Session
Organizer 1: Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Organizer 2: Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Organizer 2: Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 1: Pranav Bhaskar Tiwari, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 2: Setu Bandh Upadhyay, Civil Society, Intergovernmental Organization
Speaker 3: Jenna Manhau Fung, Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 4: Abbasi Salma, Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 2: Setu Bandh Upadhyay, Civil Society, Intergovernmental Organization
Speaker 3: Jenna Manhau Fung, Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 4: Abbasi Salma, Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group
Format
Classroom
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: The chosen 60-minute session with a Classroom Layout is optimal for this workshop, as it ensures focused discussions and facilitates direct, meaningful interactions between speakers and participants both onsite and online. The structured layout allows participants to clearly engage with expert panelists and promotes effective Q&A exchanges, maximizing the potential for robust dialogue within the limited timeframe. Given the urgency and complexity of strengthening digital sustainability narratives, a concise yet substantive session ensures concentrated attention on critical insights and practical solutions. This setting also supports the seamless delivery of tangible outcomes, such as the co-creation of preliminary recommendations and frameworks, serving as a solid foundation for further discussions in regional IGFs and other international governance forums.
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: The chosen 60-minute session with a Classroom Layout is optimal for this workshop, as it ensures focused discussions and facilitates direct, meaningful interactions between speakers and participants both onsite and online. The structured layout allows participants to clearly engage with expert panelists and promotes effective Q&A exchanges, maximizing the potential for robust dialogue within the limited timeframe. Given the urgency and complexity of strengthening digital sustainability narratives, a concise yet substantive session ensures concentrated attention on critical insights and practical solutions. This setting also supports the seamless delivery of tangible outcomes, such as the co-creation of preliminary recommendations and frameworks, serving as a solid foundation for further discussions in regional IGFs and other international governance forums.
Policy Question(s)
A. How can multi-stakeholder collaboration effectively build trust and integrity in digital narratives around environmental sustainability, especially amidst growing polarization and fragmented discourse?;
B. What role should technology platforms, regulators, and civil society collectively play in fostering resilient and trustworthy digital ecosystems that positively shape public understanding of climate action?;
C. How can innovative digital governance practices effectively balance freedom of expression with the need to safeguard accurate and scientifically grounded communication on climate and environmental sustainability?
What will participants gain from attending this session? Participants will gain a nuanced understanding of how subtle gaps in digital sustainability communication, often unnoticed in daily information consumption, drive polarization, foster echo chambers, and hinder collective action on climate issues. Given that misinformation and fragmented digital narratives significantly impede progress toward global climate commitments, such as those outlined in the Paris Agreement, attendees will benefit from structured conversation with relevant stakeholders to reveal these blind spots. This practical, immersive approach equips participants with concrete skills for diagnosing and addressing information vulnerabilities, thus enabling more cohesive, credible, and impactful environmental discourse online.
SDGs
Description:
Rapid digitalization and the expansion of information infrastructures significantly influence global perceptions and actions on climate and environmental issues. This interactive workshop critically examines innovative approaches to reinforcing credible sustainability narratives within digital ecosystems. By engaging diverse stakeholders including policymakers, technologists, environmental advocates, academia, and civil society, the session explores methods to enhance information reliability, transparency, and accountability in environmental discourse online. Participants will discuss best practices in fostering responsible innovation through robust digital content governance, policy frameworks promoting transparency, and multi-sector collaborations to strengthen authentic sustainability messaging. It will also emphasize actionable strategies, such as leveraging credible data infrastructures, AI-driven authenticity checks, and collaborative governance models, to counteract misleading narratives on sustainability issues, especially in the global majority. Through interactive exercises and multi-perspective dialogues, attendees will collaboratively develop nuanced insights and practical recommendations to promote informed, trustworthy, and sustainable digital communication environments aligned with global climate action.
Rapid digitalization and the expansion of information infrastructures significantly influence global perceptions and actions on climate and environmental issues. This interactive workshop critically examines innovative approaches to reinforcing credible sustainability narratives within digital ecosystems. By engaging diverse stakeholders including policymakers, technologists, environmental advocates, academia, and civil society, the session explores methods to enhance information reliability, transparency, and accountability in environmental discourse online. Participants will discuss best practices in fostering responsible innovation through robust digital content governance, policy frameworks promoting transparency, and multi-sector collaborations to strengthen authentic sustainability messaging. It will also emphasize actionable strategies, such as leveraging credible data infrastructures, AI-driven authenticity checks, and collaborative governance models, to counteract misleading narratives on sustainability issues, especially in the global majority. Through interactive exercises and multi-perspective dialogues, attendees will collaboratively develop nuanced insights and practical recommendations to promote informed, trustworthy, and sustainable digital communication environments aligned with global climate action.
Expected Outcomes
Through cross-sector dialogue and critical engagement with diverse stakeholders, the workshop will initiate a broader discussion on the complexities surrounding digital communications on sustainability, serving as a catalyst for informed policy responses at regional and global levels. Additionally, the session will produce a concise policy brief highlighting key best practices, innovative approaches, and actionable recommendations. This policy brief will serve as a foundational resource for future multi-stakeholder engagements, potential follow-up sessions at subsequent IGFs, and targeted policy advocacy efforts. Ultimately, the main idea behind this session is to inspire ongoing collaborations, foster network-building among diverse stakeholders, and influence governance agendas dedicated to safeguarding digital integrity and accelerating meaningful progress toward global sustainability objectives. Addressing this issue will also help in coming up with strategies for balancing economic development and sustainable growth especially in developing countries which is frequently questioned due to proliferation of disinformation by malicious actors.
Hybrid Format: To foster meaningful interactions between onsite and online participants, the session will have both dedicated onsite and online moderators who will proactively engage with attendees, spotlighting their contributions by regularly feeding questions, comments, and live reactions. Visual tools such as interactive polling and real-time sentiment mapping using Mentimeter will enable instant collective reflection and participation, keeping both audiences equally invested in the dialogue.
Additionally, session facilitators will strategically utilize digital storytelling platforms (such as Padlet) to create a live, co-created idea map for the proposed policy brief which will be visible to all participants in real-time, enriching the experience and maintaining a strong sense of connection and collaboration. Technical rehearsals and briefings will ensure online speakers feel equally engaged and empowered, ensuring smooth integration. Collectively, these strategies will deliver an engaging, inclusive, and cohesive experience, transcending physical boundaries.