Digital Cooperation and SDG 17
By +SocialGood Connector Nashilongo Gervasius Nakale
This September, I became one of the privileged few to attend the United Nations General Assembly as a +SocialGood Connector, a UN Foundation initiative designed to bring together changemakers to support progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.
2019 is a significant year in the development community as the last year before the Decade of Action kicks off in 2020. It was a new experience for me as a journalist/tech/advocate/researcher/academic/development professional to join the development industry at the United Nations to discuss development plans in 2019.
Being one of the few selected to attend UNGA this year, I kept wondering about one important technology development that affected the internet governance space in June 2019: the release of a report by the Secretary-General of United Nations, António Guterres.
The Report of the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation looks at “the age of digital interdependence.” The panel is co- chaired by Jack Ma and Melinda Gates, some of the big names in the technology, philanthropy, and business.
On digital cooperation, Guterres stated the need for creative collaboration:
“The scale, spread, and speed of change brought about by digital technology is unprecedented, and the current means and levels of international cooperation are unequal to the challenge. Digital technologies make a significant contribution to the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and cut uniquely across international boundaries, policy silos and professional domains. Cooperation across domains and across borders is therefore critical to realizing the full social and economic potential of digital technologies, mitigating the risks they pose, and curtailing any unintended consequences.”
In tackling the issues raised by the report in its three main sections, I believe the report and the panel have added value towards positioning development in the digital world, especially as we look forward to the decade of delivery.
Section one of the report emphasizes “leaving no one behind” by creating a digital landscape that can support the achievement the SDGs and ensure a more inclusive digital economy. Technology has allowed historically inclusive economy — by advocating for a totally inclusive economy, we are guaranteed to achieve the Global Goals. This is especially for the developing world — especially for Africa and Namibia in particular.
Section two of the report focuses on “individuals, societies, and digital technologies.” This is possibly the most commendable section, as it places human rights, human agency, and security in the digital realm at the forefront of the development agenda. I know for sure this has also been a call in many internet governance spaces and other UN Agencies. The world is looking forward to human rights online being emphasized and be prioritized in the decade of action.
The third section of the report deals with “mechanisms for global digital cooperation.” It is an analysis of current gaps and proposals for how to improve our global digital cooperation architecture. While the analysis shares the issues needing urgent attention; it’s important to note that the great deal of dissatisfaction with existing digital cooperation arrangements is, as the panel points out, “a desire for more tangible outcomes, more active participation by governments and the private sector, more inclusive processes and better follow-up and well as the call for systems to become more holistic, multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder, agile and able to convert rhetoric into practice; be addressed amongst others.”
It’s also important to note that while we are positioning the world for a digital cooperation, we should all pay attention to the half of the world that is still unconnected or un-digitized; half of which reside on the African continent. To truly attain the Global Goals by 2030, there is a need to ensure access for all.
The idea behind of the High-level panel as constituted by the UN Secretary-General was to identify new proposals to strengthen digital cooperation, accelerate and broaden the benefits of digital technologies, and look at better managing their associated challenges in order to ensure a safer and more inclusive future. It’s my wish that the African position ought to be carefully considered; this in addition to the 5 sets of recommendations that the report has put forward.
- Even though the number of internet users in Africa has almost doubled in the past four years, half of the continent is still not connected online. Globally 90% of the unconnected community are from the developing world. Hence a call to close the digital divide must be prioritized.
- 30% of the world’s youth are digital natives. The world needs to recognize young people’s expertise in the ICTs sector and allow them to play a part in leading the realization of the SDGs.
You can follow more of Nashilongo’s work on Medium here.
