The WSIS+20 review process reaffirms the central role of multistakeholder approaches in advancing an inclusive, people-centred and development-oriented Information Society. At the same time, recent global digital policy processes have demonstrated that the application of multistakeholder approaches remains uneven, and that the concept itself is at risk of dilution.
Inclusive multistakeholder processes are not an end in themselves. When properly designed and implemented, they serve as an essential safeguard for human rights, including digital rights, by enabling meaningful participation, transparency, accountability and responsiveness in digital governance.
The São Paulo Multistakeholder Guidelines (SPMGs), developed through a global and inclusive process, provide a shared reference framework to assess whether multistakeholder processes meet minimum standards of legitimacy and effectiveness. In the context of the implementation of the WSIS+20 outcome document, the SPMGs offer a practical tool to move from declaratory support for multistakeholderism to concrete operational practices.
The side event aims to:
- Reaffirm inclusive multistakeholder processes as a means to safeguard human rights and digital rights in the implementation of WSIS+20.
- Promote a shared understanding of the SPMGs as a benchmark to distinguish meaningful multistakeholder processes from purely nominal or consultative ones.
- Explore how multistakeholder approaches can be effectively operationalized within multilateral settings.
- Identify opportunities for existing multistakeholder platforms to strengthen their own governance and practices through application of the SPMGs.
- Encourage commitments to continuous improvement and review of multistakeholder processes.
- Explore what enabling mechanisms, capacities, and resources are required to support sustained application of the SPMGs across global digital governance processes.
The side event will take the form of a moderated panel discussion with interventions from representatives of diverse stakeholder groups. Time will be allocated for interaction with participants.
The side event is expected to:
- Contribute to a shared understanding of how the SPMGs can inform the implementation of the WSIS+20 outcome document.
- Identify practical entry points for applying the SPMGs within UN-related and multistakeholder processes.
- Identify a clear mechanism within the IGF ecosystem, as proposed in the NETmundial+10 Outcome Declaration, which will take care of the SPMGs, including its future evolution and the monitoring of its application.
- Encourage voluntary commitments to improve the inclusiveness and quality of multistakeholder practices.
- Support a more credible, rights-based and effective multistakeholder ecosystem beyond WSIS+20.
Speakers:
- Jorge Cancio
- Laurianne-Marie Schippers
- Lea Kasapar
- Gitanjali Sah
- Valeria Betancourt
- Carlos Garcia Delgado
