Sixth annual meeting of the
Held for the sixth consecutive year – this time in an online setting – the annual meeting of the South Eastern European Dialogue on Internet Governance (SEEDIG) brought together a wide variety of stakeholders for a week of vibrant and interactive discussions on some of the most pressing Internet and digital policy issues in South Eastern Europe and the neighbouring area (SEE+), from digitalisation and the digital economy, to online privacy and cybercrime.
SEEDIG 6 was pretty much an experiment for us all. If you’ve joined us for at least a part of the programme, please fill out a very short survey to help us understand what worked well and not so well.
The main discussions were reflected in SEEDIG Messages, outlining main takeaways, goals, and proposals for future actions. The messages represent the main output of the meeting. Through wide distribution, at regional, European and international level, they are meant to help inform and influence decision-making processes within governmental entities, national parliaments, companies, and regional organisations.
We want our region to use its human and technological potential to the fullest on its path to a sustainable and inclusive digital development, and to be an active contributor to European and global digital cooperation mechanisms. At SEEDIG 6, we facilitated discussions on how to achieve these goals.
And because many of us are overwhelmed with online meetings, we worked hard to build SEEDIG 6 in a manner that makes it more than just another online event. We played with session formats and digital tools, developed creative tracks, and placed interactivity at the core of the meeting.
We are a regional initiative, so our discussions focused on the realities and challenges of the SEE+ region, and the solutions needed to address them. All of this will, of course, was anchored into European and global debates.
We complemented the focused discussions on regionally relevant digital policy issues with SEEtalks, a Living Library, the SEEinnovate track, the Terms of Service Fantasy Reader and the VR, Art & Digital policy track.
Interactivity was the keyword for SEEDIG 6. Our sessions focused on debates and dialogue engaging all participants. Illustrations, infographics, polls, quizzes and other tools were used a lot.
We weren't able to meet in situ this time, but we still offered fun and engaging networking spaces. We had thematic coffee breaks, a Moldovan wine evening, and the music night as additional interactive settings.
Have you missed a main session or a creative track at SEEDIG 6, but you’d like to see what happened? Is there a specific discussion that you attended and would like to watch again?
Almost all SEEDIG 6 sessions and creative tracks have been recorded. You can find the recordings via our:
How is the region balancing individual privacy rights with the public interest of preserving health in the context of COVID-19 tracking apps? What policies are in place to protect critical infrastructures from cyber-attacks? What is missing and how can regional cooperation be strengthened?
SEEDIG 6 discussions were linked with the United Nations Secretary-General's Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, as we tried to looked at concrete modalities for the implementation of the Roadmap in the SEE+ region and by regional stakeholders.
Between June and August 2020, a multistakeholder working group composed of SEEDIG community members developed a set of Recommendations for governments/public health authorities and developers regarding a human rights-based approachs to the design and deployment of COVID-19 tracking apps. The recommendations were discussed during SEEDIG 6, as part of the trust and security track.
Interviews with selected guests on key SEEDIG 6 topics
Digital tech for social good and sustainable development
What happens when art meets digital technology?
Radio play unpacking the Terms of Service of mobile apps
Focused discussions with key digital policy organisations
At SEEDIG, we believe that digital technologies have an important role to play in the sustainable economic and social development of South Eastern Europe and the neighbouring area (SEE+). In line with this belief, our vision is that of a healthy, sustainable and inclusive digital advancement of the SEE+ region. Our mission is to support such a digital advancement through facilitating multistakeholder dialogue and cooperation in addressing issues related to the use, evolution and governance of the Internet and other digital technologies across the region.
Highlights of our work include: five annual meetings; capacity development programmes; curation of monthly SEEsummary overviews of regional digital policy development; and region-wide surveys on relevant topics.
SEEDIG is a regional Internet Governance Forum (IGF) initiative, recognised as such by the UN-led IGF. At the core of our activities lies an open SEEDIG community, which includes stakeholders from all groups (academia, civil society, governments, intergovernmental organisations, the private sector, the technical community) and more than 20 countries in the SEE+ region and beyond.
