Side Event: Swedish Society for Nature Conservation
Green Action Week skillshare #1: how we reignite a Sharing Community

How to attend: Register your interest with the organiser by emailing Alexander Sjoberg - alexander.sjoberg@ssnc.se

Description: Over 50 civil society groups across Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America took part in Green Action Week last year. They campaigned for ‘Sharing Community’ - to reignite cultures of sharing and collaboration to make sure everyone has sustainable access to goods and services.

Green Action Week is hosting two side events on Monday: this first session will focus on how to develop campaign activities, and the second session will focus on communications.

Participants will be invited to explore how the current system creates unsustainable consumerism and help develop ideas for how to change that system at a local level. Participants already campaigning on ‘Sharing Community’ all over the world will be in the room for inspiration and advice. This session will also be an opportunity to learn more about the process to be involved in 2019’s activities and to practice planning activities.

Side Event: Co-hosted by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and British Standards Institute
Meeting the standards for online consumer protection

How to attend: Register your interest with the organiser by emailing copolco@iso.org

Description: What is the added value that standards bring to the consumer protection agenda that isn't already covered by advocacy, legislation, market surveillance, comparative testing and other tools?

What sets standards apart?

Find out how standards can help you achieve your policy objectives for protecting consumers in the digital space. This event will describe standards' role in consumer protection and provide updates on ISO's newly established technical committees on privacy by design and consumer vulnerability.

Find out about ISO's new projects that build on national and regional good practices and ramp them up to internationally accepted principles that will put the consumer at the centre for privacy needs in product design and inclusive service for consumers of all types of abilities.

Participants will also explore how standards for the online environment for electronic transactions and online reviews can build consumer confidence.

This highly interactive session will provide participants an opportunity to debate and raise issues to take forward through the ISO Committee on consumer policy.

Consumers are talking – ISO is listening.

Side event: DECO
Empower Future Digital Consumers – Consumer Education for Digital Literacy

How to attend: Register your interest with the organiser by emailing deco.sideevent@deco.pt

Description: Millennials are the digital natives: a generation living in the digital world since birth with a strong dependence on the use of the internet. They are a multitasking generation able to dominate multiple devices to search for any information they could need. Young people are thirsty to communicate, their socialisation and education takes place in a mediated context between peers, where older people participate less and therefore do not follow or guide. For the first time, the key media changes in society tend to be initiated by the younger generation.   

However, despite the opportunities, young people primarily use the internet to communicate with each other or for their own entertainment. In this sense, it is important to encourage young people to participate more actively in a safe internet environment.   

DECO promotes a consumer education programme in partnership with Google Portugal focusing on young consumer digital literacy. The programme aims to develop activities for young people to become informed and aware of the digital world; its advantages and risks.  

This side event presents the NETTALKS, an interactive and dynamic model for conferences for young students about digital subjects with the participation of YouTubers, comedians, fellow students and security forces to warn about the impact of cyberbullying.  

We encourage debate with experts, politicians and digital companies to discuss the importance and urgency to prepare young consumers for a better digital world. This side event has a purpose to share and demonstrate the DECO strategy to inform young consumers and motivate them to adopt safe behaviours on the internet, to promote digital skill among young consumers, share knowledge about young consumers use of internet in Europe, disseminate the national strategy to promote digital literacy as a good practice to be adopted and to motivate companies like Google to get involved in programmes of consumers digital literacy.  

Side event: Consumers International in collaboration with Vodafone
Trust by Design: putting new guidelines into action

How to attend: This event is by invitation only. You may request an invitation by registering your interest with the organiser by emailing Slavka Bielikova on sbielikova@consint.org 

Description: In February 2019, Consumers International launched a new set of principles and guidelines to help manufacturers create safe and trusted smart devices for consumers.  

The Trust by Design principles and accompanying guidelines set out requirements across six areas, to ensure the security, privacy, transparency, user-friendliness and ethical nature of smart devices. They provide useful, practical guidance to manufacturers, plus case studies and checklists. 

Designed in collaboration with Vodafone and consumer IoT manufacturers, Vodafone has already started to use the checklist with manufacturers of its V by Vodafone range of consumer IoT devices. This is the first of a series of workshops to support manufacturers who wish to be compliant in Trust by Design and demonstrate their commitment to creating a trusted, safe consumer IoT system. 

In this meeting, a select group of consumer organisations and consumer Internet of Things (IoT) manufacturers will come together to learn more about new Trust by Design principles, guidelines and checklists and how to apply them.   

Participants will learn about why trust is so important for consumers when using smart devices and find out how manufacturers can deliver trust in products and services. They will help to shape product-specific guidance for key consumer IoT products and features. 

Side Event: Consumers Federation of Australia
Why consumers need the price per unit of measure of packaged foods and other products

How to attend: Register your interest with the organiser by emailing Ian Jarratt - ijarratt@australiamail.com

Description: Our session will include the following topics: 

Uses 

• To compare the ‘value for money’ of package sizes, brands, packaged/non-packaged products, special/regular prices, etc.
  
  

Benefits 

• Better informed choice 
• Saving money and time 
• Countering business marketing strategies and practices such as downsizing package content, deceptive packaging, quantity surcharging, etc.
• Increased competition 
  
  

The event will also cover

• Best practice principles
• ISO Standard 21041:2018 Guidance on unit pricing
• Examples of consumer campaigns for effective unit pricing

Side event: Swedish Society for Nature Conservation
Green Action Week skillshare #2: how to persuade people with a story

How to attend: Register your interest with the organiser by emailing Alexander Sjoberg - alexander.sjoberg@ssnc.se

Description: Over 50 civil society groups across Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America took part in Green Action Week last year. They campaigned for ‘Sharing Community’ - to reignite cultures of sharing and collaboration to make sure everyone has sustainable access to goods and services.

This is the second side-event by Green Action Week on Monday, focusing on communications. This session will explore the importance of communications and stories for changing the system behind unsustainable consumerism. Participants will practice creating their own story, getting advice and using equipment with our communications coach through each step of the process.

Side event: Consumer Directorate General of PORTUGAL
The global hive

How to attend: This session is open to everyone who is interested. Register your interest with the organiser by emailing: colmeiaglobal@dg.consumidor.pt

The purpose of this side event is to share best practices and experiences among different realities from around the world, with the objective of building global cooperation.

The Consumer Directorate-General of Portugal takes the opportunity to invite Mexico, Morocco and South Korea to share best practices, challenges and concerns when it comes to consumer protection in the digital world.

• A representative from PROFECO, Mexico will explain what is being done in the digital communications sector to protect consumers
• South Korea will talk about the evolution of e-commerce and the instruments to protect consumers. The representative of Portugal will present the new guide that influencers have to comply regarding commercial communication online.
• Morocco will share the recent outcome of peer review that took place in the context of UNCTAD.
  
  

All the participants will have the opportunity to hear from the representative from UNCTAD and their view on the main challenges and good practices for consumer protection in the context of the digital economy. 

The Secretary of State of Consumer Protection of Portugal will close this side event.

14:30 | Welcome and panel - Consumer Directorate-General

16:30 | Open debate

16:55 | Closing remarks 

Side Event: The Internet Society
Consumer IoT Trustmark and Certifications – The Value of Security and Privacy Signals in Influencing Buying Decisions

This session is open to anyone interested: You may contact the organiser by emailing Steve Olshansky - olshansky@isoc.org

Description: There have been numerous IoT Trustmark (aka labelling) and certification programs emerging worldwide over the last few years, around the globe, and it seems that more are coming out all the time. Questions to be addressed:

• What is the difference between a Trustmark and certification, and how do they relate to each other?
• Are self-asserted (by manufacturers and related service providers) Trustmark valuable, or should the focus be on externally audited certification programs managed by known and trusted organizations?
• What can actually be assessed in IoT products and related services, and what cannot?
• What happens when products are updated – how much of a change is meaningful toward requiring a new assessment?
• Are these useful? How could they be made more so, and what does the future look like in this space?
• What do they mean for consumers, and are more education and awareness efforts important?
  
  

This panel, followed by an interactive session with attendees, will explore these issues in the context of the ever-evolving landscape of IoT-based threats to our security and privacy.

Side event: IKEA Foundation
Developing a scalable behaviour change model to enable low-income families to switch to clean and renewable energy use

How to attend: Register your interest with the organiser by emailing IThuraisingham@consint.org

Description: The main objective of the project is to develop a scalable model to enable low-income consumers to access safe and sustainable household products which would eventually ensure children are brought up in safe and healthy homes. This is to be achieved by identifying the consumption of unsafe and hazardous products through an effective communication strategy create awareness about their ill-effects which would make the targeted groups realize the need to switch to safe and non-hazardous, sustainable products. Designed as a pilot project, it works at the intersection of development and consumer rights, an area that has the potential to bring great benefit to low-income consumers everywhere. The first step of the project is to identify the target groups.

Consumers International has identified three low-income and underprivileged communities in urban slums and backward rural areas each across three states of India – namely, Tamil Nadu in the South, and Rajasthan and Gujarat in West as well as Yogyakarta in Indonesia and outskirts of Dhaka in Bangladesh. The baseline and other qualitative surveys conducted helped in better understanding of the needs, problems and consumption patterns and levels of knowledge on consumer education among the targeted low-income consumers in these communities. These studies also helped in identifying the hazardous and unsafe products (relating to clean air, water and energy) being used in the households, which provided opportunities for Consumers International to further explore and consider alternatives of safe and sustainable products.

In order to educate and sensitize the community on their rights and responsibilities as consumers at the market place, various IEC (Information, Education and Communication) and BCC (Behaviour Change Communication) materials such as puppetry, street play, quiz, board games targeting at different levels - individual, group and community – were developed and tested for mass dissemination through its local member organizations in all the targeted communities. Initial results indicate not only awareness levels have increased but that it has translated into actions. Come and see video clips and exhibits of the various materials developed for the project and members sharing best practices on how to change behaviour of low-income consumers. Share your experiences!

OPENING REMARKS:
How do we put consumers at the heart of digital innovation?

Consumers International’s new Director General will welcome the audience to the Summit with the key question to be explored over the two days - what could our world look like if consumers’ needs and wants were at the heart of digital innovation?

Plenary:
What will consumer choice look like in the future digital economy?

The opening panel will take a big picture view on the future of the digital economy for consumers, asking how new and emerging trends might impact on consumers. Speakers from industry and consumer groups across the globe will expand on the key question and ask how we put consumers at the heart of the digital economy?

Break

Morning Breakout 1:
Ctrl-Shift: Data Mobility Sandbox

New data portability rights are being established across the world– with the promise of unlocking the value of data for consumers.  But these can’t be made real without robust infrastructure for safe and secure sharing. Ctrl-shift are running a new project called a ‘data mobility sandbox’ to explore how to deliver positive outcomes for people through sharing consumer data within a trusted, secure, accountable data ecosystem.

This session will share the results of the project and demonstrate the positive consumer outcomes that can be achieved through data portability.

Plenary:
AI - accessibility and fairness

The World Health Organisation estimates more than 1 billion people in the world live with a condition that reduces their mobility or access to mainstream services. In this session, we will talk about how artificial intelligence is improving consumers’ lives and creating opportunities and fairer outcomes by offering greater access to on and offline services.  

The discussion that follows will build on these themes by asking what fairness and accessibility look like for everyone in an increasingly AI-driven world. 

Afternoon plenary:
Data reimagined

Valuable data about us and our purchases is gathered every moment of the day. How can our data be used better, for safe and sustainable products and services in the future?

Does the answer lie with the innovators who are driving new ideas forward? In this inspirational session, we will inspire you to reimagine how data could be used in our globally connected, digital world.

Break

Afternoon Breakout 1:
Coming of age in the digital playground

With connections all around them, how can we support and empower children in the age of ubiquitous technology?

Meet your Council candidates

An informal opportunity for full Consumers International members to meet Council candidates.

Regional Meeting
For Latin America and the Caribbean Consumers International members with the new Director General

Meet and greet for our members from Latin America and the Caribbean (Latin America and the Caribbean Consumers International members only)

An opportunity for Consumers International members from Latin America and the Caribbean to make regional connections and meet our new Director General.

Regional Meeting
For North America and Europe Consumers International members with the new Director General

Meet and greet for our members from North America and Europe (Consumers International members only)

An opportunity for Consumers International members from North America and Europe to make regional connections and meet our new Director General.

OPENING SESSION:
Connection and Protection in the consumer IoT

Smart-by-default devices are becoming mainstream but most still lack the most basic data security provisions. What does smart look like from a consumers point of view? How can we build protection into connection for a world that is truly smart?

Morning breakout 1:
Smart from the start

Consumer IoT products promise to transform the way we work, live and play but raise significant challenges for consumer privacy and security. Several countries and organizations have taken the lead in IoT security. At this session, The Internet Society will bring together leaders in IoT security to gain a shared understanding of the various guidelines available, common areas of overlap, and best practices for implementation. We will also explore how we can work collaboratively towards achieving our common goal: privacy and security by design.  

Informal discussion
What does Gen Z mean for the consumer movement?

Join an informal discussion over lunch with ISOC Youth Ambassadors to explore how the consumer movement is changing. By 2020, Gen Z consumers will be the largest consumer market. As demonstrated by the recent youth climate strikes, Gen Z expect inclusivity, dialogue and respect brands that take a stand on key global issues. As the first true generation of digital natives asserts themselves, we ask them what this means for how we articulate consumer protection in the digital age.

Afternoon Breakout 1:
Tech, trade and trust

Early this year a group of 72 countries started new trade discussions on cross border e-commerce. What issues should be on the agenda to help build consumer trust in this growing sector? 

Regional meeting
For Asia Pacific Consumers International members with the new Director General

Meet and greet for our members from Asia Pacific (Consumers International members only)

An opportunity for Consumers International members from Asia Pacific to make regional connections and meet our new Director General.

Regional meeting
For Africa Consumers International members with the new Director General

Meet and greet for our members from Africa (Consumers International members only)

An opportunity for Consumers International members from Africa to make regional connections and meet our new Director General.

Main Session:
Key challenges in consumer protection

The panel will discuss some new and challenging issues in consumer protection including peer to peer markets, cross border transactions and vulnerability and discuss the role of consumer law in protecting and empowering consumers.

Break:
Drop in sessions

Key session:
Funding the consumer organisations of the future

An opportunity to hear from members about new initiatives that not only help consumers but also provide vital new sources of income to support the consumer organisations of the future.

Key session:
Protecting and empowering vulnerable consumers

How can we protect the rights of all consumers, including the most vulnerable? This session will look at three different examples of vulnerable consumers to understand the challenges and the opportunities for making a difference.

Regional meeting
For Middle East Consumers International members with the new Director General

Meet and greet for our members from the Middle East (Consumers International members only)

An opportunity for Consumers International members from the Middle East to make regional connections and meet our new Director General.

Key session:
How can we create more effective systems for product safety?

Product safety has always been an important consumer issue but many challenges remain. The session will hear from speakers about market surveillance activities, campaigning for more effective national product safety systems and how we can better share information.