Background
Policymakers and key influencers – responsible for shaping the future of communications Information Society – were heading to Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 9 to 20 October, to define the landscape for ITU’s work for the next 4 years on sustainable development and ICTs. The theme for WTDC-17 was “ICTs for Sustainable Development Goals.”
Participants at WTDC-14 recognized the important role that ICTs play in socio-economic development, noting that no one should be offline. While substantial progress had been made to advance Internet connectivity and inclusion, more than half of the world’s population is offline and the gender digital gap is widening particularly in LDCs.
In order to move us closer on achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 5 – “Achieve gender equality and empower women and girls”, we need to examine more closely the role that ICTs, and in particular the Internet, can play in advancing a more inclusive, developed and sustainable society.
A significant amount of work has been done through studies and research to identify barriers to Internet access for men and women, boys and girls; as well as the gap for women to rise into leadership positions. Moreover, there are good examples of concrete actions and best practices being taken at national and international levels aimed at empowering women and girls to develop ICT skills and provide leadership referees. The ITU ICT Girls Day and the EQUALS in Tech Awards, as well as the Internet Society’s #ShinetheLight Campaign, are good examples of initiatives showcasing how Women and Girls make a difference through ICTs.
All these studies, activities and initiatives are informative experiences that enriched the WTDC-17 participants with real impact they have in society. But more than that, it was time to connect the dots, and that was the expectation for this side event.
Objectives
The side-event entitled “Shaping the Future of the Internet with Gender Equality” aimed to initiate an open and bottom-up dialogue around 2 main issues:
- Access to Information – advocating for equal Internet access for men and women, boys and girls, across the world.
- Leadership by Example – highlighting womenrole models for girls and young women, we will provide inspiration for women and girls to seek leadership positions.
This event objectives were to:
- identify synergies for future and ongoing collaboration,
- showcase the concrete and successful on-the-ground initiatives that are empowering girls and women towards more digital inclusion, and
- recommend public policies that are enabling girls and women to take leadership roles, and get more involved in technical discussions.
Format
The event format was designed to be interactive and dynamic, into a conversational mode. High level leaders and experts were invited to deliver a pitch talk of 2-3 minutes each, followed by rounds of audience and panel interventions with comments, discussion, reactions and questions. The co-moderators made the appropriate time allocation and summarize the discussions.
Expected results
The expected results were to deliver tangible outcomes and to develop key recommendations for policymakers in ICTs to adopt towards the fulfillments of SDG-5 on empowering girls and women to be equally integrated into the digital society and enjoy the Internet of opportunities.
Agenda
| TIME | SCHEME |
| 5:30 PM | Opening remarks Doreen Bogdan, ITU Equals in Tech Maria Ines Baque, Ministerio de Modernización, Argentina Isabella Roy, Global Affairs, Government of Canada Raul Echeberria, Internet Society Dafne Plou, APC Eleonora Rabinovich, Google Moderator: Olga Cavalli, ISOC Board member and President of ISOC Argentina |
| 5:50 PM | Breakout group 1 (Access) |
| 6:35 PM | Breakout group 2 (Leadership) Facilitators (both sessions) Dr Alison Gillwald (Executive Director, Research ICT Africa) Alison Gillwald (PhD) is the Executive Director of Research ICT Africa (RIA) and holds an adjunct professorship at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Development, Policy and Practice where she supervises PhD candidates focusing on ICT policy and regulation. Ms. Salam Yamout Ms. Yamout is the Regional Director, Middle East for the Internet Society. She is also founder and executive board member of the Lebanese Internet Center, Women in IT, and the Lebanon Chapter of the Internet Society. She also serves on the board of various organizations including RIPE NCC (the Internet Registry for Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia); MIT Enterprise Forum for the Pan Arab Region, and Lebanon for Entrepreneurs. Ms. Paula Arregui Product Senior Vice President at MercadoPago, Latin America´s leading Internet payment platform. In this role she has actively participated in the product development strategy all over the region. She is Argentinian citizen and holds a B.A. degree in Business Administration from the University of Buenos Aires. She has just ended an Executive Program at Stanford University. Rappourteurs (both sessions): Raquel Gatto (ISOC), Luisa Paez (Canada), Agustina Callegari (ISOC SIG Women) |
| 7:20 PM | Closing remarks (Facilitators and rapporteurs) |