Proposer's Name: Ms. Barbara WANNER
Proposer's Organization: U.S. Council for International Business
Co-Proposer's Name: Ms. Karen MCCABE
Co-Proposer's Organization: IEEE
Co-Organizers:
Ms. Karen McCabe, Technical Community, IEEE
Ms. Christine Arida, Government, National Telecom Regulatory Authority, Government of Egypt
Session Format: Round Table - 90 Min
Proposer:
Country: United States
Stakeholder Group: Private Sector
Co-Proposer:
Country: United States
Stakeholder Group: Technical Community
Speaker: Hosuk Lee-Makiyama
Speaker: Christopher Wilson
Speaker: Hossam ElGamal
Speaker: Audrey Plonk
Speaker: Christopher Yoo
Speaker: Makoto Yokozawa
Speaker: Rachel Bae
Speaker: Ellen Blackler
Speaker: Esther Peh
Speaker: Helani Galpaya
Speaker: Karen McCabe Karen McCabe
Speaker: Carolyn Nguyen
Content of the Session:
The Internet-enabled transformation to the global economy has advanced cross-sectoral development, commercial opportunities for small businesses in developing countries, innovation, exchange of knowledge and opinions, and greater societal inclusion. The power of ICTs and digital innovations have the potential to help realize many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the coming decade if they can be effectively utilized.
This promise depends on stakeholder opportunities to invest and compete, sufficient infrastructure, and cross-border flows of data and information. These essential elements have been challenged by some government measures that aim to promote domestic industry, innovation, and/or privacy and security, but have the potential to limit growth of the digital economy –acting as barriers to the use of the Internet and ICTs to advance global development. A key task with respect to Internet governance, therefore is to identify policies that enable digital trade to serve as an engine for realizing the SDGs and societal inclusion goals.
Trade stakeholders should draw upon expertise in the Internet governance community to map and understand these potential enablers and barriers to digital trade. Internet governance stakeholders, for their part, should engage in constructive dialogue with the trade community to discuss how trade policy might be deployed to address Internet barriers. An important complement is to build user trust in the online environment through interoperable privacy and security frameworks aimed at optimizing the benefits of digital trade. In addition, business acknowledges a responsibility to channel its digital innovative advancements and trade-related benefits into initiatives aimed at bridging global development gaps.
Speakers will address the following agenda:
1. The Evidence Base: What research tells us about the economic developmental benefits of digital trade
2. Digital Trade Rules: Instruments for economic development and societal inclusion
3. Localization Rules: Impact on Realizing the SDGs
4. Fostering Users’ Trust in the Digital Economy: Addressing privacy/security concerns while optimizing digital trade benefits
5. Business Responsibility: Channeling trade benefits to education and economic opportunities
6. Best Practices in Internet Governance: Making the connection between Internet governance and digital trade to realize sustainable development and societal inclusion
Relevance of the Session:
This workshop will be directly related to the 2017 IGF theme as it will enable representatives from all stakeholder groups and diverse regions to explore how to “shape their digital futures” by finding the appropriate policy balance that leads to greater economic prosperity through digital trade but also ensures a trusted and open Internet environment that fosters social inclusion and societal benefits.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development reflects a growing understanding that ICTs, the spread of global inter-connectedness, and an open Internet have great potential to enable economic development and new forms of cross-border commercial activities that will bridge the digital divide and expand societal inclusion.
The WSIS+10 Outcome Document echoes this theme, noting that ICTs have increased the efficiency and ingenuity of all sectors, and that cross-border flows of digital information and technologies have proved critical to realizing breakthroughs in business, agriculture and science.
Workshop speakers will examine how a constructive approach to digital trade and effective use of ICTs will serve as an engine for realizing many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and expanding societal inclusion.
Tag 1: Internet & ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals
Tag 2: Digital Trade
Tag 3: Data Localization
Interventions:
Speakers have been selected to ensure both a diversity of stakeholder groups as well as different regional perspectives. Also important, the speakers will bring rich substantive backgrounds in international trade, ICTs as enablers of trade and economic growth, global technical standards, and privacy and security frameworks.
1. Rachael Bae, OECD (IGO-France), and Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, ECIPE (civil society-Belgium), will provide IGO and civil society perspectives on what research tells us about the economic and developmental benefits of digital trade
2. Hossam ElGamal, Government of Egypt (Africa group), Esther Peh, Mission of Singapore to the WTO (government-Asia Pacific ), Prof. Makoto Yokozawa, Kyoto University (civil society- Asia Pacific, Helani Galpaya, LIRNEasia (civil society-Sri Lanka), and Christopher Wilson, Amazon (private sector-USA) will offer points of view from Asia, Africa, and the USA about how digital trade rules may serve as important instruments for economic development and societal inclusion.
3. Karen McCabe, IEEE (technical community-USA), Helani Galpaya, LIRNEasia (civil society-Sri Lanka), Hossam ElGamal, Government of Egypt (Africa group), Rachel Bae, OECD (IGO-France), and Carolyn Nguyen, Microsoft, (private sector-USA) will provide both developed and emerging economy perspectives about how localization rules, often employed for privacy and security-related reasons -- and which range from mandates for certain technical standards to data storage and server requirements -- can have adverse and unintended consequences to economies and citizens alike creating very insecure conditions and discouraging investment, innovation, and growth.
4. Audrey Plonk, Intel (private sector-Europe), Prof. Christopher Yoo, University of Pennsylvania Law School (civil society-USA), and Prof. Makoto Yokozawa, Kyoto University (civil society-Asia Pacific) will offer diverse perspectives on policy approaches that address security and privacy concerns while optimizing the benefits of digital trade.
5. Chris Wilson, Amazon (private sector-USA), Karen McCabe, IEEE (technical community-USA), Carolyn Nguyen, Microsoft (private sector-USA), and Ellen Blackler (private sector-USA), will propose some new approaches to corporate social responsibility, which recognizes the importance of channeling the benefits of digital trade into new educational and employment opportunities to enable ever-larger shares of the work force to become active participants in the Internet economy.
6. All of the speakers will provide diverse stakeholder and regional perspectives on best practices in Internet Governance that will enable digital trade to serve as an engine for realize the SDGs and societal inclusion.
Diversity:
Each stakeholder group is represented in the roster of confirmed speakers -- private sector, government, civil society, technical community, and IGO. We also have sought to ensure diverse regional representation, drawing speakers from the African region, Asia Pacific region, Europe, South Asia, and the United States.
Co-Organizers not only come from three stakeholder groups -- private sector, technical community, and government -- but also reflect perspectives of the USA and a member of the African regional group. In addition, all three co-organizers are female, demonstrating gender balance.
Among the speakers, online moderator, and substantive rapporteur, there also is abundant evidence of gender balance and regional diversity. Two of the female speakers are from the Asia Pacific and South Asia; the online moderator is a promising young ICT professional from South Asia.
First-time IGF session speakers include: Rachel Bae, OECD (IGO, WEOG); and Esther Peh, Government of Singapore (government, Asia Pacific).
Onsite Moderator: Mr. Eric Loeb, AT&T
Online Moderator: Ms. Sharada Srinivasan, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Rapporteur: Ms. Judith Hellerstein, Hellerstein Associates
Online Participation:
The pre-IGF preparatory process will entail reaching out to and confirming the participation of remote discussants, particularly from emerging economies, who the Moderator will invite to offer comments or pose questions via the Remote Moderator following each agenda topic. In addition, the co-organizers will explore with Roundtable participants the potential for establishing remote participation hubs, particularly in emerging economies, delving into technical capabilities and needs that could be addressed by the bus
