Unpacking the High-Level Panel’s Report: Contributions from Geneva

24 June 2019 -

WMO building, 7bis, Avenue de la Paix, Geneva

[Update] The event report, including the participants’ recommendations, is now available.

One of the main mandates of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, launched in July 2018, was to recommend improvements to the current digital policy architecture.

The Panel’s report, which was launched in New York on 10 June, and in Geneva on 17 June, has now identified existing gaps and proposed three models and respective functions (read our summary of the Panel’s recommendations).

The need for agility in digital co-operation is clear. With such a diverse landscape of mechanisms, the report invites digital policy actors to discuss how the recommendations and models can be implemented in the coming months. International Geneva can contribute substantially to the report’s implementation.

The Geneva Internet Platform, the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN, and the State of Geneva, together with other partners, invite you for an expert discussion on Monday, 24th June, which will kick-start the global discussion on the recommendations made by the Panel. Our speakers and lead discussants will help unpack the report, focusing on specific areas.

Programme

09.30 – 09.50 Welcome and setting the scene

Dr Stephanie Borg Psaila, Interim Head, Geneva Internet Platform
Mr Oliver Hoehne, Minister-Counselor, Deputy Head Multilateral Division, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN
Mr Nicholas Niggli, Deputy Secretary General, State of Geneva
Amb. Carl Hallergard, Depute Head of EU Delegation to the UN
Prof. Edouard Bugnion, Vice-President, Systèmes d’Informations, EPFL

09.50 – 10.30 Key elements of the Report: The Panel’s five main recommendations

Amb. Amandeep Singh Gill, Executive Director, Secretariat, UN High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation
Dr Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director, Secretariat, UN High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation

10.30 – 10.45 Coffee break

10.45 – 12.00 Five recommendations, five break-out sessions:

#1 SDGs, connectivity, access, and affordability.

Lead discussants:

Dr Susan Teltscher, Head, Human Capacity Building Division, Telecommunication Development Bureau, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Prof. Raymond Saner, Director, Centre for Socio-Eco-Nomic Development (CSEND); Professor Emeritus, University of Basel

#2 Help desk and capacity development

Lead discussants:

Dr Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director, Secretariat, UN High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation
Ms Anja Gengo, Associate Programme Expert & NRIs Focal Point, Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Secretariat

#3 Values, human rights, and emerging technologies

Lead discussants:

Amb. Álvaro Cedeño Molinari, former Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the WTO
Mr Scott Campbell, Senior Human Rights Officer, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

#4 A safe and stable digital space

Lead discussants:

Amb. Amandeep Singh Gill, Executive Director, Secretariat, UN High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation
Mr Jean-Yves Art, Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships, Microsoft

#5 Mechanisms and models for digital cooperation

Lead discussants:

Amb. Thomas Schneider, Head of International Relations, Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM)
Prof. William Drake, International Fellow and Lecturer, University of Zurich

12:00 pm – 12.45 pm Bringing it all together: Observations, next steps, and conclusion

Moderators: Dr Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director, Secretariat, UN High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation, and Dr Stephanie Borg Psaila, Interim Head, Geneva Internet Platform
Concluding remarks: Amb. Thomas Schneider, Head of International Relations, Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM)

12.45 – 13.00 Launch of the GIP Digital Watch observatory 2.0

13.00 – 13.30 Networking lunch