On Wednesday, April 20, 2016, the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (HIVOS) will organize an event in partnership with the Internet Society Chapter in Tunisia (ISOC) on the topic of “Youth in Digital Society: Facing the Challenge of Access and Improving Internet Governance” at the Hotel Novotel Mohamed V in Tunis. The roundtable will bring together prominent speakers representing many of the people working together on Internet governance issues in Tunisia.
The event will bring together various people, including policy-makers, experts, operators, Internet advocates, IT companies, researchers, policymakers, media professionals, teachers, students, and interested individuals to ask questions and debate important policy issues relating to the Internet in Tunisia and engage with young people’s knowledge and experience. The event will heighten young people’s awareness of the opportunities the Internet affords as well as its limitations and specific characteristics in the context of Tunisia.
The purpose is to examine issues related to the Internet from a variety of perspectives, ranging from access and infrastructure aspects to human rights issues online. The event will be led by the Internet Governance youth community in Tunisia and experts in the field of Internet Governance. This will be a unique forum for a multi-stakeholder policy dialogue that aims to develop the future of the Internet – together.
Panel 1: Infrastructure and Internet Access
Connecting 100% of families, providing digital content for schools and establishing « zero-paper » government, by 2020 are today the main challenges in Tunisia. One of the key drivers to achieve these objectives is the infrastructure deployment and access to that infrastructure are paramount to development. The current challenges rely on the necessary infrastructure and its expansion. There’s a need for more investment and public-private cooperation to strengthen national infrastructure backbone in particular in rural areas. The promotion of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) in order to bring down access costs and the transition to IPv6 and ensure long-term and sustainable Internet is also identified to guarantee long-term and sustainable Internet. Providing access to the Internet is only the first step – once in place people must be able to use it. Ensuring availability and affordability in the other hand could break the barriers to getting online.
Panel 2: Internet Governance and Human Rights
What is the purpose and main objective of Alliance Artice 32 of the new Tunisian constitution as well the change in the behavior of the key IG Institutions and Stakeholders since the Tunisian revolution. What is the current role of the Tunisian Internet Agency ( ATI ) ? Is surveillance still practiced in the current security context of State Vs Terrorism in Tunisia? What is the role of the Tunisian Technical agency for Telecommunication (ATT) when it comes to inspecting cybercrimes, online investigation of cybercrime and cyber-attacks. The session will look at the new proposed cybersecurity bill, the Tunisian’s press code as well as the measures, policies and legal amendments put in place to protect the freedom of expression, privacy and security of Tunisian bloggers, citizen-journalists, and hackers who use the internet cyberspace.