IGF 2025

Living in an increasingly digitised world requires deep knowledge of and active engagement with the digital environment. To participate freely, equally, and meaningfully in society, individuals must develop the capacities and skills necessary to navigate and shape this environment. The human rights to non-discrimination, freedom of speech and access to information, right to privacy, and right to peaceful assembly and association oblige us to enable everybody to take part in the digital age, building their capacities by providing them with skills and competencies necessary for responsibly and safely navigating the digital environment.  Digital literacy is key for seizing opportunities and managing challenges. Importantly, there is a near-universal recognition of the need for capacity building in every new digital governance framework. Each of the DCs within the IGF ecosystem produces output that helps build capacity within the IGF ecosystem as well as within their own communities. In some cases, this is a direct goal, and in others, it is a valuable by-product of their work. These contributions, while sometimes under-recognized, play a significant role in shaping inclusive governance and digital empowerment, also counteracting potential discrimination that results from a lack of digital literacy. Recognising these contributions is central to fulfilling the principles outlined in the Global Digital Compact, particularly in advancing human-centric digital cooperation. 

In counteracting the global digital divide, it is necessary to recognize that we are facing a digital literacy divide now that is even widening in the course of fast innovation cycles of new technologies and services. Due to these developments, the lessons we are teaching today to address the literacy divide will be outdated tomorrow. But an agile concept like the Dynamic Coalitions fits perfectly into such a dynamic field.

This workshop will spotlight the crucial role of DCs in supporting and delivering capacity-building initiatives. It will explore options to better structure and improve these contributions and bring them into sharper focus within both the individual communities of DCs and the broader IGF ecosystem.

Online:

Dr. Rajendra Pratap Gupta (DC - Digital Economy)

Judith Hellerstein (DCAD)

Torsten Krause (DC CRIDE)