Some 25 of WACC’s grassroots partners in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East will explore the communication rights implications of the newly adopted United Nations Global Digital Compact and develop a joint plan of action for advocacy when they meet on 22–25 October in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The participants at WACC’s project partner forum “Communication Rights: Building Blocks for Social Justice in a Digital World” will focus on the link between digital justice and women’s rights, climate justice, the rights of migrants, and the rights of Indigenous peoples. WACC is organizing the event in partnership with AMARC-Asia Pacific.

Through the partner forum, WACC aims to further its contribution to the global conversation about digital justice sparked by the Global Digital Compact, says Lorenzo Vargas, WACC program manager for Communication for Social Change.

The nonbinding international agreement, adopted by the UN at the Summit of the Future last month, seeks to foster multilateral collaboration to help create a “an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe and secure digital future for all.” Its common principles aim to address concerns about the risks of digital technology to democracy and peace while positioning digital to boost sustainable development efforts all over the world.

The Compact covers topics like connectivity, digital public infrastructure, and information integrity that are essential to communication rights, Vargas stresses.

“With the upcoming WACC partner forum, we want to highlight once again the communication and information needs of the most vulnerable and call for a public interest approach to life in the digital era that prioritizes people’s rights over company profits.”

Vargas expects the forum to produce a joint plan of action to feed into the advocacy efforts of the many coalitions that WACC is part of, such as the Global Forum on Media Development and the Global Digital Justice Forum.

“This action plan will help guide WACC’s work in 2025, when our collective attention will be focused on advancing digital justice in the context of the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society,” he says.

Grassroots organizations expected to take part in the partner forum in Kathmandu include Cultural Survival, Communication Foundation for Asia (Philippines), Indigenous Rights Foundation (Nepal), Ideosync Media Combine (India), Asia Pacific Research Network, and Uganda Media Women’s Association.

Members of WACC partner Indigenous Community Radio Network in Nepal advocate for more inclusive media and information policies. Photo: WACC/ICRN