in Norway focusing on misinformation and disinformation, and the upcoming parliamentary conference in Kuala Lumpur on responsible AI scheduled for November.

### ITU-IPU Collaboration

The discussion emphasized the natural partnership between ITU and IPU as “neighbors” in Geneva, with commitments for enhanced cooperation in capacity building and policy development.

## Concrete Recommendations and Commitments

### ITU-IPU Collaboration Framework

The discussion produced specific commitments for enhanced cooperation between ITU and IPU, including:

– Collaborative capacity building programs for parliamentarians in digital skills and AI understanding

– Extension of ITU’s AI Skills Coalition to include parliamentary capacity building opportunities

– Creation of mechanisms for improving parliamentarians’ access to AI tools, particularly for those from least developed countries

– Facilitation of direct engagement between senior tech company decision-makers and parliamentarians

### Upcoming Initiatives

The discussion established momentum for several initiatives:

– Continuation of discussions at the Global Conference of Speakers of Parliament with a special panel on parliament’s role in digital future

– Parliamentary conference in Kuala Lumpur on responsible AI

– Further development of connectivity initiatives with focus on rural areas

– Leveraging the WSIS+20 review in December as a key opportunity for parliamentary engagement

### Innovation in Financing and Access

Speakers identified the need for innovative approaches including:

– Corporate social responsibility programs from tech companies to provide subsidized access to AI tools

– Implementation of debt swap mechanisms for digitalization in developing countries

– Development of sustainable financing models for digital infrastructure and capacity building

## Ongoing Challenges and Future Considerations

### Capacity Building Implementation

While there was strong consensus on the need for parliamentary capacity building, the practical implementation of comprehensive training programs across diverse political and technological contexts remains a significant challenge requiring sustained commitment and resources.

### Global Equity in Digital Access

Questions about ensuring equitable access to expensive AI tools and digital infrastructure for parliamentarians and citizens in developing countries require continued attention and innovative financing solutions.

### Balancing Innovation and Regulation

The discussion highlighted the ongoing challenge of developing regulatory frameworks that protect citizens while enabling beneficial innovation, particularly in rapidly evolving areas like artificial intelligence.

### Technical Implementation

Complex technical issues such as identity verification, deepfake prevention, and cross-border data governance require continued technical and policy development.

## Strategic Implications and Future Directions

### Enhanced International Cooperation

The ITU-IPU partnership represents a model for how international organizations can support parliamentary capacity building and facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue. The commitment to continued collaboration demonstrates the potential for sustained institutional support for parliamentary engagement in digital governance.

### Democratic Innovation Through Technology

The discussion highlighted opportunities for democratic innovation through digital technologies, including AI tools for policy analysis, enhanced citizen engagement platforms, and improved government service delivery, while maintaining focus on digital rights and inclusion.

### Proactive Governance Models

The consensus on moving beyond reactive governance approaches suggests a significant shift in how parliamentarians conceptualize their roles in technology policy, with implications for legislative processes and institutional capabilities.

## Conclusion

This high-level dialogue demonstrated both the urgency and the collaborative potential of parliamentary engagement in digital governance. The strong consensus on key challenges—digital divide, capacity building needs, online safety concerns, and the necessity of multi-stakeholder cooperation—provides a solid foundation for coordinated international action.

The commitments made by ITU and IPU to support parliamentary capacity building and facilitate stakeholder collaboration represent important steps toward more inclusive and effective digital governance. The concept of “political intelligence” and the emphasis on proactive, collaborative approaches suggest that parliamentarians are ready to embrace new models of governance appropriate for the digital age.

The discussion’s significance lies in demonstrating that parliamentarians from diverse regions and political systems can find common ground on digital governance challenges while building practical partnerships for implementation. The upcoming WSIS+20 review in December provides an immediate opportunity to translate these commitments into concrete action.

The collaborative spirit evident throughout the dialogue, combined with specific commitments for ongoing cooperation between ITU and IPU, suggests that this represents the beginning of sustained efforts to enhance parliamentary engagement in shaping an inclusive digital future. The emphasis on human-centric governance, democratic values, and international cooperation provides a strong foundation for addressing the complex challenges of digital transformation while ensuring that technology serves the public good.

Gitanjali Sah: We will soon begin our high-level dialogue, the role of parliamentarians in shaping our digital future. Thank you for your patience, and thank you for joining us here. We will begin in two minutes. We are just waiting for a few more participants to arrive who are engaged outside, and they will soon be entering the room. Thank you so much, and we will begin soon our exciting dialogue with the parliamentarians. We will begin in two minutes. We will begin in two minutes. We will begin in two minutes. We will begin in two minutes. We will begin in two minutes. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We are about to start our high-level dialogue on the role of parliamentarians in shaping our digital future. This dialogue is co-organized by the International Telecommunication Union and the International Parliamentary Union. We invite our Secretary-Generals, Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of ITU, and Mr. Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary-General, to please lead the moderation of this high-level dialogue.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin: Thank you. Thank you. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. I am most honored to open this crucial discussion as we wrap up this high-level week here in Geneva. The question before us today is what role lawmakers can take in terms of sharing and shaping our digital future. We have seen here a lot this week at the WSIS high-level event and also our AI for Good Global Summit. I hope you have also had a chance to explore that summit. What we have seen is that technology has evolved incredibly fast over the past two decades. While digital innovation has opened up incredible opportunities for economic growth, for learning, for employment, and even civic engagement, we know it has also exposed spark inequalities and left billions behind. One-third of humanity still does not have access to the Internet, and in millions and millions of and many more actually lack the skills and resources to truly benefit from the digital world. Policy decisions, particularly around emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, will be consequential in defining whether and how these technologies impact the lives and livelihoods of all people. This is where the role of parliamentarians come in, and it’s key. As elected representatives, you are uniquely placed to ensure that digital technologies serve the public good and reflect the values of transparency, inclusivity, accountability and human rights. Values that have been central to the WSIS action lines and have also been strengthened by the Global Digital Compact that was adopted last year by UN member states. Now I understand this is all easier said than done. Tech innovation is outpacing traditional legislative processes as well, and new governance challenges are emerging while we’re still wrestling with prior ones, all of which are being amplified in the era of artificial intelligence. So what can digital policy leaders do and legislators? I believe that we can and I believe that we must adapt by making sure lawmakers are digitally skilled with sufficient understanding of technologies like artificial intelligence to help guide ethical, inclusive and rights-based approaches to legislation. We can also double down on collaboration. As the UN Agency for Digital Technologies, ITU is working hard to strengthen engagement amongst lawmakers and the technical community. And this, of course, is where the World Summit on the Information Process also plays a crucial role. For over 20 years, the WSIS has provided a trusted platform. and Ms. Ngozi Ueno. We are proud to be a part of the digital platform where all stakeholders, including parliamentarians, can come together to carve out a path towards people-centered, development-oriented information societies. WSIS has built essential bridges between governments and the tech sector, empowered local communities with digital skills and infrastructure, and it continues to champion digital inclusion as a pillar of sustainable development. With the 20-year review of the WSIS process in December, this is our key opportunity. It’s our opportunity to recommit, double down on that WSIS vision, and make sure that this time-tested platform remains fit for the future. With that, ladies and gentlemen, I look to Gitanjali, but I think I can hand back to you or hand directly to my friend, the Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentarian Union, Martin. The floor is yours, please.

Martin Chungong: Thank you very much, Doreen, and Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this session. I really welcome the opportunity to bring the parliamentary dimension to the global conversations that are taking place at this WSIS Summit meeting. We believe, and Doreen, thank you for drawing attention to why Parliament should be part of the conversation. I share your views entirely. As we have grappled with the challenges of the new technology age, we believe that all hands are on the table. are welcome on deck, and parliamentarians have a crucial role to play. And I’m looking forward to the discussions that will take place during this particular meeting, which will give us a kind of a roadmap for what we need to do to support parliaments and parliamentarians in helping address the key challenges that are facing us in this new digital age. So, I welcome this opportunity, and I do so from the vantage point that the IPU, the Global Organization of Parliaments, needs to be in on the action, needs to convene parliaments so that they can contribute to the global discussion on how we address the challenges of the digital age. And for some time now, and this is in conformity with our strategy, we are looking at how parliaments should be ahead of the curve when it comes to managing the new digital age in a way that is responsible and beneficial to mankind, while at the same time minimizing the risks involved. And, Doreen, you mentioned in your statement that there are lots of opportunities, but there are lots of risks too. Our duty as lawmakers is to devise policies and provide resources that would allow us to help technology develop in a responsible fashion for the benefit of mankind, and also help reduce and minimize the risks involved. And in recent years, we have been very active. Just last October, we did adopt a resolution on the impact of AI on democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. It is for us a roadmap, blueprint for parliaments to take action at the national level to make sure that the development of AI and its use is not inimical to democracy and human rights at country level. We have also realized that the development of new technologies is being undertaken without much regulation. I think it is so fast, as Doreen was saying, it is taking place in such a fast pace that we do not stop to think of how we can really provide guidelines and put in place protective mechanisms to make sure that AI functions properly. And so we have come up with a Charter of Ethics on Science and Technology, which is something that was developed in the course of a two-year period by our specialized body, the Advisory Group on Science and Technology, and we want to roll this out and, Doreen, I think that it is something that together we can see how ITU and IPU can work to make sure that technology is developed according to certain ethical guidelines, because there are a lot of dilemmas that are emerging as we work with new technologies. And then we also had recently, I think it was in Norway, where we had the parliamentary track at the Internet Governance Forum, and that one was focusing on misinformation and disinformation, which is something that we have all recognized as a major risk and threat to humanity as a whole. So we want to continue this conversation, and as I said, we want to do it in partnership with other stakeholders. The three of us are here because parliaments are just one piece of the puzzle. You have the governments, you have civil society, the scientific community. There is a case to be made for a rapprochement between policymakers and the scientific community. We don’t see much evidence of that happening at this particular stage and that is one of the goals of the IPU, making sure that parliamentarians reach out to the scientific community to ensure that these conversations are evidence-based because I believe that science and technology do not lie except they are manipulated by some malevolent spirit. So I look forward to the conversations that will be taking place today and we would like to carry some of the information that we get from this meeting to the summit of speakers of parliaments which will be taking place in this city at the end of the month. The Global Conference of Speakers of Parliament and there will actually be a special panel during that summit on the role of parliament in shaping our digital future. Thank you Doreen for accepting ITU to contribute to the deliberations of that panel and we will be going to Asia too in Kuala Lumpur later in the year in November where there will be a parliamentary conference on the role of parliament in shaping the future of responsible AI. So I think we have our work cut out for us, we just need to keep our collective feet to the fire and make sure that as we develop new technologies in this digital age we can do so in a responsible manner, we can do so in a coherent manner so that it is beneficial to all. And I want to lay emphasis on the need for inclusion because Doreen I think you mentioned that not every household is… has access to internet today and I think that is basically in this day and age has become a question of human rights and so we need to make sure that development of technology is inclusive and egalitarian. Thank you very much for your attention and I will give the floor back to Doreen, I think. Is that it, Gitanjali? Thank you.

Rodrigo Goni: Thank you. Thank you so much, Secretary General. Always wise words from you and thank you for that longstanding partnership with the ITU but also with the WSIS community, the WSIS forum and of course, as you just mentioned, the Internet Governance Forum. Thank you. So ladies and gentlemen, we have four amazing parliamentarians with us this morning. I think Neema is joining us shortly. She’s stuck in another session so we will welcome her shortly. But here with me on the podium, we have Madam Amira Saber who is a member of the People’s Assembly in Egypt. Welcome to you. We also have Mr. Rodrigo Goni who is from Uruguay.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin: He’s a member of the House of Representatives and joining us remotely, we have from Thailand, Senator Nophadol In na. So welcome to you. What we’re going to do is we’ll start with the first question. I’ll have you each answer and then I’ll turn to Martin who will pose the second question. So I’ll dive right into the first question. If we can start about our shared digital future. So asking you about our shared digital future, about digital policy in the context of your country. and if you can share what are you hopeful about and what keeps you up at night. So, I look forward to hearing from you on this point and I think I’m going to start over to my right with Amira, over to you, please.

Amira Saber: Good morning. It’s a great pleasure to chair this very important panel with the ITU and the IPU and my dear colleagues from the different parliaments. I am, as you have presented, a member of parliament from Egypt and I am so much interested in all what’s related to digital policies. I introduced to the Egyptian parliament the first draft bill on AI governance and that was introduced by 60 other Egyptian MPs. Talking about hope, actually in Egypt we have been able last year to bring 12 million people online. That gives me hope. We have infrastructure that is extending to rural places and places which didn’t have connectivity before. There is nationwide digital hack which has been able to invade the digital infrastructure all across Egypt to a great extent. So, now we have roughly 82% of our people online and a few weeks ago we switched on nationwide 5G at the foot of the pyramids, a powerful symbol of 7,000 years of multiplication and stability into the future. We are a very youthful nation, so youth is a big source of hope. The same it needs capacitating, the same it needs very powerful programs that would get them the digital skills, that would get them into the employability world much more empowered. What keeps me up at night, from a political perspective also, is how can we as parliamentarians to say whatever we want without being banned. We have seen how digitalization and connectivity is a double-edged weapon now. Everyone in the world is following wars, is following conflicts, but not everyone in the world is able to express their views freely. I am speaking about the Palestine-Israeli war and how Meme, as myself, was banned from expressing my opinion online when it comes to supporting Palestine. So, digital and connectivity also bring to this space important questions about human rights and freedom of expression and how can we guarantee that this place is an open area where expression is guaranteed in a sense. AI jumping to the playground also is questionable. Is it increasing the digital divide? How can we really use AI and use its tools to bring people from the global south to cross this gap? To bring them to better healthcare services, to better educational opportunities? How can we use all the tools which we have towards better connectivity for everyone? This also keeps me up at night because we are running so, so fast that questions on regulate or not is very valid, on what to regulate and how to regulate it, on empowering multilateralism, because I think we are at a very challenging moment where the whole multilateral system is being challenged. So, we have tracks on development where we could prove that this multilateralism is able to bring millions of people who are underprivileged and millions of people who are suffering shortages of services through connectivity and through digitalization under the spotlight, living a better life. having better accessibility to services and finding a future with better jobs and a sense of hope. This all keeps me alert at night and I think that the RPU and the ITU can help us magnificently. For Egypt, I think there is a Power to Connect initiative and this could elevate the amount and the number of the pilots that has been already on ground. We can increase and capitalize on these pilot projects which prove to be very efficient when it comes to connectivity. Egypt through Swiss area has Texas of the world connectivity cables running through which so we also need to capacitate on that to increase the technical skills of every worker who is working on that file and also to capacitate parliamentarians. I always say that we can’t regulate what we don’t understand so there is a huge role for the RPU to get as more of parliamentarians to be capacitated on the digital skills and how to govern for the best interest of the people because I think that a legislator is someone who could connect all the dots on the floor, who could scrutinize the work of the government, who could voice to the global space what do they have and they connect directly to the people on ground so they speak on behalf of the people to everyone else so whatever is good they can actually translate it on ground and whatever needs fixation they should talk about it so they need real capacitating. Also experiences from different countries has been extremely important because what work is for the US for example doesn’t necessarily work for Egypt so bringing together the countries with the same setup the same potential to learn from each other to exchange experiences is extremely important for parliamentarians and I think for technical people. get the money, channel them into development projects as reasonable interests. So I think that as there is a climate swap for that, there should be a swap for digitalization. There should be a swap of debts for the sake of the Global South and the nations, that digitization and digital skills are not just a vertical opportunity. No, it’s a horizontal one because it cross-cuts every sector. Health, education, sanitization, employability. I imagine a woman at a very rural village in Egypt, if she has the proper digital skills, what a massive impact she has on her life and the life of her family. She could start a business, she could sell online. Everything regarding her life could be changed just if she’s properly capacitated. I tabbed on some of the ideas which you have in mind and I look forward to it.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin: Thank you, thank you so much for that, Neema, thank you. And Martin, perhaps offline you and I can take up the skilling and the capacity building for parliamentarians, because we just launched this AI Skills Coalition, I think that could be a great opportunity for parliamentarians. Thank you for sharing that. I’m going to turn to Rodrigo. If you have reflections on what we just heard or share with us your own.

Rodrigo Goni: Thank you, Doreen. I believe that those of us here in the room very clearly understand the mammoth task and the great land of opportunities that are presented to all of us. This is no longer a question of the digital world or the new technologies or the technical issues. It’s no longer just a mere technical issue. This is now a political issue. Why? Because in that immense dimension of health, education, and well-being of our peoples and the possibilities that this technology brings, they’re not going to come by themselves out of a spontaneous generation. Policymakers, parliamentarians do not, and I repeat this, we do not have the right to play dumb or naive or be optimistically naive because we represent citizens. Some other people could say, these opportunities from technologies are going to come out of a spontaneous generation. We don’t have the right to tackle this this way because the possibilities that we see here that are becoming tangible in the real world go hand in hand with showing the other side of the coin. I was told that in the WSIS forum were asked if we are pessimists or optimists, and maybe we should all be optimists, but there was a survey they say that pessimists are there. That’s not being a pessimist per se, it is being responsible as a parliamentarian, as a lawmaker. For those possibilities to be inclusive, we need to understand that there are threats, even existential threats, threats to the paradigms and democratic threats. This new technology era, this AI, etc., presents a threat to democracy in many places. So we cannot afford the luxury of being naive or play the game of I didn’t know, beyond what Amira has shared with us. Some lawmakers in many parliaments that are involved, but that’s not enough. All parliaments, whether left, right, center, youth, veterans like myself with gray hair on my head, need to get involved. For those possibilities that come hand in hand with technology and under the inclusivity and democratic principles, come to our citizens, are our responsibility. We are a necessary evil, that’s what I say about parliaments, at least if we want to live under democracy. And those threats that are right there, that are visible, are now emerging. We already see that. violations to human rights, or violating the human and the children of rights, or affecting national voting campaigns. Those threats are there. Now, I believe that the key is the following. Parliaments cannot stand still and do nothing, because then anything could happen in our countries. But Martin, and Doreen, and Amira, and all of you, we cannot do what we used to do the same way. If the world changed exponentially, and it’s going to change even more, we parliamentarians, lawmakers cannot do our job the same way we were doing it years ago. There is an artificial intelligence that seems to be ruling everything we do. We have the noble principle of having AI serving us. We need a new intelligence, political intelligence, political premise of thought. And what is that new, we cannot be reactive? Parliaments were always reactive. We looked at what was happening, and then we came up with a law. Now, it’s the other way around, because we cannot follow the speed of this digital era. A parliament that wants to tackle these issues reactively is useless. Maybe we can delay a little bit these advances. We need to build them. The key is not in waiting for the new technologies to and even this issue we need to work together not only among all parties but we need to work with other stakeholders. Doreen was asking us how can the IUP help us by teaching us what we don’t know and we cannot if a parliamentarian goes too technology wise don’t trust that parliamentarian because we don’t know it’s not how we were trained but we parliamentarians need to start acting like Wises did or other buddies of the UN acted collaborating among themselves anticipating what comes and I’m coming to an end maybe you’re telling me but is that possible in the as a politician I don’t know if it’s possible or not but it is something we need to do and it is something that is paramount and we’ve seen in LATAM, we’ve seen it in Uruguay, we’ve seen it in Chile that we have commissions thinking of the future that focus on those challenges when you have so big challenges the only way to tackle that is to change your paradigms. and to come up with a new intelligence, a human political intelligence. If you don’t bring that political entity, if you don’t bring that human-centric entity to this new intelligence, we will not be able to make it. And of course, I know that many parliamentarians do not want to go in this direction because many things are at their stake. But if we don’t do it, we are putting at stake the basic human rights and democracy itself. And there is an existential risk, like the experts say. So we need to act now. We need to develop a new political intelligence, quote unquote, at least to deal with this new digital challenges. If we don’t do it now, tomorrow could be too late. Thank you.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin: Thank you. Thank you. Excellent points. And I look forward to hearing, Neema, perhaps your reflections on what you just heard. Thank you for joining us. We were asking our friends on the panel about shaping our digital future together. What keeps you up at night? What gives you hope and optimism, as you’ve heard? We’re going back and forth between being optimistic, pessimistic. Tell us your thoughts. What keeps you hopeful? What worries you? Over to you.

Neema Lugangira: Thank you very much, Madam Doreen. Good morning, everyone. First of all, I just want to quickly share what’s just happened this morning. It’s already a true example of how we as parliamentarians are wired and driven. I’ve literally just arrived. My flight was delayed. My daughter graduated yesterday in Edinburgh. And being a mother, trying to juggle motherhood and professionalism, I ditched her so fast and I said, IPU and WSIS needs me. So here I am. So I apologize for being a little bit late. Now, first of all, to me, I am truly, truly honored and humbled about this meeting today, because I remember back in 2022, when I met Gitanjali Wissis, a lot of the Wissis activities were going on in exclusion of parliamentarians. Parliamentarians were never part of the picture in terms of being strategically and concretely being part and parcel of this discussion, especially on how to accelerate the implementation of the Wissis action lines. So in 2022, we organized the first Wissis parliamentary engagement, and I’m really happy to see that it’s grown. And here we are today doing Wissis with the IP, which is something really good, and we’ve made great progress. Now, very quickly, I think I just want to share a few points about what are my concerns. First of all, us as parliamentarians, we have a pivotal role in setting the legal and ethical framework. When we’re talking about the use of new technologies, in particular AI, we have to recognize that parliamentarians have that role. But then, secondly, we have the opportunity of bridging the global digital divide. And here I would like to call on more capacity building, not only for the users, but also us as legislators, government officials. But at the same time, I would also like to emphasize the importance of making sure that we have enough funding and support for strengthening digital literacy, especially in remote areas, peripheral regions, border regions. We need to emphasize that fact. And then lastly, when we’re talking about artificial intelligence, we cannot avoid looking at the whole AI global discourse. We know there’s a huge global imbalance here. And AI accountability. Parliamentary has to Thank you very quickly. The next steps is to, one, you know, the implementation of this IPU-AI resolution, but two, is to continue working with parliamentarians. Three, we have to address the issue of the manipulation and the way in which AI accelerates online gender-based violence, particularly to women in public office and women politicians, which then silences us and it diminishes all our efforts towards increasing gender-balanced democracy. And then finally, I would also like just to share that the women political leaders in partnership with Smart Africa, GIZ, and the IPU are working towards capacitating women political leaders to be FEM AI champions through an initiative that’s focusing on Africa and the global FEM

Martin Chungong: AI labs. So, such collaboration, such partnerships can take us to where we want. And to conclude, and Ms. Sia. I’d like to start with the first question. As a woman, I myself previously, was very worried about AI and I didn’t and as a politician, it’s very difficult to comprehend how can you use it. But through this FEM AI, FEM AI lab initiative with the women political leaders, we as parliamentarians in particular in Tanzania have come to see the power of artificial intelligence because unlike our predecessors, I was shocked, he had about five assistants. He had an assistant for tax issues, an assistant for legal issues, an assistant for policy issues whereas we, most African parliamentarians, have ourselves. We are the main and we are the assistants of everything. So with AI, it can save us a lot of time if we want to analyze reports, if we want to analyze policies, if we want to frame our work, but for us to understand that in a way that we need capacity building and we need access to these tools. These tools are expensive. How can we get access to these tools to be able to appreciate and use them? Thank you.

Nophadol In na: Ladies and gentlemen, I am Nopphadol In na, a senator from Thailand and vice-chairperson of the Working Group on Science and Technology of IPU. Ladies and gentlemen, the parliaments are no longer just observers of the digital age. We are key actors in shaping it, whether through passing legislation, setting ethical standards or enabling innovation. Our role is critical and encouraged by collective commitment shown here to ensure that digital transformation is not only effective but also inclusive, transparent and guided by human values. The shared sense of purpose is what I will carry forward. So in response to your question, one thing that gives me hope in the rapid growth of Thailand’s digital economy and the strong push from our government under the Thailand 4.0 vision, we are seeing real transparent formation on the ground. National broadband expansion, digital ID system and the rise of e-government services are redefining how Thai citizens interact with the state. People are now paying with the prompt pay, registering business online and accessing public service via apps. The Prachachat Internet project, which brings free Wi-Fi to rural villages, is helping to close the urban-rural gaps. The momentum is visible and Thai society is increasingly ready to advance digital transformation. And in the Thai Senate at the moment, most of the senators are using digital technology, such as AI, to help and assist our work. That gives me great optimism. But what keeps me awake at night is the growing digital divide between urban centres like Bangkok, our capital city, and our rural provinces. While 5G speeds power the capital, many remote communities still struggle with basic internet access or no access at all. This inequality risks deepening social and economic disparity. At the same time, cyber security threats are rising. Online scams, phishing, fake news, and even cyber attacks on government platforms have grown more sophisticated. Many of our citizens, especially the elderly, are vulnerable. Ensuring data privacy under Thailand’s new Personal Data Protection Act, while also supporting innovation, is another tick-tock. We must work. So I’m hopeful because we are moving forward, but cautious because we must ensure no one is left behind in this journey. Thank you.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin: Thank you. Thank you so much. I’m hearing some cautious optimism there, so I appreciate those comments. And as you said in the beginning, parliamentarians are not observing shaping the digital future. They actually have to be critical and key players to help actually shape it. So I’m going to hand over to you, Secretary General Martin, to take us through the next round of questions. Over to you, please.

Martin Chungong: Thank you. Thank you very much, Doreen. It’s been wonderful, refreshing listening to the distinguished parliamentarians on this panel today. And we are edified, I think, on the expectations of parliamentarians. They are not illiterate when it comes to the digital age. I think we’ve heard them very clearly. But one thing that I see that has run through their interventions like a red thread is the issue of inclusivity, is the issue of the digital gap or the digital divide that we are witnessing today. And I do understand that they’re very anxious to address this particular challenge. So I would like for you, in this room, we have people from different areas of work and, you know, that can be very helpful to you, parliamentarians. So I just want to ask each of you very quickly, because we’re running out of time, and maybe, Neema, we will start with you. Just tell us briefly what you think we should be doing, ITU, IPU, and the audience that is here today, to help you deliver on the expectations of your people. Because at the end of the day, you want, as representatives of the people, to be able to meet the expectations when it comes to access to digital technologies on an ongoing basis. Can you?

Neema Lugangira: Thank you very much. You put me on the spot, Secretary General, but I’ll try. My big ask, I think, most of the tech companies, especially the multinational tech companies, are from the global north. And, you know, I can say all of them, their annual turnover in terms of their sales at times is more than our national GDPs. So one of the things that I think ITU, IPU can easily do to support is to find a mechanism of bringing the senior decision makers from these tech companies meeting with parliamentarians. Because we are then able to tell the tech companies directly the issues that we are grappling with when we’re using their technology. Because if we try to do it on our own, we’re too small for them to listen. But if it’s the ITU and the IPU, it changes the narrative. And why do I say this? Number one, there are challenges of language barrier, even with the AI. Number two, and this I’m speaking from experience, when you experience abuse, online abuse, and you report it on the online platforms, if, for example, it’s in Kiswahili, it depends on the tool or the AI on the other side, how it’s translating what was said. So in their context, it seems like it’s not a violation. But in my context, it is an utter violation. So there are those dynamics that need to be discussed. Number three, small issues of verification. When you’re a public leader, you’re more prone for your identity to be used and to have fake narratives or fake tweets or fake things like that made on you. But there is no way to depict that this is not you. Because the entire process of doing the verifications It’s almost impossible. And even when they say if you are a public official, you can get waivers, you can get this, if you are coming from the global south, it doesn’t really work like that. And then lastly is the access of the tools. These companies make a lot of money. Surely they should have some sort of CSR, or in partnership with the IPU and the ITU, they can come up with a mechanism. And this is something also the Women Political Leaders is trying to push on, on seeing how can parliamentarians, at least say from the least developed countries, you know, the least medium income countries, get access to these tools. Because we are only going to be able to regulate what we know. But if we remain not knowing it, we’re going to have stringent regulations, which then are not going to be helpful for the growth of the digital sector. Thank you.

Martin Chungong: Thank you very much, Neema. I did not actually put you on the spot because you responded brilliantly. Thank you. Let me turn to Amira. You were very expansive on your hopes and your fears as a parliamentarian. Tell us now, what do you think we can do to support you?

Amira Saber: Yes, first, I consider that every fibre cable relay is a vote for equity. So, what I expect the ITU to do is put the rural connectivity at the centre of every programme they have. For Egypt, I mentioned the Partner to Connect. I wish that the bridges for this programme could actually intensify and we can capitalise on that and to extend that to Africa. I think that Africa has huge, huge potential for its youth, for the future, for bringing them to employability properly. So, more of that. and Mr. Mohamad Al-Mahdi. I think also that giving regulators and engineer world class skills is very much crucial. Same goes for parliamentarians as well. I hope that there would be a policy radar, a policy radar that maps everything related globally to connectivity, digitalization, digitization and AI. Everything related to that could have a kind of a radar where every parliamentarian could access it, learn from it and is encouraged to share their experiences on that. I think also that we should think about how to make the cyber space safer and more inclusive, especially for the vulnerable groups, for women. I can tell you about women who lose their lives to deepfakes, to the potential consequences of AI on the negative note. These are important issues which we should actually talk about, how we can make sure that deepfakes are easily identified and how can we help the one who does this accountable. For this, I also think there should be an exchange of knowledge about the classification of data, because according to the sensitivity of data, there should be a kind of legal liability. I think also, AgriTech is something extremely important. We all suffer from food safety issue and this relates to everything else, so using the advanced technologies and using AI for Agritech, and building the capacities of farmers, through even the link of parliamentarians, this would be an extremely important work. Again, every investment of a fibre cable is a vote to equity, which I hope ITU and IPU will help us to achieve on ground.

Martin Chungong: Thank you, thank you very much. That point you made about online safety is a very crucial one, because we have evidence that women parliamentarians are particular targets of online violence. Then what about the ordinary people? So I think you have a strong point. Can we go over to Bangkok before we come back to Rodrigo? Nophadol, are you still online? Yes, yes. How can we help you?

Nophadol In na: Thank you very much, Secretary General Martin. Actually, under the Working Group on Science and Technology of IPU, they have done a lot of good job. For example, they have trained the staff member of the parliamentary in Jordan and the parliamentarian in Vietnam. So the programme is still going on. So in this case, I would like to add to your question, is that nowadays technology must serve people, not replace them. As we enter the age of AI and global… and Ms. Yvonne M. Nguyen. We are a group of international partners that share our values and connectivities. Our digital progress must be guided by human values and share responsibility. The IPU and ITU play a key role in this journey. Helping us navigate complexities, build capacities to create inclusive, secure and future-ready digital policy. This is what I would like to add in my final words. Thank you very much.

Martin Chungong: Thank you. I think this is in line with the push to address the ethical dilemmas of technological innovation. Thank you. Let me turn to Rodrigo.

Rodrigo Goni: I believe that we are all aware of the fact that the best way forward is cooperation. Not just as an opportunity, but as a need. ITU and IPU have already done a lot of cooperation in the past. It has proven that it works. For us, politicians, it is difficult for us to cooperate because we are rather used to confrontation. But as Neema said, it is absolutely impossible to approach all the safety and protection issues without having all stakeholders on the table. Big tech companies, big organizations. I believe time has come because we need it, not just because we love it, but rather because we need it. and Mr. David Ramos. The IPU has been working, as the Thai Senator said, on this process of integrating technologies and new digitalization into the parliaments. We are working on that and I think it is time, time has come to launch a new paradigm so that parliamentarians will learn that we need to understand that for these digital challenges the paradigm of cooperation and anticipation is good, is needed, it is helpful for all of us and we will be at the service of our citizens. The citizens will give us a round of applause if we cooperate and we achieve these goals that are in principle very difficult to achieve but that we will be able to do it. But the WSIS plus 20 can really be taking the relay from these successful processes to launch a new model of a new political intelligence, new political intelligence with a new paradigm, a paradigm shift that we anticipate, that we cooperate, that we experiment globally but that can be replicated at national level, at the national parliaments. Because national parliaments are not silly, we know that if something is working, is demanded by the people, we will replicate it in our national parliaments and ITU and IPU have a key role to lead these processes that maybe parliamentarians can replicate later. Thank you.

Martin Chungong: Thank you very much, Rodrigo, I know that you are very tuned into the role of parliaments as anticipating the future and making sure that we are… I believe we are out of time. Where is Gitangi? We take our cue from you. Where is she? We need to conclude at this stage? Yes? Yes? Okay. Here we need to wrap up and Doreen, I would like to take one question from the floor because Neema mentioned something that was important, the need for outreach to the private sector, to the high-tech companies to make sure that they are in sync with Parliament’s expectations in terms of accessibility. Do we have any representatives from the private sector here, the corporate sector, who might want to respond to this challenge? No? I don’t see it so that in the room. No, but the message is clear. I think the records of this meeting will make that point abundantly clear, just as the other points that were made here. But before I hand over the floor to Doreen to conclude this session, I think that we come out of these deliberations quite edified, but we are not talking to, as I said, people who are digitally illiterate. Parliamentarians are fairly aware. They need to understand better because it’s a very, I would say, detailed, complex world we are dealing with and I am reminded of what you said. You cannot make policy on something that you do not understand. Amira, I think it’s important that we continue to build knowledge among parliamentarians of the development of new technologies and the implications thereon for the lives of the people. I still go back Thank you very much, Mr. Martin Chungong, Ms. Amira Saber, Mr. Khusela Diko, Ms. Amira Saber, Mr. Kenneth Pugh, Ms. Amira Saber, Mr. Rodrigo Goñi, Ms. Amira Saber, Mr. Kenneth Pugh, Ms. Amira Saber, Mr. Kenneth Pugh, Ms. Amira Saber, Mr. Kenneth Pugh, Ms. Amira Saber, Mr. Kenneth Pugh, Mr. Kenneth Pugh, Mr. Kenneth Pugh, and Mr. Martin.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin: Secretary General. We can’t stop here. We got to keep going. It’s wonderful that you have your summit approaching in two weeks, I guess, so we can continue the conversation there. But what I also think is great is that we wrap up the WSIS Forum today. Throughout the week, we have had gatherings of different stakeholders in WSIS communities. We’ve had the regulators, we’ve had the ministers, we’ve had the civil society, the technical community, academia, UN partners, and last but not least, a critical piece of the equation, which is our parliamentarians. And I think that, I don’t know that we planned it on purpose that way, but I think it’s a great way to wrap things up. Because as our friend from Thailand said, you can’t be observing, you actually have to be part of this process in shaping the digital future. I would say from an IT perspective, we hear you and your concerns. We know we have to close that digital divide. We have to tackle cybersecurity issues. We have to tackle digital literacy issues. We have to tackle even affordability issues, that online harm and harassment that we’ve talked about for years. We got to get to that. So we hear you on that front. Also, the opportunities to engage with tech companies. I think we can be facilitators of bringing those constituent groups together. And of course, the need for us together as IPU and ITU, we’re neighbors, so we can certainly do this, Martin. I think we can help to advance collaboration, advance partnerships, and also to address the specific needs that you have when it comes to capacity building for parliamentarians. And I think that’s something we’d be quite happy to take forward. As we look to the WSIS plus 20, I think coming to the future as you so eloquently shared together, will find ways to make sure that we future-proof this process and make sure that we take into account the needs of your various constituents. So thank you again for those wonderful comments, and Martin, more to come from you and me. Thank you.

Agreement points

Parliamentarians need significant capacity building and digital skills development to effectively regulate and govern digital technologies

Speakers

– Amira Saber
– Neema Lugangira
– Martin Chungong
– Doreen Bogdan-Martin

Arguments

Parliamentarians cannot regulate what they don’t understand, requiring significant capacity building in digital skills

AI can serve as a valuable tool for parliamentarians to analyze reports and policies, but requires access and training

Need for collaboration between policymakers and the scientific community to ensure evidence-based conversations

ITU’s AI Skills Coalition could provide opportunities for parliamentary capacity building

Summary

All speakers agree that parliamentarians require substantial training and capacity building in digital technologies to create effective legislation and governance frameworks. They emphasize that understanding technology is prerequisite to regulating it effectively.

Topics

Capacity development | Legal and regulatory | Development

Digital divide and inclusion challenges require urgent attention, particularly for rural and underserved populations

Speakers

– Doreen Bogdan-Martin
– Martin Chungong
– Amira Saber
– Nophadol In na
– Neema Lugangira

Arguments

One-third of humanity still lacks internet access, with many more lacking skills and resources to benefit from digital technologies

Technology development must be inclusive and egalitarian, addressing access as a human rights issue

Need for nationwide digital infrastructure expansion to bring connectivity to rural and underserved areas

Digital divide exists between urban centers and rural provinces, risking deepened social and economic disparities

Importance of strengthening digital literacy, especially in remote and peripheral regions

Summary

There is unanimous agreement that the digital divide represents a critical challenge requiring coordinated action. Speakers emphasize that digital access should be viewed as a human rights issue and that special attention must be paid to rural and marginalized communities.

Topics

Digital access | Human rights principles | Development

Parliamentarians must play an active, not passive, role in shaping digital governance and policy

Speakers

– Doreen Bogdan-Martin
– Martin Chungong
– Rodrigo Goni
– Neema Lugangira
– Nophadol In na

Arguments

Parliamentarians are uniquely positioned to ensure digital technologies serve the public good and reflect values of transparency, inclusivity, accountability and human rights

IPU has adopted resolutions on AI’s impact on democracy and human rights, providing a roadmap for national-level parliamentary action

Parliamentarians must shift from reactive to proactive approaches, developing new political intelligence to anticipate digital challenges rather than responding after the fact

Parliamentarians have a crucial role in setting legal and ethical frameworks for new technologies, particularly AI

Parliamentarians need to be key actors in shaping the digital age through legislation, ethical standards, and enabling innovation

Summary

All speakers agree that parliamentarians cannot be mere observers but must actively shape digital policy through legislation, ethical standards, and proactive governance approaches. They emphasize the unique democratic mandate of parliamentarians in this process.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Human rights principles | Development

Online safety concerns, particularly regarding women and vulnerable groups, require immediate attention

Speakers

– Amira Saber
– Neema Lugangira
– Martin Chungong

Arguments

Need for mechanisms to identify and hold accountable those creating deepfakes and other harmful content

Importance of making cyberspace safer and more inclusive for vulnerable groups

AI accelerates online gender-based violence, particularly against women in public office, silencing democratic participation

Importance of addressing misinformation and disinformation as major threats to humanity

Summary

Speakers share deep concern about online safety issues, with particular emphasis on protecting women and vulnerable groups from digital harms including deepfakes, online violence, and misinformation that threatens democratic participation.

Topics

Gender rights online | Human rights principles | Content policy | Cybersecurity

Multi-stakeholder cooperation is essential for addressing digital challenges effectively

Speakers

– Doreen Bogdan-Martin
– Martin Chungong
– Rodrigo Goni
– Neema Lugangira

Arguments

WSIS provides a trusted platform for multi-stakeholder collaboration over 20 years

Need for collaboration between policymakers and the scientific community to ensure evidence-based conversations

Cooperation is necessary rather than optional for addressing digital safety and protection issues

Importance of bringing together tech companies and parliamentarians to address implementation challenges

Summary

All speakers emphasize that digital governance challenges are too complex for any single stakeholder to address alone. They advocate for structured cooperation between governments, tech companies, civil society, and international organizations.

Topics

Development | Legal and regulatory | International cooperation

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers see AI as having transformative potential for empowerment, particularly for women, while acknowledging the need for proper access and training to realize these benefits.

Speakers

– Amira Saber
– Neema Lugangira

Arguments

AI and digital tools can transform lives, enabling rural women to start businesses and access new opportunities

AI can serve as a valuable tool for parliamentarians to analyze reports and policies, but requires access and training

Topics

Future of work | Gender rights online | Capacity development

Both emphasize the need for fundamental paradigm shifts in how parliamentarians approach technology governance, moving from reactive to proactive approaches while maintaining human-centered values.

Speakers

– Rodrigo Goni
– Nophadol In na

Arguments

Parliamentarians must shift from reactive to proactive approaches, developing new political intelligence to anticipate digital challenges rather than responding after the fact

Technology must serve people, not replace them, guided by human values and shared responsibility

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Human rights principles | Development

Both speakers emphasize the importance of establishing ethical frameworks and building comprehensive technical capacity across the governance ecosystem, not just for parliamentarians but for all stakeholders involved in technology regulation.

Speakers

– Martin Chungong
– Amira Saber

Arguments

Need for ethical guidelines in technology development, including IPU’s Charter of Ethics on Science and Technology

Importance of world-class skills development for regulators and engineers alongside parliamentarians

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Human rights principles | Capacity development

Unexpected consensus

Need for direct engagement between parliamentarians and major technology companies

Speakers

– Neema Lugangira
– Rodrigo Goni
– Amira Saber

Arguments

Importance of bringing together tech companies and parliamentarians to address implementation challenges

Cooperation is necessary rather than optional for addressing digital safety and protection issues

Need for mechanisms to identify and hold accountable those creating deepfakes and other harmful content

Explanation

This consensus is unexpected because it represents parliamentarians from different regions (Africa, Latin America, Middle East) all independently identifying the need for direct dialogue with tech companies, suggesting this is a universal challenge rather than region-specific issue. The agreement spans practical implementation issues, accountability mechanisms, and cooperative governance approaches.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | International cooperation | Content policy

Parliamentarians acknowledging their own limitations and need for fundamental paradigm shifts

Speakers

– Amira Saber
– Rodrigo Goni
– Neema Lugangira

Arguments

Parliamentarians cannot regulate what they don’t understand, requiring significant capacity building in digital skills

Parliamentarians must shift from reactive to proactive approaches, developing new political intelligence to anticipate digital challenges rather than responding after the fact

AI can serve as a valuable tool for parliamentarians to analyze reports and policies, but requires access and training

Explanation

It’s unexpected for elected officials to so openly acknowledge their limitations and call for fundamental changes to how they operate. This level of self-reflection and willingness to admit knowledge gaps while calling for systemic change in parliamentary approaches demonstrates remarkable consensus on the inadequacy of traditional governance methods for digital challenges.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Capacity development | Development

Overall assessment

Summary

The speakers demonstrate remarkable consensus across multiple critical areas: the urgent need for parliamentary capacity building in digital technologies, the imperative to address digital divides as human rights issues, the necessity of proactive rather than reactive governance approaches, the importance of protecting vulnerable groups online, and the essential nature of multi-stakeholder cooperation. There is also strong agreement on the transformative potential of AI and digital technologies when properly governed.

Consensus level

Very high level of consensus with significant implications for digital governance. The agreement spans technical, political, and social dimensions of digital policy, suggesting a mature understanding of the challenges and a shared vision for solutions. This consensus provides a strong foundation for coordinated international action on digital governance, particularly through the ITU-IPU partnership and WSIS framework. The willingness of parliamentarians to acknowledge their limitations and call for paradigm shifts indicates readiness for substantive reform in how digital technologies are governed globally.

Different viewpoints

Approach to technology regulation – reactive vs proactive governance

Speakers

– Rodrigo Goni
– Martin Chungong

Arguments

Parliamentarians must shift from reactive to proactive approaches, developing new political intelligence to anticipate digital challenges rather than responding after the fact

IPU has adopted resolutions on AI’s impact on democracy and human rights, providing a roadmap for national-level parliamentary action

Summary

Rodrigo argues that traditional reactive parliamentary approaches are ‘useless’ and parliamentarians must completely shift to anticipatory governance, while Martin presents the IPU’s existing reactive approach of creating resolutions after identifying problems as a viable roadmap for action.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development

Unexpected differences

Fundamental role of parliamentarians in digital governance

Speakers

– Rodrigo Goni
– Nophadol In na

Arguments

Parliamentarians must shift from reactive to proactive approaches, developing new political intelligence to anticipate digital challenges rather than responding after the fact

Parliamentarians need to be key actors in shaping the digital age through legislation, ethical standards, and enabling innovation

Explanation

While both agree parliamentarians should be active in digital governance, Rodrigo argues for a complete paradigm shift away from traditional parliamentary methods, calling reactive approaches ‘useless,’ while Nophadol advocates for parliamentarians to be ‘key actors’ using traditional tools like legislation and ethical standards. This disagreement is unexpected because both are parliamentarians but have fundamentally different views on whether existing parliamentary methods can be adapted or must be completely replaced.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Human rights principles

Overall assessment

Summary

The discussion shows remarkably high consensus on identifying digital challenges (digital divide, online safety, capacity building needs) but reveals subtle yet significant disagreements on implementation approaches and the fundamental role of parliamentary institutions in digital governance.

Disagreement level

Low to moderate disagreement level with high strategic implications. While speakers largely agree on problems and goals, their different approaches to solutions could lead to conflicting policy directions. The most significant disagreement centers on whether traditional parliamentary methods should be reformed or completely replaced, which has fundamental implications for democratic governance in the digital age.

Partial agreements

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers see AI as having transformative potential for empowerment, particularly for women, while acknowledging the need for proper access and training to realize these benefits.

Speakers

– Amira Saber
– Neema Lugangira

Arguments

AI and digital tools can transform lives, enabling rural women to start businesses and access new opportunities

AI can serve as a valuable tool for parliamentarians to analyze reports and policies, but requires access and training

Topics

Future of work | Gender rights online | Capacity development

Both emphasize the need for fundamental paradigm shifts in how parliamentarians approach technology governance, moving from reactive to proactive approaches while maintaining human-centered values.

Speakers

– Rodrigo Goni
– Nophadol In na

Arguments

Parliamentarians must shift from reactive to proactive approaches, developing new political intelligence to anticipate digital challenges rather than responding after the fact

Technology must serve people, not replace them, guided by human values and shared responsibility

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Human rights principles | Development

Both speakers emphasize the importance of establishing ethical frameworks and building comprehensive technical capacity across the governance ecosystem, not just for parliamentarians but for all stakeholders involved in technology regulation.

Speakers

– Martin Chungong
– Amira Saber

Arguments

Need for ethical guidelines in technology development, including IPU’s Charter of Ethics on Science and Technology

Importance of world-class skills development for regulators and engineers alongside parliamentarians

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Human rights principles | Capacity development

Key takeaways

Parliamentarians must transition from reactive to proactive approaches in digital governance, developing new political intelligence to anticipate challenges rather than respond after they occur

Digital divide remains a critical challenge with one-third of humanity lacking internet access, particularly affecting rural areas and creating socio-economic disparities

Parliamentarians cannot effectively regulate technologies they don’t understand, making capacity building and digital literacy essential for lawmakers

Online safety concerns are escalating, including gender-based violence against women politicians, cybersecurity threats, and restrictions on freedom of expression

Technology must serve people rather than replace them, guided by human values, transparency, inclusivity, and accountability

International cooperation between organizations like ITU and IPU is essential, along with engagement between parliamentarians and tech companies

Digital technologies offer transformative opportunities for economic growth, education, healthcare, and civic engagement when properly implemented

AI governance requires ethical frameworks and human-centric approaches to ensure democratic values are preserved

Resolutions and action items

ITU and IPU to collaborate on capacity building programs for parliamentarians in digital skills and AI understanding

ITU’s AI Skills Coalition to be extended to include parliamentary capacity building opportunities

Creation of a policy radar system to map global connectivity, digitalization, and AI policies for parliamentary access and knowledge sharing

Facilitation of direct engagement between senior tech company decision-makers and parliamentarians through ITU-IPU partnerships

Continuation of discussions at the upcoming Global Conference of Speakers of Parliament with a special panel on parliament’s role in digital future

Parliamentary conference in Kuala Lumpur on responsible AI to be held in November

Expansion of Partner to Connect initiative and similar programs to increase rural connectivity pilots

Development of mechanisms to improve access to AI tools for parliamentarians from least developed countries

Implementation of IPU’s AI resolution on democracy and human rights at national parliamentary levels

Unresolved issues

How to effectively bridge the gap between rapid technological advancement and slower legislative processes

Mechanisms for ensuring tech companies are held accountable for platform violations and harmful content in different cultural and linguistic contexts

Funding models and debt swap arrangements for digitalization in Global South countries

Standardized approaches to data classification and legal liability frameworks across different jurisdictions

Solutions for identity verification and prevention of deepfakes targeting public officials

Balancing data privacy protection with innovation support requirements

Addressing language barriers and cultural context issues in AI content moderation

Ensuring equitable access to expensive AI tools for parliamentarians from developing countries

Suggested compromises

Corporate social responsibility programs from tech companies to provide subsidized access to AI tools for parliamentarians from least developed countries

Multi-stakeholder approach combining government, civil society, scientific community, and private sector rather than government-only regulation

Gradual implementation of digital infrastructure with focus on rural connectivity as foundation for broader digital inclusion

Evidence-based policymaking through closer collaboration between parliamentarians and scientific community rather than purely political approaches

Anticipatory governance models that can be tested globally but adapted and replicated at national parliamentary levels

Cooperative rather than confrontational approaches among parliamentarians when addressing digital challenges

We cannot be reactive? Parliaments were always reactive. We looked at what was happening, and then we came up with a law. Now, it’s the other way around, because we cannot follow the speed of this digital era. A parliament that wants to tackle these issues reactively is useless… We need to build them. The key is not in waiting for the new technologies to… We need a new intelligence, political intelligence, political premise of thought.

Speaker

Rodrigo Goni

Reason

This comment fundamentally challenges the traditional legislative paradigm by arguing that parliaments must shift from reactive to proactive governance. It introduces the concept of ‘political intelligence’ as a new framework for addressing digital challenges, which is a profound departure from conventional lawmaking approaches.

Impact

This comment shifted the discussion from identifying problems to reimagining the entire legislative process. It influenced subsequent speakers to think about anticipatory governance and sparked conversations about new paradigms of cooperation. The concept of ‘political intelligence’ became a recurring theme that other participants referenced.

I always say that we can’t regulate what we don’t understand so there is a huge role for the RPU to get as more of parliamentarians to be capacitated on the digital skills and how to govern for the best interest of the people

Speaker

Amira Saber

Reason

This comment crystallizes a fundamental challenge in digital governance – the knowledge gap between technological advancement and legislative understanding. It highlights the paradox that effective regulation requires deep comprehension of the subject matter.

Impact

This insight became a central theme that resonated throughout the discussion. Multiple speakers, including Neema and the moderators, referenced this concept. It directly influenced the conversation toward capacity building needs and shaped the recommendations for ITU-IPU collaboration on parliamentarian training.

Most of the tech companies, especially the multinational tech companies, are from the global north… their annual turnover in terms of their sales at times is more than our national GDPs. So one of the things that I think ITU, IPU can easily do to support is to find a mechanism of bringing the senior decision makers from these tech companies meeting with parliamentarians.

Speaker

Neema Lugangira

Reason

This comment exposes the power imbalance between global tech companies and developing nations’ governments, highlighting how economic disparities translate into policy influence gaps. It’s insightful because it connects economic inequality to democratic governance challenges in the digital age.

Impact

This observation shifted the discussion toward practical solutions for bridging the gap between tech companies and parliamentarians. It influenced the moderators to specifically ask if any private sector representatives were present and shaped the final recommendations about ITU-IPU facilitating such engagements.

There is an artificial intelligence that seems to be ruling everything we do. We have the noble principle of having AI serving us. We need a new intelligence, political intelligence, political premise of thought… We need to develop a new political intelligence, quote unquote, at least to deal with this new digital challenges.

Speaker

Rodrigo Goni

Reason

This comment presents a philosophical challenge to the relationship between human governance and artificial intelligence, arguing for the development of enhanced human political intelligence as a counterbalance to AI dominance. It’s thought-provoking because it reframes the AI debate from technical to fundamentally political.

Impact

This comment deepened the philosophical dimension of the discussion, moving beyond practical concerns to existential questions about human agency in governance. It influenced the tone of subsequent discussions about the need for human-centered approaches to digital policy.

We are only going to be able to regulate what we know. But if we remain not knowing it, we’re going to have stringent regulations, which then are not going to be helpful for the growth of the digital sector.

Speaker

Neema Lugangira

Reason

This comment reveals the double-edged nature of the knowledge gap – ignorance leads not just to ineffective regulation, but potentially harmful over-regulation that stifles innovation. It’s insightful because it shows how the lack of understanding creates a policy trap.

Impact

This observation added nuance to the capacity building discussion by showing that the stakes involve both under-regulation and over-regulation. It influenced the conversation toward finding balanced approaches to digital governance and reinforced the urgency of parliamentarian education.

Technology must serve people, not replace them. As we enter the age of AI… Our digital progress must be guided by human values and share responsibility.

Speaker

Nophadol In na

Reason

This comment provides a clear philosophical anchor for digital governance, establishing human-centricity as the fundamental principle. It’s thought-provoking because it offers a simple but profound criterion for evaluating all digital policies.

Impact

This comment provided a unifying principle that other speakers could rally around. It helped establish common ground among participants and influenced the discussion toward human rights and ethical considerations in digital governance.

Overall assessment

These key comments fundamentally transformed the discussion from a typical policy dialogue into a deeper examination of governance paradigms in the digital age. Rodrigo Goni’s insights about the need for proactive rather than reactive governance and ‘political intelligence’ established a new framework that influenced how other participants conceptualized their roles. Amira Saber’s observation about regulating what we understand became a central organizing principle that shaped recommendations for capacity building. Neema Lugangira’s comments about power imbalances and the risks of uninformed regulation added crucial perspectives on global equity and policy effectiveness. Together, these comments elevated the conversation from identifying problems to reimagining the fundamental relationship between technology, governance, and democracy. They created a progression from recognizing challenges to proposing paradigm shifts, ultimately shaping a more sophisticated understanding of parliamentarians’ evolving role in digital governance.

How can we establish a mechanism for bringing senior decision makers from multinational tech companies to meet directly with parliamentarians?

Speaker

Neema Lugangira

Explanation

This is important because parliamentarians need direct dialogue with tech companies to address issues like language barriers in AI, online abuse reporting systems, identity verification challenges, and access to tools, but individual countries are too small for these companies to listen to without facilitation from organizations like ITU and IPU.

How can we develop a policy radar that maps everything related globally to connectivity, digitalization, digitization and AI for parliamentarians to access and share experiences?

Speaker

Amira Saber

Explanation

This would provide parliamentarians with a comprehensive resource to learn from global policies and share their own experiences, which is crucial for informed decision-making in digital governance.

How can we make deepfakes easily identifiable and hold those who create them accountable?

Speaker

Amira Saber

Explanation

This is critical for protecting vulnerable groups, especially women, who can lose their lives to deepfakes and other negative consequences of AI misuse.

How can we develop a classification system for data sensitivity with corresponding legal liability frameworks?

Speaker

Amira Saber

Explanation

This would help establish appropriate legal frameworks based on the sensitivity of different types of data, which is essential for effective digital governance.

How can we establish a debt swap mechanism for digitalization similar to climate debt swaps for Global South nations?

Speaker

Amira Saber

Explanation

This would help address the digital divide by providing financial mechanisms for developing countries to invest in digital infrastructure and skills development.

How can we develop new political intelligence and paradigms for parliamentarians to anticipate rather than react to technological changes?

Speaker

Rodrigo Goni

Explanation

Traditional reactive parliamentary approaches are inadequate for the speed of digital transformation, requiring new collaborative and anticipatory governance models.

How can we strengthen the rapprochement between policymakers and the scientific community to ensure evidence-based conversations?

Speaker

Martin Chungong

Explanation

There is insufficient evidence of meaningful collaboration between these groups, which is essential for informed policy-making in science and technology.

How can we address AI’s acceleration of online gender-based violence, particularly against women in public office and women politicians?

Speaker

Neema Lugangira

Explanation

This silences women and diminishes efforts toward gender-balanced democracy, requiring specific interventions to protect women political leaders.

How can we provide affordable access to AI tools for parliamentarians from least developed countries and lower-middle-income countries?

Speaker

Neema Lugangira

Explanation

Parliamentarians can only regulate what they understand, but expensive AI tools create barriers to knowledge and effective governance in developing countries.

How can we use AI and advanced technologies to improve AgriTech and build farmer capacities to address food safety issues?

Speaker

Amira Saber

Explanation

Food safety is a global challenge that could be addressed through technology, requiring capacity building for farmers and involvement of parliamentarians in implementation.