• Date: May 3, 2023
  • Time: 1:00 PM -6:00 PM
  • Venue: Basera Boutique Hotel, Babarmahal, Kathmandu
  • Organizer: Digital Freedom Coalition | Nepal Bar Association
  • Host: Internet Governance Institute

Facilitation and regulations through required policies, laws and regulations to foster a healthy and productive ICT marketplace are major priorities and concerns of the modern state. In order to regulate and facilitate the issues and concerns of the new Media and ICT landscape the Government of Nepal has been working on new legal reform on various ICT and Media related laws. This includes, Telecommunications Bill, Information Technology Bill, Mass Communication Bill, Media Council Bill and others. 

There are significant concerns of the stakeholders on various issues. Those concerns and issues of the public and stakeholders can be heard and respected through rigorous consultations and discussions on proposed or drafted laws.  However, there are very few stakeholder engagements on the pros and cons of the newly proposed provisions. Many inconsistencies are there in the law and policies that hinder freedom of expression, free market and business as well as use of the ICT in Nepal. We believe that consultations, discussion and stakeholder engagement in the law reform process will be instrumental to build on clarity, consistency and ownership. 

Recently, Nepal has witnessed significant development of services and infrastructure in the ICT sector. However, quality of service remains a big question. Bringing every stakeholder together in one issue and seeking common ground to foster understanding for the development of ICT sector Nepal celebrates May 2 as National ICT Day. Similarly, 3rd May is celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day and Nepal is also doing various events on this day. Likewise, to celebrate the success and discuss the priorities of ICT and Media sector and legal reform, Digital Freedom Coalition and Nepal Bar Association are holding a symposium on ICT and Media Laws in Nepal on the occasion of National ICT Day, 2023 and World Press Freedom Day, 2023.

The overall goal of the symposium is to provide the Nepal government with support to reform the legal provisions of the ICT and Media sector in these modern days by drawing public concerns and issues to be addressed in the upcoming laws and policies. To meet the proposed goal symposium aims to; 

  1. Bring various stakeholders in one forum to search for common ground on law reform process, 
  2. Celebrate World Press Freedom Day and National ICT Day, and 
  3. Discuss various newly proposed laws on ICT and Media in Nepal to draw stakeholder’s concerns in these laws.

Guests & Speakers

Chief Guest

Chief Guest

Hon. Purna Bahadur Khadka

Deputy Prime Minister,
Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs,

Opening Chair

Senior Advocate Gopal Krishna Ghimire

President,
Nepal Bar Association

Moderator

Er. Ananda Raj Khanal

Former Senior Director,
Nepal Telecommunication Authority

Panelists

Hon. Ramesh Lekhak

Member of Parliament,
Chief-Whip, Nepali Congress

Hon. Gokul Prasad Banskota

Member of Parliament,
CPN (UML)

Hon. Sumana Shrestha

Member of Parliament,
Rastriya Swotantra Party

Mr. Ganesh Shah

Former Minister and Secretary,
CPN (Unified Maoist)

Moderator

Dr. Amrita Sharma

Researcher,
IIDS

Panelists

Mr. Abhishek Malhotra

Managing Partner,
TMT Law Practice

Ms. Ayesha Hashem

Policy Head for Nepal,
Meta

Mr. Kishor Panth

Chair,
NPIX

Mr. Umesh Ragubanshi

CEO,
InfoDevelopers

Moderator

Mr. Narayan Kafle

Past President,
Society of Parliamentary Affairs Journalists

Panelists

Hon. Santosh Pariyar

Chief Whip,
Rastriya Swatantra Party

Hon. Mahesh Bartaula

Whip,
CPN (UML)

Mr. Tanka Raj Aryal

President,
Digital Rights Nepal

Ms. Nitu Pandit

Chair

Chief Guest

Special Guest

Special Guest

Advocate Babu Ram Aryal

Chair,
Digital Freedom Coalition

Mr. Purusottam Khanal

Chairman,
Nepal Telecommunication Authority

Mr. Bipul Pokharel

President,
Federation of Nepali Journalists

Advocate. Anjita Khanal

Secretary General,
Nepal Bar Association

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Who We Are

Digital Freedom Coalition is a consortium of organizations working in the area of digital freedom, cybersecurity, digital resilience and Internet governance in Nepal. Coalition works closely together to coordinate their efforts on ensuring privacy online, meaningful access to technology, cybersecurity, Internet governance, freedom of expression online and a resilient digital ecosystem in Nepal.

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