Session
Organizer 1: Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 1: Sherilyn Naidoo, Private Sector, African Group
Speaker 2: Hiselius Patrik, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: Usama Khilji, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 4: Nenden Sekar Arum, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 2: Hiselius Patrik, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: Usama Khilji, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 4: Nenden Sekar Arum, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Format
Theater
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: To be able to maximize time and participation from our diverse, multistakeholder panel representing different geographical perspectives and practical subject-matter expertise, the "theatre" format will be ideal. Given the diversity of the Global Majority, we believe 60 minutes will be optimal to allow for 40 minutes of moderated panel discussion for setting knowledge and delving into a few examples of meaningful multistakholder engagements in the Global Majority, followed by a 20 minute Q/A session with participants.
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: To be able to maximize time and participation from our diverse, multistakeholder panel representing different geographical perspectives and practical subject-matter expertise, the "theatre" format will be ideal. Given the diversity of the Global Majority, we believe 60 minutes will be optimal to allow for 40 minutes of moderated panel discussion for setting knowledge and delving into a few examples of meaningful multistakholder engagements in the Global Majority, followed by a 20 minute Q/A session with participants.
Policy Question(s)
A. What are the key challenges to strengthening multistakeholder engagement in the Global Majority?
B. How can we ensure balanced and meaningful participation from various stakeholder groups under authoritarian contexts?
C. What are the possibilities offered by international human rights frameworks for rights-centric and truly multistakeholder approaches to technology governance in the Global Majority?
D. How can international multistakeholder standards (e.g. the NETmundial principles) strengthen the participation of the Global Majority in key internet governance processes such as WSIS+20, IGF, and GDC as well as digital governance processes more broadly?
What will participants gain from attending this session? This session will raise awareness about the barriers to multistakeholder engagement and governance within diverse social, political, economic, and cultural contexts in Global Majority countries. Participants attending this session will have the opportunity to explore what meaningful participation in the face of these challenges could look like with the help of successful country examples from the Global Majority. The session will delve also into necessary adaptations of multistakeholder standards such as the NETmundial principles for Global Majority contexts and discuss ways to strengthen Global Majority participation across regional and global internet governance processes.
Description:
Title: Multistakeholder Solutions for Building Digital Trust: Perspectives from the Global Majority Description: Multistakeholder approaches to technology governance are by definition challenging given their emphasis on broad coordination and consensus building. These challenges are exacerbated in many Global Majority contexts, given the absence or erosion of trust between governments, businesses, civil society, and internet users. At the same time, multistakeholder solutions and forms of governance offer genuine possibilities, and are as pertinent as ever for trust-building in diverse political, social, economic, and cultural contexts in the Global Majority. This session will explore the key challenges and opportunities for strengthening multistakeholder governance and engagement in Global Majority countries. We’ll hear from speakers representing different stakeholders on balancing participation from vulnerable groups, including in authoritarian/semi-authoritarian countries, options for context-sensitive applications of international multistakeholder standards (e.g. the NETmundial principles) for advancing human rights-centric approaches to tech governance, the importance of Global Majority participation in key multistakeholder processes and forums at the international level such as WSIS+20, IGF, and GDC, and multistakeholder solutions for building digital trust in the Global Majority.
Title: Multistakeholder Solutions for Building Digital Trust: Perspectives from the Global Majority Description: Multistakeholder approaches to technology governance are by definition challenging given their emphasis on broad coordination and consensus building. These challenges are exacerbated in many Global Majority contexts, given the absence or erosion of trust between governments, businesses, civil society, and internet users. At the same time, multistakeholder solutions and forms of governance offer genuine possibilities, and are as pertinent as ever for trust-building in diverse political, social, economic, and cultural contexts in the Global Majority. This session will explore the key challenges and opportunities for strengthening multistakeholder governance and engagement in Global Majority countries. We’ll hear from speakers representing different stakeholders on balancing participation from vulnerable groups, including in authoritarian/semi-authoritarian countries, options for context-sensitive applications of international multistakeholder standards (e.g. the NETmundial principles) for advancing human rights-centric approaches to tech governance, the importance of Global Majority participation in key multistakeholder processes and forums at the international level such as WSIS+20, IGF, and GDC, and multistakeholder solutions for building digital trust in the Global Majority.
Expected Outcomes
The Global Network Initiative (GNI) is a preeminent multistakeholder organization in technology and human rights, and has a network of more than 100 members across several countries, including in the Global Majority. The insights from the session will directly inform GNI’s and its members’ engagements in governance, accountability, learning, and policy processes. The discussion will be oriented towards planning opportunities for ongoing engagements in the Global Majority, and recommendations that emerge from the session will be summarized in a blog post that will serve as a valuable resource for future work.
Hybrid Format: The session will include a virtual moderator, who will work together with the in-person moderator to ensure robust engagement from virtual, as well as in-person participants. Virtual participants will be kept engaged through polls, receive links to resources mentioned during the discussion, and will have the possibility to share their thoughts and questions in chat during the course of the panel discussion, which will be collected and shared with the in-person moderator. During the Q/A session, questions from in-person and online participants will be alternated to allow equal opportunity for engagement. Mirroring the approach taken at NETMundial and other multistakeholder events, we will proactively invite a wide range of diverse participants to attend the session, ask for participants to self identify what constituencies they belong to, and instruct moderators to alternate questions across those groups to ensure that all constituencies are given equal opportunity to participate.