Shaping the Future of the Internet: Insights from the NGI Panel on Digital Rights and Community Engagement

By Sergi Serra, Projects and Communication, and Anna Higueras, Head of Project at Ideas for Change.

(Originally published in English)

Last week, Ideas for Change, in the context of the Next generation Internet Outreach Office, organized the 'Next Generation Internet (NGI) Panel: Communities, Digital Rights & The Future of the Internet.' Held online on Thursday, January 25th at 11 AM, this event is part of the European Commission's NGI Initiative, striving to reshape the internet to reflect European values and norms.

Anna Higueras, the head of projects at Ideas for Change, expertly led the session. She introduced the panel's theme – exploring diverse strategies to foster an 'Internet of humans' that safeguards digital human rights.
Before the panel, the event featured contributions from Monique Calisti, CEO of Martel Innovate, and Georges Lobo from the European Commission. Calisti highlighted the need for a united community effort to make the internet universally accessible, while Lobo discussed the EU's policy framework and its role in shaping the internet's future.

The first speaker, Manavpreet Kaur from the Wikimedia Foundation, emphasized the importance of collaboration in creating open standards and fostering global dialogue about the internet's future. Kaur highlighted Wikimedia's role in enabling global participation in creating freely licensed educational content.

Antoine Vergne, Co-Director of Missions Publiques, then addressed the complexities of internet impact and governance. He pointed out the dichotomy of the internet's global reach versus the limited scope of national governance. Vergne stressed the need for long-term planning in global governance and advocated for including ordinary citizens in discussions about internet governance to enrich and broaden the discourse.

Lucía Errandonea of GOBE and Algorights concluded the panel discussions. She shared insights on the implications of AI from a social justice and human rights perspective, underscoring the necessity of inclusive and transparent technologies. Errandonea called for more formal platforms for cross-sector collaboration in AI's design, implementation, and oversight.

The panel collectively advocated for an inclusive, human-centric approach to developing a future internet that is equitable and sustainable. They urged the NGI to foster broader collaboration and stakeholder engagement.

Giovanni Maccani, Ideas for Change's Research Director, led the open discussion that followed engaging with the panelists on policy and technological cooperation for shaping the internet's future. The session concluded with appreciation for the participants' contributions and reaffirmed the commitment to continued dialogue and collaboration within the NGI project.

The event is accessible on the European Commission NGI's PeerTube profile for those interested in these pivotal discussions.