IGF 2025 Open Forum #21 Leveraging Citizen Data for Inclusive Digital Governance

As digital transformation accelerates, ensuring that data governance frameworks uphold universal access and digital rights is critical. Citizen data offers a powerful means of strengthening inclusivity and accountability, particularly for communities that are underrepresented in official statistics and decision-making processes. However, leveraging citizen data effectively requires partnerships between governments, civil society, and communities that prioritize equity, trust, and the protection of digital rights. This session will explore how citizen data, through meaningful engagement of citizens can contribute to inclusive governance while safeguarding fundamental rights, including data privacy, informed consent, and equitable access to digital resources. It will highlight: • Case studies of partnerships between National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and civil society organizations that successfully integrate citizen data into national data ecosystems. • Challenges and solutions in ensuring that citizen data initiatives are aligned with digital rights frameworks, including issues of consent, representation, and ethical use. • The Copenhagen Framework on Citizen Data, a set of principles guiding the responsible use of citizen data, and its relevance for advancing digital inclusion. • Opportunities for collaboration among different stakeholders—policymakers, tech developers, human rights advocates, and data practitioners—to advance digital governance models that center community voices.

Here are the tools/features that we will have for the session: - Hybrid Roundtable Discussions: For breakout discussions, mixed groups (combining online and onsite participants) will be facilitated using collaborative tools like Google Jamboard or Miro. - Live Polling & Instant Feedback: Tools like Mentimeter or Slido will allow real-time input from both online and onsite participants.