Session
Organizer 1: Renata Avila, 🔒Open Knowledge Foundation
Speaker 1: Renata Avila, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 2: Pranesh Prakash, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 3: Burcu Kilic, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: Pranesh Prakash, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 3: Burcu Kilic, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Moderator
Lucas Pretti, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Online Moderator
Cassandra Woolford, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Rapporteur
Romina Colman, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Format
Theater
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: A theatre setting and 90-minute duration are optimal for the "Data Commons: Global South Challenges & Solutions" workshop to maximize engagement and outcomes. The theatre layout, with a central stage and audience seating, supports a structured yet inclusive format, enabling a diverse multistakeholder group—government, civil society, technical experts, and private sector—to hear and respond to community-led governance proposals. This setting allows breakout groups to form easily within the space, facilitating focused, small-group discussions on designing governance models. The 90-minute duration balances depth and focus: 30 minutes for framing and insights, 45 minutes for interactive breakout groups to map challenges and propose solutions, and 15 minutes to synthesize outcomes. This ensures actionable results—like interoperable frameworks and a strengthened network—while fostering dialogue on sovereignty and governance across stakeholders.
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: A theatre setting and 90-minute duration are optimal for the "Data Commons: Global South Challenges & Solutions" workshop to maximize engagement and outcomes. The theatre layout, with a central stage and audience seating, supports a structured yet inclusive format, enabling a diverse multistakeholder group—government, civil society, technical experts, and private sector—to hear and respond to community-led governance proposals. This setting allows breakout groups to form easily within the space, facilitating focused, small-group discussions on designing governance models. The 90-minute duration balances depth and focus: 30 minutes for framing and insights, 45 minutes for interactive breakout groups to map challenges and propose solutions, and 15 minutes to synthesize outcomes. This ensures actionable results—like interoperable frameworks and a strengthened network—while fostering dialogue on sovereignty and governance across stakeholders.
Policy Question(s)
How can data commons governance models balance national sovereignty with global interoperability, to ensure equitable sharing of data and informational resources for the benefit of Global South communities?
What governance mechanisms, including open data and AI licenses, can address legal fragmentation and weak enforcement in data-sharing frameworks across regions?
How can decentralised stewardship, such as national data trusts, empower communities to manage data and informational resources while meeting diverse stakeholder needs?
What will participants gain from attending this session? Participants in this workshop will gain a deeper understanding of data commons governance, focusing on the needs of Global South communities. They will acquire new knowledge about designing governance models that integrate open data licenses, AI licenses, and decentralized stewardship, emphasizing interoperability and equity. Attendees will benefit from diverse perspectives—government, civil society, technical experts, and private sector—offering insights into balancing national sovereignty with global standards. They will develop a nuanced understanding of governance challenges like legal fragmentation and exclusion, and how community-led solutions can address them. Participants will leave with practical insights into crafting actionable frameworks tailored to local contexts, fostering equitable data resource management. Additionally, they will connect with a global network dedicated to data and digital infrastructure governance, enhancing their ability to contribute to sustainable digital cooperation across borders.
SDGs
Description:
This 90-minute workshop, "Data Commons: Global South Challenges & Solutions," aligns with the IGF 2025 sub-theme of Digital Cooperation by fostering multistakeholder collaboration to refine the governance layer of data commons. Hosted by the Open Knowledge Foundation through its Sustainable Data Commons project, it empowers Global South communities to understand and propose specialised governance models addressing the concerns of affected groups in managing data and informational resources - such as concerns of privacy, national sovereignty, and equitable benefit-sharing associated with the sharing of data resources like datasets and informational resources such as languages, creative works, and knowledge artefacts. The workshop aims to build a global data commons community dedicated to exploring data and digital infrastructure governance mechanisms. Interactive breakout groups will enable communities to: (i) map governance-specific challenges to sharing of data and information resources, such as legal fragmentation, weak enforcement, and exclusion from data benefits, and (ii) collectively deliberate on design frameworks emphasising interoperability, integrating open data licenses for transparent access, AI licenses to regulate usage, and alternative approaches like decentralised stewardship (e.g., national data trusts) to safeguard collective rights. These models will prioritise multilateral coordination, ensuring seamless interoperability between local systems and global standards while balancing local control and addressing regional disparities through community-led decision-making. Participants will focus on governance concerns and propose solutions tailored to local legal, cultural, and economic contexts. The emphasis will be on actionable governance mechanisms—license frameworks, license enforcement, sovereignty protections, interoperability frameworks, and equitable resource allocation—ensuring all affected groups’ needs are met. A diverse multistakeholder perspective—government, civil society, technical experts, and private sector, with gender equity and youth inclusion—enriches the discussion, fostering critical insights into sustainable data governance. Join us to craft a governance layer for data commons that empowers Global South communities with precision, equity, and interoperability, advancing digital cooperation across borders.
This 90-minute workshop, "Data Commons: Global South Challenges & Solutions," aligns with the IGF 2025 sub-theme of Digital Cooperation by fostering multistakeholder collaboration to refine the governance layer of data commons. Hosted by the Open Knowledge Foundation through its Sustainable Data Commons project, it empowers Global South communities to understand and propose specialised governance models addressing the concerns of affected groups in managing data and informational resources - such as concerns of privacy, national sovereignty, and equitable benefit-sharing associated with the sharing of data resources like datasets and informational resources such as languages, creative works, and knowledge artefacts. The workshop aims to build a global data commons community dedicated to exploring data and digital infrastructure governance mechanisms. Interactive breakout groups will enable communities to: (i) map governance-specific challenges to sharing of data and information resources, such as legal fragmentation, weak enforcement, and exclusion from data benefits, and (ii) collectively deliberate on design frameworks emphasising interoperability, integrating open data licenses for transparent access, AI licenses to regulate usage, and alternative approaches like decentralised stewardship (e.g., national data trusts) to safeguard collective rights. These models will prioritise multilateral coordination, ensuring seamless interoperability between local systems and global standards while balancing local control and addressing regional disparities through community-led decision-making. Participants will focus on governance concerns and propose solutions tailored to local legal, cultural, and economic contexts. The emphasis will be on actionable governance mechanisms—license frameworks, license enforcement, sovereignty protections, interoperability frameworks, and equitable resource allocation—ensuring all affected groups’ needs are met. A diverse multistakeholder perspective—government, civil society, technical experts, and private sector, with gender equity and youth inclusion—enriches the discussion, fostering critical insights into sustainable data governance. Join us to craft a governance layer for data commons that empowers Global South communities with precision, equity, and interoperability, advancing digital cooperation across borders.
Expected Outcomes
The workshop aims to deliver tangible outcomes that advance data commons governance in the Global South. Expected outcomes include a detailed map of governance challenges—legal fragmentation, weak enforcement, and exclusion—identified by participants, alongside specialized governance proposals integrating open data licenses, AI licenses, and decentralized stewardship models like national data trusts. These outputs will emphasize interoperability and equitable resource allocation, tailored to local contexts. Participants will produce actionable frameworks that balance national sovereignty with global standards, fostering community-led solutions. A key outcome is a strengthened global data commons community dedicated to exploring data and digital infrastructure governance, with a network primed for ongoing collaboration. Specific outputs include documented proposals and a challenge map, feeding into broader digital cooperation processes like the Global Digital Compact, with potential for follow-up events to refine and implement these governance models
Hybrid Format: To ensure an engaging hybrid experience at IGF 2025, the "Data Commons: Global South Challenges & Solutions" workshop will leverage the IGF Secretariat’s technical tools and virtual link for seamless interaction. Onsite and online speakers will present jointly during the 30-minute framing, with a shared Q&A moderated to balance questions from both audiences. Breakout groups (45 minutes) will pair onsite and online participants using the provided platform, ensuring equal input into governance model design. A dedicated online facilitator will monitor virtual engagement, relaying contributions to the onsite synthesis (15 minutes). To boost participation, we’ll use open-source tools like Jitsi for breakout discussions, AFFiNE for collaborative whiteboards, and Etherpad for real-time, collaborative note-taking, accessible to all attendees. This design fosters inclusivity, bridges onsite-online gaps, and delivers a rich experience, empowering diverse stakeholders to co-create interoperable solutions.