UNESCO has developed the Internet Universality Indicators (IUIs) framework to assess national internet development environments. The IUIs are based on principles of Rights, Openness, Accessibility, and Multistakeholder participation. There are 303 indicators across 5 categories and 124 questions. The IUIs were endorsed by UNESCO's International Programme for the Development of Communication in 2018 to be used voluntarily by member states and stakeholders to conduct national internet assessments.

1. UNESCO’s Internet Universality Indicators (IUIs)
A Framework for Assessing Internet Development
Indicateurs de L’UNESCO sur l’Universalité d’Internet:
Cadre pour évaluer le développement de l’internet

3. • UNESCO Internet Universality
approach – adopted by
General Conference in 2015
• Established indicators for
assessing national
environments in e.g. media
development
UNESCO’s Mandate & Context

4. The ROAMX Framework of the Internet Universality Indicators
• The Internet should be based on human Rights (R), should be Open
(O), Accessible to all (A) and that it should be nurtured by
Multistakeholder participation (M)

5. 303 Internet Universality Indicators
124 questions
303 indicators
50 questions
109 indicators

7. A1 – A5
e.g. A.2. Is there a legal
framework which
recognises that the same
rights that people have
offline must also be
protected online?
The Structure of the Indicator Framework

8. UNESCO’s IPDC gives go ahead for Internet Universality Indicators
• On 21 November 2018, the 31st session IPDC
Council took the decision:
• To welcome the Internet Universality
Indicators, and
• To endorse the use of this tool on a
voluntary basis
• To encourage interested Member States and
stakeholders to support and conduct
national assessments of Internet
development

9. Category R: Rights
Examples of indicators for online media
pluralism
• Permission-less publishing online;
• freedom from fear of attack;
• Blocking & filtering;
• Proportionality issues, Net giants self-
regulation
• Laws on online hate speech,
radicalisation, fake news;
• Surveillance and source
confidentiality

10. Category O: Openness
Examples of indicators for online media
pluralism
• Online monopolies vs pluralism;
• Support for journalistic content
• ATI online

11. Category A: Accessibility to all
• Internet cut-offs, shut-downs,
neutrality, Broadband affordability
• Local content, languages and scripts
online; support options?
• Media and Information Literacy =
competencies that include
appreciation of free expression and
journalistic professional standards
.

12. Category M: Multistakeholder participation
• Journalists, media houses, press
freedom NGOs engagement
• Big governance issues such as self-
regulation v regulation

13. Thank you! | Merci !
• General enquiries on the implementation of
the Internet Universality Indicators in
assessments in interested countries can be
sent to UNESCO’s focal points, Xianhong Hu
(x.hu@unesco.org) and Josselyn Guillarmou
(j.Guillarmou@unesco.org)
• The full version of the Internet Universality
Indicators is available here:
https://en.unesco.org/internetuniversality
• To stay updated on the future implementation
process of the Internet Universality Indicators,
stakeholders can sign up to the Internet
Universality Community:
https://en.unesco.org/feedback/join-our-
internet-universality-community
• Les demandes de renseignements générales
sur la mise en oeuvre des Indicateurs de
l’Universalité de l’Internet peuvent être
adressées aux points focaux de l’UNESCO,
Xianhong Hu (x.hu@unesco.org) et Josselyn
Guillarmou (j.Guillarmou@unesco.org)
• La version complète des Indicateurs de
l’Universalité de l’Internet peut être
téléchargée à l’adresse suivante:
https://en.unesco.org/internetuniversality
• Pour être au courant du processus de mise en
œuvre des Indicateurs de l’Universalité de
l’Internet, les parties prenantes peuvent
s’inscrire à l’Internet Universality Community:
https://en.unesco.org/feedback/join-our-
internet-universality-community