Q2/2019 - UNESCO

"Internet Universality Indicators", Paris, 29 May 2019

On 29 May 2019, UNESCO Assistant Director-General Moez Chakchouk presented the new UNESCO project "Internet Universality Indicators"[1]. The project aims to make it easier for countries to realistically assess their national development status in the field of digitisation and to draw conclusions from this for a national digitisation strategy. The project is based on UNESCO's ROAM concept (Rights, Openness, Access, Multistakeholder). The new project called ROAM-X proposes a uniform methodology for evaluating the national Internet development status. Moez Chakchouk proposed that countries wishing to participate in the project form a national Multistakeholder Advisory Board (MAB) composed of experts from government, the national Internet economy, civil society and the technical-academic community. Such an MAB should write regular reports and could become a permanent national observatory for the development of digitisation in a country.

 

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UNESCOQ2/2019
  1. [1] UNESCO stands ready to support any Member State interested in voluntarily using the new Internet Universality indicators to produce an evidence-based assessment of digital development in their country. Paris, 29 May 2019: “ADG Chakchouk elaborated the multi-stakeholder process for conducting a national assessment. The first key step is to compose a multistakeholder advisory board (MAB), including representatives from government, academia and the technical community to the private sector, journalists and media organizations, civil society, individual Internet users, UN agencies, or intergovernmental groups. The aim of the MAB is to oversee the research process while reinforcing its quality, legitimacy and transparency. The UNESCO ADG encouraged interested delegations to help identify national focal points, and provide advice on the leading actors that could be engaged in the MAB. After setting up a research team and developing a research action plan, the assessment process proceeds to data gathering and analysis. The outcome will be a written report including recommendations for diverse actors so as to optimise Internet’s role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Following these steps, it is expected that the team organize a national validation multistakeholder event to conclude the process – which may be followed up by an impact assessment and monitoring phase.” See https://en.unesco.org/news/calling-member-states-assess-internet-development-their-country>