Session
Organizer 1: Alison Gillwald, Research ICT Africa/Univeristy of Cape Town
Organizer 2: Tapiwa Chinembiri, Research ICT Africa
Organizer 3: Mariama Deen-Swarray, Research ICT Africa
Speaker 1: Alison Gillwald, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 2: Mark Dutz, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
Speaker 3: Moses Bayingana, Intergovernmental Organization, African Group
Tapiwa Chinembiri, Civil Society, African Group
Alexandre Barbosa, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Mariama Deen-Swarray, Private Sector, African Group
Break-out Group Discussions - Round Tables - 90 Min
1. What needs to be done to ensure that the seismic shift that the Secretary-General of the UN has described as the intensifying process of digitalisation does not exacerbate inequality? Related to this, what measurements are required to assess commitment to Digital Social Compact?
2. How do intersectional aspects of inequality such as gender, location and socioeconomic status impact access and use of data, and what needs to be done to enable Africans to mitigate the effects of the inevitable next pandemic through digital substitution?
3. How can the uneven distribution of opportunities (and harms) associated with the process of digitalisation and datafication be mitigated?
Connection with previous Messages:
4. Quality Education
4.4
5. Gender Equality
5.b
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
8.10
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequalities
17. Partnerships for the Goals
17.6
17.8
Targets: Underlying ICT targets of the SDG goals are directly or indirectly covered in the survey. Specifically the ICT SDG Indicators frameworks developed by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) link to the SDGs. By not only measuring progress towards these targets but understanding the reasons for success or for lack of progress, the survey and analysis is able to contribute to various continental and regional strategies to support the achievement of the SDGs at the global level.
Below are the goals that are aligned to ICT indicators:
SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This is aligned with Indicator 4.4.1; Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill.
In working towards achieving the above goal, it is important that there is available data on the ICT skills level of individuals. This can be supported by demand-side data collected at the individual level and disaggregated accordingly, to obtain figures on the youth population and adult population in the countries surveyed. The After Access Survey through its design and approach to data collection and analysis provides statistics which will ensure that this indicator is evidence-based and can be monitored over time with the continuation of such surveys. With the emergence of the pandemic, it became evident that many were not able to access education online, resulting in further exclusion from equitable quality education. Having such demand-side disaggregated ICT data, will allow governments to know the skill level and provide evidence for them to develop policies and strategies to achieve this goal.
SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Aligned with target 5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women and 5.b.1 Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex.
Technology can go a long way to bridge the gender divide and promote empowerment opportunities for women and girls. Obtaining data for indicator 5.b.1 is crucial if this goal is to be achieved, as the first step in understanding the inequality of access and use of ICTs from a gender perspective. In Africa, the mobile telephone has contributed significantly to aiding communication and has been the driving force in increasing the rate of internet use, which is still very low. The AA Survey provides evidence-based data on mobile phone ownership, disaggregated by gender and also data on the barriers to ownership. Through this nationally representative demand-side survey, data can also be obtained on how mobile phones are used and provide insights on the limitations and potential use of mobile phones from a gender perspective. This can support governments, providing them with the relevant evidence-based data needed to inform policies aimed at achieving this goal.
SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. This is aligned with ITU Indicator 8.10.2; the proportion of adults (15 years and older) with an account at a bank or other financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider. Covid-19 has made the world realise the importance of online transactions and therefore, financial inclusion is key. Access to the bank account, mobile money and online banking has been a fundamental part of bringing more people into the financial ecosystem as witnessed in Kenya through M-Pesa mobile money platform. Internet access plays a key role in which if a country has at least 20% of its population connected to the internet, it can reap network effects contributing to economic growth, which some scholars have referred to as the critical mass.
SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. This goal is aligned to ICT indicator 9.c which is aiming to significantly increase access to ICT and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in the least developed countries by 2020. Among the main inhibitors of access to the internet in Africa is the lack of smartphones and the cost of data. Research ICT Africa, through the Retail Africa Mobile Pricing Index, aims to develop evidence-based policy that enables the governments to ensure that data is affordable for all. This goal is also aligned to ITU indicator 9.c.1; Proportion of population covered by a mobile network, by technology. Data from the previous AA survey, indicated in the description shows that there is a challenge with 2.9 billion people still to connect to the Internet – those in the least developed countries, rural communities and vulnerable groups, in general, is the most affected.
SDG 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries aligned with indicator 10.2; states that by 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status - through the availability of ICTs some of the barriers excluding citizens from participating in social, economic and political activities.
There is a significant disparity in income across the globe with the most noticed in South Africa with a Gini Coefficient of 63%. This has a direct impact on the access and use of ICT. There is a widespread ethnic difference that contributes significantly to marginalizing the minority groups. The same can be said for the digital divide which tends to exclude women, rural residents as well as the least educated.
SDG 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. This is aligned to ITU Indicator 17.6.1: Number of science and/or technology cooperation agreements and programmes between countries, by type of cooperation. It is also aligned to Indicator 17.8.1, the proportion of individuals using the Internet. According to the ITU, between 2019 and 2021, the number of Internet users in the least developed countries (LDCs) increased by 20 per cent and now accounts for 27 per cent of the population. Even though this is a positive move, there is still a need for increased access to the internet due to how its demand has increased due to COVID-19.
Description:
The intensifying global processes of digitalisation and datafication are accorded a crucial role in accelerating access to knowledge and economic growth. They are particularly important in facilitating international trade by providing access to and providing new opportunities for employment and innovation in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, progress is not automatic. Understanding what factors limit participation in the digital and data economy is important if digital inequality is to be redressed, and the benefits of advanced technologies realised for all.
Yet across Africa, there simply is not the data to comprehensively assess the progress being made towards the information communication technology (ICT) targets in the SDG goals. Historically the ITU has been dependent on the patchy administrative data from member states. This data problem has been exacerbated by the predominantly prepaid mobile services that have driven the expansion of services in the global South, making the gathering of accurate data amenable to statistical collation and disaggregation a major challenge. This is because the supply-side data from operators (which has been the basis for administrative data) is unable to identify even the most basic indicators - such as unique subscribers or users or disaggregated data on gender, age or location. These are required for monitoring and assessing policy outcomes which the national representative surveys are able to do and further, permit modelling of the data. To understand these markets, accessing demand-side data has become a critical aspect of the UN statistical system regarding the indicators and analysis required for evidence-based policy formulation.
In 2022, the African After Access survey was undertaken across eight African countries, having previously been conducted in 2018, 2012, and 2007. Although the survey looks at the relationship between intersectional and digital inequality with regard to everything from affordable access to the full range of digital services, mobile money, and the use of platforms for consumption, labour, and production, this edition applies a COVID-19 lens across. Whereas a small elite drove the demand for bandwidth and e-commerce across the continent, in line with global trends most Africans have been unable to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic lockdowns through digital substitution for work, schooling, banking, retail or even pandemic social relief. The lack of Internet access and use by the informal sector in the African countries during the pandemic and associated lockdowns ruptured informal value chains and prevented the informal sector from acting as the usual buffer to global economic shocks.
This round table session will draw the international statistical community into a discussion on how the current data gaps particularly in Africa can be filled for there to be an accurate and meaningful measurement of the progress being made to reaching the underlying ICT targets. This is critical to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals development. It will focus on the findings of this comprehensive survey in at least eight African countries in relation to providing an evidence base for the precise points of policy intervention required at the national level to progress towards the objectives of the Africa Digital Transformation Strategy.
The anticipated outcomes of the session are to enhance information sharing and dissemination of scarce and timely data on digital and data development on the continent. This will also reinforce and nurture ongoing and new areas of collaboration in the development of digital indicators and data gathering amongst multilateral, regional organisations, development banks and civil society /academia. These efforts will contribute to the UN statistical system for the purposes of assessing progress on the SDGs as well as other specialized areas of assessment. At the same time, Africa benefits from shared expertise and global assessment and comparative analysis.
Hybrid Format: The session will take the form of a roundtable discussion by the digital indicator specialists guided by the main moderator to address the key policy areas identified above that are associated with the SDGs. There will be additional (technical) moderators who will monitor the chat and the room to ensure that questions from the audience can be integrated into the discussion, responding to issues of particular relevance to the audience, and how they can link with regional and global institutions to enhance data collection and analysis for evidence-based policy.
Usage of IGF Official Tool.