International Experts Highlight 20 Years of Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development

Cetic.br event marked the launch of ICT 2023 publications - Households, Enterprises, and Electronic Government, and celebrated the Partnership's anniversary

With the presence of representatives from United Nations agencies and other international organizations, the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), under the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), held the panel "Looking Ahead to the Future of Digital Transformation" on Monday (8/26). The event celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, formed by UN agencies and other international bodies, which have been fundamental in setting global standards and methods for collecting ICT indicators. The event also marked the launch of the 2023 publications of ICT Households, ICT Enterprises, and ICT Electronic Government.

During the opening, the president-director of NIC.br, Demi Getschko, highlighted the success of the models adopted by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) and NIC.br, internationally praised, and the confidence placed in the structure and operation of the ".br" domain. "With the surplus from '.br', we can return to society, either through ICT surveys or dozens of other initiatives, the resources that Brazilians invest in the Brazilian Registry," he pointed out.

Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br, emphasized the role of Cetic.br in the continuous and robust production of statistical data on Information and Communication Technologies and the institutional, technical, and methodological support of over 120 specialists in the three research fields: ICT Households, ICT Enterprises, and ICT Electronic Government. He also highlighted the role they play in supporting the development of public policies. "These are absolutely essential data for understanding the digital inequalities still existing in our country, especially among the most vulnerable populations, with low income and education," he said.


(Photo: Ricardo Matsukawa/Disclosure NIC.br)

Panel
Moderated by CGI.br coordinator Renata Mielli, the debate featured the participation of Deniz Susar (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs - UNDESA), Esperanza Magpantay (International Telecommunication Union - ITU), Scarlett Fondeur Gil (UN Trade and Development - UNCTAD), and Sebastián Rovira (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean - ECLAC).

"In addition to data comparability, the production of indicators that can be disaggregated, and all the technical rigor, we advance each year, seeking to incorporate new aspects into the surveys, such as the digital skills of Brazilian users," commented Renata Mielli, coordinator of CGI.br.

When asked about the strategies the Partnership should adopt to remain relevant and effective in the face of advancing technologies such as artificial intelligence, Esperanza Magpantay from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) argued that the original objectives of the Partnership should be maintained, which are to improve the quality and availability of ICT indicators. "And in doing so, we need to adapt them to new services and new technologies. The area of "electronic waste," for example, is an emerging issue that we need to focus on."

According to Scarlett Fondeur Gil from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development highlights that digital exclusion goes beyond the lack of access to technologies and is directly related to meaningful connectivity. She also noted that the Partnership continuously promotes the link between ICT statistics producers and digital policy makers. "This means we always remind policy formulators of the need for reliable statistics to formulate and monitor ICT access and use." Fondeur Gil added that new partners are always welcome. "For several years, we have been trying to include the World Health Organization (WHO) in our efforts within the Partnership, so it can help us develop ICT statistics in Health," she completed.

Deniz Susar from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) recalled Brazil's leadership in Internet governance topics. "You demonstrated this at NETmundial, 10 years ago, and more recently at NETmundial+10. I encourage everyone to read the final declaration of the meeting," he stated. Deniz reflected on smart cities and also addressed the integration of new technologies into the public environment. "When we talk about smart cities, we need to consider how 'smart' they really are. With rapid technological changes, can we be sufficiently smart? What kind of indicators will we need to measure these smart things that are everywhere? It could be big data, it could be AI, but we will need indicators to measure their use and access. Today, 55% of people live in cities, but by 2050 it will be almost 70%. It is very important that cities provide digital public services and effectively measure the use of these services."

Speaking about the topics that will be priorities for the future of the digital agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean, Sebastián Rovira from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said it is important to understand the inequalities between countries. "We must define new forms of measurements to better understand how our population is included or not in the digital transformation, and how we can contribute and define new policies and elements that promote the appropriation of these technologies," he said. In this sense, Sebastián concluded by saying that the work carried out by Cetic.br has been a reference for other institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean.

To check out the publications launched at the meeting, which, in addition to indicators, include articles by experts on topics related to ICT surveys, access the links below:

ICT Households 2023: https://cetic.br/pt/pesquisa/domicilios/publicacoes/

ICT Enterprises 2023: https://cetic.br/pt/pesquisa/empresas/publicacoes/

ICT Electronic Government 2023: https://cetic.br/pt/pesquisa/governo-eletronico/publicacoes/

Watch the debate at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oThD9yeUbbk

About Cetic.br
The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) under NIC.br is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on Internet access and use in Brazil, disseminating periodic analyses and information on network development in the country. Cetic.br|NIC.br is also a UNESCO-affiliated Regional Center for Studies and will celebrate 19 years of operation in 2024. More information at https://cetic.br/.

About the Brazilian Network Information Center - NIC.br
The Brazilian Network Information Center — NIC.br (https://nic.br/) is a private, non-profit civil entity responsible for the operation of the .br domain, as well as the distribution of IP numbers and the registration of Autonomous Systems in the country. NIC.br has been implementing the decisions and projects of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee - CGI.br since 2005, and all funds raised come from its activities, which are essentially private. It conducts actions and projects that bring benefits to the Internet infrastructure in Brazil. NIC.br includes:  https://registro.br, https://cert.br/, https://ceptro.br/, https://cetic.br/, https://ix.br/, https://ceweb.br, and projects like https://internetsegura.br and the Internet Good Practices Portal in Brazil (https://bcp.nic.br/). It also hosts the W3C São Paulo office (https://w3c.br/).

About the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee - CGI.br
The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee is responsible for establishing strategic guidelines related to the use and development of the Internet in Brazil, coordinating, and integrating all Internet service initiatives in the country, promoting technical quality, innovation, and the dissemination of services offered. Based on the principles of multisectoralism and transparency, CGI.br represents a democratic Internet governance model, internationally praised, where all sectors of society equally participate in its decisions. One of its formulations is the 10 Principles for Internet Governance and Use (https://cgi.br/resolucoes/documento/2009/003). More information at https://cgi.br/.

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