The following are the outputs of the captioning taken during an IGF intervention. Although it is largely accurate, in some cases it may be incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. It is posted as an aid, but should not be treated as an authoritative record.
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>> I think we should start in two minutes.
>> MODERATOR TAO: It's 9:30. Should we start right now? It's time to start our workshop this morning.
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning, everyone.
Firstly, welcome to our workshop titled "Benefit Everyone from Digital Tech Equally and Inclusively". This workshop is organized by U.N. Consultative Committee on Information Technology, CCIT.
Chinese Association of Science and Technology.
The committee has been actively engaged with the IGF activity during the past year under the leadership of Chair, Professor, former President of World Federation of Engineering Organisation, WFEO.
He is also Executive Dean of Chinese Institute of New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategies.
Now, let's welcome Professor Chuang to give us opening remarks.
>> PROFESSOR CHUANG: Thank you, I think I should start with CCIT. This workshop is organized by CCIT in the spirit of the Global Digital Compact. CCIT is a committee established by Chinese Association of Science and Technology, umbrella organisation encompassing over 200 professional societies, almost all scientific technological societies.
And CCIT (?) to assist it's consultative status in the framework of United Nations Economic Social Development Framework.
So CCIT itself, is the platform of multi-disciplinary collaboration. Linking the scientific technological society of policy makers in ICT domain in China and international dialogue, such as IGF, WCEO and so on.
Today we gather for the topic "Benefit Everyone from Digital Tech Equally and Inclusively". So I think we gather here to discuss this topic because we know, on one side, the remarkable benefit brought up by the technology to every country everywhere. But not to everyone by far.
So we have to explore the ways how to collaborate in the spirit of Global Digital Compact to have everybody, everywhere, in every eco-socio status to get the benefit of the tech.
Today, even though it's a small workshop we have experts from Asia, from Europe, from Africa, and from America to join our hands and to share our insight, inspiration and good practices.
We also encourage all participants in this room later on site or online to join the discussion.
I firmly believe with our joint contribution and joint efforts we should make this workshop a great success, and open a new opportunity for further collaboration on the inclusive and equally digital technology for everyone.
Thank you so much. I will stop here and give the floor back to Xiaofeng.
>> MODERATOR TAO: Thank you, to Professor Chuang. He highlights the importance of digital tech through multistakeholder cooperation.
I think today we have a lot of experts and scientists from different fields to share their thoughts. Actually, we have six invited speakers with various backgrounds from different disciplinaries, different aspects, including the policy, technology and also education.
So our workshop after the presentation from speakers will follow by a panel discussion with all the speakers also onsite and online participants.
So I would like to remind our speakers, each of you will have ten minutes to present your thoughts and ideas. So I will remind you when two minutes left, okay?
So let's move to the part of the presentation.
Firstly, we have Professor Liu Chuang to give us onsite presentation about GIS technology and digital transformation for SDGs. Professor Chuang is from Institute of Geographical Sciences and editor in chief of Global Change Research Data publishing and repository World Data System.
Now, welcome, Professor Liu to give your presentation. You have the floor, please.
>> PROFESSOR CHUANG: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Good morning, 20 years ago we get together in Geneva. So I think there are some of us from there. And also 20 years ago we work together to set up the group in development countries. I think we work together for that. But now we focus 20 years later, so now we work how the data can benefit for everybody.
The topic is GIES methodology and technology transformation for SDGs. This is from the experience, in China we have biodiversity. And we have more than 3,000 geography indications in China.
It doesn't work -- okay, go ahead.
So the programme, not only China has the problem but how FAO initiative that OCOP programme.
And then this is 85 countries joined this. Each country have their diverse, the different product, agriculture product. Go to the next one.
Okay. Before that? Yeah.
So the challenges is, the good product, good nutrition, good environment, but not good life. Because the good product is not get the feedback of good price in the market. So this is a big problem. So how the three issues in the meeting. The products are not well geo located. The special geo-bio-eco-socio sis stim which the products of origins are not illustrated clearly and not well-known by consumers and they haven't been established and protected.
So this is the challenges. What are the solutions? One is very important is cooperation. So in this Chinese Academy of Sciences, with FAO. And OCOP programme together to Chinese, GIES technology.
Next one.
And then Chinese academy of science promise to work with the FAO on GIES. One is open science, data and knowledge sharing and also technology transfer. And capacity building.
Go ahead.
And the solution is what does GIES solution? We transfer the technology methodology to do all this work, innovative solution for linking production, environmental marketing and the consumers of special agriculture products.
Go ahead.
And then the keywords in this technology, one is geographical, indications, environment, sustainability. Four keywords. And the high quality, means breed, quality, appearance, brand, morality and the culture.
In that case we have a better product, better nutrition, better environment and better life. Leave no one behind.
So the key policies and technologies, one is we need the multistakeholder teamwork and then link science, technology, engineering and the standard management and agriculture. We need open data, open science and open knowledge and then all the information. Okay, go ahead.
So the key technology is big data. Professional knowledge. Internet of things. Retrieval network and the intelligence of the farmers, consumers and decision makers. We link all this together. This is good data. Dataset. And professional knowledge that is published in the peer-review journal and also link all these things together.
Right now, what is the solution? Impact. In China, right now we have 19 cases in China. And more than 600,000 farmers get the benefit. For example, in the small village, Lanjiya Village, in community income is zero. The second year got $100,000. And the next year more than half a million. And then last year more than $1 million.
Okay, next one.
In Asia and the Pacific, we work with FAO in Asia, that is in Bangladesh, in Bhutan and also in Papua New Guinea. Right now Pacific in the world, including Panama and South Africa and also other countries working on that.
I think this is a good solution. We need to work together, we need the cooperation, think open science, open data and the knowledge and the link. And then network together and the intelligence of GEIS. Thank you very much.
>> MODERATOR TAO: Thank you, Professor Liu. The next is presentation on internet governance, presentation of UN of society principle management. The speaker is Mr. Horst Kremers, he is Chair of WEOG, Germany. Go ahead.
>> HORST KREMERS: Please allow me to share the screen.
He wants to --
>> MODERATOR TAO: He wants to share screen.
>> HORST KREMERS: Can you see this?
>> MODERATOR TAO: Not yet.
>> HORST KREMERS: I was unable to share screen.
I don't have the sign on my screen on Zoom.
>> Okay, Horst, you can share screen on your side.
>> HORST KREMERS: Sorry, I don't see. I don't see that line that says share screen. I don't see it.
>> Can you check at the bottom of your screen?
The tabs at the bottom of your screen? It will be green.
>> HORST KREMERS: I apologize.
>> MODERATOR TAO: Thank you, Daisy. Great contribution.
Okay. We see your screen.
>> HORST KREMERS: Thank you very much. Good morning, colleagues. I'm very happy to be able to contribute to the workshop today.
My aspect is on information governance for the implementation of the UN all-of-society principle in disaster management. For about 25 years I ran from environmental sustainability information into disaster aspects. And information management in disaster.
Today I want to share about the principle of all of society.
I refer to the United Nations Sendai Framework for disaster risk reduction. This Sendai Framework has already indicates on whom to involve in disaster discussion.
Here for us, always, the question, what is information management aspect of all this?
Explicitly listed in the Sendai Framework is women, children and youth, and so on. Migrants, academia, business, media. When I show you this, contact into disaster management, you would see that the inclusion of Indigenous people is starting, but not in every country, migrants are enclosed in such discussion. And so on.
So there is a lot to do. We will try, of course, to improve at work groups or NDRR, United Nations disaster risk reduction and others.
The role of stakeholders is defining the framework to engage in the implementation of local, regional, global plans and strategies, contribute to and support public awareness, culture of prevention and education on disaster risk and advocate for resilient communities and an inclusive and all-of-society disaster risk management. It's not just an idea, it's a mandate from the Sendai Framework to work on this.
During my work with UNDRR and also nationally here and in Europe, I compiled a list of those stakeholders, which I call also pillars of -- existing pillars of societal resilience in all phases of disaster management. A lot of people focus on the core phase of rescue and first aid.
But we have this whole circle of disaster management. Now, I don't want to read all of this here, but for instance, might be which in chambers of engineers, how are they involved? It's not only the blue light first aid organisations. But it's also Salvation Army, school services, medical care organisations, radio associations, when all the transmission fails and all the internet is down, you have to rely on a radio today and so on.
To make that short, you can read all this for download of my presentation with a link I will give at the end.
For example, all these groups, all these actors in disaster normally should work together in a national platform, which is also a Sendai Framework suggest to implement everywhere. National platform for disaster risk reduction, I just made a copy of the Luxembourg government in Europe. Constitutes sustainable network that stimulates, regular exchange sharing of information and data held by different ministerial departments and all those involved.
Just to give you some idea of what is also the question of how to work in this crisis, the Swedish civil contingency agency made a brochure just a few months ago. The new version entitled "In case of crisis or war". This addresses all of society.
In Sweden, that's translated to -- this is the name of languages in Swedish languages.
In English, Farsi, when you know this in Ukrainian language, if you know some of these names, here are local languages. Local ethnical groups throughout the big country of Sweden. I listed that here because of an international aspects of all those people living in the countries, not only Swedish people, or any other nation, it's the same.
But this is a good example how to include for the information part, also other languages in the country, local languages, native languages, Indigenous languages which is also a role there.
In the case of what I think is one of the best examples and best documented examples for community development is the one from Scotland here.
Which deals with the whole circle of disaster management from communication inclusion support planning, working together and the methods with an impact we work together for our society safety and well-being.
What are today my short because of time, my recommendations for action and target achievements.
We should review progress regularly at the local level and contribute to national and regional progress reviews by sharing information with the national government.
Develop a communications strategy, internal and external, to inform local authorities, the community and different actors of these, when you see the complexity of the list of actors involved you see what's the real challenge. Because we are far from addressing with all these and communicate in a standard way, to inform local authorities, community and different actors about gaps, problems and achievements.
So it's not only about warnings. It's absolutely important, these warnings. But the whole process is about talking about gaps on problems and so on.
Put in place communication mechanisms that allow local leaders and the community to provide input, suggestions and comments.
Other recommendations for action are something like recording of status and situation, evaluation of documentation of previous experience, document management plans.
To be short I don't want to read all this, but I just say, if you haven't looked at this, from management point of view, the question is, do we have all professions involved in this? Not only someone actors, single organisation or something. Do we have all the professions onboard that are especially working for society here?
I think there's a long way to be done to have all of society principle, in short, in so many technical and governance way.
Very short in selected aspects of governance is, you would need an office Secretariat, it's a permanent process. So it's not a Working Group. It's not a project, please. Governance in disaster is something which needs permanent support of structures.
That means you need Steering Committees, you need working committees, focus, Working Groups, drafting teams, technical drafting teams who will make proposals for standards.
As we did, -- would know from former times when we did so in Sustainable Development, environmental information in geographic information standards. You would need to sit together with colleagues from different organisations, from different professions, to sit together and draft standards, technical standards for meta information, for processes and whatsoever.
We are far from this in disaster management, by the way.
Promote and document light house realizations, feasibility studies based on these standards.
Prototypes, test beds, where others can come with the data and say no, let's see what your analysis tells about our data.
Discuss and negotiate strategy at national Sendai platform, that is what I mentioned already. Every nation should have one.
Roadmaps for objectives, two years, five years, 20 years. This is typical management things. Do you look in your country? Do you see what is a two-year plan? Do you know what is a five-year plan, a 20-year plan? I think that is also something we could support.
Now I want to close my presentation to invite you to come to Switzerland in June in Geneva, it's the 8th session of the global platform for disaster risk reduction of the United Nations.
One month later in July, also allows a discussion on information society. My session proposal is on information society in times of risk. Those who are interested and maybe consider to join for contribution, contributing to such session are invited, or contact me. I thank you for your attention. And you will see the download link for my presentation and with the links with the documents, very interesting documents I recommend.
And thank you for the opportunity to be with you. Thank you.
>> MODERATOR TAO: Okay.
Thank you very much, Horst. And thank you for sharing very interesting of information about the events to be held next year in Switzerland about disaster management for the next 20 years.
I think we will have discussion during the panel part.
So let's move to the next speaker, myself.
I will give you a brief introduction about enhancing partnership on big data for SDG. As we know, digital tech like IOT. Big data, artificial intelligence, this advance technology has changed our life. But also increase the risk also on environment we live.
When we talk about achieving SDGs, we normally focus on the development of human society and economic development. But at the same time, the nature and environmental are also concerned. So this morning, I would like to talk about importance of corporation tackling environmental issue with support of big data.
Please, go ahead.
Oh, it works. Thank you.
So, as you can see from the screen, our world is facing myriad of global changes. For example, the disaster as Horst mentions happens every day around the world.
Air pollution is definitely very severe situation in southeastern Asia. Frequent flooding happens not only in rural area but I think we are experiencing more severe disaster in Southeast Asia, which is a big problem for the agriculture and production.
For at the same time, South America are experiencing severe deforestation and meanwhile extreme degradation of grass lands and climate change affects worldwide.
So, this is too much.
Okay. So as we all know the big data can be a key tool for supporting implementation to improve our daily life. Industry, development, human life.
As we know the SDG has 16 goals with 169 targets and we also have more indicators, if I reign right, more than 213.
How can big data support the implementation of SDG?
And also we need to evaluate the state and progress of implementation.
So we need to improve the link between the observation, computing, analysis, and knowledge of discovery. As minister Abdullah mentioned yesterday there's a lot of obstacles to overcome, as he addressed, data, computer divide, and algorithm divide. I think if one try to promote the application of big data, we need to think about how to make new technology to play important roles during this process.
So, I think there are a lot features of big data we need to improve to allow the objective of benefiting everyone. For example, the technical reliability and stability. So we need to build reliable infrastructure of the world at local level, national level and regional level, as Horst mentioned. Also equity and diversity as our workshop title mentioned. To help the gap between the different communities, different countries.
The other thing we need to think about is responsibility and accountability. Which will help to promote application and service by implementing data openness, integration and analysis. And also data security is also very important issue for us to think about. Because it's well integrated, all kinds of data source by extract information and produce knowledge for decision-making. So there are a lot of things we need to think about.
That's why we need to enhance our multistakeholder activism to enhance the process of big data in our society and in life.
So the organisations can play more important roles in this process. For example, for research community and the commercial sector, they can work together for building the analysis platform to facilitating and computing service. Maybe big data computing platform. Okay.
There are also application model and policy aspects, the stakeholders can work together to go forward.
Here I have some case, because personally I'm from the Technical Community. So as you know, satellites are playing more and more important roles for monitoring the natural resource environmental.
But they are different capacity on data accumulation at different countries, at different levels. So we try to build a data hub by reducing the data divide from this kind of framework. So you can see, some organisations are working on the data integration. Some are working on the optimization and also we have private sector which will provide computing stability.
So we can strongly support different applications with this flexible framework by multistakeholder cooperation.
There are other cases for the knowledge we have.
Provide more opportunity for us to cooperating together from data to information for decision making.
The algorithm can be collected and modernized for further information extraction.
So in this case we create the knowledge graph for more than 450 satellite and which will be very important knowledge base for information for computation.
This is for big data for environment monitoring and rapid response.
I don't want to spend too much time explaining, but maybe you can see with support of this big data, we can monitor global change by deriving key principles from satellite and also rely on real-time disaster monitoring with the support of technology.
Okay, a short summary. First, big data finds new knowledge, creates new value and improves new capabilities and has great potential as emerging technology and data resource.
And also, big data and A.I., not only have intensive applications in responding to environmental issues but also it can be a very powerful tool by reducing the digital divide, as we talked in yesterday's forum.
And third one, big data governance and collaboration actions will improve the ability of society to cope with various public safety and health challenges. And most important, it will improve the quality of economic and social life for achieving SDGs.
So I think this all for my presentation, thank you for your attention.
Okay. Let's move to the next speaker. Now we will come to Professor Ricardo Israel Robles Pelayo from Mexico. You have the floor.
>> RICARDO ISRAEL ROBLES PELAYO: Thank you. Good morning, everyone. I'm Ricardo Israel Robles Pelayo, at the university GRULAC. Thank you for the invitations for 2024 in Saudi Arabia.
This workshop "Benefit Everyone from Digital Tech Equally and Inclusively". I will discuss policy and digital divide challenge and opportunities in Mexico and Latin America.
We are living in a transformative era in which technology has become the driving force behind social, economic and change, technologies have opened enormous possibilities for reducing inequalities and provide, improving quality of life.
However, this technological revolution highlights significant challenge, unequal access, digital exclusion and widening economic and social gaps.
Today, I want to share a profound reflection on how to close the digital divide in our region, and analyzing its impact to key sectors, such as education, health, labor, justice and business development, while proposing transparent and sustainable solutions to address this challenge.
Before finding solutions to benefit everyone for digital technology with equality and inclusion, we must observe the number of people who have firsthand access to the internet.
As we observe in yesterday's opening session, many people worldwide don't have internet access.
As we can see in the graph, a number of people who live in Latin America countries, internet access has grown significantly in Latin America.
Now serving as an essential, social and economic participation tool.
However, this reality is ordinary. Despite progress, more than 240 million Latin Americas still need to learn to use the internet.
Whether due to higher costs, lack of infrastructure and insufficient technological skills, internet access remains a luxury in many rural communities. Fostering access to opportunities and services. It will enable right to information, healthcare service and quality education.
In the globalized world, equality disconnection equates to exclusion.
For this reason we need initiatives that ensure universal, affordable, high connectivity for everyone, regardless of geographic location on economic steps.
In Mexico, protecting personal data, the rise to the access of communications and transparency and our rights regulator and our constitution and secondary laws.
However, we are currently experiencing political changes and constitutional reforms that threaten the application of those mentioned technological digital rights which are considered as human rights in Mexican constitution.
The digital divide is not solely a technological problem with the manifestation for social inequalities.
Digital divide internet connectivity are becoming more common in urban areas. These tools remain out of reach for most marginalized regions.
It is essential to highlight that information and communication technologies can become a driving force for economic development.
However, there are limited adoption and marginalized concepts perpetuates poverty and exclusion.
Ambitious and well-designed public policies are needed to access these technologies and their effective use to generate opportunities in these communities.
Education is one of the areas where ICTs can have the most significant impact.
Especially in Latin America, where educational equity remains a challenge.
Incorporation technological tools modern -- (?) for quality education. However, their implementation still needs to be improved.
In Mexico, students still need access to essential devices such as computers in most rural schools. And teachers must receive the necessary training to use ICT's effectively.
In addition, government digital education programs need more transparent evaluation which limits their impact.
To harness the potential we must focus on teacher training, investing in educational infrastructure and ensuring digital tools are accessible for all students.
Health is another sector where technology can make a crucial difference.
In Mexico, such as Da Vinci robot for surgeries represent the future of medicine. However, their availability is limited for a few hospitals in Mexico, leaving millions needing access to this underscores our healthcare system's profound economic inequalities.
To close this gap we must democratize, ensuring advancement reaches hospitals in areas to ensure invest in medical infrastructure, access to health services are required.
Technological transformation is reshaping labor markets yet 62% of jobs in Latin America face automation risk.
Mainly affecting workers in less qualified sectors, this action can generate unemployment and labor inequalities -- marginalizing others.
And just to try to finish as soon as possible, digital transformation (?) the justice system, artificial intelligence, this innovation can improve efficiency and transparency (?) ensuring access to digital justice is universal and understandable for all parties are crucial.
Mexico judicial reform is implemented within both economic material and resources (?) are resources that are being filled in other parts of the world.
In conclusion, there are some aspects we must consider. Guaranteed access to the internet in rural and marginalized areas where the government and private sector can invest in technological infrastructure. Create educational programs to teach technological skills to students from an early age based on inclusive digital training for teachers. Prioritize teacher training and create inclusive digital content to encourage educational innovation. Provide tax incentives, financing and technological training to support SME's with appropriate technological tools and train workers in digital and human skills, gradually implement collaborative technological tools and foster a culture of continuous learning to ensure their adaptation and job stability in the face of AI.
Decentralize advanced medical technology to benefit, using artificial intelligence. And just to finish, I just want to continue the thought that yesterday whether we can bridge the digital divide and build a more inclusive future for people worldwide. Thank you very much.
>> MODERATOR: Thank you very much, Ricardo. Thanks for sharing your deep analysis and also solutions proposed forward for better inclusion.
Now we will have the next speaker, Professor Daisy Selematsela from University of the Witwatersrand and her colleague Lazarus Matizirofa from University of Victoria.
Centering social justice, digital technology accessibility equally and inclusively. That's it, have the floor, please.
>> DAISY SELEMATSELA: Okay, I'm trying to put it on display mode.
>> Daisy has a similar programme. You have to help yourself. You are expert, we believe you.
>> DAISY SELEMATSELA: Yes, I'm trying to minimize -- okay.
Okay, good morning colleagues from South Africa. We are focusing on two aspects. I want to put it on slide show, my screen is too big, I can't put it on slide show but my colleague will come shortly. Centering social cohesion in Digital Accessibility, equality and inclusivity. This is linking what we are discussing this morning when we look at information society at times of risk. Also what Professor highlighted, also what Ricardo highlighted, regarding unequal access and looking at this from the Global South perspective.
If we look at social integration and inclusion, I want to highlight how the Department of Sports and culture where the libraries report to this ministry look at social cohesion and this is how it's defined by the ministry. The degree of social integration and inclusion in communities, and in communities and society at large and extent to which mutual solidarity finds expression itself among individuals and communities.
This leads us to how do we look at social cohesion, or social justice in the South African perspective? Because this also impacts the Global South. And like Professor Liu highlighted the SDGs on our side as you can see. For us when you look at social cohesion, there are four elements looking at stimulate by fostering inclusivity, that's what we are discussing today when it relates to technologies. Advancing social cohesion by supporting the Sustainable Development Goals. And cohesion through education, highlighted by Professor Liu and Ricardo. Social integration intervention to attain SDGs in South Africa is quite key how we want to address these things.
When we look at social and economic disparities, and I'm glad that my colleague Professor Ricardo highlighted the issues around widening social and economic exclusion.
Now I want to touch base on what policy documents for example are relating to this, for example, in South Africa.
The intention of reducing socioeconomic disparities, IE poverty and so forth are stated as the infrastructure and development programme of 1994. Which further is reaffirmed by the national development plan of 2012.
This documents emphasize the following, non-political democracy can survive (?) remains in poverty and so forth.
I want to move to the next slide. What is the context of social cohesion. It's received global attention in the 2015 global agenda, this is the African agenda. For more than two decades, South Africa has taught to address poverty and inequality in a wide range of initiatives. In the national development plan of 2030, it's aligned with addressing poverty and exclusion.
The context of social cohesion as we can see, also linking to what I'm saying around policy, legislation, documents around redress and distribution of social and economic opportunities.
And when we look again to social cohesion interventions, it looks like protection that aims to ensure a basic level of well-being to enable people to live with dignity and governments tend to introduce social cohesion for social, political economic objectives.
I want to highlight, social cohesion like Professor highlighted earlier, Ricardo (?) -- Omilola and Kaniki. I want to jump because of the time. As part of interventions the African Union made social protection as its defining principle and it's quite important with what we are talking about today. On information society at times of risk and how do we deal with that.
But now, the thrust of our talk is to focus more on how do we deal with this technological access issues. And focus for myself and my colleague Lazarus are looking at democratizing digital technologies. If accessibility is left unchallenged. The role of African recent in the global knowledge economy is impacted. Research agents mean in different areas and context.
As we heard from Professor Ricardo around issues of publishing. Also the global knowledge environment and local impact are not addressed properly. And under valuing institutional repositories which are also Conduit to accessing information, this is part of technologies that we need.
Sustainable open access publishing in Africa, and finding challenges for education and research growth. This impacts, if infrastructure isn't up to par it affects all this. When look at democratizing digital technology, why and my colleagues highlighted, sustainable, national and regional infrastructure, valuing Indigenous knowledge is also important when you talk about access that links to digital technologies and inclusivity, and diversity of voices. Missing voices in policy is key. Allowing for greater cultural and linguistic diversity. My colleague Lazarus will touch on local and regional knowledge production.
>> LAZARUS MATIZIROFA: Thank you, Daisy.
Thank you so much. In the university, what we are trying to do is to broaden the digital scholarship transformation and underpin our strategy to enhance providing solutions for the digital divide. You notice this is the first planetarium of its size. Built in Africa. The new digital divide.
I am controlling the slide.
>> Next slide, 15.
>> LAZARUS MATIZIROFA: Slide 15.
Linking digital humanities to digital scholarship. Providing digital humanities scholars usually engage with topics through digital collaboration.
This could mean utilizing and we can digitize them for print books, this could also mean exploring technology such as algorithms, data, text mining tools to understand how information will intersect. Also digital scholarship, we assume maps and data organisation tools to visualize and analyze and interpret text in and data in innovative ways. Next, please.
On the digital scholarship in South Africa in education, these are some of the things to democratize. We need people who can give instruction and help people engage with all this to ensure that we have a simple and complex environment, connect to communities and empower scholarship and action. Next slide, please.
So digital humanities at WITS libraries, we have museums, make sure we provide digital solutions and enhancing the library, additional scholarship services through the archives and other things that we can digitize in our collections. Tools and providing optical character recognition for digitized collections so researchers can have vast amounts of visual data they can use. This isn't just limited to text, we are also providing sound, images and video that have been subjected to new forms of research. Next slide, please.
You will see with our advancement on historical papers, we have the richest archive of research papers in South Africa.
Our agenda here is to digitize some of these collections, provided, most of the archived material can then be accessible to our clients and also sensitive archives, we can also provide digital solutions to them, so they can transform and be accessible to other people outside the university.
And so this includes combining STEM with digital scholarship and digital humanities through our Mecca space which brings humanities together with and promote cross disciplinary collaboration, thus helping students and researchers to move beyond the historical division between the sciences and humanities. Next slide, please.
>> MODERATOR: Lazarus, because we still have to leave some time for panel discussion, could you please finish your presentation in three minutes?
>> LAZARUS MATIZIROFA: Yes, thank you, sir.
Most of these things that we are going to digitize in our museums and also already we digitize the last slides which speaks on TSHI, presides around most of the African countries where they were collected and digitize them to make sure we have a wider audience.
So thank you, sir.
Yes, I'm at the end of the presentation.
>> MODERATOR: Yes, please, go ahead.
>> LAZARUS MATIZIROFA: These are African potteries that were created a long time ago, we are also digitizing and providing the 3D dimension to ensure they can utilize and analyze them and write something about them.
Next slide.
Yes, so this is the Rock Art Research Institute. We digitized, material came from different African countries. These are images you will find our mountains and caves we are providing here as a digital archive at WITS. I think this should be the last slide.
>> MODERATOR: I think so.
>> LAZARUS MATIZIROFA: Thank you.
>> MODERATOR: Okay.
Very impressive presentations from Daisy and Lazarus. Thank you for your presentation.
Now we have our last speaker onsite presentation from Tamanna Mustary Mou. Her talk is meaningful access and affordable internet for women.
>> TAMANNA MOU: Good morning, everyone. I'm from Bangladesh but I came from New York, Saint John's University, I'm presenting my slides in front of you, because you know Bangladesh and China are very friendship country. At this time I present (?) I'm here to present these slides. My topic is meaningful access and affordable internet for women.
We know that women are a bit behind using internet.
I have seen the topic to let you know the barrier for women to use internet. This is the Internet Governance Forum. I think it's important for us to know the problems and barriers which hinders women participation, especially in the South Asian countries.
I would like to focus on the meaningful connectivity, what is meaningful? We know we can use internet anywhere and everywhere. But it's meaningless.
Connection 4G, 5G and regular internet use, broadband connection at home and workplace. Those are the key points that we need to ensure for the woman. And since we are very limited time, we are having very limited time
(Off microphone)
So now the thing is that, what is the situation of our country?
Like progress, challenges, opportunities and way forward.
And we have meaningful connectivity, when we can use the internet every day, using an appropriate device with enough data and first connection. The FAA, all of you know publish a report one of the ten people across nine countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America have solid working access to the internet. This is limited because it's just one in ten people. Issues of connectivity are involved how the action needed to provide affordable and meaningful access. And men are were far more likely to engage in a range of online activities including posting comments about political, social or economic issues and men are more likely to use internet. And yesterday when I was in the plenary session, I found that (?) that men are always using more internet then women. Not only in Asia, Africa but Europe and America.
This is the scenario in politics and economics and business and everywhere.
Without the full participation of women, it's impossible to progress as a full society. Because women
(Off microphone)
If I use internet progress, all respect will be hindered. Developing countries up to 18 billion USD.
More than 6 million women and girls able to improve income and education level. Since I'm working in the Ministry of Education, I found that if women can afford the internet and they are getting the full facility to use the internet that the education sector would be developed.
In education, the previous speaker also focused on using internet in education. This is a big important part that we need to change our education as digitalized system.
They are using ChatGPT and we have technological innovation in education. Every sector we need that type of participation for women, either in business or in education or in commerce. Everywhere. Next, please.
So the thing is that we found that barriers for meaningful connectivity and affordability and digital skills gap remain sub born barriers to gender-equitable access to and use of the internet. Across the globe, fewer women than men use the internet and research from the web foundation found that globally men are 21% more likely to be online than women. If there are barriers, lack of physical skills, (?) most of the women feeling that they have less income. They can't afford the internet which is very expensive for them. These are the things that women, there are some issues for privacy also. Some women are afraid of their privacy or like any online harassment. And aware of the social harassment and online harassment and vulnerability and safety, security concern. Those are the things that interrupt using of internet as first line of defense.
Next slide, please.
This is digital divide. Unavailability of broadband access or less access to public internet centers.
Insufficient income, cultural norms and social barriers, I have discussed these. Unable to afford a technological device I. those are things that can highlight the use of internet of women. And so the policy makers should be concerned about those things that we are facing nowadays.
Women-friendly, the University of Rutgers, broadcasting should also change their policies so women can have access.
Thank you, next slide, please.
We are at the very end, [ Reading slide rapidly ]
We have already discussed those. The thing is to ensure that quality, no internet and no equality is just similar.
If we want to ensure that equality, we have to ensure internet for women.
If women are far behind men in any kind of development, internet should be assured for women to develop equal. Next slide, please.
This is the data from online population, internet use, gender gap, those are data I have found from, these are the data, all the data focus that women are less likely using internet than men. Next, please.
But those are situation it is like a village situation. The development of Bangladesh is pretty much so they are becoming changing, so this is the situation we have found from source that women empowerment like before is very much changing the situation. Next please. Key to achieving international standard of communication by using internet.
Since we are here for Internet Governance Forum we need to change the situation as a global village. We need to change the situation for women using internet, so this is a global community and now (off microphone)
Ensure internet for men. This is my presentation. And thank you very much for your kindness to give me the privilege here. Thank you very much. Have a good day.
>> MODERATOR: Thank you, thank you.
Thank you for sharing your insight ideas for. We still have a few minutes for the discussion.
Maybe our onsite speakers or online speakers can share your thoughts in very compact words? Okay.
First Horst Kremers?
>> HORST KREMERS: Thank you very much. Can you read the chat, I'm just preparing a remark on my session proposal in WSIS. Can I please complete and come back later in just a minute?
>> MODERATOR: Okay. We will circulate back after you finish, okay. This is a very good proposal, I believe.
Professor Liu?
>> Yeah, I think this is a very good session in a different aspect. In the regions, yeah. And I think we have a common understanding for our common future. One is we need to work together, right?
For the disaster for the GIS we need to work together. How can we work together, right? Yeah.
And then the second one, go to the -- we need to think about how to leverage the benefit the data and the internet to society, to everybody, leaving no one behind, right?
So we need action. So what action we should do. So we need to talk about this.
I will transfer to --
>> Thank you very much. I think since yesterday the discussion, we have common issues to do about education, about the economic issues and to share all the knowledge around the world and in this format, I think is a good place to do it.
So I think it's very usual consider around the world we have to work together as Professor Liu says. And we can share this space as well. So thank you very much for the invitation again.
And let's work together to reach that goal. Thank you very much.
>> MODERATOR: Okay. So Daisy?
You have some words?
>> DAISY SELEMATSELA: Yes, discussions from the different presentations that we all converge with what we are trying to put forward on access and the use or availability of infrastructure, and also issues around data to address societal issues. That's why I see the convergence, even though our presentations were different, however, they were coming together to address issues of access that links to the SDGs, issues of access that addresses societal impact and how do we want to see all the societies being able to access information and the use of data in that aspect. Lazarus, can come in. Thanks.
>> MODERATOR: Lazarus?
>> LAZARUS MATIZIROFA: Yes, thank you, Chair. I think from my side is the role that we need to play in terms of particularly in the African context, is to digitize some of the materials that should be provided as information resources to the audience. I think majority of Africa is a continent be it universities or public institutions, they do have a lot of raw materials that still needs to be streamlined for access on a digital platform.
And therefore the internet then will provide that link to access to these collections. Thank you, sir.
>> MODERATOR: Thank you, Lazarus. Now Tamarra?
Some words (?)
Okay, you can go ahead if you have some words to say.
>> Thank you very much.
We need to ensure women active participation and leadership. In our country as well as all the South Asian countries and we already have ensured the participation of women, mostly in the European countries and now in Poland IGF I have attended 2021 in Poland IGF as a Fellow. So at that time women voice should be heard from anywhere. When women are able to speak out they can ensure their own (?) my last word is women should speak out, women voice should be heard and women are the part of the world. And they are the active participant everywhere. So we cannot ensure our development without women participation.
This is the last part for me, we need to ensure internet for women, as well as men everywhere. Thank you.
>> MODERATOR: Thank you, Tamarra.
Horst, you still have some words?
>> HORST KREMERS: Thank you. To be short, I put a note in the chat with links that may be possible to see.
I will of course keep you informed. The question is I have a long time and I see the situation in disaster risk reduction. And I see the problem really from full-scale. And we can do very positive things. The question also is just to see the importance of the thing, now is the time that slowly starts preparation of the follow-up United Nations programme on risk reduction, which must be some programme from 2030-2045, the next 15 years. We have to argue for re-wording, improving the wording of United Nations instruments, in this case where I work with UNDRR with the disaster risk reduction things.
Other colleagues here in Sustainable Development also could contribute to wording the next programme. So that is what I see our channel positive aspect in that. Thank you.
>> MODERATOR: Thank you very much, Horst.
As the final or last speaker for our workshop, I think we do have a thematic workshop about key issue of digital tech for benefiting everyone. Unfortunately, due to time we have to make concluding remarks.
So, firstly, many thanks to all the speakers. We have such a great opportunity to communicate and exchange regarding diverse. In one and a half hour we talk about adding value and sustained agriculture, we support the digital tech. Information, governance and disaster management, the principle practice recommendation at different levels, local, regional, national and so on.
So also I talked quite a lot about big data as a powerful tool for reducing digital divide. With big data computing.
And also there is very important for internet connectivity to foster opportunity for rural and Indigenous people through education. We talk about importance of practicing digital technology, digital scholarship and digital humanities. And Tamarra gave us very insightful information about connecting equally.
Thank you all for your participation in Workshop #49 for the way forward. Everyone should benefit from digital tech.
It's implementation relies on joint effort from all of the stakeholders today onsite and all the stakeholders in our information society for future actions.
Lastly, please follow the activity of CCIT and contact us if you have any suggestions on future cooperation.
Our workshop ends here. Thank you all for your active participation. Thank you.