ISOC Haiti is organizing a sixth edition of the National Forum on Internet Governance in Haiti around the theme “Connecting the unconnected”
If the Internet remains a powerful information and communication tool that governs the knowledge and knowledge societies of modern times, each year, ISOC Haiti, through the Internet Governance Forum (FGI Haiti ) offers an inclusive and participatory space for debates around an Open, Secure and Trustworthy Internet in order to take advantage of its opportunities. You also need to be able to connect to it. This is why ISOC Haiti, in its policy of guaranteeing the Internet for all, strives to make “connecting the unconnected” the hub of the FGI Haiti of 2024.
This year, on June 28, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., ISOC Haiti will organize online, through hubs distributed in various municipalities of the country such as Carrefour, Pétion Ville, Vallières and Grand-Goâve, the sixth edition of FGI Haiti, with the central theme: “Connecting the unconnected”.
The Forum on Internet Governance in Haiti is one of many national and regional initiatives (NRI) as a prelude to the great Global Forum on Internet Governance created in 2005 during the second phase of the first World Summit on the Information Society (SMSI) in Tunis – with the backdrop: “guaranteeing better democratization of information”.
Access to information is recognized as a right and, in the digital age and the proliferation of connected objects, the Internet plays more of a conductor role. In Haiti, the last few kilometers – where adequate infrastructure is generally lacking or non-existent – are full of people who have no access to the Internet or who have it through a connection that leaves something to be desired. Indeed, far from being a simple subject of debate, for ISOC Haiti, “Connecting the unconnected” is an extension of a vast project for the implementation of community networks: “Establishment and strengthening of community networks in the most disadvantaged regions of Haiti. The beneficiaries received this project like a godsend. It constitutes one of the mainstays of this year’s Forum on Internet Governance in Haiti.
The IGF Haiti has always been a melting pot where each year actors from diverse backgrounds, whether from the technical community, civil society, international organizations, state entities, the academic community, the private sector and users who are part of the Internet governance ecosystem in Haiti, the Latin Caribbean region and the world, come together to fuel the exchanges that can shape a better future. And, as usual, this year’s event will bring together both national and international actors such as representatives from the United Nations, the Internet Society Foundation, LACNIC, the Transversal Foundation, AFNIC and Quisqueya University – experts and professionals line up to form three panels of reflection:
1. Overview of Internet connectivity in Haiti and its impact on development;
2. Feedback on the community networks deployed by ISOC Haiti;
3. Challenges and responsibilities of actors to improve connectivity in Haiti.
For a country like Haiti, improving connectivity would not only make it possible to subvert the borders of information and knowledge, create openings to other horizons for young people, in particular, promote cultural interpenetration… it could also offer invaluable benefits for development planning in various sectors of national life. This, particularly in terms of community development, sustainable disaster management, etc. to the extent that local warning systems can be used to limit damage linked to weather hazards and climate change. For example, during a flood in Brazil, rescuers used drones, WhatsApp groups and Google Forms to come to the rescue of people in difficulty. Indeed, in the absence of adequate provisions related to Internet connectivity, the damage could have intensified.
Speaking of Internet connectivity, where are we in Haiti? What measures need to be taken now? What strategies should be adopted for its improvement? What are the challenges and responsibilities of the actors? These are among many questions on which different stakeholder groups will have the opportunity to speak at this year’s Forum.
So, in an open and multi-stakeholder atmosphere, ISOC Haiti invites you to connect and join its Forum to learn, share your knowledge and propel debates on the digital divide linked to Internet connectivity in Haiti.
Jim LAPORTE,
MSc in progress in Agroecology,
Rural Engineer (BS in Agronomy),
Internet governance advocate
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