Stockholm Internet Forum 2021
Mobilising for Digital Resilience – a free, open, and secure internet in the shifting landscapes of the pandemic
Programme Pre-SIF21 Friday 7 May and Monday 10 May
Monday 10 May
| 13:00-13:30 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – Warm-up – SIF21 Studio |
| 13:30-13:40 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – Opening remarks – open session Carin Jämtin, Sida´s Director General |
| 13:40-13:45 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – Keynote – open session Per Olsson Fridh, Minister for International Development Cooperation of Sweden |
| 13:45-14:45 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – Opening panel – open session Building Resilience – Why we need to talk about tech A multifaceted panel opens SIF21 by discussing the role of the internet and technology in building resilience as the world faces a pandemic. Panelists : Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression, Per Olsson Fridh, Minister for International Development Cooperation, Helani Galpaya, Chief Executive Officer, LIRNEasia Joan Carling, Global Director, Indigenous Peoples Rights International |
| 14:45-15:15 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – De-brief SIF21 Studio |
Tuesday 11 May
| 10:00-10:15 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – SIF21 Studio |
| 10:15-11:15 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – Open session Towards Universal Connectivity This session will highlight the importance of providing open and secure internet connectivity that is accessible to all students 3.7 billion people were offline during the pandemic, meaning that families and individuals with good connectivity were able to continue to work and learn, and those without were left further behind. This session will highlight the challenges that have been brought to the forefront as a result of the pandemic and the need for good connectivity. It will also highlight some of the solutions and work underway to address this. Format: Panel discussion Organised by International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and UNICEF in collaboration with Sida |
| 10:30-11:30 CEST (UTC +2) | The Disinformation Industry – how can the State respond? States need to tackle online propaganda to protect democracy, while respecting freedom of expression. Researchers and State representatives discuss how Format: Panel discussion Organised by Sida |
| 10:30-11:30 CEST (UTC +2) | Holistic Security for (Digital) Emergencies Sustainable and embodied preparedness based on the Holistic Security Manual and the Integrated Security Manual. Organised by Digital Defenders Partnership |
| 11:30-11:45 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – SIF21 Studio |
| 11:45-13:15 CEST (UTC +2) | Climate Defenders & Digital Civic Space: Challenges/Threats Climate defenders and CSO actors face threats and challenges in the digital environment, which are they and what’s the way forward? Format: Workshop Organised by Mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Association for Progressive Communications (APC), and International Center for Not-For-Profit Law (ICNL) in collaboration with Sida |
| 11:55-12:55 CEST (UTC +2) | Development aid, security cooperation, and the global right to privacy Potential threats to and opportunities for people’s rights and privacy Format: Panel discussion Organised by Privacy International in collaboration with Sida |
| 11:55-12:55 CEST (UTC +2) | Meaningful Access: Quality of Digital Access post Covid-19 In this session partners discuss the realities of meaningful connectivity to address the quality of access gaps around the globe Format: Panel discussion Organised by Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) and Web Foundation in collaboration with Sida |
| 13:05-14:05 CEST (UTC +2) | Civil Society Engagement for Digital Cooperation This session will cover the process leading up to the UN Roadmap for Digital Cooperation and discuss its implementation since 2011 Format: Panel discussion Organised by The Civil Society Coalition on Digital Cooperation in collaboration with Sida |
| 13:15-14:15 CEST (UTC +2) | What does ´Good ID´ look like? This session invites participants from government, aid agencies, academia and civil society to describe what they think ‘Good ID’ looks like Format: Panel discussion / One-to-many Organised by Caribou Digital in collaboration with Sida |
| 13:05-14:05 CEST (UTC +2) | Combatting Disinformation IDEA, Meedan and WITNESS will introduce key learnings and insights from civil society to confronting disinformation in global contexts Format: Panel discussion / Group session Organised by IDEA, Meedan, and WITNESS in collaboration with Sida |
| 14:15-15:00 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – Open plenum session 26 years after Beijing: Women human rights defenders online Policy recognition of online gender-based violence against WHRDs – and increased attacks in the pandemic and a shrinking democratic space During the last years, concerns about WHRDs exposure to gender-based violence in the online space have gained wide policy recognition. This session builds on demands to protect WHRDs, towards the Generation Equality Forum in Paris following up on the Beijing Platform for Action. Given the increase in online attacks against WHRDs, exacerbated by the shift to virtual platforms during the pandemic and in an era of shrinking democratic space, state and non-state actors must take further action. Format: Panel discussion Organised by The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) in collaboration with Sida |
| 15:10-15:30 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – Live Yoga |
| 16:15-17:15 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – Open session The role of digitalization in building resilient societies This session will highlight successful examples and lessons learned from digital innovations and responses to the Covid-19 pandemic Every country is grappling with how best to respond to, and recover from, the Covid-19 pandemic. Some countries were better prepared than others. This session will explore how digital transformation has been pivotal during the pandemic and how some of those successful strategies are helping to plan to build back better, more resilient societies in the longer term. Format: Public broadcast /Panel discussion Organised by Digital Impact Alliance in collaboration with Sida |
| 16:15-17:15 CEST (UTC +2) | Back to basics – human rights centric platform governance How to establish human rights centric platform governance where users come first Format: Panel discussion Organised by Access Now in collaboration with Sida |
| 16:15-17:15 CEST (UTC +2) | A UN Cyber Programme of Action (PoA)? Shaping responsible state behaviour in cyberspace Format: Group session Organised by: Global Partners Digital in collaboration with Sida |
| 17:15-17:30 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – SIF21 Studio |
wednesday 12 May
| 10:00-10:05 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – SIF21 Studio |
| 10:05-10:30 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – Keynote Voices from Myanmar – Stories from Internet Shutdowns |
| 10:30-11:00 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – Open session Creating Impact through Innovation Discuss how Sehat Kahani and Coliba, supported by the GSMA, UKAid and DFAT, have driven digital innovation to scale with positive impact Join Max Cuvellier, Head of GSMA Mobile for Development, Dr. Iffat Zafar, Co-Founder of Sehat Kahani and Genesis Ehimegbe/ Yaya Kone, Co-Founder of Coliba. mcuvellier@gsma.com Sehat Kahani, in Pakistan, is building an all-female health provider network delivering quality solutions with tele-health. Coliba use mobile technology to ensure environmental sustainability by increasing Cote d’Ivoire’s recycling rate to 92% by 2030. Supported by UKAid and DFAT, these companies are contributing a positive impact to lives. Format: Public Broadcast Organised by GSMA, and their FCDO/DFAT-funded grantees Sehat Kahani and Coliba, in collaboration with Sida |
| 10:30-11:30 CEST (UTC +2) | #KeepItOn: governments weaponizing internet shutdowns What are the pressing threats of internet shutdowns and how do they impact on fundamental human rights? Format: Panel discussion Organised by Access Now in collaboration with Sida |
| 10:30-11:30 CEST (UTC +2) | Building Trust and advancing human rights online This session discusses the lessons learned and challenges encountered in building trust and promoting Internet Universality and human rights online Format: Panel discussion Organised by UNESCO in collaboration with Sida |
| 10:30-11:30 CEST (UTC+2) | Re:assembling Emotional Labor: On the Politics of Care This session will address emotions and labor in the context of political imprisonment, and we will re:work our experiences as partners of two of the Istanbul 10 Format: Workshop Organised by Magdalena Freudenschuss and Laressa Dickey |
| 11:30-12:00 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – Live Yoga |
| 11:45-12:45 CEST (UTC +2) | Covid-19: Counting the cost on digital rights in Africa This session will focus on findings by digital rights networks and researchers on the impact of Covid-19 on digital rights in Africa Format: Panel discussion Organised by Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Centre for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria in collaboration with Sida |
| 11:45-13:00 CEST (UTC +2) | Human Rights-Centered Internet Governance in the 2020s This session brings together global representatives to discuss themes of disinformation, digital inclusion and artificial intelligence Format: Panel discussion Organised by the Freedom Online Coalition in collaboration with Sida |
| 12:00-13:00 CEST (UTC +2) | Glitter Networking for Feminist Internet People Bring out the glitter and laughters, and join our event to meet and connect to humans interested in the creation of a feminist internet Organised by Team CommUNITY in collaboration with Sida |
| 12:00-13:00 CEST (UTC+2) | Safe Conversations – Communication Strategies for Discretion This workshop provides easy-to-use communication methods for owning and controlling your information in a safe and secure way. Format: Workshop Organised by Security Trainer and Human Rights Lawyer |
| 13:00-14:00 CEST (UTC +2) | Considering Covid – A Guide to Collaboration This session will share successful tactics and approaches for cultivating resiliency through connection during the Covid-19 pandemic Format: Workshop Organised by IFEX in collaboration with Sida |
| 13:00-14:00 CEST (UTC +2) | Encryption for a free, open, and secure internet More important and yet more threatened than ever Format: Group discussion Organised by The Global Encryption Coalition in collaboration with Sida. |
| 13:15-13:45 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – Open session Artificial Intelligence: for what, and for whom? This session will discuss the potential for AI to help societies, in particular the world’s most vulnerable groups to tackle climate change The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have accelerated automation and digitization in many parts of the world. This session will discuss the potential for artificial intelligence to help societies, and especially the world’s most vulnerable groups, to tackle climate change. The discussion will centre on exploring the distributional and social equity aspects of these technologies. Format: Public broadcast Organised by CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture (Colombia) and Stockholm Resilience Centre (Stockholm University) in collaboration with Sida |
| 13:55-14:00 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – SIF21 – Studio |
| 14:00-14:15 CEST (UTC +2) | Stage – Keynote – Open session Ann Linde, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden |
| 14:15-15:15 CEST (UTC +2) | Building the Norms that Fit Our Needs How can governments, civil society, and the tech sector ensure that global norms protect freedoms online? Format: Panel Organised by: The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) in collaboration with Sida |
| 14:15-15:15 CEST (UTC +2) | Tech exchange for safe feminist infrastructure online Feminist safety trainers are building new tech infrastructure and dreaming and designing new ways of digital organising during the pandemic Format: Workshop / Group session Organised by The Association for Progressive Communications Women’s Rights Programme (APC WRP) in collaboration with Sida |
| 14:15-15:15 CEST (UTC +2) | What it takes to protect people today and tomorrow Global lessons and challenges to advocate for data protection Format: Workshop Organised by Privacy International in collaboration with Sida |
| 15:45-16:30 CEST (UTC +2) | Closing session Resilience and Regeneration This participatory closing session is facilitated by Jac sm Kee, for all to share insights from SIF21, with #SIF21 visuals by Walid al Saqaf |
| 16:30-16:40 CEST (UTC +2) 16:40-16:45 CEST (UTC +2) | Closing remarks – open session Carin Jämtin, Sida´s Director General Stage – SIF21 Studio |