HIGH LEVEL EXCHANGE PANEL: Creating sustainable value and inclusive society – the role of digital platforms "Monday 6 December 14.00 - 15.00 CET"

Description

The Internet serves as the primary tool both for mass and point-to-point communication, and as such it provides the global infrastructure for the information society. Innovations based on information and communication technologies (ICTs) empower individuals to exercise their rights and provide an opportunity for institutions to mobilise collective actions, by putting megabytes of information and knowledge right at their fingertips, wherever they live, work or operate. However, connectivity is not sufficient on its own. A human-centric approach that ensures universal access, meaningful connectivity and digital transformation for sustainable development is required for fostering diverse views and the equitable  consumption and distribution of information.

There is a wide-ranging consensus regarding the need to acknowledge the impact of digital technologies in the exercise of human rights, particularly in promoting the availability of open information resources for education and health purposes, respect for privacy and personal data protection and ensuring their role in promoting freedom of expression in an increasingly digital world.

For that to happen, all stakeholders from civil society, the technical community, governments, the private sector and international organizations need to cooperate to design new governance models. It is particularly critical that the private sector, operators of social networking sites, search engines, sharing economy providers, e-commerce outlets, fintechs and other platforms are accountable and transparent for user-oriented practices, to ensure effective mechanisms for users to exercise  personal rights and privacy.

The panel will discuss the ways of collaborating in new platform governance models that are human-centric and inclusive; examine how anti-competitive practices may harm the digital ecosystem’s ability to protect and promote user rights; discuss good practices related to enforcing privacy and freedom of expression, combating online harassment, censorship and harmful content, and ensuring a level playing field for smaller players; and discuss concrete strategies for equally distributing the benefits of the digital economy across societies and countries.

Moderator: Mr. Arturo Di Corinto

Arturo Di Corinto is professor of Digital identity, privacy and cybersecurity in the faculty of Political Science, Sociology and Communication at Sapienza, University of Rome.
Former Director of Communication of the National Cybersecurity Lab (CINI) he is also senior associate at CCSIRS - Center for Cyber Security and International Relations Studies, University of Florence

Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria

Michelle Bachelet is the current United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.  
Ms. Bachelet was elected President of Chile on two occasions (2006 – 2010 and 2014 – 2018). She was the first female president of Chile. She also served as Health Minister (2000-2002) as well as Chile’s and Latin America’s first female Defense Minister (2002 – 2004).

Mr. Tawfik Jelassi

Dr. Tawfik Jelassi was appointed UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information on 1st July 2021. In this position, he is responsible for the Organization’s programmes on building inclusive knowledge societies, leading digital transformation, strategizing the role of ICT in education, and fostering freedom of expression.
Dr. Jelassi holds a Ph.D. doctorate in information systems from New York University (USA) and postgraduate diplomas from the University of Paris Dauphine (France).

Ms. Najat Maalla M’jid

Dr. Najat Maalla M'jid took up her position as UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children on 1 July 2019. She is a paediatrician and served previously as Head of the Paediatric Department and Director of the Hay Hassani Mother-Child hospital in Casablanca. She was a member of the Moroccan National Council on Human Rights and founded the first programme addressing the situation of children living and working in the streets of Morocco. Dr.

Ms. Nighat Dad

Nighat Dad is a Pakistani lawyer and a founder of Digital Rights Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on cyber harassment, data protection and free speech online in Pakistan and South Asia. As a feminist and pioneer for women’s rights activism in Pakistan, Dad has raised awareness of Pakistani patriarchy and illuminated her own experience as a women engaged in digital rights activism.

Mr. Qu Dongyu

Dr. Qu Dongyu took office on 1 August 2019 as Director-General of FAO. Born in 1963 in Hunan Province, China, Qu studied horticultural science at Hunan Agricultural University, plant breeding and genetics at the graduate school, CAAS. He later added a PhD on agriculture and environmental science at Wageningen University. Before coming to FAO, Qu served as China’s Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, promoted inclusive and innovative development and make sure information and communication technologies (ICT) were available in rural areas.

Ms. Simonetta Sommaruga

Simonetta Sommaruga was born on 14 May 1960 and grew up in Sins in the canton of Aargau together with her three siblings. After obtaining her academic baccalaureate, she attended the Lucerne Academy of Music where she studied to become a concert pianist. After travelling widely, she continued her pianist and educational career at the Fribourg Academy of Music.

Ms. Wendy Hui Kyong Chun

Wendy Hui Kyong Chun is Simon Fraser University’s Canada 150 Research Chair in New Media and leads the Digital Democracies Institute. She is the author of several works including Control and Freedom: Power and Paranoia in the Age of Fiber Optics (MIT, 2006), Programmed Visions: Software and Memory (MIT, 2011), Updating to Remain the Same: Habitual New Media (MIT, 2016), Discriminating Data (MIT 2021), and the co-author of Pattern Discrimination (University of Minnesota & Meson Press, 2019).

Mr. Josh Kallmer

Josh Kallmer is Head of Global Public Policy and Government Relations at Zoom. He was most recently Executive Vice President for Policy at the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), leading efforts to influence policy development around the globe. Before joining ITI, he acted as counsel for Crowell & Moring LLP and Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Investment.