The Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) Task Force on Digital Equality (TFDE), co-Chaired by Ghana, alongside FOC Advisory Network Members the Association for Progressive Communications, Media Rights Agenda, and The Business and Human Rights Group, led a collaboration with students from Duke University’s Applied Ethics+ Program to conduct research on the promotion of inclusive and transnational digital equality. The Program, hosted by the Duke Initiative for Science and Society, provides an opportunity for Duke undergraduate and graduate students to work together with host organizations, addressing pressing real-world challenges in policy, technology, research, and ethics.
Over a period of 10 weeks, the Applied Ethics+ team composed of two students, a faculty instructor, and faculty advisor worked on three key deliverables, including the development of a glossary of key digital equality terms, an academic and scholarship repository on digital equality and inclusion, and a repository of FOC Member State’s national strategies and other initiatives working to bridge digital divides. At the conclusion of the program, the Duke students delivered a written report and led a presentation and discussion to FOC and Advisory Network Members, highlighting key findings and noting initiatives that are leading efforts to address digital divides, exclusion, and poverty in digital services in regions around the globe.
In past years, one of the identified priority policy areas of the FOC has been strengthening digital inclusion. The research outputs will contribute to the Coalition’s ongoing efforts and activities of the TFDE to promote digital equality and inclusion by further cultivating a shared understanding of relevant key issues.
The Task Force’s activities build on the FOC’s Joint Statement on Digital Inclusion (February 2020), which notes how a persisting lack of digital inclusion prevents people from realising the full potential and benefits provided by the Internet. The statement includes calls to action which further advance the four pillars upon which digital inclusion rests: reliable and meaningful connectivity and access; digital literacy, ensuring all users are empowered to navigate a more diverse online ecosystem; civic participation, free from oppressive practices such as unduly restrictive censorship and Internet disruptions and shutdowns; and promoting the safety for everyone of the online ecosystem.
Following the completion of the research project, Task Force Members are working to support the Coalition’s priority to strengthen digital inclusion under the US Chairship, as outlined in the Program of Action 2023, by continuing knowledge-sharing efforts through facilitating learning calls and exploring collaborative opportunities with other FOC sub-entities, as well as external partners.
To learn more about the Task Force, and to view the FOC’s Joint Statement on Digital Inclusion, visit the following link.
