Session
Parabl
Dennis Redeker, IRPC, Academia, Germany Raashi Saxena, Parabl, Civil Society, India Jarrel James, Internet Alliance, Intergovernmental, USA
Keeks Famutimi, Parabl, Private Sector, USA
Conor Colwell, Liquidstar, Private Sector, Brazil
Marcelo Silva, Ekonavi, Private Sector, Brazil
Jarrell James
Raashi Saxena
Keeks Famutimi
4. Quality Education
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
10. Reduced Inequalities
Targets: Brazil's significant digital divide, with 33 million lacking internet access, impedes progress on key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to education, economic growth, and social equality. The Challenge: Millions Disconnected Brazil's vast geographical expanse contributes to a substantial digital divide. A concerning 15.9% of the population, or roughly 33 million Brazilians, lack internet access at home. This limited connectivity hinders progress on several SDGs, particularly those focused on education (Goal 4), economic growth (Goal 8), and social equality (Goal 10). Education Held Back: Unequal Opportunities Students in remote areas face significant educational disadvantages due to the digital divide. Outdated textbooks and limited resources restrict their learning potential. Online learning platforms brimming with interactive content and access to global educational resources remain out of reach due to a lack of internet access. This scenario exemplifies the negative impact of the digital divide on educational attainment (Goal 4), as disconnected students fall behind their connected counterparts, ultimately limiting their future opportunities. Throttled Economic Growth: The Power of Digital Participation The burgeoning digital economy presents missed opportunities for millions of Brazilians lacking internet access. This translates to limited participation in remote work, e-commerce ventures, and the digital marketplace. Studies have shown that internet access increases employment chances by a significant 23%. By bridging the digital divide, Brazil can empower individuals to participate in the digital economy, fostering entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation, ultimately contributing to economic growth (Goal 8). Widening the Inequality Gap: A Call for Social Justice The digital divide disproportionately affects low-income communities and rural areas. Data reveals a stark disparity – the poorest 20% of Brazilians hold only 1.4% of internet subscriptions, compared to a staggering 83.7% for the richest 20%. This lack of access perpetuates a cycle of social and economic marginalization, widening the already existing inequality gap (Goal 10).
Theater
Each session discussion will be led by a moderator and will include a group of selected expert speakers. The speakers will start by discussing the questions posed by the moderator, followed by an open Q&A session before moving to the next part. This format will, on one hand, keep the speakers and participants focused on each one of the issues that we aim to address in each section and, on the other hand, it will keep the participants engaged, both on-site and online by providing opportunities for open discussion throughout the sessions. The interaction provided by the online platform will further enrich the discussion and the remote moderator will be able to share a summary of the chat interventions so that the participants - if not connected, are able to follow and engage with online participants. Other tools may be used at the beginning of each session to encourage participation and to fuel the debate. 2) We will aim to organise the session in a hybrid format. However, if the situation does not permit an on-site gathering, we will opt for a remote hub option. Our on-site moderator will ensure direct coordination with the on-site to enrich the discussion and collect feedback from those who will login remotely.
Parabl, an applied research lab, in partnership with UN IGF Coalition on the Internet Rights Principles Dynamic Coalition created the concept of a Last Mile Coalition. With our Brazilian partners Ekonavi and Liquidstar, & Official Brazilian representatives at Y20 (G20 Youth) on we have been developing hyper-regional digital resource solutions that seamlessly interact with omni-accessible hardware. The mission is to empower Brazilian leapfrog communities by providing meaningful connectivity and enabling economic growth through innovative solutions built alongside regional interests. Brazil's upcoming G20 presidency in 2024 presents a unique opportunity to address the digital divide on a global stage. The recent Netmundial+10 event, co-sponsored by the G20, highlighted these challenges and facilitated discussions on multi-stakeholder approaches to internet governance. By collaborating with other G20 member nations, Brazil can leverage its experiences and leadership to promote best practices and encourage international cooperation in tackling the digital divide by presenting itself at the IGF. This 2 hour session is composed by a diverse panel addressing how internet access is pivotal to reduce inequalities, generate opportunities and can enable, through real world use cases provide for measurable impact data on such impact. From alternative internet hardware implementation to local use cases, the session will lay out the reasons why and a pilot plan to strategize, implement and prove how internet access in remote areas can ignite a relevant flow of actions and opportunities: from small tech hacks on internet provision strategy to local people engagement Through the fusion of community network infrastructure, collectivist economics, and innovative tools like Waypoints, edge caches, and smart batteries we're establishing new benchmarks in the Last Mile Design Space. With this momentum we can unleash the full potential of leapfrog communities in months not decades - forging a path towards a more connected and equitable future. Participants will gain insight into the new and much needed approaches around connecting last mile communities and greater context around strategies for innovative resilient grid solutions in general. Digital equity is only possible by working together to address the interrelated barriers to access
The co-organisers will actively promote the session on their respective social media handles, encouraging remote participation and consultation on the issues raised during the discussion. Remote participants will be able to pose questions to subject matter experts and other participants during the session through Slido. We will also use polls, shared documents and activity based tools such as Miro/Mural board to enhance participation. Events would be created on LinkedIn and Facebook for maximum outreach. Digital promotional materials will be published on official online platforms of all co-organisers (eg. Blogs, Medium articles).
Report
Suggestions on alternate framings for terms "global South" with "Leapfrog Regions" as it encapsulates the latent economic potential in these regions; even "global North" countries can have Leapfrog Regions where infrastructure is underinvested in (Appalachian Mountains in the US, rural areas in other “developed” countries), or in times of crisis (northern Thailand after Oct '24 floods);
To avoid brain drain from Leapfrog Regions into cities and regions with more reliable critical needs infrastructure, the gap between unreliable energy & connectivity infrastructure and meaningful connectivity needs to be addressed;
The outcomes of the discussions demonstrated by Saudi Arabia unlocking billions of dollars in latent GDP via leveraging joint ventures, Brazil's 20,000 regional ISPs, and Tanzania's electrification, suggest that the path to meaningful connectivity includes multi-stakeholder initiatives and joint ventures, local upskilling, and eventual community ownership of critical needs infrastructure.
Implementation of comprehensive research examining the correlation between total internet traffic in urban versus rural environments (in gigabytes per capita), energy consumption (in kWh per capita), and GDP per capita for evidence-based policymaking; Creation of a Last Mile Dynamic Coalition, comprising infrastructure developers, researchers, and technical experts, mandated to develop standardized frameworks addressing shared challenges.
Establishment of commercial pilot programmes providing integrated electricity and connectivity infrastructure to quantify the economic potential currently hindered by insufficient access to these utilities;
The workshop “Last Mile Internet: Brazil's G20 Path for Remote Communities” was conducted during the UN IGF in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The following persons participated as speakers:
- Raashi Saxena (Parabl)
- Conor Colwell (Liquidstar)
- Okiki Famutimi (Parabl)
- Duaa Balawi (Y20)
- Jarrell James (Parabl)
Over the course of the workshop, speakers and audience members discussed economic leapfrogging, emerging markets (heretofore referred to as “Leapfrog Regions”), and meditations on what leapfrogging has looked like, and what it can look like for countries in the global majority.
Some of the key takeaways are as follows:
- Improving access to critical needs infrastructure like connectivity drastically improves outcomes for women.
- From government subsidies for laptops during COVID, to digital literacy programs, access to the Internet improves economic participation, as well as health outcomes for women.
- There’s a correlation between energy consumption and GDP per capita, strengthening the adage that cheap, abundant energy accelerates economic growth and industrialization.
- Reliable energy precludes reliable internet access, which precludes economic growth. Liquidsta and Parabl are working on separate and combined commercial pilots to address core infrastructure needs.
- Portable WiFi-enabled batteries and solar-powered micro data centers can alleviate acute infrastructure shortfalls, while providing Leapfrog Regions with the infrastructure necessary to increase earning power and build out more resilient grids.
- Saudi Arabia’s own Saudi Aramco was the result of a merger between a local energy company and an American oil company, suggesting that:
- Leapfrogging through foreign infrastructure investment has been done successfully in the past;
- Input from, active participation from, and an eventual handoff to the sovereign stakeholders is essential to successful economic leapfrogging.
- In the case of Brazil, input from foreign automotive companies influenced the development of roads suitable for automotive vehicles in lieu of train tracks. Over time, the moral hazard has played out, at the expense of Brazilians’ economic efficiency.
- Suggestions on alternate framings for terms "global South" with "Leapfrog Regions" as it encapsulates the latent economic potential in these regions:
- Even "global North" countries can have Leapfrog Regions. For example, where infrastructure is underinvested in (the Appalachian Mountains in the US, or rural areas in other “developed” countries), or in times of crisis (northern Thailand after Oct '24 floods, parts of Japan and SEA when they’re hit by severe weather).
- Using “Leapfrog Regions” in order to discuss regions within “developed” countries facilitates nuanced discussions on why parts of a given region might have different infrastructure capacities; understanding those gaps will lead to the creation of robust, resilient solutions.
- To avoid brain drain from Leapfrog Regions into cities and regions with more reliable critical needs infrastructure, the gap between unreliable energy & connectivity infrastructure and meaningful connectivity needs to be addressed.
- Techniques like offline caching of data can be utilized for both training community members on how to use and maintain critical needs infrastructure, as well as vocational upskilling.
- The outcomes of the discussions demonstrated by Saudi Arabia unlocking billions of dollars in latent GDP via leveraging joint ventures, Brazil's 20,000 regional ISPs, and Tanzania's electrification among others, suggest that the path to meaningful connectivity includes multi-stakeholder initiatives and joint ventures, local upskilling, and eventual community ownership of critical needs infrastructure.
The following calls-to-action were proposed, in order to make findings and next steps more tangible:
- Implementation of comprehensive research examining the correlation between total internet traffic in urban versus rural environments (in gigabytes per capita), energy consumption (in kWh per capita), and GDP per capita for evidence-based policymaking;
- With better and more comprehensive data, more granular, cost-efficient, and tailor-made commercial ventures can be used to accelerate economic growth and sovereignty.
- Establishment of commercial pilot programmes providing integrated electricity and connectivity infrastructure to quantify the economic potential currently hindered by insufficient access to these utilities;
- Commercial pilots focused on quantitative approaches to deployments and expansions will work synergistically with the aforementioned comprehensive research. The consumption metrics gathered in a commercial pilot will inform the research, and the research results will inform future deployments of integrated electricity and connectivity infrastructure.
- Creation of a Last Mile Dynamic Coalition, comprising infrastructure developers, researchers, and technical experts, mandated to develop standardized frameworks addressing shared challenges.