Fernanda K. Martins
Fundación Multitudes, Director of Strategy and Advocacy
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Fernanda Martins is an anthropologist and Director of Strategy and Advocacy at Fundación Multitudes, with over ten years of experience in research and advocacy at the intersection of human rights, digital governance, and social justice. She specializes in amplifying civil society voices in regional and global policy debates—including on gender-based digital violence—and in building bridges between research, advocacy, and public policy processes across the Global South. Her leadership will anchor the session in practical experience and strategic advocacy.
South–South Cooperation for AI Sovereignty
Artificial Intelligence infrastructures and governance remain disproportionately controlled by Global North actors, despite relying heavily on the Global Majority’s data, labor, and resources. This concentration of power deepens asymmetries and limits the Global South. This session proposes a critical discussion on how South–South cooperation can strengthen AI sovereignty through shared strategies on infrastructure and regulation, addressing broader socio-economic impacts.
Simultaneously, the session will examine the limits of AI sovereignty as a concept, questioning its ability to respond to data extractivism, environmental impact, and democratic accountability.
Grounded in the practical experience of organizations including Fundación Multitudes, Research ICT Africa, Derechos Digitales, and Tech Global Institute, the panel covers Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
Key topics include:
- Regional approaches to AI regulation and public-interest digital infrastructure.
- Data and AI justice frameworks linked to environmental and social rights.
- AI and Data Justice in Africa, focusing on the RIA Just AI Framework of Inquiry.
- Strategies for South–South collaboration in multilateral policy spaces.
Gender-Based Digital Violence: Regulatory Progress and Persistent Gaps in the Global South
While digital technologies create opportunities for empowerment and connection, they have also become conduits for gender-based violence, disproportionately targeting women and girls—particularly those from marginalized communities, including ethnic/racial minorities and LGBTIQA+ individuals.
In 2025, the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the Inter-American Model Law to Prevent, Punish, and Eradicate Gender-Based Digital Violence, marking a significant milestone in addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) in Latin America and the Caribbean. Similar regulatory conversations and legal frameworks are emerging across Africa and Asia, reflecting a growing recognition of the urgent need to combat digital gender violence.
This session will provide a comparative analysis of legislative and regulatory approaches to gender-based digital violence in the Global South, using the OAS Model Law as a foundational reference. Regional experts will examine existing legal frameworks, draft laws, and policy initiatives, addressing key questions:
What protections currently exist?
Where are the critical gaps in legislation and enforcement?
What tensions arise in implementation?
What cross-regional lessons can be shared to strengthen responses and foster solidarity across the Global South?
The discussion aims to highlight both advancements and challenges, fostering dialogue on effective, rights-respecting strategies to prevent and redress digital gender violence.
From Data to Action: Responding to Digital Authoritarianism's Threat to Civil Society
Across regions, civil society organisations are facing a rapidly shrinking digital civic space. Governments increasingly use digital tools such as spyware, surveillance, content takedowns, etc., to restrict freedoms of expression, association, and assembly. These measures are often justified under national security frameworks, yet lack adequate human rights safeguards and disproportionately affect marginalized groups, especially during elections or politically sensitive periods.
This panel will present comparative evidence from the EU SEE Programme, a global initiative working across 86 countries to protect civic space, together with partner organisations in Africa (Zambia), Latin America (Chile), and Asia/MENA (TBC) to show how digital repression is reshaping the operating environment for civil society.
The discussion will be structured around three guiding questions:
- What patterns of digital authoritarianism are emerging across regions, and how are they affecting civil society and human rights defenders?
- How are regulatory and policy frameworks such as the Global Digital Compact, and platform regulation responding to these trends?
- What advocacy priorities should civil society advance to ensure that digital governance protects fundamental rights and freedoms?
By addressing these questions, the panel aims to strengthen shared understanding across regions and support more coordinated, rights-based advocacy on the digital enabling environment for civil society.
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