[digital.global] in dialogue

With clear words and a vision of an internationally networked digital Africa, Lacina Koné, CEO of Smart Africa, opened the Alliance’s delegation trip to Brussels and Berlin. A spotlight on a digital African single market.

The Navigator, created in conjunction with UNDP, is a cutting-edge tool to assist policymakers engage with data to create evidence-informed policies, helping policymakers of all experience levels go from defining the problem to proposing a solution. The presentation will highlight applications of Artificial Intelligence in Mexico City, where Data4Policy, alongside BMZ Data Lab and SEMUJERES, assisted the government in designing and piloting a platform that combines data and AI to optimize decision-making.

The Paris Peace Forum is a platform seeking to develop coordination, rules, and capacities that answer global problems, mobilizing stakeholders from across the world for collective action at the annual forum on November 10-11. The event invites public and private organizations to present projects in governance, designed as a space for dialogue and cooperation on good governance solutions. The presentation at the Forum is a valuable opportunity to reach a wider audience for the Navigator and promote data-driven policy solutions.

Speakers:

• Dr. Ilya Nickelt, Chief Data Scientist, BMZ
• Kristy Kade, CEO, White Ribbon Alliance
• Alena Klatte, Data Collaboration Project Manager, Chief Digital Office UNDP
• Mariana Gonzalez Carrillo, Data Analyst & Policy Advisor, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit

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Shaun Conway, founder of ixo, highlighted the potential of blockchain in tracking the impact of development projects. Dr. Iliya Nickelt, Chief Data Scientist at BMZ, introduced modern collaboration in digital public infrastructure and presented two AI-based tools developed by the BMZ Data Lab. Noémie Bürkl, Head of the Department for Digitalisation at BMZ, Miguel Exposito-Verdejo, Deputy Head of the Unit for Science, Technology, Innovation and Digitalisation at EU INTPA F5 and Christian Krämer, Director General Strategy and Latin America at KfW, discussed strategies to accelerate the digital transformation.

In hands-on sessions, the participants shared experiences on designing projects and the use of digital technologies for improving the impact on women, girls and marginalised groups. Deep dives into digital technologies such as e-wallet transactions, blockchain and smart contracts provided an opportunity to feel the digital transformation. In a live broadcast, Yurii Prepodobnyi, the co-founder of Skeiron, impressively demonstrated how Ukrainian heritage can be saved virtually through 3D-scanning.

KfW Development Bank is currently overseeing around 400 digital projects worth more than €11 billion, reflecting a strong commitment to positive change through digital technology.

The Inspirational Talk will offer a unique insight into the working world of a woman in the tech sector in Mauritania. The aim of the dialogue is to achieve a shared understanding of the perspectives, opportunities, and challenges that women face within the tech-sector.

The event will take place in Nouakchott, Mauritania for the anniversary of the opening of the DTC Mauritania.

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The Ideathon aims to empower women and promote gender equality and equity in the tech industry in Cambodia and across South-East Asia. With a specific emphasis on digital literacy for women and marginalised communities, the Ideathon seeks to reshape the future of the tech landscape by integrating an intersectional gender perspective. This event aims to bring together different stakeholders to conceive innovative ideas for making tech skills accessible to all.

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The GSMA MWC brings digital, connectivity and policy leaders together, hosting the debates that define society’s relationship with technology, showcasing cutting-edge technology demos that enable socio-economic growth and driving innovation by introducing investors to visionary startups. Sustainable impact for good is only possible when the entire technology ecosystem joins forces.

Experts from the digital policy initiative Digital Transformation Centers participate in roundtables on artificial intelligence for development and building resilience in times of climate and humanitarian crises to share proven approaches like the FairForward project and the experiences from the local digital ecosystems of the Digital Transformation Centers.

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The two-day Kick-off and Technical Exchange for the EU-LAC Digital Alliance in Central America “Towards a Human-Centered Digital Transformation in Central America and the European Union” in El Salvador will bring together technical experts from partner organizations, such as government institutions, private sector, civil society and academia from Central America as well as EU representatives (EEAS, DG INTPA) and European implementation and project partners (Expertise France, FIIAPP, eGA, GIZ, EUreCA, ITU) to introduce the new TEI EU-LAC Digital Alliance component for Central America. A crucial part of the component will be the set-up of a Central American Secretariat in Costa Rica facilitated by an additional EU funding and executed by GIZ as part of the TEI “Policy Dialogues” component. The aim of the event is to introduce the new component and align the thematic areas of the partners (FIIAPP, eGA, Expertise France, GIZ) with sub-regional stakeholders. Ideally, the event should result in the identification of potential intervention areas for common reference frameworks and further policy dialogues.

Speakers: Carlos Vargas, e-Governance Expert, eGA; Jean-Marie Chenou, Cybersecurity Expert, Expertise France; Maria Rosario Heras Carrasco, Data Governance Expert, FIIAPP; Leonel Tapia, Inclusive Connectivity Expert, GIZ.

“The Internet We Want – Empowering All People” – this was the title of the 18th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) held in Kyoto, Japan, from 8 to 12 October 2023. As part of the multi-stakeholder forum for political dialogue on internet management and governance issues, around 8,000 participants addressed the topics of artificial intelligence, disinformation, human rights and data governance. In his opening speech, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasised the importance of the IGF, which is one of the most important forums for international digital policy. He formulated three priorities in the area of internet governance: firstly, bridging the digital divide, including the digital gender gap; secondly, bridging the governance gap by improving coordination and alignment between the IGF and other digital governance formats; and thirdly, taking human rights into account and promoting a people-centred approach to digital cooperation.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) at the IGF

The BMZ hosted an Open Forum entitled “Planetary Limits of AI – Governance for Just Digitalisation?”. Martin Wimmer, Head of Division G 1 – Principles of Development Policy at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), opened the panel, which discussed the interaction between climate change and artificial intelligence (AI). One of the central questions was how framework conditions can be created to mitigate the adverse effects of AI on the climate. It was emphasised that environmental and climate considerations must be included in the development of AI: AI should not create new problems, but serve people and the planet.

The BMZ was also involved in presenting the African Union’s (AU) policy framework at the African Union Commission’s forum “The African Union Approach on Data Governance“. The framework is intended to promote the use of the potential of digitalisation and data in and between African countries and at the same time mitigate the risks of cross-border data flows. It is also intended to help African countries participate more actively in global discussions on data with a common agenda and help shape them.

The BMZ also contributed to the event “Transforming Technology Frameworks for the Planet“, which highlighted cooperative approaches to digital inclusion in the technology sector and opened the panel “African AI: Digital Public Goods for Inclusive Development” with the presentation of the BMZ initiative FAIR Forward, which promotes a more open and sustainable development and use of artificial intelligence. The panel presented how AI applications can be used as digital public goods and discussed the opportunities and risks of AI for the African continent.

Links to the sessions with BMZ participation

1. IGF 2023 Day 0 Workshop Room 7 Transforming technology frameworks for the planet 1 – YouTube
2. IGF 2023 – Day 1 – Workshop Room 5 – African AI: Digital Public Goods for Inclusive Development – YouTube
3. IGF 2023 Day 2 Workshop Room 8 Planetary Limits of AI Governance for Just Digitalisation – YouTube
4. IGF 2023 Day 3 Workshop Room 7 The African Union Approach on Data Governance – YouTube

The conference also served as a platform for sharing knowledge, experiences, and best practices with digital technologies and innovations for regional integration with the aim to enable leapfrogging to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals and to foster a human-centric digital transformation in East Africa.

“Our goal is to maximize the impact of digitalization as a driver for social and economic growth while working towards the achievement of the SDGs in our partner countries,” said H.E. Christine Grau, Ambassador of the European Union to Tanzania and EAC.

EAC Secretary General, Dr Peter Mutuku Mathuki, who opened the two-day conference was keen to create a single regional digital market comprising of an online market, a data market, and a connectivity market. “This is underpinned by digital skills, innovation, infrastructure, financing, and a conducive legal and regulatory environment. Achieving this requires digitalization in various sectors and integration platforms,” said Dr. Mathuki.

In total, more than 90 people took part in the event, both in person and online. Participants included representatives from the EAC Secretariat and other EAC Institutions, ICT Ministries of EAC members (Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania), the European Union, and EU Member States – including Germany, which played an important facilitation role during the conference.

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The Digital Summit also served as a platform for sharing knowledge, experiences, and best practices with the goal of fostering digital transformation and economic growth in the Western Balkans. “The Summit will help to create preconditions that are more favorable for investments, development of start-ups and exchange of knowledge,” said Edin Forto, Minister of Communications and Traffic of BiH.
A highlight of the Summit was the launch of the Digital for Development (D4D) Hub for the EU Neighboring Countries with the aim to foster multi-stakeholder collaboration and knowledge sharing between the public sector, civil society, academia, and private sector actors.

Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, made the announcement during the opening plenary of the Summit. “We are launching a new branch of the D4D Hub for the EU neighboring countries to strengthen cooperation and coordinate engagement between the European Union, its Member States and our partner regions,” he said. He also stressed the commitment of the EU to boost joint investments and strengthen digital cooperation with EU neighboring countries.

To mark the launch, the D4D Hub also hosted a side event with the purpose of having a first exchange with partners in the Western Balkans to discuss opportunities and expectations for regional engagement. D4D Hub members Italy, Estonia, Slovenia, and Germany were represented at the event.

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With the aim of developing an international digital strategy, the Federal Government has been heavily involved in the field of internet governance at the organisational level in recent years with the organisation of the IGF-D and the Internet Governance Forum 2019, the third annual conference of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network and the commitment to the ICANN78 meeting in Hamburg.

The German Internet governance community would like to have a regular exchange with representatives of the ministries involved in the various bodies (ICANN, ITU, etc.).

The eco association takes up this wish: Together with the BMDV, the Roundtable: “The Future of the National Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue” is to give the starting signal for the revival of a regular multi-stakeholder dialogue.

Participants of the roundtable:

• Hans Peter Dittler, Deputy Chairman of the Board, ISOC.DE.e.V.
• Manuel Höferlin, Member of the Steering Committee, IGF-D
• Peter Koch, Senior Policy Advisor, DENIC eG.
• Mirjam Kühne, Chair, RIPE
• Katharina Morasch, Legal Trainee European Commission DG CNECT / IGF-D Youth
• Thomas Rickert, Director Names & Numbers, eco-Verband der Internetwirtschaft e.V.
• Dr. Irina Soeffky, Head of National, European and International Digital Policy,, BMDV
  Oliver J. Süme, Chairman of the Board, eco-Verband der Internetwirtschaft e.V.

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This panel discussion kicks off this year’s LABOR.A Digital event of the Hans-Böckler-Foundation. Along with Elke Hannack (DGB) and Birgit Steinborn (Siemens), PStS Dr. Bärbel Kofler will be discussing Germany’s position in global labor contexts. The panel focuses on the international dimension of socio-ecological transformation and the future of global production processes characterized by unequal power dynamics.

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Partners in Transformation – New Networks for Business and Development

From 2024, the BMZ will realign its cooperation with the private sector. Under the guiding principle of the socio-ecological transformation towards greater sustainability, all offers to the private sector will in future be oriented towards the political priorities of German development cooperation and focus on the needs of partner countries. On 26 September, the BMZ launched its new strategy for more effective and efficient cooperation with business partners through Federal Minister Svenja Schulze and invited guests from politics, business, associations, trade unions, implementing organisations, civil society, academia and the media.

Development Minister Svenja Schulze: “Our economic cooperation should become more social, sustainable and effective. It is important to me that women and trade unions are given a greater role in the planning and implementation of the projects. Because the goal is that more people benefit from the results – especially those who are economically deprived. In the future, we will also check all projects for climate protection, social and environmental standards. And for the first time, there will be an area-wide impact evaluation for economic cooperation.”

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development  will integrate the potential of the private sector for the global socio-ecological transformation even more strongly in the future and create networks to jointly develop solutions. In doing so, the BMZ is also taking up critical assessments of previous cooperation with the private sector. Under the new brand “Partners in Transformation – Business & Development Network”, BMZ’s business cooperation will in future be more social, sustainable, efficient and effective:

• More social through a broader understanding of the economy and the inclusion of additional actors: Trade unions as partners, more women entrepreneurs and women in business, participation of international civil society and academia in our networks and steering groups.
• More sustainable by focusing projects on decarbonisation and higher environmental and social standards in companies.
• More effective through better linkages between business cooperation and government development cooperation
• More effective through the Agency for Economic Affairs (AWE) as a one-stop shop with communication, advice and networking for all economic actors in Germany, Europe and the partner countries of German development policy, as well as an overarching monitoring and evaluation system for all programmes.

BMZ launched its new strategy for more effective and efficient cooperation with economic partners through Minister Svenja Schulze. Approximately 250 – 300 guests from politics, business, associations, trade unions, implementing organizations, civil society, science and research, and the media came together in Berlin.

The [digital.global] network was also represented: At the event, the initiative”FAIR Forward – Artificial Intelligence for All” showcased a long-standing collaboration with the Mozilla Foundation: Together they are promoting openly available AI training data for African languages. As digital public goods, these datasets are crucial building blocks for spurring local innovation with speech technology.

The Sao Paulo State Court has just sentenced the company Uber in Brazil to pay a 2 Mio. USD because Uber did not correctly classify its drivers as employees but as self-employed despite work requirements.

This incident, among other topics, was the discussion basis for the exchange at the International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil attended by the political initiatives Gig Economy and SADA at the end of September.

Leonardo Fabri, former Coordinator for Reputation and Empowerment of Delivery Drivers at the food delivery service iFood, explained that the discussions around classifications do not properly represent the concerns of workers. They are more interested in understanding how the app’s algorithms work and how they affect the blocking of drivers or the allocation of jobs.

Katrine Scomparin, founder of a delivery service for favelas, reiterated the need for the workers’ perspective and shared her company’s approaches to reducing road hazards or violence on the streets.

Moreover, the research of Prof. Matheus Braz from the Federal University of Minas Gerais highlighted that platform work does not only affect workers’ physical but also their mental health. Especially in cloud work, i.e. non-location based platform work, people suffer from tasks such as e.g. reviewing potentially harmful content and the lack of institutional support to cope with processing these images and the influence on their mental health.

All participants concluded that increased collaboration between private sector, governments and regulatory authorities is needed to contribute to creating a safer and better environment for people relying on platform work.
This is where the SADA and Gig Economy initiatives come in, as they provide learning content and exchange opportunities on platform work for policymakers. On this basis, participants can advocate for better policy and regulatory frameworks for platform work.

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