UN outlines plan to unite isolated digitalization efforts

SAN FRANCISCO — The United Nations has a new plan to create an inclusive digital future. Its “Roadmap for Digital Cooperation” report, launched this month, outlines ways to strengthen multistakeholder collaboration to connect the unconnected, respect privacy, and protect human rights. “We are at a critical point for technology governance. Digital connectivity is indispensable, both to overcome the [COVID-19] pandemic and for a sustainable and inclusive recovery. But we cannot let technology trends get ahead of our ability to steer them and protect the public good,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said on a recent high-level virtual panel with heads of state, CEOs, and civil society leaders. The pandemic has highlighted the benefits that technology offers those who have access to it while also magnifying existing inequalities, including the “digital divide,” which makes implementation of the road map all the more critical, according to the speakers from various sectors who sat on the panel. Ensuring affordable, safe access U.N. Undersecretary-General Fabrizio Hochschild, the special adviser for digital cooperation, said COVID-19 highlights the need for universal connectivity to be the first, second, and third priorities of the global community. “We can’t just rely on the drift of the many isolated, not always very well coordinated, not always to-scale efforts that are already going on,” he said during the online event. In a follow-up email interview with Devex, he called for more awareness, funding, and collaboration for the global community to ensure affordable, safe, and meaningful access for all. “As is stressed throughout the report, cross regional multistakeholderism is key to successful digital cooperation and to ensuring a more prosperous and fair future in the era we find ourselves in. NGOs, along with governments, the private sector, other civil society and academia, have a crucial role to play in ensuring that we are able to implement the recommendations in the report. The key is that we all work together, and in that regard we’re very glad to have a number of NGOs actively involved in our thematic roundtables,” Hochschild said. The U.N. convened eight virtual roundtables, bringing member states together with some of the organizations that could help take the road map from discussion to implementation. The roundtable on global connectivity included the International Telecommunication Union, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and M-Pesa; the discussion on digital inclusion and data featured UN Women, the GSM Association of mobile network operators, and the Omidyar Network; and the group on artificial intelligence included UN Global Pulse, Microsoft, and OpenAI. Nongovernmental organizations including Access Now, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Amnesty International are involved in the digital human rights roundtable, with other NGOs expected to be engaged on issues including digital public goods, capacity building, and digital trust and security. Governments will also play a key role in implementing the road map, with some working faster than others to participate fully in this era of digital transformation often described as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Julius Maada Bio, president of Sierra Leone, shared some of the steps his country is taking to build its digital infrastructure, from increasing mobile phone and internet penetration to leveraging digitalization for national development. Bio, who established a directorate of science, technology, and innovation in the office of the president, underscored the value of Sierra Leone’s partnerships with the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Gates Foundation, and other organizations that have helped set the country up to launch programs including a drone corridor and a national digital identity platform. “We cannot let technology trends get ahead of our ability to steer them and protect the public good.” --— António Guterres, secretary-general, United Nations “Although we are a small country, our vision is firmly embedded in a wider global vision of digital cooperation,” he said during the panel discussion. Bio said that Sierra Leone aspires to be digitally inclusive not just to comply with guidelines like the U.N. road map, but to improve its governance and drive its development. But not all leaders see a direct connection between digital technology and sustainable development, Hochschild said. “All of this is challenged by the fact that not all actors are aware of the importance of digital technology in development,” Hochschild said. “So raising the profile of digital cooperation issues is crucial, which is something NGOs can help with.” Filling gaps in funding and defining shared rules During the launch event, a range of leaders from low- and middle-income countries spoke to the need for more official development assistance for digitalization. Currently, just 1% of funding from multilateral development banks goes to information and communications technology, said Fekitamoeloa Katoa 'Utoikamanu, U.N. high representative for the least-developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states. The road map highlights the need for funding to make connectivity affordable and outlines steps the U.N. may take to address the funding gap — for example, by convening a group of donors and investors to create a financing platform to identify new funding models for connectivity, particularly in rural areas. The World Bank estimates that achieving universal, affordable, and quality internet access across Africa by 2030 will cost $100 billion, Hochschild noted. “Infrastructure is not the only challenge here,” he said, citing the need for capacity building, a suitable regulatory environment, favorable market dynamics, and sustainable energy sources. “Another area that needs funding is in the collection of specific, disaggregated and anonymized data across demographic groups in order to ensure that the access being provided benefits all of society and doesn’t exacerbate existing inequalities,” he said. Experts from the private sector who joined the launch event stressed the need for financing beyond infrastructure: “We must invest in demand for digital services,” said Nick Read, CEO of Vodafone, who noted that half a billion people in Africa have coverage but do not use data services. He called for more efforts to develop digital skills, digitalize public services such as health and education at scale, and close the digital gap for small enterprises. One of the key mechanisms to implement this road map is the Internet Governance Forum, which grew out of the World Summit on the Information Society 15 years ago, said Simonetta Sommaruga, president of the Swiss Confederation. Sommaruga said this is the model with the best chance of success for developing a space where member states and partners from across sectors can “define shared rules.” This month’s report outlines a few ways to make the forum “more responsive and relevant to current digital issues,” and Hochschild said it must be strengthened to serve as a center for digital cooperation work moving forward. And next year, Guterres intends to appoint a technology envoy who will take responsibility for driving progress on the implementation of the road map. “The idea is that governments, the tech industry, civil society and other stakeholders will have a first ‘port of call’ to dock with the broader U.N. system,” Hochschild said. “The tech envoy will also have a loose coordination role in bringing together the really excellent initiatives on tech, science, and innovation in different parts of the UN system, which have thus far been somewhat siloed.”