The results of UNESCO’s Internet Universality Indicators Assessment presented to the Digital Agenda Committee of the German parliament
On 9 June 2021, Deputy Secretary-General of the German Commission for UNESCO, Dr Lutz Möller, together with Professor Dr Wolfgang Schulz and PD Dr Matthias C. Kettemann, presented the German assessment report of the UNESCO Internet Universality Indicators to members of parliament at one of the last meetings of the Bundestag’s Digital Agenda Committee in this legislative session.
Initiated in 2020, Germany is now the 5th country to have completed their national assessment of Internet Universality ROAM-X Indicators set to evaluate the state of the Internet and the overall national digital landscape, with particular emphasis on the human Rights, Openness, Accessibility and Multistakeholder participation principles.
Based on the results obtained, the scientific team led by Prof. Schulz and Dr Kettemann from the Leibniz-Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institute has developed recommendations for action directed at various stakeholders such as governments, the judiciary, the private sector, the technical community, civil society and academia to advance human rights in the digital age, mainstream ROAM principles and apply Internet Universality ROAM-X Indicators to generate strong evidence for digital policies.
The German report holds power to shape policy changes in an active and equitable way and safeguard long term sustainable prosperity and social cohesion in Germany. Hence, it seeks to give concrete evidence and recommendations to ensure that innovation and digital transformation comply with the legal framework conditions and align with the basic values in Germany and Europe.
In their exchange with the members of the German parliament, the authors of the report stressed that while 91 percent of the people in Germany use the Internet, there is a strong need to catch up in terms of fast Internet access and competence in using digital opportunities. The authors highlighted the value of the ROAM-X framework as a process that catalyzes a national, multi-stakeholder shared vision for the Internet, and dialogue on regulatory and policy changes needed to get there and also as an output that provides solid evidence upon which to base Internet transformation in line with international human rights standards.
The application report is scheduled to be published by UNESCO in English and German in September 2021. Meanwhile, the project is currently ongoing in 22 countries, with the recent inception of the project in Argentina, and will soon count on six additional initiatives, financed through grants provided in the 65th IPDC Bureau meeting to assess Internet development in Cote d’Ivoire, Cabo Verde, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan.
For more information on the project in Germany, please visit the following website: www.wiegehtsdeminternet.de.