CSISAC to Lead the Work on Digitalisation in the G20 Civil Society Process (C20)

February 9, 2017

At the joint G20-OECD meeting, the Secretariats of the Civil Society Council of the OECD (CSISAC) and the civil society facilitator of the G20 German Presidency (C20) took the opportunity to share perspectives about possible approaches for collaboration. Both Secretariats agreed on the importance of consolidating the C20, and on the interest of  incorporating digitalisation as a cross-cutting issue in the future work of the C20.

At the meeting it was acknowledged the recognition of the CSISAC and the C20 as the main channels for civil society participation at the OECD work on digitalisation, and in the G20, respectively. In addition, the joint G20-OECD meeting was useful to make visible the role of the OECD work on digitalisation as the main reference for the G20.

A proposal emerged to have the CSISAC supporting the C20 as the main channel for civil society participation at the G20, and to have the C20 supporting the leadership of the CSISAC to facilitate the civil society dialogue on digitalisation. With this purpose, the CSISAC is planning:

• To continue providing the main channel for civil society participation at the OECD work on digitalisation. The focus will be set on the Committee for the Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) and its Horizontal Project on Digitalisation, as this is expected to be the main source of policy references to feed the G20 process.
• To engage in the C20 process, facilitating the engagement of the CSISAC membership in the C20 Working Groups, taking part in the C20 organized meetings, and organizing a G20 task force on digitalisation. The purpose will be to have a civil society perspective on digitalisation reflected in the G20 outcomes.

The CSISAC invites non-governmental organizations, scholars and activists with expertise on digitalisation to get involved. You can visit our website to learn about the CSISAC and the OECD, and express your interest to engage sending a mail to liaison (at) csisac.org.

Background on the OECD-G20 Process

At the 73rd session of the CDEP, the CSISAC was invited to take part in the dialogue between the OECD and the G20 on digitalisation.  This dialogue consists in a joint policy-making effort that takes as the main references the G20 Hangzhou agenda on digitalisation, and the OECD project in the same topic. The CSISAC is engaging in this dialogue as a way to consolidate and foster the Civil Society Principles by having them consistently incorporated in the agendas and in the policy recommendations of the OECD and the G20.

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