Creating dialogues during the Commission for Social Development 2021

Creating dialogues between activists, practitioners, academics and governments during the Commission for Social Development 2021

From February 8th to February 17th 2021, the United Nations’ 59th session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD59) centered on the theme of digital technology and its impacts on social development and human wellbeing. This discussion was particularly timely considering the unprecedented move towards digitalization that has taken place since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Throughout the Commission, ATD Fourth World created spaces for people living in poverty to share their experiences, knowledge and recommendations on the impacts of digital technology in their lives. 

The First Ever Virtual Civil Society Forum

With ATD Fourth World’s UN representative, Monica Jahangir-Chowdhury, taking on the role of co-chair of the NGO Committee for Social Development, ATD Fourth World partnered with other civil society organizations worldwide to organize the first ever virtual Civil Society Forum. Key issues around digital technology were explored in a series of five virtual events, including panel discussions on the themes of digital inclusion, financing and governance. 

Volunteer Monica Jahangir-Chowdhury (top row, in the middle) surrounded by colleagues of the NGO Committee for Social Development. 

The NGO Committee also drafted a resolution and a civil society declaration, which was signed by over 700 organizations and individuals. As part of advocacy efforts, members of the NGO Committee conducted virtual meetings with one third of all member state representatives to this Commission. 

ATD Fourth World activists speak out at the Commission and at ATD side-event

“Everything that helps keep you afloat is online” 

ATD Fourth World brought the voices of several grassroots activists to this Commission. In particular, Taliah Drayak, an activist with the Parent and Families Action Network (PFAN) in the United Kingdom, delivered a strong speech during the Multistakeholder Forum on February 12th. In her message about the difficulties that people in poverty face to access the digital world and the resulting injustices, she reminded the audience that “even well-designed policies become meaningless if people in poverty can't access the tools to enforce that policy or hold the system accountable.” - To watch Taliah’s full statement, click here [42:00].  

ATD Fourth World also organized a webinar as a side-event to the Commission, titled “Behind the Screen: Grassroots Experiences Accessing Social Services and Education in a Digital World”. The event was moderated by digital divide scholar Virginia Eubanks, and featured a diverse set of panelists including two activists involved with ATD Fourth World, a member of the Permanent mission of the Republic of South Korea to the United Nations, and a professor at NYU. The panelists concluded that when it comes to digital technology, the narrative on “experts” has to be rewritten in order to take into account the lived expertise of individuals and communities at the grassroots level. Read the interactive report of the webinar here or watch the full event here.   

From left to right clockwise: Virginia Eubanks, Tammy Mayes, Joongil Shin, Christiaan van Veen, Esther Rodriquez

Conclusion

While adapting to the virtual format of this year’s Commission meant that participation had to be reinvented, it also meant that ATD Fourth World activists who might have otherwise not been present in the UN building were able to speak up from their respective countries. Additionally, in its capacity of co-chair of the NGO Committee for Social Development, ATD Fourth World helped bring together key stakeholders in dialogue, in order to speak out against injustice and elevate the voices of civil society advocates from all over the world. The advocacy work undertaken during this Commission is part of a broader effort led by various ATD Fourth World teams to understand the question of poverty’s intersections with digital technology and advocate for more inclusive technologies.