#Road2IGF: Data, Sovereignty, Democracy and a Global South Perspective

Date: 25.11.2019

Location: Berlin

In November 2019 the Global Innovation Gathering (GIG) and the United Nations Association of Germany hosted a warm up event #Road2IGF: Data, Sovereignty, Democracy and an African Perspective in the context of the Internet Governance Forum which took place in Berlin.

How do we ensure people and democracies are informed and empowered through data driven systems such as AI rather than exploited and undermined? What infrastructures and data protection policies do we need? These questions were explored during the #Road2IGF event with four political analysts and civil society representatives.

The event included a keynote from Nanjala Nyabola on digital identity, a presentation of research findings from Sreekanth Mukku (Project Manager on Data Privacy in the Global South at Konnektiv) on the effects of data protection laws on national AI strategies in India and Germany as well as a panel discussion outlining projects and initiatives working for data sovereignty in the global south including Linda Bonyo and Kudzai Mubaiwa. Together these experts shed light on questions concerning digital development, data and internet regulation and they debated how to ensure individual data sovereignty and the use of data for development for public good.

By hosting this event we aimed to support the participation and amplify the positions of civil society representatives from the global south at IGF 2019. Konnektiv supports the work of the Global Innovation Gathering, our partner organization, as we both share the mission to make development cooperation more open and innovative.

The event was livestreamed on the Facebook page from DGVN e.V. and can be viewed here.