Tirivashe Marinda: Digital Cooperation Must Be Safe and Accessible to All
The Global Digital Forum in Moscow is coming to a close. It brought together delegates from 120 countries interested in advancing international technology cooperation.
Over the three days of the forum, participants shared experiences, established new professional contacts and signed partnership agreements. Key topics included digital security and the ethical use of technology. Tirivashe Marinda of Zimbabwe, director of ICT and digital transformation at an organization dedicated to advancing information technology in Africa, spoke to the IT Russia media platform about the prospects for international cooperation.
– I represent an organization that works to advance information technology in Africa and engage with young people.
The forum was very useful and productive. My colleagues and I met interesting people, including IT industry leaders from different countries, and established valuable contacts. This matters to us because we aim to create an IT ecosystem where a network of partnerships can grow. Our goal is to build cooperation that allows us to exchange knowledge and move forward.
I believe countries today should build partnerships as part of the 2030 Agenda and with a view to the longer term. We also signed several agreements at the forum, including one with the Alliance for the Protection and Safety of Children Online [Alyans zashchity i bezopasnosti detey v Internete – ed.note]. Making technology safe is extremely important to us.
We need to create a safe digital environment and develop artificial intelligence that helps people. I believe the Global Digital Forum should continue. This is our second time participating. We also attended last year and gained a great deal of valuable experience. We can put what we have learned into practice in our own country.
I believe countries can agree on common principles for using the internet and digital spaces, including rules for ethical conduct. This requires research: different countries currently have different laws and regulations. We need to work together to explore how to develop a common code of conduct that will help keep users around the world safe.
