We, the Internet
Join the global citizens’ dialogue
06 October 2020 | Technology
From Benin to Fiji, India, Yemen, Peru and Canada, 77 countries responded to the call from Missions Publiques, initiator of the global project, to implement the Global Citizens' Dialogue on the Future of the Internet locally. One hundred citizens from every country, whether they have Internet access or not, are invited to learn, discuss and decide how to make the Internet a better tool for them in the years to come.
At a time when the Internet is becoming the backbone of social interactions, the current pandemic reflects the urgency of this discussion. Most of the themes of the dialogue will therefore be addressed through the prism of Covid-19: digital identity, the digital public sphere, digital inclusiveness and artificial intelligence. The 77 countries will conduct a 5th session on a digital topic in line with their economic, social or political context.
Connecting citizens to decision-makers
This global deliberation will result in informed citizen recommendations to be submitted to decision-makers at the local, regional and international levels. The results of the Global Dialogue will be submitted to the Internet Governance Forum 2020, under the theme "Internet United".
For Antoine Vergne, Co-Director of Missions Publiques and initiator of the project, "The challenges of the 21st century call for a revival of trust between citizens and decision-makers. This is why modes of governance must evolve and adapt to the challenges ahead.”
The project is supported by a broad coalition of strategic partners: International organisations (UNESCO, European Commissions, Council of Europe), governments (Germany, Switzerland), private sector (Facebook, Google), civil society (the Internet Society, the web foundation, the Wikimedia Foundation) and academia (CSPO, WZB). The project is part of the Global Campaign UN75.
With more than 20 years of expertise in participatory democracy in France and internationally, Missions Publiques is an independent company whose mission is to integrate citizens' voices into decision-making.
The Namibian citizen dialogue is organised by Internet Society Namibia chapter with the support form EU embassy in Namibia as well as the Internet Society Foundation. The dialogue will take place on 9 October 2020 at Avani hotel and will accommodate 50 people physically as per the Namibian Covid-19 regulations, while the general public can join and engage in the discussion via zoom call (bit.ly/3iya0N5)