Internet Governance Forum

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multi-stakeholder forum for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance^[1]. The establishment of the IGF was formally announced by the United Nations Secretary-General in July 2006 and it was first convened in October / November 2006.

Contents 1 Structure and Function 1.1 Multistakeholder Advisory Group - MAG 1.2 Secretariat 2 History and Development of the Internet Governance Forum 2.1 WSIS Follow Ups 2.2 Formation of the IGF 2.3 Consultations 3 Mandate and Outcome 4 Activities at the IGF 4.1 Dynamic Coalitions 4.2 Workshops 5 I IGF Athens 2006 6 II IGF Rio 2007 6.1 Main sessions 6.1.1 Opening Ceremony/Opening Session 6.1.2 Critical Internet Resources 6.1.3 Access 6.1.4 Diversity 6.1.5 Openness 6.1.6 Security Issues 6.1.7 Taking Stock and the Way Forward 6.1.8 Emerging Issues 6.1.9 Closing Session 7 Future IGF Meetings 8 References 9 External links

Structure and Function

The formation of the Internet Governance Forum was first recommended in the report of the Working Group on Internet Governance following a series of open consultations. This report was one of the inputs to the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis in 2005, which formally called for the creation of the IGF and set out its mandate.^[2]

Following an open consultation meeting called in February 2006, the UN Secretary-General established an Advisory Group, the MAG, and a Secretariat as the main institutional bodies of the IGF.

These organizational divisions should not be considered concrete since the organizational structures will continue to be adjusted and to be changed until they fit into the needs of the members.

Multistakeholder Advisory Group - MAG

The Advisory Group, now referred to as the MAG (Multistakeholder Advisory Group), was set up by the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan on May 17, 2006^[3]. The MAG was originally made up of 46 Members from international governments, the commercial private sector and public civil society, including academic and technical communities, and was chaired by Nitin Desai- the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for the World Summit on the Information Society. All stakeholders participate as equals. The purpose for which the MAG was set up was to assist the Secretary General in convening the Internet Governance Forum. On August 20, 2007, the mandate of the MAG was renewed^[4] with a new structure of 47 members, and a Co-Chairmanship by Nitin Desai^[5], and Brazilian diplomat Hadil da Rocha Vianna^[5].The mandate of the MAG was further extended in April 30, 2008^[6] with a renewed one third of its members within each stakeholder group and Nitin Desai serving as the sole Chairman^[5]. The MAG meet three times each year - in February, May and September. All three meetings take place in Geneva at the Palais des Nations and they are preceded by open consultations meeting.

The details on MAG's operating principles and selection criteria are contained in the summary report of its February meeting available at this link. [1]^[7]

On August 22, 2008, the United Nations Office in Geneva renewed the membership of MAG to prepare for the Internet Governance Forum Meeting in Hyderabad, India. There were a total of 50 members, among them 17 new appointed members, which represents 1/3 of its membership. Nitin Desai continues to be the Chairman for the Advisory Group. (Source: UN Department of Public Information, United Nations Office in Genev. Accessed online at:[2]^[8]

Secretariat

The Secretariat, based in the United Nations Office in Geneva, assists and coordinates the work of the MAG, Multistakeholder Advisory Group. The Secretariat is headed by Markus Kummer with the designation of Executive Coordinator and Chengetai Masango is Programme and Technology Manager. The Secretariat also hosts fellowships.^[9]. Markus Kummer has also been involved with the WGIG as its Executive Coordinator of the Secretariat^[10].

History and Development of the Internet Governance Forum

WSIS Follow Ups

The IGF is considered an important development of the World Summit on Information Technology (WSIS). This important outcome was reaffirmed by paragraphs 37 and 38 of the Tunis 2005 Commitment. Paragraph 37 states that “…goals can be accomplished through the involvement, cooperation and partnership of governments and other stakeholders, i.e. the private sector, civil society and international organizations, and that international cooperation and solidarity at all levels are indispensable if the fruits of the Information Society are to benefit all.”^[11] Corollary to this commitment, paragraph 38 states, too, that all efforts from here on “should not stop with the conclusion of the Summit…emergence of the global Information Society to which we all contribute provides increasing opportunities for all our peoples and for an inclusive global community…we must harness these opportunities today and support their further development and progress.”^[12]

The Tunis Summit of 2005 made significant headway when the mandate of the IGF was formulated. In paragraph 72 of the Tunis Agenda, the UN Secretary-General was asked to convene a meeting with regards to the new multi-stakeholder forum, otherwise known as the IGF. In this mandate, different stakeholders are encouraged to strengthen engagement, particularly those from developing countries. In paragraph 72(h), the mandate focused on capacity-building for developing countries and the drawing out of local resources.^[13] This particular effort, for instance, has been reinforced through Diplo Foundation’s Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme (IGCBP) that allowed participants from different regions to benefit from valuable resources with the help of regional experts in IG. ^[14]

The involvement of different stakeholders in the policy framework of the IGF is a re-affirmation of commitment as per paragraph 39 of the Tunis Commitment. In this particular context, there is a deep resolve to “…develop and implement an effective and sustainable response to the challenges and opportunities of building a truly global Information Society that benefits all our peoples.” ^[11] During the OECD Civil Society-Organized Labour Forum held last June 16, 2008, in Seoul, Korea, Ambassador David A. Gross of the US Department of State talked about the transformation of the Internet in the social lives of people. He believed that this transformation made an impact in the free flow of information that politically drives challenges. Ambassador Gross commented on the 2005 WSIS because of the powerful language used on paragraph 4 of the Tunis agenda that reiterated on openness. ^[15]

Formation of the IGF

A multi-stakeholder’s approach was reiterated in the coordination of international activities for the IGF. This adaptation was set from paragraphs 29 to 35 of the Tunis agenda. These stakeholders were defined as coming from governments, the private technical and economic sector, civil society, intergovernmental organizations, and international organizations. In paragraph 32, the UN Secretary-General was commended for his efforts in establishing the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG).

The suggested need of an organization like the IGF was first pointed out in the WGIG Report. After reaching a clear consensus among its members the WGIG proposed in paragraph 40 of the Report that :

"(t)he WGIG identified a vacuum within the context of existing structures, since there is no global multi-stakeholder forum to address Internet-related public policy issues. It came to the conclusion that there would be merit in creating such a space for dialogue among all stakeholders. This space could address these issues, as well as emerging issues, that are cross-cutting and multidimensional and that either affect more than one institution, are not dealt with by any institution or are not addressed in a coordinated manner”.

The IGF was one of four proposals made in the report.

The idea of the Forum was also proposed by Argentina, as stated in its proposal ^[16] made during the last Prepcom 3 in Tunis:

"(t)In order to strengthen the global multistakeholder interaction and cooperation on public policy issues and developmental aspects relating to Internet governance we propose a forum. This forum should not replace existing mechanisms or institutions but should build on the existing structures on Internet governance, should contribute to the sustainability, stability and robustness of the Internet by addressing appropriately public policy issues that are not otherwise being adequately addressed excluding any involvement in the day to day operation of the Internet. It should be constituted as a neutral, non-duplicative and non-binding process to facilitate the exchange of information and best practices and to identify issues and make known its findings, to enhance awareness and build consensus and engagement. Recognizing the rapid development of technology and institutions, we propose that the forum mechanism periodically be reviewed to determine the need for its continuation.”

The convening of the IGF was announced on 18 July 2006, with the inaugural meeting of the Forum being held in Athens, Greece from 30 October to 2 November 2006.

Consultations

There were two rounds of consultations with regards to the convening of the first IGF:

[1] 16 – 17 of February 2006 – The first round of consultations was held in Geneva. The transcripts of the two-day consultations are available in the IGF site. ^{[17] [18]}

[2] 19 May 2006 – The second round of consultations was open to all stakeholders and was coordinated for the preparations of the inaugural IGF meeting. The meeting chairman was Nitin Desai who is the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Adviser for Internet Governance. ^[19]

The Second Meeting of the IGF

Consultations held in Geneva last May 23, 2007 were open to all stakeholders. This consultation was part of a cluster of related events of the WSIS that took place last 15-25 of May 2007. ^[20] An advisory group was also facilitated for the IGF meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The IGF open Consultations held last 3 September 2007 was held in Geneva. ^[21]

For further information, a summary of the IGF consultations and meetings can be found below:

Date	Event
16 - 18 November 2005	Second Phase of the WSIS in Tunis
16 – 17 February 2006	First Round of Consultations
2 March 2006	Establishment of the IGF Secretariat
19 May 2006	Second Round of Consultations
22 – 23 May 2006	Establishment and First Meeting of the IGF Advisory Group
18 July 2006	Convening of the IGF
7 – 8 September 2006	Second Meeting of the IGF Advisory Group
30 October – 2 November 2006	Inaugural Meeting of the IGF in Athens
12 - 15 November 2007	Second Meeting of the IGF in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
13 May 2008	Open Consultations
14-15 May 2008	Meeting of the IGF Multistakeholder Advisory Group(MAG)

The third IGF meeting will be held in Hyderabad, India from 3-6 December 2008.

The government of Egypt offered to host the 2009 IGF meeting, while the governments of Lithuania and Azerbaijan made a bid for the 2010 meeting.

Mandate and Outcome

The mandate of the IGF is principally that of a discussion forum for facilitating dialogue between the participants. The IGF may "identify emerging issues, bring them to the attention of the relevant bodies and the general public, and, where appropriate, make recommendations," but does not have any direct decision-making authority^[22].

Activities at the IGF

The following are the activities that take place during the IGF: Workshops, Best Practice Forums, Open Forums and meetings of the Dynamic Coalitions.

The main themes of IGF are: openness, security, diversity and access. A new theme was introduced in IGF Brazil: critical Internet resources being one of the most debatable topics in the IG field at the moment.

Dynamic Coalitions

The most tangible result of the first IGF in Athens is the establishment of a number of so-called Dynamic Coalitions^[23]. These coalitions are relatively informal, issue-specific groups consisting of stakeholders that are interested in the particular issue.

Most coalitions allow participation of anyone interested in contributing. Thus, these groups gather not only academics and representatives of governments, but also members of the civil society interested in participating on the debates and engaged in the coalition's works.

So far, the following Dynamic Coalitions were brought to the attention of the IGF Secretariat:

• The StopSpamAlliance [3]
• Dynamic Coalition on Privacy [4]
• The IGF Dynamic Coalition on Open Standards (IGF DCOS) [5]
• The Dynamic Coalition on Access and Connectivity for Remote, Rural and Dispersed Communities [6]
• Dynamic Coalition on the Internet Bill of Rights [7]
• Dynamic Coalition for Linguistic Diversity [8]
• A2K@IGF Dynamic Coalition [9]
• Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media on the Internet (FOEonline) [10]
• Online Collaboration Dynamic Coalition [11]
• Gender and Internet Governance (GIG)
• Framework of Principles for the Internet
• Dynamic Coalition on Child Online Safety
• Dynamic Coalition on "Accessibility and Disability" [12]
• Dynamic Coalition for Online Education

Workshops

In 2007, IGF hosted a number of workshops [13] which attracted great interest with the public. In particular, the theme of child protection was one of the topics that increased the engagement of the participants in the events.

For 2008 the IGF page stipulates that workshops[14] can be proposed on the draft main session headings:

  * Universalization of the Internet - How to reach the next billion (Expanding the Internet)
  * Low cost sustainable access
  * Multilingualization
  * Implications for development policy
  * Managing the Internet (Using the Internet)
  * Critical Internet resources
  * Arrangements for Internet governance
  * Global cooperation for Internet security and stability
  * Taking stock and the way forward
  * Emerging issues

The following workshops have been proposed as of 15 May 2008, according to the Workshop page[15]. These proposals will be reviewed and an attempt will be made to merge propositions into a manageable number of workshops.

Number Proposed	Workshop Theme
15	Access
9	Diversity
15	Openness
21	Security
13	Critical Internet Resources
9	Development
6	Capacity Building
17	Other

A revision of the Process and Programme of the Hyderabad meeting is available at http://www.intgovforum.org.

I IGF Athens 2006

The host webpage brings interesting information about the evolution of the first IGF.^[24]

II IGF Rio 2007

There were 84 events happening in parallel to the main sessions, organized under the 5 main themes: (i) critical internet resources; (ii) access; (iii) diversity; (iv) openness and (v) security. There were 36 workshops, 23 best practices forums, 11 dynamic coalitions meetings, 8 open forums and 6 events covering other issues (like the Giganet Symposium^[25]) ^[26]

The host webpage keeps video and audio records from main sessions and some parallel events such as workshops, best practices and open forums, as well as the tool for translation into Arabic.^[27]

Regarding the participation by region, around 35% of the attendees came from the Latin America and Caribbean of which 29% were from the host country (Brazil).

There are also some interesting statistics such as^[28]:

Region	Participation
Latin America and Caribbean	35%
Western Europe	20%
North America	13%
Asia	13%
Africa	10%
Eastern Europe	7%
Oceania	2%

Main sessions

The main sessions were developed according to the five themes chosen for this year: Critical Internet Resources, Access, Diversity, Openness and Security.

Please see below the summary of the main sessions:

Opening Ceremony/Opening Session

The multistakeholder approach was highlighted by many speakers and panelists during the Opening Session, including the message from the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, which was read by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, M. Sha Zukang.

M. Ban Ki-Moon assured that it is not a UN goal to take over Internet Governance but the UN will offer an opportunity to bring people together, with the same interest, in a global reach. ^[29]

M. Sha Zukang concludes that the IGF was a unique experience because “it brings together people who normally do not meet under the same roof.” ^[30]

"Development" was a key discussion during the IGF Rio Meeting. It will still be an important aspect for discussion, together with the issue of bridging the digital divide - a key element of discussion for the IGF Hyderabad and reflects the theme of the IGF Hyderabad which is "Internet for All."

The nature and prospective of the IGF were also discussed, as the Chairman properly summarizes^[26]:

“Several participants underlined that the IGF was not only a space for dialogue, but also a medium that should encourage fundamental change at the local level to empower communities, build capacity and skills enable the Internet`s expansion, thereby contributing to economic and social development."

Critical Internet Resources

This is a new session that was introduced during the IGF Rio Meeting. Basically, it covered some issues pertaining to the infrastructure of the Internet. ICANN discussions were not missed, as well as the role of governments in shaping policies.

Access

The issue of “access” is more on how to get the billion of users around the world to go online in the next years to come. Such initiatives to this cause are reminiscent of pilot projects in Africa wherein laptops were given to children under an open source software agreement.

Diversity

The issue of “diversity” calls for multilingualism in the Net. Such promotion on multilingualism would increase users whose main language is not English. In order to open the Net to a diverse population, international domain names (IDN) were added to facilitate the language needs of other users.

Openness

The strong support on closed software has not been favorable to some people. This is due to the fact that there were long-lasting agreements between governments and large software companies. Such actions were considered critical, as it binds different entities to proprietary or closed source technologies. Many believed that the shift from closed to open software can only happen with the full-scale participation of both the private and public sectors. As such, many people fear the turning of the Internet into a “private” network if there is much insistence on the use of closed technologies.

Talks on open standards, open architecture and open software are clear indicators of what the issue on openness is all about.

Read this literature entitled "Free Culture" by Lawrence Lessig to know more on "Openness on the Internet."

Security Issues

The question of Internet Security is one of the most important debate in the Information Society. Internet is becoming an important communication and business tool, as such, that the question of security comes as a cross-cutting issue to be addressed in all its dimension. As indicated by Michael Harrop, Rapporteur SG 17 Q4, Communications Security Project in 2006, "without effective security, all systems and processes that rely on electronic communications are at risk and, as a consequence, large numbers of resources are now devoted to countering threats, protecting systems and recovering from successful attacks." The Rio de Janeiro Meeting mentioned that "...achieving the Internet’s full potential to support commercial and social relationships required an environment that promoted and ensured users' trust and confidence and provided a stable and secure platform."

Cyber-security, in this case, focused heavily on child protection, particularly on child pornography. Participants gathered were called to seek ways to harmonize legislative agendas to counter-act such crimes. This was a call of legislation between countries that can work together in order to enforce laws that would protect children. As such that some laws are not applicable online, this call also promoted formulation of legislation that would be applicable in the online or virtual world.

Internet Security has been mentioned in the Substantive Agenda of the Rio de Janeiro Meeting. It was also present in the Agenda of the Athens Meeting. Even before the Athens Meeting, Internet Security was mentioned at the Tunis WSIS under "Building Confidence and Security in the Use of ICT's." At the coming Hyderabad Meeting in December 2008, two panels will again discuss questions related to Internet Security. This gives an idea on how important the question has been in each of the IGF meetings so far.

Internet Security issues can be folded under the following:

- secure telecommunication which deals most with the security of telecommunication infrastructure
- cyber-security as Internet users deal with it in their daily operations and use of the Internet
- identity theft
- children pornography
- hacking and other virus and cyber threats (scams, spams, etc.)
- cyber-terrorism

Internet Security on the Athens Agenda

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is at the forefront of contributors to the field of Telecommunication Security. At the Athens meeting, ITU mentioned the major contributions made in this domain by International organizations. ITU took the necessary steps to set up a number of initiatives that were presented at the Athens meeting. It presented a telecommunication security guideline and set up the road map towards Internet Security. The question of security of telecommunication was somehow dominant at the Athens meeting.

ITU mentioned the difficulty of experts in the field. One of the difficulties mentioned was related to the question of standardisation - as many international organizations were developing domain initiatives at the same time.

As a follow-up activity of the WSIS Conference, a number of ITU study groups have been assigned tasks related to Internet Security. At the Athens Meeting, findings of these study groups were presented to address diverse Internet security questions such as:

- Telecommunication management
- Protection against electromagnetic environment effects
- Outside Plant and related indoor installations
- Security, languages and telecommunication software
- Mobile Telecommunications Networks

Internet Security on the Rio de Janeiro Agenda

At the Rio de Janeiro meeting, a whole session was dedicated to the question of Internet security, emphasizing the importance of this question nowadays, as well as the threats, that users are facing more and more in their daily operations over the Internet. Internet Security questions put on the agenda at Rio were related to:

- cybercrime
- cyber-terrorism
- protection of individuals and automatic processing of personal data
- action against trafficking in human beings
- protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse

The Rio de Janeiro meeting called for international cooperation and coordinated action to counter cybercrime because of its trans-national dimension. Recommendations were forwarded towards the direction of responsibility of governments in order to raise awareness among Internet users and in the direction of ICANN because of the responsibility it has for the Domain Name System. It is required of ICANN since it accepts responsibility for controlling illegal online content for the protection of children from Internet pornography.

Internet Security on the Hyderabad Agenda

Taking Stock and the Way Forward

Emerging Issues

This session aims to identify key issues in Internet Governance that should be addressed in the Forum. The first obstacle was to filter some themes, as there is a variety of interests to be held in such a generic target. There were four themes proposed:

(i) demand and supply side initiatives (by Robert Pepper). He brought into debate the economic concept of demand and supply applied to Internet Governance. On the demand side, there were interesting proposals, such as the need for educating trough capacity-building Internet users, the ability of people controlling their web ID (part of educating the usage in Internet), local content in local languages (enforcing local community) and improving public policies (but not over regulating, such as prohibiting or limiting access to VoIP, which can suppress the demand). On the supply side, there were the common concern of extending Internet users/access, but also considering “the opportunities created by the release of spectrum through the switch to digital broadcasting were highlighted. Some speakers suggested that such spectrum could be used to support new broadband networks and support new investment and innovative services, while others held the view that this would not be a sustainable solution.” ^[26]

(ii) social, cultural and political issues of Web 2.0 (by Andrew Keen);

(iii) access (particularly in Africa, by Nii Quaynor) and

(iv) innovation, research and development (by Robert Kahn).

Another challenge was to discuss emerging issues in a global forum with different perspectives, for example, developed and developing countries realities; democratic and non-democratic political regimes; and etc.

Closing Session

Future IGF Meetings

2008 The third IGF meeting will be held in Hyderabad, India from 3-6 December 2008. [16]
2009 The Government of Egypt offered to host the 2009 IGF meeting.
2010 The Governments of Lithuania and Azerbaijan have made bids for the 2010 meeting.

References

External links

• Internet Governance Forum
• IGF - Hyderabad 2008
• IGF - Brazil 2007
• IGF - Greece 2006
• IGF Community Site
• IP Justice IGF webpage
• Internet Governance: The Way Forward. An international conference organised by DiploFoundation discusses the objectives, multi-stakeholder composition, organisation and relevance of Internet Governance Forum.
• International conference presentation:"Internet Governance and Multistakeholder Diplomacy"by Jovan Kurbalija. The presentation reflects on the diplomatic dimension of internet management, the multistakeholder composition and inter-professional dimension of the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG).

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