IGF 2024 WS #151 The Tech We Want for a fair, sustainable and open future

    Organizer 1: Renata Avila, 🔒Open Knowledge Foundation

    Speaker 1: Renata Avila, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
    Speaker 2: Harry Halpin, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
    Speaker 3: Andres Arauz, Private Sector, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)

    Moderator

    Beatriz Busaniche, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)

    Online Moderator

    Guy Weress, Intergovernmental Organization, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

    Rapporteur

    Paz Pena, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)

    Format

    Roundtable
    Duration (minutes): 60
    Format description: We plan a roundtable with a projector. Cards with questions will be placed in the room.

    Policy Question(s)

    Can open digital infrastructures abandon the current resource intense and wasteful development frameworks and move the sector to a simpler, resource efficient, sustainable way to build, deploy and maintain its components?
    Can policies improve the way technology is made and impulse a new era of simpler, environmentally friendly technologies in the global south?
    Can a different model of technology for the public sector be compatible and interoperable with commercial options?

    What will participants gain from attending this session? Bring the community of developers working on public interest technologies together with other stakeholders to start a debate about the impact of decisions in the technology conception and development room.
    Dig deeper and gain a better understanding of the way of solving problems, effects and approaches to take into consideration when developing technologies that have been left outside the developer World.
    Start changing the way we do technology through different metrics, community practices and guidelines.

    Description:

    Technology in recent years has adopted a complex, wasteful and expensive approach to serve its purpose. The way that software is developed and that technology solutions are conceived, coded and deployed is not adopting a climate friendly, accessible and sustainable approach. The same goes for technology in the public interest, leaving its beneficiaries many times with limited choices. They would either adopt a free version of a complex software they really do not need or invest considerable amounts of money in technology projects that ambition to match their commercial competitors. While there are many efforts trying to support critical components upon which the Internet and technology today is built, our proposal is to review how technology in the public interest is made today and try to propose a new way of thinking about the technologies we want and need.

    From conception to adoption, the tech we want project is a conversation for all stakeholders to come together, question and challenge the current way of developing any technology and start envisioning a more fair, sustainable and open way serving better people and the planet.

    Expected Outcomes

    Positioning the problem of the way technology is developed today and its consequences for people and the planet.
    Provide fact based evidence and solid arguments for changing the way we do technology
    Provide an initial practical approach to change the way technology is done today

    Hybrid Format: The methodology is apt for online or offline roundtables, building in open knowledge network two decade experiences in hybrid events.