Internet Governance 17 November 2013

Global Panel to Address Future of Internet Governance

By Lynn St. AmourFormer President/CEO

Following up on my previous post on Internet Governance, I wanted to let you know about a new global panel to address the future of Internet Governance. I agreed to join the Panel on the Future of Global Internet Cooperation, which is comprised of a diverse global group of stakeholders from government, civil society, the private sector and the technical community. A copy of the press release can be found here.

The Panel will engage in collective dialogue on critical Internet governance issues, and plans to release a high-level report in early 2014 for public comment. The report is expected to include principles for global Internet cooperation, and possible frameworks for such cooperation.

ICANN was an early catalyst for the Panel and will organize the secretariat and provide logistical support. Toomas Ilves, President of Estonia, will serve as the chair and Vint Cerf will serve as a vice-chair.

This panel is one of many groups addressing Internet Governance issues and is not meant to take the place of those efforts, serve as a new institutional framework, or to produce solutions or agreements—it’s an opportunity to help evolve or look for new processes.

The output from the panel is expected to serve as only one contribution to the multi-stakeholder high level meeting being planned in Brazil for late April/early May.  While the Brazil meeting is still under development, ISOC does plans to participate in that as well.

Now more than ever, it is imperative that the Internet community, the international community, civil society, and the private sector join forces to ensure that the Internet remains open, thriving, and benefitting people around the globe. We are establishing more comprehensive communication and engagement plans and will be reaching out for your participation. I am pleased to be on this panel, and I look forward to excellent discussions on the very important and pressing issues around Internet Governance.

Disclaimer: Viewpoints expressed in this post are those of the author and may or may not reflect official Internet Society positions.

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