Session
Alliance for Universal Digital Rights
Tsitsi Matekaire, Global Lead End Sexual Exploitation (Equality Now) Mrinalini Dayal, Global Coordinator (Alliance for Universal Digital Rights) Lisa van Wyk- Communications Officer, Equality Now
Tsitsi Matekaire, Global Lead End Sexual Exploitation (Equality Now) Mrinalini Dayal, Global Coordinator (Alliance for Universal Digital Rights) Lisa van Wyk- Communications Officer, Equality Now
Organization's Website
Speakers
Tsitsi Matekaire, Global Lead End Sexual Exploitation (Equality Now)
Mrinalini Dayal, Global Coordinator (Alliance for Universal Digital Rights)
Lisa van Wyk- Communications Officer, Equality Now
Onsite Moderator
Tsitsi Matekaire, Global Lead End Sexual Exploitation
Online Moderator
Mrinalini Dayal, Global Coordinator (Alliance for Universal Digital Rights
Rapporteur
Lisa van Wyk- Communications Officer, Equality Now
SDGs
4.3
4.5
5.1
5.2
5.5
5.b
9.c
10.2
10.3
17.16
Targets: AUDRi's digital principles are broad and cover a range of digital rights including accessibility to the internet for all and ending violence and discrimination for women and girls online. Additionally, the proposed discussion includes learnings and ideas for advocacy and cooperation to achieve digital rights across the world.
4.5
5.1
5.2
5.5
5.b
9.c
10.2
10.3
17.16
Targets: AUDRi's digital principles are broad and cover a range of digital rights including accessibility to the internet for all and ending violence and discrimination for women and girls online. Additionally, the proposed discussion includes learnings and ideas for advocacy and cooperation to achieve digital rights across the world.
Format
Roundtable
Rather than a traditional panel discussion, this workshop will take the form of facilitated conversations and interactive discussions, providing participants with space to share their perspectives and proposals on key issues, including: - The experience of advocating for a feminist compact in the GDC process, highlighting the challenges, best practices, and learnings from the consultative GDC process. - The vision to create a digital rights scorecard based on feminist digital principles. The scope of an accountability mechanism, as well as opportunities and potential pitfalls, will be covered. Further, discussions will focus on how the scorecard can complement and feed into the implementation modalities for the GDC, as highlighted in the framework. - The potential applications of digital rights scorecards for various stakeholders, including local CSOs, networks, research groups, intergovernmental bodies, and governments, and their application to other processes. Targets - Participants gain an understanding of practical and real-life difficulties and successful pathways to advocating for digital rights from a feminist perspective. These recommendations can be adapted to other advocacy actions. - Identification of factors that will influence the development of a digital rights scorecard and potential linkages with other regional and international processes, including the implementation and follow-up of the GDC. These discussions and insights will feed into creating a digital rights scorecard. - Increased relationships and collaboration opportunities between CSOs, governments, academia, and other diverse stakeholders.
Rather than a traditional panel discussion, this workshop will take the form of facilitated conversations and interactive discussions, providing participants with space to share their perspectives and proposals on key issues, including: - The experience of advocating for a feminist compact in the GDC process, highlighting the challenges, best practices, and learnings from the consultative GDC process. - The vision to create a digital rights scorecard based on feminist digital principles. The scope of an accountability mechanism, as well as opportunities and potential pitfalls, will be covered. Further, discussions will focus on how the scorecard can complement and feed into the implementation modalities for the GDC, as highlighted in the framework. - The potential applications of digital rights scorecards for various stakeholders, including local CSOs, networks, research groups, intergovernmental bodies, and governments, and their application to other processes. Targets - Participants gain an understanding of practical and real-life difficulties and successful pathways to advocating for digital rights from a feminist perspective. These recommendations can be adapted to other advocacy actions. - Identification of factors that will influence the development of a digital rights scorecard and potential linkages with other regional and international processes, including the implementation and follow-up of the GDC. These discussions and insights will feed into creating a digital rights scorecard. - Increased relationships and collaboration opportunities between CSOs, governments, academia, and other diverse stakeholders.
Duration (minutes)
60
Description
This proposed workshop is organized by the Alliance for Universal Digital Rights (AUDRi) and Equality Now, its co-founder and Secretariat. AUDRi, co-founded by Equality Now and Women Leading in AI, includes POLLICY, APC, and UNFPA as other steering committee members. It is a global coalition of civil society organizations, academics, and digital rights activists advocating for universal digital rights and global digital governance that is feminist-informed and upholds international human rights laws and standards.
The Global Digital Compact (GDC) was adopted in 2024 as part of the Pact for the Future at the United Nations General Assembly’s Summit of the Future. Throughout the multi-stakeholder consultative process, AUDRi, its members, and other CSO partners actively advocated for gender equality and a commitment to tackling technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) to be included in the GDC. As a result, the final text incorporated a standalone principle on gender equality and women's empowerment, along with references to TFGBV. The next critical phase for the GDC is implementation.
To complement and contribute to member states’ implementation and follow-up of the GDC, AUDRi is working towards developing an Annual Digital Rights Scorecard. Rooted in AUDRi’s principles of dignity, safety, equality, and inclusion and inspired by successful models like the Out of the Shadows Index and Freedom on the Net Index, the scorecard will assess countries’ performance across key areas affecting the digital rights of women, girls, and marginalized groups. It will offer a comprehensive and intersectional analysis, covering aspects such as:
Safety and protection from TFGBV
Access and the gender digital divide
Impacts of digitalization on labor markets
Environmental impacts
Women’s participation in digital spaces and decision-making
Equality and non-discrimination
Freedom of expression and privacy rights
The Scorecard will serve as a comprehensive and practical accountability framework, equipping governments and other stakeholders with data-driven insights into progress and gaps. It aims to promote accountability and foster a “race to the top” among nations by encouraging improvements in digital rights policies. Areas of underperformance will highlight opportunities for collaboration with experts to develop solutions. Beyond governments, the Scorecard will also influence tech companies, urging them to prioritize human rights in platform design and innovation. Ultimately, it seeks to generate political will and drive tangible action to protect and advance women’s and girls’ digital rights.
The organizers and moderators will design the session to be inclusive and interactive with both online and in-person participants. We will set norms at the beginning of the session and employ tools such as a miro board, a chat function, and a mural to gather input from the participants. The online moderator will monitor the chat box to ensure that online participants can share their thoughts through text or by speaking.
The organizers and moderators will design the session to be inclusive and interactive with both online and in-person participants. We will set norms at the beginning of the session and employ tools such as a miro board, a chat function, and a mural to gather input from the participants. The online moderator will monitor the chat box to ensure that online participants can share their thoughts through text or by speaking.