The UPF Barcelona School of Management (UPF-BSM) has partnered with UNESCO to lead a new project aimed at improving the governance of digital platforms across Central America and the Caribbean. Funded by the European Union, the initiative is part of UNESCO’s global Internet for Trust program and its I4T Global Knowledge Network. The project’s goal is to enhance the capabilities of regulators in these regions to apply the UNESCO Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms, promoting a digital environment that is safe, transparent, and respectful of freedom of expression and human rights.
This effort falls under UNESCO’s EU-backed initiative titled “Safeguarding Freedom of Expression and Access to Information through the implementation of the UNESCO Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms.” Led by Professor Rodrigo Cetina Presuel, Associate Dean and senior Lecturer at UPF-BSM, the project initially focuses on Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, with plans to expand to Honduras and El Salvador. Professor Cetina Presuel emphasizes that the digital realm offers vast opportunities but also poses significant threats to democracy and fundamental rights. The project seeks to equip regulators, legislators, electoral authorities, and civil society with tools to combat disinformation, electoral interference, and online harms, while protecting human rights.
The initiative brings together a broad consortium of global and regional partners, including the I4T Global Knowledge Network, Complutense University of Madrid’s Observatorio de la Desinformación, the Global Network on Electoral Justice, and key regional institutions such as Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México’s LIDIA, Universidad Católica de Santo Domingo, Instituto de Estudios Democráticos in Panama, and Instituto de Formación y Estudios en Democracia in Costa Rica. Through UNESCO’s support, these partners will collaborate closely with local stakeholders to design and implement governance strategies tailored to regional needs.
UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Tawfik Jelassi, highlighted the importance of this project in safeguarding freedom of expression, ensuring access to information, and building trust online. He stated that strengthening digital platform governance is crucial to ensuring the Internet serves the public interest based on transparency, accountability, and human rights, reflecting UNESCO’s commitment to working alongside regional actors.
