Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication will join to the fourteenth meeting of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF), to be held in Berlin, Germany, from 26 to 29 November 2019. The fourteenth IGF will be hosted by the Government of Germany under the overarching theme: ‘’One World. One Net. One Vision.’’. The Forum aims at bringing together more than 2,000 participants from different stakeholder groups and some of the most prominent individuals in the global Internet governance discussion.
Mr. Hasanul Haq Inu, MP, Chairman Parliamentary Standing Committee for Ministry of Information will lead a four-member delegation from Bangladesh; the delegation comprises representative from private sector, policy research expert on Shaping the Future of Media, Information & Entertainment in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution(4th IR) in Bangladesh and representative from Bangladesh Internet Governance Forum (BIGF).
Following extensive, broad-based, and multi-stakeholder discussion on the thematic direction for IGF activities in 2019, the IGF Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) has identified three priority themes for a focused and cohesive programme for this year. These are, (1) Data Governance; (2) Digital Inclusion; and (3) Security, Safety, Stability & Resilience. The detailed programme of the 14th IGF, including its main sessions and workshops, as well as related information, is available at the IGF website. In addition, the programme will be enriched by the community-led Best Practice Forums on Big Data, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence; Cybersecurity; Gender and Access; and Local Content, as well as by the work of 18 multi-stakeholder Dynamic Coalitions and 116 national and regional IGF initiatives.
The Forum will focus on how digital frontier technologies bring benefits to our economies and societies. Their transformative impact is critical to the future sustainability of our world and to the achievements of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). However, with these great benefits come a growing number of concerns and challenges. Increasingly we are faced with cyber-attacks, data and privacy breaches, and proliferation of hate speech and censorship. These and other emerging challenges threaten to undermine the beneficial impact of the Internet.
This calls on all of us to cooperate and to work together in ensuring a safe cyber environment for the benefit of all – both the current and future generations. We must invest efforts in engaging the ‘weak and missing voices’ and ‘creating a shared language and reference’ as the Secretary-General advised during the meeting at the thirteenth IGF in Paris last November. And we must leave no one behind in accessing the benefits of the Internet and the digital age.
Other delegation members are Ms. Afroza Haq, Member of Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services (BASIS), Abdul Haque, Secretary General of Bangladesh Internet Governance Forum (BIGF), and AHM. Bazlur Rahman, Member of Multi-Stakeholder Steering Group of Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF) & Chief Executive Officer, Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC).
Bangladesh Internet Governance Forum (BIGF) in conjunction with United Nations Internet Governance Forum (UN IGF) has already initiated to develop people’s charter on Internet governance for Bangladesh in consultation with multi-stakeholder like government, civil society, private sector, academia and media.
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication is part of people’s charter on Internet governance process in line with community media.
While gathering more than 2,000 stakeholders, the IGF is an opportunity to strengthen journalism and news media voices within the digital policymaking landscape, notably by addressing global trends, legislation, and regulation.