IGF 2024 WS #130 Navigating the Digital Future: Governance 2.0

    Organizer 1: Stefanie Efstathiou, EURid Youth Committee
    Organizer 2: Regina Filipová Fuchsová, 🔒EURid vzw
    Organizer 3: João Pedro Damas Martins, YCIG
    Organizer 4: Paulo Glowacki, Youth IGF Germany

    Speaker 1: Georgios Stefanidis, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
    Speaker 2: Roumeliotis Christos, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
    Speaker 3: VESSELA KARLOUKOVSKA, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization

    Moderator

    Stefanie Efstathiou, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

    Online Moderator

    João Pedro Damas Martins, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

    Rapporteur

    Paulo Glowacki, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

    Format

    Roundtable
    Duration (minutes): 60
    Format description: The format will encourage exchange of ideas in the best possible way since the participants will have the chance to sit in a roundtable and in the first part of the session focus on the speakers but at the same time, in the interactive part, the audience will feel included and will have the chance to engage more with the speakers.
    The suggested duration will enable to combine statements from the speakers and still leaves enough time for inputs, questions and engagement of the audience.

    Policy Question(s)

    - What is the status quo on society’s trust (e.g. blocking, disinformation, impact of the elections, identity issues, technical parameters on open standards etc.) of the internet and what can be the concrete steps to improve it in the upcoming decade? (proposal of a 10 year plan)
    - How will emerging technologies affect the digital future? are we ready for change? what is the role of the policy makers and what role can each of the stakeholders play in the transformation (in a collaborative sense)?

    What will participants gain from attending this session? Participants will have the following benefits:
    - Enhanced awareness about the importance of multistakeholder approaches in shaping digital governance.
    - Knowledge of what has already been done in different sectors and from different multi-stakeholder points of view, as well as the identification of key challenges and opportunities in achieving the desired internet governance framework.
    - Insights regarding best practices and successful examples of multistakeholder collaboration in digital governance.
    - Fostering the dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders and through the interactive session, the audience will have the chance to develop actionable policy recommendations for improving digital governance.

    Description:

    The workshop is organised by the EURid Youth Committee.
    First, the workshop is designed to respect and include a variety of diverse speakers (in terms of age, gender, representation of views, disability, geographical areas). It aims to explore the concept of multistakeholder digital governance and discuss different national and regional strategies for improving digital governance to shape the internet we aspire to have. The session will focus on engaging the diverse stakeholders to collaborate on policy developments and implementations. It is certainly a critical and timely topic within the context of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2024. In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, effective governance of the internet is crucial for shaping a safe, inclusive, and innovative online environment. The workshop seeks to delve into the concept of multistakeholder digital governance, emphasizing the need for collaboration among diverse stakeholders—governments, civil society, private sector, technical community, and academia—to collectively develop and implement policies that foster digital development while upholding rights and values for citizens and businesses. With respect to the topics, the speakers will give their input and ideas on the way forward, best practices and opportunities of collaboration among the sectors they are representing.

    The significance of this workshop lies in its potential to catalyze meaningful dialogue and action around improving and advancing digital governance in order to move onto the next phase of a fair, neutral and safer internet. Furthermore, the workshop aims to identify concrete steps and collaborations that can enhance multistakeholder engagement in digital governance processes, thereby paving the way for more informed, equitable, and sustainable policies and practices in the digital realm.

    *Apart from the confirmed speakers, we extended also an invitation to a female speaker from the global south who is expected to confirm in due course.

    Expected Outcomes

    The expected outcome include:
    - Understanding the challenges and risks in the digital environment based on the experiences of the speakers.
    - Through dialogue and a constructive workshop session to come up with collaborative ideas and concrete next steps for the Internet We Want.
    - Clearer understanding of whether current governance models work, whether the society has increased their trust or what should be done to ameliorate or keep the standard of today’s trust in the stakeholders and the governance models.
    - Concrete measures for the future and policy recommendations for improving digital governance.
    - Follow-up events or sessions in other multistakeholder fora (e.g. EuroDIG, EIF) and discussion in the relevant dynamic coalitions.
    - Publishing of the above mentioned 10 year plan as a white paper / recommendation.
    - Finally, leading to strengthened partnerships among stakeholders for collaborative action.

    Hybrid Format: The workshop will be structured in a way in order to have a designated onsite and online moderator to facilitate the discussion among speakers and the interactive part with the audience - even if some audience participants decide to join online or in person. The online moderator will make sure that the online participants are encouraged to interact. To ensure online audience is engaged fully, we intend to encourage and prioritize online questions.

    Moreover, we intend to leverage technical tools available to host an interactive hybrid discussion, such as using online polling tools.
    To maximize the session's impact and drive up in-person/online attendance, the co-organizers intend to work with speakers to amplify this session via their respective institutional social media accounts.