The global digital communications and information ecosystem should evolve to foster the growth of inclusive knowledge societies, support sustainable development, protect human rights, and promote meaningful access. UNESCO has developed the Internet Universality ROAM-X Indicators as a holistic toolkit for Member States to conduct voluntary assessment of the Internet environment and formulate effective policy actions at the national level to advance digital development, ensure universal access to information, and safeguard human rights and freedoms. The framework is implemented at the national level through a multistakeholder approach, in which various interested, concerned, and impacted parties come together to discuss the various dimensions of the Internet environment covered by the indicators based on the principles of Rights, Openness, Accessibility for All, and Multistakeholder participation (ROAM), as well as a number of X-cutting issues such as gender and environment. Since the launch of the ROAM-X framework in 2018, Internet Universality assessments have been progressing in about 40 countries, including 13 countries in Asia and the Pacific region (Thailand, Nepal, Pakistan, Cambodia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Tonga, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tuvalu). Following the guidelines of the ROAM-X methodology, each country has established a Multistakeholder Advisory Board (MAB) to oversee the assessments and the implementation of policy recommendations. Since 2019, UNESCO has convened the IGF Day 0 event annually, to encourage the use of ROAM toolkit for policy-making in the digital sphere. In IGF 2020, UNESCO created the Dynamic Coalition of Internet Universality Indicators, which serves as a platform of dialogue and collaboration with partners to jointly tackle the challenges of digital transformation in line with UN DG’s roadmap of digital cooperation. On the occasion of IGF 2023, UNESCO convenes this day 0 event to achieve below objectives: Bring together key researchers, experts, and partners from five continents, to present the major findings of the ongoing national evaluations based on ROAM-X indicators with an emphasis on how the framework empowers various stakeholders through the testimonies of global experts across 5 continents. Initiate discussions on the follow-up actions of ROAM-X assessments and on how to formulate effective public policies at the national level to promote digital inclusion, human rights, and freedoms. Trigger pioneering discussions on the implementation of evidence-based policy recommendations emerging from Internet Universality ROAM-X assessments at national level.

This session will feature an interactive panel discussion, where the moderator will allow brief statements from both on-site and remote national leading experts to initiate discussions on the national Internet Universality ROAM-X Indicators assessment in their respective countries. An online moderator and an on-site moderator will be appointed to coordinate interactions between online and on-site participants. Equal time will be allocated to both online and on-site participants.