IT for Change is hosting and participating in an exciting line up of sessions in this year's eCommerce week from 25th to 29th of April, 2022. Find a detailed list of our sessions below, and register for the conference here to access recordings and attend the sessions.
1. Promoting Inclusive Data Policy Through Capacity Building
Thematic Session hosted by Diplo Foundation, CUTS international and International Trade Centre.
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 | 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM IST
This session will bring together a diverse group of experts including our Executive Director, Anita Gurumurthy to reflect upon the ways in which capacity building can empower developing actors in the context of policy discussions on data flows. It will be guided by questions that aim to distill concrete action points to be taken on board by providers of capacity building.
2. There's no App for That! What it Takes to Leverage the Promise of Data for MSMEs and Cooperatives in the Digital Economy
Thematic Session hosted by International Labour Organization.
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 | 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM IST
Leveraging the promise of data for inclusive digital economies post-pandemic requires us to move beyond the fashionable buzzwords of platform and data cooperativism. Building on empirical experiences in India, Kenya and other countries from the global South of what it takes for MSMEs, social enterprises and cooperatives to embrace the promise of digital data for sustainable futures, this session will explore the following questions:
-What kind of institutional support do MSMEs and cooperatives in the global South require for the platform economy?
-What kind of macro-economic and data governance frameworks will help MSMEs and cooperatives take advantage of the data opportunity?
Our Executive Director, Anita Gurumurthy is a panelist in this session.
3. Understanding the Development Impact of Digital Services Trade
Thematic Session hosted by World Bank Group, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)- Germany, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 | 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM IST
This session will focus on the impact of digital services trade on growth and development, including with regards to integrating MSMEs and women in international trade. It will address trade flows on digital services to and from developing countries, key regulations that support digital services, and challenges faced by digital services providers in the developing world. Panelists, including our Deputy Director, Nandini Chami will build on WB research and a recent study funded by Germany as well as their experience to offer guidance on the role of development cooperation in realizing the growth and inclusion opportunities associated with trade in digital services, especially with a view to build back better in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.
4. Data Flows and Global Trade Regimes: Issues of Inclusive Development
Workshop hosted by Just Net Coalition and Brot für die Welt.
Thursday, 28th April 2022 | 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM IST
At the centre of global digital trade regimes is the issue of cross-border data flows. While some countries, especially the US, see free data flows as a prerequisite for development and economic growth, opponents of unregulated global data flow make the point that it is only resulting in near absolute concentration of data and digital power with a few digital corporations, in the US and China.
This workshop will discuss what free data flows, or alternatively, data flow regulation regimes, are meant to achieve, and how these work. How can the legal and regulatory remit of any country be ensured to apply to data of its citizens, artefacts and natural resources, when it flows across the border? Our Executive Director, Parminder Jeet Singh is a panelist in this session.
5. The Value of Data in the Information Economy
Thematic Session hosted by IT for Change, Association for Proper Internet Governance (APIG), Our World Is Not For Sale and Third World Network.
Thursday, 28th April 2022 | 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM IST
The key events that have marked the course of history are the agricultural revolution, which led to the development of private property governance regimes, and the industrial revolution, which led to the development of intellectual property governance regimes. It appears that the information revolution is another key even that will mark the course of history, and that there is a need to develop data governance regimes, in particular to ensure the equitable allocation of the value added of aggregated individual data, and equitable allocation of the value added of artificial intelligence based on aggregated data. This session will explore those issues, in particular the current regimes of data governance, including data privacy or lack thereof, and recent legal and regulatory developments related to ensuring equity in the allocation of the value of data. Our Executive Director, Parminder Jeet Singh is a panelist in this session.
6. Exploring a Global Framework for Data Governance
Thematic Session hosted by IT for Change and South Centre.
Thursday, 28th April 2022 | 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM IST
UNCTAD’s Digital Economy Report, 2021, considers the current impasse between dramatically opposing positions of ‘data localization’ and ‘free flow of data’ holding up the immense potential of data for development. It recommends that breaking this impasse requires developing a global framework for data governance, that addresses both non-economic and economic aspects of data. The session will gather views on how this can be achieved, especially at best addressing developing countries’ interests. Our Executive Director, Parminder Jeet Singh is a panelist in this session.
7. Digitally Restructured Value Chains - Upgrading or Downgrading Labor Futures for Women in the Global South?
Thematic Session hosted by Institute of Development Studies and Commonwealth Businesswomen Network.
Thursday, 28th April 2022 | 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM IST
The panel will bring together international experts to present and discuss new evidence on a) how digitally restructured global value chains and data governance are reshaping labour futures of female workers in low and middle-income countries; b) how persistent gaps in digital access and models of use are affecting women in the Global South differently than those in the Global North; and c) the associated policy frameworks on data and digital trade rules that can help safeguard labor futures. A macro-level presentation of key issues will be followed by country perspectives from India, Pakistan and Kenya. Our Deputy Director, Nandini Chami is a panelist in this session.