Digital technologies are driving massive economic, social and environmental change and can either be used to exacerbate social and environmental degradation - or they can help build a healthy, green and more equitable future. The transformational capabilities of digitalization can be a crucial tool to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to address the triple planetary crisis by 2030.

The Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES), is an international multi-stakeholder alliance created in March 2021 in response to the UN Secretary General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation. In this regard it also aligns with the efforts of the IGF 2021 Policy Network on Environment. CODES aims to steer the use of digital technologies toward accelerating environmentally and socially sustainable development. Over the last year, CODES has grown into a community of over a 1000 individuals and organizations that have worked to co-create an “Action Plan for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age”. The CODES Action Plan offers a clear vision on #DigitalSustainability and a set of nine catalytic Impact Initiatives that will spark systems-level transformational change to integrate environmental sustainability as a key value and outcome of the digital revolution.

Linking digital transformation with sustainability transformation through the CODES initiative is also an important topic for the agenda of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, who coordinates the implementation of the Secretary-General’s Roadmap on Digital Cooperation. This IGF event will sustain momentum for this shared goal with the Envoy towards the Global Digital Compact in 2023 and the implementation of the CODES Impact Initiatives. Our goal at IGF 2022 is to showcase the progress of implementing the initiatives collaboratively, expand global stakeholder engagement and operationalize action for #DigitalSustainability on the ground within a whole-of-society approach.

For more information regarding CODES see: https://www.sparkblue.org/CODES

1) How will you facilitate interaction between onsite and online speakers and attendees?

We are experienced in connecting audiences in different hybrid settings and the use of different applications such as WebEx, Zoom and YouTube live, and interactive platforms including Mentimeter or Slido. Our online and onsite moderators will work together to keep both audiences engaged. 

2) How will you design the session to ensure the best possible experience for online and onsite participants?

We plan to organize our event in an interactive manner. Starting with a 2 minute video introduction of CODES we aim for a brief presentation of the CODES Action Plan and impact initiatives. The majority of the session is used to showcase and commonly discuss the implementation of concrete action. Mentimeter is used to interact with our attendees online as well as on site, to ask them questions and interact with their feedback.

3) Please note any complementary online tools/platforms you plan to use to increase participation and interaction during the session.

We are a large global community with strong organizational backup via the 7 co-champions, so we can spread the event information on multiple channels to different audiences. We will promote the event via our organizational channels and social media accounts. For the event we plan to use Zoom Webinar, YouTube live and Mentimeter.