"Increasing number of reports, initiatives and efforts are focused on addressing women’s ability to enjoy universal, acceptable, affordable, unconditional, open, meaningful and/or equal access to information, the internet and ICTs. These include, but are not limited to, the recent work of civil so...ciety organisations, research institutions, various private sector organisations and intergovernmental organisations. There is also a widely acknowledged need for more gender-disaggregated data to accurately measure “gender digital divides”. But there also needs to be more locally relevant data (as opposed to aggregated data at a global level) to better understand underlying local factors and circumstances that hinder women of specifc regions in the global South from accessing and using ICTs, the internet and/or information. But why access is important perhaps also needs to be interrogated from a feminist perspective, which entails not taking for granted that access to ICTs is necessarily a positive and empowering development. What is also relevant is to view the dynamics of race, caste, region (urban-rural), ableism, age and other factors, in relation to gender and access." (Conclusion, p.98)
more
"The four principles identified as key to Internet Universality are summarised as the R-O-A-M principles, and are fundamental to the development of the Internet in ways that are conducive to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals with no one left behind. These principles are: R – that the int...ernet is based on human Rights; O – that it is Open; A – that it should be Accessible to all, and M – that it is nurtured by Multistakeholder participation. To enable the concept of Internet Universality to be more concretely understood and applied, UNESCO has spent two years developing indicators for the four principles. These indicators enable the empirical assessment of Internet Universality in terms of its existence at the level of a national Internet environment. By using these new indicators for research, a collage of evidence can be assembled to help governments and other stakeholders to identify achievements and gaps. The indicator framework is tailored for national use in regard to improving the local Internet environment, and is not designed or suited to rank countries in comparison with one another." (Executive summary, p.12)
more