Round table, 90 minutes long.
Relevance of the issue
A blockchain is a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of ordered records. By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to changes in the data; once recorded, the data in a block cannot be altered retroactively. The blockchain is actually a way to structure data. It is usually associated with the foundation of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Despite this more usual implementation blockchain can be also applied to several other situations where it is necessary to keep an ownership history for information and interactions. It has the potential for many other uses, for example, helping to develop more transparent and distributed social and economic structures. The session is quite relevant to shed light on the debate of all these uses of the blockchain technology. Among several different alternative uses for the blockchain technologies, we can highlight some: a proof of concept in which blockchain is used to track artwork objects as well as loan processes between museums; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology created a proof of concept to make available course completion certificates, enabling the authenticity inspection of them without the need of nominated authorities; United Arab Emirates proposed a solution to track diamond’s origins with the use of blockchain technologies; a commercial solution for the use of Internet of Things equipment along with blockchain systems so as to improve trustworthiness in any sort of transaction; and there’s also an ongoing debate prospecting possible uses of blockchain as a replacement for Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies.
Onsite moderator(s)
Representatives from: Dr. Yuri Grin
Dr. Grin will also share the info about ITU blockchain focus group.
Online moderator(s)
Online moderator: Armenia IGF
Online participation and interaction will rely on the WebEx platform. Those joining the session using WebEx (either invited members of the Panel or the general audience) will be granted the floor in the discussion segment of the workshop. People in charge of moderation will strive to entertain onsite and remote participation indiscriminately. One idea is to inscribe everybody (onsite and online participants) in a single queue and project it onto the screen. Social media (twitter) will also be employed by the online moderators who will be in charge of browsing social media using some hashtags (to be defined).
Rapporteur(s)
China IGF, Nigeria IGF, Armenia IGF, Brazil IGF
Online participation logistics
Online participants will be treated equally as the onsite, and the online moderator will post guiding questions to have them engaged.
Discussion facilitation
The discussion will be facilitated by the onsite moderators who will guide the debate and comments session in the end.
Audience members (onsite and online participants) will inscribe in a single queue that will be projected onto the screen to facilitate the speech organization. Onsite moderator will call each one in order to speak and the online moderator in the case of remote participants.
