Doha: The Doha Political Declaration, issued at the ongoing Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, emphasized the role of digital transformation and education in contributing to social development.
According to Qatar News Agency, the declaration underscored the urgent need to bridge the widening digital and knowledge gaps both between and within countries, ensuring that the benefits of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, are harnessed while simultaneously addressing potential harms and risks associated with their use, and promoting social development for all.
In this regard, the declaration highlighted the importance of enhancing fair, safe, reliable, and affordable access to digital technologies, public digital goods, and public digital infrastructure in developing countries, leveraging scientific progress and its applications. It also stressed the necessity of utilizing emerging digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, to support inclusive social developm
ent by improving public service delivery and strengthening public digital infrastructure for social inclusion.
The declaration called for bridging digital divides both between and within countries by promoting international cooperation in line with national priorities, to build capacities aimed at achieving specific goals in science, technology, and innovation in developing countries. It emphasized countering the spread of misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and harmful content in a manner that safeguards democratic values while upholding the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy.
The declaration urged the prevention and mitigation of the harmful effects of emerging digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, on human rights, particularly for people living in vulnerable conditions. It reaffirmed the right to education, emphasizing that access to equitable, inclusive, and quality education for all constitutes the cornerstone of social development and social cohesion.
This includes strengthening quality education systems that cover everyone, comprehensive, fair, and affordable security, expanding access to technical and vocational education and training, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), physical education and sports, lifelong learning, financial literacy, and digital skills, and developing skills for all, alongside effective measures to ensure multicultural and multilingual education.
The Doha Political Declaration also called for addressing negative social norms in education systems and implementing comprehensive policies and programs to enhance girls’ participation in STEM fields, as well as promoting investment, cooperation, research, development, innovation, and training in emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, particularly by supporting developing countries, upon their request, in alignment with their priorities and contexts.