Session
Dynamic Coalition on Internet & Jobs
Panel - Auditorium - 90 Min
Social inequality and the pandemic: What can be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic context about the relationship between digital inequality and social and economic inequality? Similarly, what lessons can be drawn with respect to the pandemic and Internet-related human rights? What does this suggest about policy approaches for digitalisation and digital inclusion?
Economic and social inclusion and sustainable development: What is the relationship between digital policy and development and the established international frameworks for social and economic inclusion set out in the Sustainable Development Goals and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in treaties such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Conventions on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, on the Rights of the Child, and on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities? How do policy makers and other stakeholders effectively connect these global instruments and interpretations to national contexts?
At the DC we do a global survey - Internet & Jobs. The findings of the survey cover the developments in the year and make recommendations on how to use the internet to create jobs, challenges, and opportunities. We will share and discuss the findings of this global study. We will also touch upon the solutions and ideas to leverage the internet for the skillsets we need to create jobs of the future in the post-COVID world.
The session will start with sharing the details of the report ( Internet & Jobs 2021) based on which the session of the DC is based. The key findings will be read out. Each panelist will have a dedicated section ( findings, challenges, and opportunities on the job and skills post COVID) of the report, and its key findings are shared to comment on and build on the theme. We may have some online panelists too using the appropriate technology tools. The panelists will also take questions from the attendees
Prof. Rajendra Pratap Gupta, Disease Management Association of India - Not for Profit - India Gunjan Sinha, OpenGrowth, USA Prof. Yunkap Kwankum, ISfTeh, Brussels, Not for profit Wathagi Ndungu, Digital Grassroots, Kenya. Not for Profit:
Prof. Rajendra Pratap Gupta, Disease Management Association of India - Not for Profit - India Gunjan Sinha, OpenGrowth, USA Prof. Yunkap Kwankum, ISfTeh, Brussels, Not for profit Wathagi Ndungu, Digital Grassroots, Kenya. Not for Profit, Steven Yeo, Dorenfest China Healthcare Group. Brian O'Connor, Chair, European Connected Health Alliance, Prof. George Crooks, U.K.
1.1
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
10. Reduced Inequalities
Targets: In the post COVID world, the internet takes center stage, and we need to not just connect people but also provide them the skills to leverage the internet. Else, people will not be able to leverage the internet. Our earlier report (https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/index.php?q=filedepot_download…) gave us some interesting findings that women and senior citizens stand to lose out the most. We need to address such issues. We will discuss the opportunities provided by the internet and what kind of skillsets are needed to leverage the full potential of the net.
Report
• The need for an Economic and Social Governance framework or an organization that looks into it. • Online education and skilling – Lifelong learning curriculum • Global Knowledge Commons • Giving-back program – which enables seniors or older adults to get mentored by either youngster or well-to-do • Quality internet access • Bold leadership at every level to leverage full potential • Supportive Policy & friendly regulatory Ecosystem
Session: Changing Jobs & Skillsets Post-COVID – How the Internet can help.
Main Session IV
Time: 15.35-17.05. Ballroom A. Rapporteur: Ms. Mevish P.Vaishav
Session Chair: Prof. Rajendra Pratap Gupta, Chairman – Dynamic Coalition on Internet & Jobs, Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
The session started with opening remarks from Prof. Rajendra Pratap Gupta, chairman of the dynamic coalition on Internet jobs at the Internet governance forum. He shared the findings of the Internet and jobs 2021 survey conducted online. Later, he moved to the expert panel to discuss the study's findings on how to leverage the Internet for the new job scenario and the issues around upskilling.
He mentioned that we should realize the quantum power of the Internet to solve the problems the world faces. But for that, we need a large number of small companies and a not small number of large companies. So that the people govern the Internet at the grassroots, and it's based on a distributed economic model, and there is a collaboration to address the digital divide. The Digital Divide has multiple dimensions when it comes to the age of the Internet we have; the policy divide, the quality divide, the access divide, the age-based divide, the gender divide, and we have the divide based on the economic power of the nations. He mentioned that education needs to move beyond the four walls to leverage the Internet's full potential. He talked about the bold leadership at every level to keep the momentum on for harnessing the power of the Internet.
Mr. Gunjan Sinha, a leading Internet entrepreneur and pioneer in the search engine space and Silicon Valley, talked about the role of education online-learning for digital inclusion, which was crucial to leverage the Internet's full potential. Gunjan also spoke about the ‘engagement’ leveraging the Internet and the importance of mentoring by youngsters and older people to ensure that the senior citizens or the older adults do not remain deprived of the skills needed to use the Internet. He further mentioned that we need an Environment and Social Governance (ESG) organization to ensure that the Internet does not harm the environment and is socially responsible. He informed us that the nature of jobs would change, and it will become tasks, and we will need specialization for jobs. The future of collaborative working amongst specialists with connectivity. We should create local economies to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem and have a funding support system.
Sir George Crooks, a legend in the space of technology-driven care, talked about connectivity as the social determinant of health. He also talked about the knowledge skills, user-centered design, and the need for people to talk in a language that seniors or older adults understand to ensure that we leverage the Internet's full potential. He emphasized the need for bold policy leadership, setting up communities of interest. Sir Crooks mentioned that viruses and knowledge do not respect boundaries, and Internet should be leveraged to bridge the knowledge divide and community divide.
Prof. Yunkap Kwankam, who pioneered e-Health at the World Health Organization and has been in technology-driven care for almost three decades, talked about the global knowledge Commons and how knowledge sharing can change the future of jobs and skills and solve world problems. He also touched upon the issue of infrastructure and the need for electricity as an enabler for the Internet. He further pointed that automation will not replace but transform and passive observers will become active participants. Prof. Yunkap further pointed that equal treatment does not mean equal outcomes, and specific work needs to be done in this area.
Ms. Wathagi Ndungu, a young champion for Internet rights, talked about the divide between the global South and the developed world and asserted the importance of capacity building, re-skilling, and skilling to navigate the age of the Internet. She believes that the Internet will create more jobs, and we need to find a balance in our work life to leverage the Internet's full potential.
Areas of agreement :
Internet will create more opportunities and needs:
- Connectivity for Collaborative – knowledge-sharing & Skills
- Online education
- Virtual communities
- Bridging the skills needed for seniors – older adults
- Work-life balance in the age of the Internet
- Focus on building smaller companies for the Internet to grow local businesses and create local jobs.
- Lifelong learning
- Enabling policy ecosystem
Further actions:
- The need for an Economic and Social Governance framework or an organization that looks into it.
- Online education and skilling – Lifelong learning curriculum
- Global Knowledge Commons
- Giving-back program – which enables seniors or older adults to get mentored by either youngster or well-to-do
- Quality internet access
- Bold leadership at every level to leverage full potential
- Supportive Policy & friendly regulatory Ecosystem