IGF 2021 capacity development session at the West African IGF

This will be a roundtable exchange with experts from the IGF’s policy networks on meaningful access and the environment.
The overall discussion will start with a concrete visual introduction of issues and potentials on meaningful access and environment, followed by a clear outline of policy areas for further discussion.

Focus

For access to the Internet to make a meaningful contribution to improving people’s lives locally, for ‎strengthening national economies, and more broadly to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals ‎‎(SDGs), it has to be approached holistically. While access to infrastructure is critical, without this access ‎being inclusive, useful, sustainable and affordable, and linked to human capacity development and ‎relevant content that can make it so, it will not achieve its positive potential.‎

How is access and connectivity linked to the UN 2030 Agenda's climate and environmental goals? Could digital technologies helo to address risks and opportunities of digitalisation for the environment, especially energy security, food and water security and supply chain transparency?

Agenda

• Welcome and introduction
• Overview of the most pressing issues on meaningful access and exchanges on the experience in West Africa
• Intersection of environment and digitalisation: reality check
• How go engage in IGF 2021 policy networks on meaningful access and environment?
• Conclusion

The outputs of this session will directly feed into the IGF 2021 guide on issues and policy questions.