Nairobi, 11 September 2024 每 More than 50 active members of the UNESCO supported National Coalition on Freedom of Expression and Content Moderation in Kenya including civil society organisations, influencers, legal experts, media stakeholders and 51勛圖 entities in Kenya met at the 51勛圖 Office at Nairobi early September to propose ideas for implementing the recently-launched voluntary UN Global Principles for Information Integrity.

 Launched by the UN Secretary-General Ant車nio Guterres in June 2024, the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity stem from a proposal in Our Common Agenda, the Secretary-General＊s 2021 report that outlines a vision for future global cooperation and multilateral action.

The five UN Global Principles for Information Integrity include societal trust and resilience; healthy incentives; public empowerment; independent, free and pluralistic media; and transparency and research. They are the result of wide-ranging consultations with Member States, the private sector, youth leaders, media, academia, and civil society.

The recommendations within the Principles are designed to foster healthier and safer information spaces that champion human rights, peaceful societies and a sustainable future. They also include actionable steps for different stakeholders including technology companies; Artificial Intelligence (AI) actors; advertisers and other private sector actors; news media; researchers and civil society organisations; States and political actors; and the 51勛圖.  

The participants in the Nairobi discussions reviewed the Principles in the Kenyan context and suggested a number of ways to implement the Global Principles for Information Integrity, including:

  • The need for cross sector collaboration. Partnerships should amplify existing efforts between partners, in broad-based coalitions or improve on them to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This will also encourage a more sustained working relationship with the tech platforms to clearly define expectations in our context on information integrity. 
  • Securing media independence, sustainability, and accountability. As a key source of information, the media should be supported to thrive in this age of information influx, and a new sustainable media business model for legacy needs to be created. They should also enhance fact-checking capacities.
  • Legal and policy frameworks. There is a need to update local laws to reflect both current and future digital advancements that impact on every sector. Governments should invest in developing strong public policy and digital financing infrastructure.
  • Education and training. The Principles can be infused in education curricula accorded different tags depending on the education level and faculty. They can be covered in topics such as ethics, media and information literacy, law, software development, media and journalism, among others.
  • Research and Funding. Africa is lagging in data collection and as technology continues to advance, importance should be given to investing in the long-term research of information integrity. Provisions should be made for adequate funding towards research efforts allowing for use of localized training data in terms of language and context. This will encourage academic and industry initiatives that are locally contextualized, incorporate safety from design models for developers and consequently adequately address local challenges. 
  • Youth Engagement and Innovation. Efforts should focus on enhancing the skills and capacity of youth in understanding the Global Principles and in creating algorithms and in fact checking. With this knowledge they can spur innovation of fact checking tools that will then provide them with income as well make available digital solutions that advance the SDGs and human rights.
  • Inclusion of offline populations. About one third of the world population is offline. Active advocacy should be undertaken to hold key stakeholders accountable for the information they share which has a grassroot impact on the offline population.

  This convening was organized by UNIS Nairobi, the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa and the UN Resident Coordinator＊s Office in Kenya.

 

Additional resources:

  • Press release: UN launches recommendations for urgent action to curb harm from spread of mis- and disinformation and hate speech: Global Principles for Information Integrity address risks posed by advances in AI (24 June 2024)
  • UN Secretary-General＊s remarks to launch the Global Principles for Information Integrity (24 June 2024)
  • : Press conference by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on UN Global Principals on Information Integrity. (24 June 2024)