Leading digital nations put digital rights at the heart of their agenda

World digital government leaders meeting in Wellington for the Digital Ministerial Summit this week have set up a digital rights working group, with New Zealand to lead the work.

Government Digital Services Minister Clare Curran says the group wants to create a digital environment that is consistent with human rights and protections.

“Changes and shifts in how we operate in the digital environment are creating opportunities, risks and challenges for people online, with significant impacts on societies and economies across the world,”  says Curran, in a statement.

“New Zealand will lead the work and, together with the other members of the digital nations group, work together to create a multi-national framework for digital rights.

“I’ll work across my portfolios and with a number of my other colleagues to develop a fully citizen-centric approach.”

“At the heart of all the work we do are our people and they must feel protected online,” says Curran.

“I look forward to getting into the work we need to do to make sure all our citizens are thriving in a digital world.”  

She welcomes her counterparts in the ongoing  Digital 5 (D5),  the 4th annual gathering of the world's most advanced digital nations.

D5 is composed of New Zealand, Estonia, Israel, South Korea and the UK.

This week, the group welcomed new members Canada and Uruguay - taking it from the D5 to the D7.

“Expanding the D5 membership ensures we remain a resilient, relevant and strong forum for practical collaboration and sharing insights and best practice which will help us achieve our ambitions in our own countries and collectively build a stronger digital world.

"By signing the D7 charter, Canada and Uruguay join the world’s most digitally-advanced governments in a common mission to harness digital technology to improve the lives of our citizens. "

The D5 nations have met every year since 2014 with this year the first time New Zealand has been host. Israel now takes over from New Zealand as the Chair of the new D7 group.

Check out our State of the CIO report on the challenges and concerns of CIOs today. Sign up for CIO newsletters for regular updates on CIO news, career tips, views and events. Follow CIO New Zealand on Twitter:@cio_nz Join us on Facebook.