Internet Governance Forum to meet in Brazil, 12-15 November
Veículo: eGov monitor
Data: 10/09/2007
Assunto: IGF
The conference, to be held at Windsor Barra Hotel, will focus on the overall issue of "Internet Governance for Development". Five main themes will be addressed - access, diversity, openness, security and critical Internet resources.
Some 2,000 participants from more than 100 countries are expected to attend. In addition to plenary sessions, there will be open meetings and thematic workshops to discuss specific issues and share best practices.
The Internet Governance Forum is not a decision-making body, but a space for dialogue for all those involved to discuss Internet governance issues. There will be no negotiated outcome, but the meeting will seek to create a dialogue among all participants on public policy issues relating to the Internet and create new dynamics between participating institutions.
The first Forum meeting in Athens last November saw the creation of a number of "Dynamic Coalitions" of participants from governments, the private sector and civil society to address issues such as open standards, spam, access, freedom of expression, privacy, digital identity and a proposed "Internet Bill of Rights". The meeting in Rio de Janeiro will allow members of these coalitions to collaborate further on common concerns.
Hadil da Rocha Vianna, Director for Scientific and Technological Affairs in Brazil's Ministry of External Relations, has been appointed co-chair of the Advisory Group for the Internet Governance Forum, which will assist in preparing for the Rio de Janeiro meeting. The other co-chair is Nitin Desai, the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Adviser for Internet Governance.
The 47 members of the Advisory Group, who serve in their personal capacity, come from government, the private sector and civil society, including the academic and technical communities, representing all regions (see list of members at http://www.intgovforum.org/ADG_members.htm).
A round of open consultations held in Geneva in May showed broad support for keeping the four themes discussed in Athens - access, diversity, openness and security - and for adding the theme of critical Internet resources. Participants agreed that the Rio de Janeiro Forum should retain the overall theme of "Internet Governance for Development".
The main themes to be discussed cover the gamut of the functioning of the Internet. The theme of access includes infrastructure, connectivity and the role of government and the private sector to improve access by all. Issues of diversity and openness cover promoting local content, cultural diversity and the number of languages used on the Internet.
Security means among other things cyber-security, the safety of the Internet and the fight against cybercrime. "Critical Internet resources" covers issues relating to infrastructure and the management of key Internet resources, including administration of the domain name system and Internet protocol (IP) addresses, administration of the root server system, technical standards, peering and interconnection, and telecommunications infrastructure.
