WSIS+20 Consultation Meeting: Bingwa Civic Tech Lab's Call for Global Digital Justice
In half a decade towards the year of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, there are still inequalities in the ways different parts of the world are addressing global digital challenges.
In a decade where most conversations in digital spaces are around Artificial Intelligence, Data, Cyber Security, etc., some parts of the African continent are still facing issues related to a lack of adequate IT infrastructure and digital literacy, leaving millions of young people, women, and people with disabilities disconnected from the rest of the world.
Now more than ever, stakeholders need to put in place frameworks that will contribute to making the future of digital technologies more “human-centric.” It is not just about “catching up with the trend,” because the future does not wait, and neither should we.
Twenty years after the conclusion of the World Summit on the Information Society, to ensure a continual multi-stakeholder approach in the Internet Governance processes, this is probably another opportunity to connect and build synergy between the existing global digital frameworks—especially the Global Digital Compact—through a multi-stakeholder and bottom-up approach for the well-being of our communities.
Without duplicating global digital frameworks, the current consultations in the WSIS+20 review process are a “golden ticket” to develop a clear vision of existing frameworks of action lines, and to identify emerging trends, challenges, and priorities for the coming decades without rendering existing frameworks obsolete.
A Now-or-Never Moment for Global Digital Justice
Imagine yourself in the shoes of a poet, singer, writer, or artist whose work, five years later, is flagged as “100% AI GENERATED.” This is not funny at all, and it shows an urgent need to ensure accountability, community ownership of data, and responsibility of Artificial Intelligence companies within the entire data value chain.
This is where digital justice comes in and implies that stakeholders should ensure marginalized communities retain ownership of their data.
Considering that AI can be a tool Civic Tech enterprises leverage to enhance knowledge, improve educational systems, or design tech tools to improve the well-being of communities, we call upon true “Open AI” models, not just by name. The AI of our dreams should not be limited to "capped-profit" models or reduced to publishing a few research papers; it should embrace the traditional sense of open-source software.
Beyond openness, ownership of data by communities, and accountability of AI companies in the data value chain, Bingwa Civic Tech Lab urged that the WSIS+20 conclusions embody the aspirations of a whole generation for a responsible, ethical, and human-centric digital future, as part of a WSIS Regional consultative workshop that happened on May 28, 2025 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Comments