NB: Please consult these two documents for further details about our comments below: PNMA 2025 final report: https://www.intgovforum.org/en/filedepot_download/339/30196 Eurovisioni 2025 conclusions: on the website https://www.eurovisioni.eu or .com
CONTRIBUTION TO THE SOUNDING BOARD OPEN CONSULTATION: We thanks UNDESA and the sounding board (Jennifer, Chris and Amrita) for the support and even more ambassador Janina (Buongiorno) and ambassador Lokkale for their time and dedication to the process. We welcome the new revision of the document and the progress achieved compared to previous versions. In particular we welcome and support following points:
Art. 96: about the evolution from the current IGF into a broader ecosystem implementing all-the-year-round activities
Art. 98: about making IGF a permanent process
Art. 101: about the creation by the UNSG of a task force studying innovative solutions for the financing of the IGF
And point 38 about the relevance of the cultural expression and diversity, even if we lack a specific mention of UNESCO Convention 2005
Art. 73 and 74 : we welcome the suggested change that includes the responsibility of the business sector and underline the importance of diversity of media
Art. 111: about the development of common indicators and roadmap for all the current UN digital processes (WSIS action lines, IGF and GDC commitments) using tools such as IUI of UNESCO But of course there are points of the document that would benefit of some modifications. In particular we would suggest:
– On point 20 and 26 : thank you for its reformulation to avoid misunderstanding, but still the para lacks to show the inevitable conclusion. The connectivity is available in large parts of the world, but what it blocks 1/3 of world population to access it, it’s the question of unaffordability: of the devices, of the tariff of the services and similar. The inevitable conclusion is that there is a need for public policies to provide equivalent of today is “free-to-air” distribution of content
– On point 33 we regret that has been erased the part of the phrase on technology impact on jobs: “safeguarding employment rights and welfare” , because contradict the principle that the whole document respect, that technology needs to serve the humanity and not the interests of the “happy fews”
– On point 48 : we would like to reintroduce the concept that there are best practices and policies already identified that have proven their effectiveness and, as consequence, deserves to be promoted
– On point 54 tre and 75: we regret that we are lacking of any reference to the need to have a special care for preventing any disruption of electoral processes, that are at the basis of any democratic process. This concept could be easily added at the end of point 75, that could be modified as such: .”…the risks of information manipulation (especially in times of elections)… in a manner consistent with international law”;
– On point 104 and 121 we think that the wording about the need for coordination among the various digital initiative of the UN needs to be stronger, especially because in time of scarce resources, the need to avoid duplication and multiplying synergies is crucial.