Professionals of various callings will on Tuesday gather in Ilorin to take a critical look at the Guidelines for the Regulation of Digital platforms as put in place by United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
The independent community-based consultation is being organized by Daily Links Digital Media at the instance of Innovation for Policy Foundation (i4policy), which partners UNESCO using its arm, Internet for Trust Initiative.
In a statement signed by the Programme Coordinator, ‘Yemi Adụrotoye and Field Office Advisor, Abiodun Abdulkareem, showed that the community-based consultation, which will hold at NUJ Press Centre, Ilorin is to ensure deliberative and participatory processes towards having standard and globally acceptable Guidelines.
Participants will discuss the UNESCO’s Version 3.0 Guidelines of Safeguarding Freedom of Expression
and Access to Information with a view to have inputs and adjustments to suit the present day realities.
It is a multi-stakeholder approach in the context of regulating digital platforms as it will look at the different perspectives such information accessibility, Protection of Privacy, gender issues and legal perspective among others.
The organizers stated further: “We are excited to do this because digital platforms affect so many aspects of human lives; it gives room for effectiveness arising from harvest from wider and diverse multi-sectoral perspectives.
“It is positive contribution meant to harvest ideas for the purpose of regulating the deployment and usage of the internet for the good of mankind.
“Aside professionals from relevant stakeholders in digital technology, delegates from relevant institutions and organisations will also participate in the consultative dialogue session to produce globally acceptable guidelines for the regulation of digital platforms.”
UNESCO, the organizers said, has for many years been engaged in a series of consultations to develop Guidelines focusing on the structures and processes needed to ensure users have a safer and more critical interaction with online content, to simultaneously support freedom of expression and the availability of accurate and reliable information in the public sphere.