Digital Cooperation
This statement was presented at a ministerial meeting convened by the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC), which brought together high-level representatives of FOC member states and other relevant stakeholders in New York on the margins of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The roundtable is an opportunity to interact with the recently appointed UN Tech Envoy Amandeep Singh Gill, on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, about the Global Digital Compact process and other priorities on the global digital cooperation agenda.
APC receives with optimism the long-awaited announcement by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres of the appointment of Amandeep Singh Gill as his Envoy on Technology, and takes this opportunity to congratulate and welcome Mr. Singh Gill to his new role.
Digital cooperation will be crucial if we want ICTs to focus on the public good, and this column outlines some opportunities, threats, and paths forward for this.
In this letter, APC and a diverse range of organisations from around the world reiterate what they consider the key characteristics of the UN Tech Envoy profile based on their experience and mandates as civil society groups working to improve inclusive internet governance and digital cooperation.
APC welcomes the process for the selection of a new UN Envoy on Technology and stands ready to support the new mandate holder, given their central role in promoting improved coordination for internet governance and global digital cooperation.
We believe that the IGF is a vital piece of the internet governance ecosystem, and view the IGF Leadership Panel as an effort towards consolidating the Forum as a platform for identifying viable ways to strengthen accountable, transparent, inclusive and participatory global digital cooperation.
The IGF is a key platform for identifying viable ways to shape, sustain and strengthen global digital cooperation, by mobilising collective intelligence and the potential of multistakeholder collaboration and action to respond to the persistent and emerging challenges in the digital age.
In the Roadmap on Digital Cooperation launched in 2020, the UN Secretary General proposes reforms to promote the strengthening of the Internet Governance Forum, so that it could become "more responsive and relevant to current digital issues."
APC congratulates and welcomes Fabrizio Hochschild to his new role as United Nations Envoy on Technology. APC sees the Tech Envoy role as crucial to promoting improved coordination and synergy among different spaces and processes concerning internet governance and global digital cooperation.
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) 2022
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