Rio de Janeiro, 20th of October, 2023. Today, Institute for Technology and Society (ITS) joined the Digital Public Goods Alliance as a new member. The DPGA is part of the response to the United Nation’s call to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. ITS’ membership in the DPGA aims to increase the capacity of digital public infrastructure locally, promote a report that maps the key DPI experiences already developed in Brazil, and host webinars for national and international audiences to present the findings in the report.

The DPGA is a multi-stakeholder initiative with a mission to accelerate the attainment of the sustainable development goals in low- and middle-income countries by facilitating the discovery, development, use of, and investment in digital public goods.

ITS proudly became part of this mission, as it seeks to develop its actions so that Brazil and the Global South respond creatively and appropriately to the opportunities provided by technology in the digital age, and that the potential benefits are broadly shared across society. To achieve this it is also essential to analyze the legal, social, economic and cultural dimensions of technology and advocate for public policies and private practices that protect privacy, freedom of expression and access to knowledge. ITS can play a critical role in helping to achieve the DPGA’s mission and advance the DPG ecosystem overall.

ITS’ work aligns with that of the DPGA in many ways. As part of the membership ITS will be developing some activities during 2023/2024, which will be included as part of the DPGA’s Annual Roadmap, including:

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in Brazil: Develop a report and webinar to share experiences, including which components are open-source in Brazil or could be opened. For foreign audiences, this is a report that maps the key DPI experiences already developed in Brazil. As part of this mapping the report will describe which of Brazil’s existing DPI components are already open-source and/or verified as DPGs.

Open a DPI course for Brazilian context: Promote a live and online free course for public servants and other relevant stakeholders about the concept of DPI and its applicability in the Brazilian context. The focus is on open-source solutions and alternatives to infrastructure, and resources available in Brazil for setting-up new initiatives.

For Fabro Steibel, Executive Director at ITS, “being a member of this initiative means that we have the opportunity to value ​​Brazil’s position globally and helps us to continue innovating and thinking about the future. A clear agenda is Brazil in the G20 and the promotion of open development through inclusive technologies.”

Founded 10 years ago, ITS is a Brazilian think tank and a non-profit independent organization that holds special consultative status at the UN and its team consists of professors and researchers from different academic institutions. ITS is also connected to a network of national and international partners and has, among its main activities, debates on privacy and personal data, human rights, internet governance, new media, e-commerce, social inclusion, digital education, culture, technology, and intellectual property, among others. The Institution is a multi-institutional hub, converging when it comes to its expert’s activities that may, given its distinct formation and academic connections, reflect on information technology, communications, and their impacts on society.

For any inquiries on ITS please send an email to: itsrio@itsrio.org. For more information on the DPGA please reach out to: hello@digitalpublicgoods.net.