UN Chief, Melinda Gates and Jack Ma discuss Digital Cooperation

A live conversation with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Melinda Gates and Jack Ma to launch the report and recommendations of the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation.

This global online event is an opportunity to discuss how the public sector, private sector and civil society can work together to realize the potential of digital technologies for advancing human well-being, while mitigating the risks.

Communities, organizations and individuals working on issues ranging from digital inclusion, digital rights & security, governance and more are encouraged to join the online conversation during the webcast with the hashtag #digitalcooperation.

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Secretary-General António Guterres today (10 Jun) received the report from the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation from co-chairs Melinda Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Jack Ma of the Alibaba Group.

During an online conversation held at UN Headquarters, they discussed the findings of the report. Guterres emphasised the need for digital inclusion and pointed out that globalization has not benefited everyone equally and in fact “Inequalities have grown.”

He said, “when I look at the Agenda 2030, our objective to leave no one behind, to have a fair globalization, there is only one way to do it, which is to use as much as we can the digital technologies to a quantum leap in relation to global development and to a fair development. But for that there is a major threat that we need to overcome: Half of the world population is still off line.”

Gates spoke about the role of gender in the digital discussion and said, “women need to not only be digitally literate, so they can take advantage of mobile money, or being able to save if they are in a remote location, let’s say, in Malawi, be able to save a dollar a day, two dollars a day. It makes an enormous difference we know on the health and the well-being, and the education of the family if a woman can take advantage of those services. And we see those services now in many, many countries around the world. But in addition, women need to have a seat at the table as the creator of societies.”

For his part, Ma said, “next 30, 40 years we will make machines like people. So how can we change the education system to making sure our kids are able to compete with the computes, robots, artificial intelligence, not only using brains, but using heart to be more creative, innovative, constructive.”

The report focuses on issues of human rights, human agency, trust, and security in the digital age.

It describes a world more deeply interconnected than ever before as a result of digital technology, yet struggling to manage the economic, social, cultural and political impacts of the digital transformation.

The report makes a strong call for reinvigorating multilateral cooperation, arguing that it needs to be complemented by a multi-stakeholder approach -- involving a far more diverse spectrum of stakeholders, such as civil society, academics, technologists, and the private sector.

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