Digital Rights & Inclusion Forum: “Advancing a Human Rights-Based and Multistakeholder Approach to Internet and Digital Technology Governance”

Time: Wednesday, 24 April, 16.00 – 17.00 GMT

For more information on DRIF 24, including the event program, visit the following link. 

Session Description: 

We find ourselves at a pivotal point to shape the governance of digital technologies, which may have severe implications for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Around the world, laws and policies are increasingly introduced to address a wide range of digital issues, including those relating to censorship, surveillance, network shutdowns, mis- and disinformation, and new and emerging technologies. While a myriad of initiatives and processes are currently underway to harness the benefits of digital technologies, establish norms and principles, and ensure effective multistakeholder cooperation, there is a need for more concerted efforts to ensure that outcomes are rights-respecting and ultimately advances Internet freedom globally. 

Key processes such as the World Summit on the Information Society Review Process, alongside processes ongoing in the UN system, and leading up to the Summit of the Future and the Global Digital Compact, are set to have significant implications for governance arrangements relating to the Internet and emerging technologies. The FOC is committed to further promoting the multistakeholder governance of digital technologies, to work towards ensuring that the outcomes of these processes are human rights-respecting, human-centred, and inclusive, and promote harnessing the benefits of digital technologies while mitigating harms stemming from their use. 

This session will be an opportunity to engage with regional stakeholders to share insights relating to opportunities and challenges in the global South linked to ongoing and upcoming processes, in addition to regional fora, from which the governance of the Internet and digital technologies will be shaped for the years ahead. The session will also explore the FOC’s role in these processes to advance a human rights-based and multistakeholder approach to the governance of the Internet and digital technologies.

Session Speakers:

• (Moderator) Grace Githaiga, Co-Convenor of the Kenya ICT Action Network 
• (Opening Remarks) Luca Kuiper, Policy Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
• Emmanuella Darkwah, Senior Manager, International Cooperation, Cyber Security Authority, Ghana
• Adeboye Adegoke, Senior Manager at Paradigm Initiative 
• Elizabeth Orembo, Research Fellow at Research ICT Africa
• Emilar Gandhi, Head of Stakeholder Engagement for Policy Development, Meta