“The Internet faced a number of new challenges during 2004. Among them were calls to revisit how Internet resources are managed. The debate on Internet governance —as it came to be known—started during the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva at the end of 2003 and continued throughout 2004 in a new forum—the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG)—set up by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to prepare the groundwork for the second phase of WSIS in 2005.
The Internet Society (ISOC) found itself at the centre of many of these discussions, and its close connections with the organisations behind the development and administration of the Internet enabled it to bring together many of the key players to cooperate on the important task of explaining how the Internet works and who makes it work. The Internet governance debate meant that proposals that could affect the future stability of the Internet were being discussed at the highest possible levels in national governments. ISOC welcomed the increased interest and participation of government representatives and at the same time realised how much more needed to be accomplished in order to foster a common understanding of how the Internet works and how relevant organisations have contributed to make the Internet so successful.
During 2004 ISOC placed significant focus not only on active participation in such forums as WSIS and WGIG but also on related educational activities, many of them held with ISOC partners and specifically targeting decision makers. While ISOC has achieved a considerable degree of success, much remains to be done, and the continued support of all members, Chapters, and partners is critical.
These public policy activities further strengthened ISOC’s longstanding cooperation with such organisations as the Regional Internet Registries, the root server operators, and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and we were pleased to see that our combined messages were being heard, reflected on, and repeated by many individuals and organisations responsible for policy decisions in their regions.”
— Lynn St. Amour, President and CEO