Written by Phyo Thiri Lwin, Fatima Rezaie & Aushim Merchant
Training Session 6 of NetMission Academy 2023 – Inclusion, Diversity and Sustainability on Internet and Internet Governance was held successfully on the 9th of February, 2023 moderated by Stella Teoh and co-moderating by Phyo Thiri Lwin. The session consists of case studies delivered by WG#3 NetMission fellows, Speakers’ sharing, Questions & Answers and Breakout Room Discussion. The case study topics, “The Role of Internet in achieving SDGs” and “Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability on the Internet and Internet Governance” were presented by the NetMission fellows, Arevik Martirosyan and Riad Hasan Badsha. The speakers talked about “Digital Inclusion and Why it is important?”, “Strategising for A Sustainable and Energy-efficient Internet” and “Data Sovereignty and Algorithm Bias” during the session.
During the participants’ presentation, Arevik Martirosyan highlighted the role of information and communication technology in the concept of the UN Sustainable development Goals(SDGs). It was also mentioned that ICT is mentioned only in six targets and seven indicators and does not have a direct designation in the 17 SDGs themselves. Among 17 SDGs, she gave a brief introduction to how Internet access is contributing to achieving three SDGs. Afterwards, Riad Hasan Badsha gave the presentation for Case Study 2: Universal Acceptance Will Enable More Inclusion on Internet and Internet Governance and Case Study 3: Cloudflare: 100% Renewable & Zeroing Out Emissions Back to Day 1. He introduced an overview of Universal Acceptance and why it is important for inclusion as well as the concerns and benefits of Universal Acceptance (UA) as a Case Study 2. He further shared a brief about Cloudflare and greener Internet linking with Sustainability.
After the participants’ presentation session, our invited speaker, Pavel Farhan mentioned that as technology continues to play a larger role in our daily lives and in society, digital inclusion ensures that no one is left behind and that everyone has the opportunity to participate in the digital world. He also noted that it is not only accessing technology but also using technology to improve people’s lives. He also shared examples of Digital inclusion programs such as Digital Village in Indonesia, National Digital Literacy Mission in India, etc.
Another speaker, Jaewon Son shared and highlighted the digital carbon footprint emission, how the Internet helps or hurts the environment and how IoT can save energy and prevent disaster. She gave the message to APAC young people that “Over the last decade, Asia has accounted for more than half of the global growth in tech-company revenues, spending on research and development, and patents filed (McKinsey, 2022). However, more carbon-related, and sustainability initiatives are needed.”
The last speaker, Riki Marangi shared about Data Sovereignty and Algorithm Bias. He noted that Inclusion in terms of Internet access and training, the other part of inclusion goes beyond some of the things which it can be seen and makes sure that nobody is left behind in terms of the content that it actually comes across. It is important for having protection around indigenous data. He also mentioned, “There should be more recognition in terms of practices supporting indigenous people.”
There were a few questions that the NetMission fellows asked the speakers and then it continued to discuss the policy questions in the breakout room discussion. Ayesha Siddika, Kalpesh Chaudhuri, Sultana and Riad Hasan Badsha helped as the facilitators. The participant noted that a separate SDG goal for technology is not needed because technology is a tool to achieve the SDGs. An additional note was that diversity is definitely important. Major stakeholders should try to encourage diversity and become open to it especially since diversity will bring forth more ideas that will help with sustainability. Each room shared a brief summary of what they discussed during the Wrap Up.
Overall, it was a fruitful and informative session for NetMission fellows and Speakers for sharing different ideas and opinions about the importance of Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability on the Internet and Internet Governance. In addition to that, the case studies provided factual information to explore more in the future.