IGF 2021 Policy Network on Meaningful Access

***CALL FOR INPUTS - Deadline: 26th November 2021 (CLOSED)***

[DISCLAIMER] In order to simplify the process for submitting contributions, we have developed an optional template form that you can use here.

The PNMA will provide an in-depth look at why achieving meaningful and universal Internet access remains so challenging, in spite of years of efforts by policy makers and other actors from all stakeholder groups. It will assess and gather good practices and policy recommendations already discussed at the IGF; identify what the key barriers are to these not being implemented and facilitate networking among actors from all stakeholder groups that are concerned with the topic. ‎It will further provide linkages between the existing efforts and the many stakeholders in the IGF who are ‎undertaking related efforts, as well as create opportunities for the voices of those who are affected by ‎the lack of meaningful access to be part of policy debate and development.‎

This year the PNMA focus is to collect concrete stories, case studies and local experiences under the three overarching workstreams: Connectivity (Infrastructure & Business Models), Digital Inclusion (accessibility & multilingualism) and Capacity development (technical skills training).

The PNMA aims to identify, based on the information collected, what policy actions have facilitated and incentivized increased meaningful connectivity and, to identify the main properties/characteristics that define meaningful access. Particularly, we are looking for contributions that can showcase what works, what has not worked well, and which are the lessons learned from experience.

To help you identify concrete stories, case studies and local experiences, the PNMA has developed a set of questions to guide your selection. It is a non-exhaustive list. 

Preparing your contributions

The PNMA MWG has reviewed a number of current efforts to better describe the experience with and benefits from meaningful access. According to your local experience, which are the properties that define meaningful access? Can you give concrete examples based on your individual or collective experience at a local level? 

The PNMA MWG is not looking at producing a unique definition, but to identify, map and understand the properties that those in the field identified as key. As part of the template for your contribution, we appreciate your assistance to identify the elements that resonate with you in regards to the case/story or experience you selected:  

• Affordable
• Reliable
• Sustainable
• Usable (languages, bandwidth for applications)
• Useful (content, applications), 
• Safe
• Secure
• Private, 
• Autonomy (not only the access, but the how), 
• Permanence (once connected, always connected), 
• Willingness (or choice).
• Resilience (meaning the capacity or ability of networks to resist or survive crisis - accidental, political, operational etc - without loss of service) 

The following topics and questions provide guidance for the preparation of your cases/stories to be submitted. 

CONNECTIVITY

• How to improve use and quality of connectivity
• What is the impact of connectivity in a specific community?
• How complementary/alternative provider models address the existing gaps
• What policy and regulation needs to be in place to support expansion of access to rural areas in all global south regions areas and communities?
• ​How Internet access has promoted ​development in industry, innovation and infrastructure.
• What policy actions have facilitated and incentivized increased meaningful connectivity in your country or  region?

DIGITAL INCLUSION

• How local content is critical to sustain communities and stimulate demand; focusing on cases where there are good practices with local content development, including in local languages
• How specific ​policies or regulation has helped promote digital ecosystem

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT

• Which are the digital and technical capacities required at the community level to sustain networks, services and a thriving ICT ecosystem in rural/marginalized areas
• How access to the Internet and technical skills training has promoted ​decent work and economic growth, especially in least developed and ​developing countries, and small island states.​

Guidelines for background contributions

All stakeholder groups are invited to submit contributions. Contributions from national, regional and Youth IGFs (NRIs), Best Practice Forums (BPFs), Dynamic Coalitions (DCs), and IGF ​workshops are particularly welcome. ​

Please support your contributions with studies, reports, references, statistics etc. 

We encourage contributions within a reasonable length up to 4 pages. While we want to be flexible and inclusive, accepting all types of contributions, in any format, it is important to keep in mind that we will have about 4 weeks to properly compile the information. Therefore, we encourage contributors to be concise, in order to maximize readability, or, if possible, accompanied by an executive summary to facilitate its proper reference in the output document.

You can use the suggested the following template for contributions here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/146R7Qfxjj_k7MsPZlBbjy9Qo1takZS8gHPnoSmrPUnE/edit?usp=sharing

Contributions are preferred to be in English. Documents in other languages might be translated using an ​automate system which will reduce accuracy.​

Unless anonymity is required by the contributor, all submissions will be publicly available with contributors’ names on the IGF’s ​website. 

Contributions will be analysed and incorporated into the PNMA's outcome document, as far as is deemed ​possible and relevant by an editorial group of volunteers and the PNMA MWG members. 

What is the deadline for contributions?​ All submissions should be made by 26 November 2021.​ 

Who do I send my feedback to?​ Email contributions should be sent to ​[email protected]

 ​Important dates:

• 28 October-17 November (3 weeks)
  • Call for Inputs is out
  • Actively invite contributors and co-drafters   
• 18 November (PNMA MWG Call #6) 
  • Update and review of draft text
• November - 1 December 
  • PNMA's Output Draft Report is published and community is invited to review and provide feedback
• 6-10 December IGF 2021 
  • IGF PNMA Main Session (90 min)

Wednesday 8 December, 13:50-15:20 CET  (12:50-14:20 am UTC)

• 20 December 
  • Final Output Document is published 

About the PNMA

Read full information at:  ​https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/policy-network-on-meaningful-access-pnma 

The mandate of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) calls for discussing digital public policy issues in order to foster the sustainability, robustness, security, stability and development of the Internet and to facilitate discourse between different stakeholders. 

The Forum is further mandated to facilitate the exchange of information and best practices, strengthen and enhance the engagement of stakeholders in existing and future Internet governance mechanisms, particularly from developing countries, as well as to develop capacity in Internet governance. 

Also, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation envisages a strengthened IGF with a view to making it more responsive and relevant to digital issues, and inter alia, foresees “93.(e) Better integrating programme and intersessional policy development work to support other priority areas outlined in the present report”. More recently, the UN SG's report "Our Common Agenda" presented on 10th September 2021, beyond the 75th UNGA, reinforces that digital inclusivity (Leave no One Behind) and universal connectivity (Improve Digital Cooperation) are under the 12 commitments to accelerate the achievements of the SDGs, as well as the foundations for a renewed social contract. 

In line with its objectives, the IGF has launched a new type of intersessional activity, in the form of policy networks, grounded on the paragraph 72 of  Tunis Agenda and the paragraph 93(e) from the Digital Cooperation Roadmap, as well as aligned with the recent SG's Our Common Agenda report" commitments. The aim is to establish expert-led framework networks on broad Internet governance topics that create spaces for in-depth multistakeholder efforts in the interest of the global community. 

The Policy Network on Meaningful Access (PNMA) officially kicked off in June 2021, aiming to formulate impact-driven, concrete, actionable policy recommendations on how to achieve meaningful and universal Internet access. The Policy Networks are specifically dedicated to identifying status quo and current issues including the policy gaps,  existing capacity and conditions, local specificities, good and bad practices and possible ways forward  through actionable activities led by identified implementation parties. 

It builds on the successful experience from previous Best Practice Forums (BPFs) about Local Content, Gender, the BPF proposal about Sustainable and Affordable Internet and the Connecting and Enabling the Next Billion (CENB), Dynamic Coalitions (DCs) and National, Regional and Thematic Initiatives (NRIs), just to mention a few. These experiences are already serving as tangible and useful resources for ​policymakers and other stakeholders, but also symbolise the IGF community’s ​conviction that the need for multistakeholder collaboration towards expanding ​meaningful Internet access is a shared goal that remains at the core of Internet ​governance.​

The work of the PNMA is facilitated  by a dedicated Multistakeholder Working Group of 25 experts, co-chaired by Ms. Sonia Jorge and Mrs. Sylvia Cadena, based on continuous consultations and active  engagement with all other interested stakeholders. 

The PNMA MWG has indicated the lack of a common definition for "meaningful access", partially due to the fact that there is not enough and reliable data, but another part because it takes individual assessments to measure what it means - from guiding principles to properties. 

In order to define this year's scope, the PNMA MWG has considered past and current work from UNESCO's ROAM-X framework, as well as existing workstreams beyond the UN Tech Envoy Office, such as the Roundtable 1A (Global Connectivity)  and Roundtable 1C/D (Digital Inclusion and Digital Capacity Building)  documents. The path has been to identify what has been mapped as relevant, but could not be tackled yet so that this strong network could tap and contribute further.