Remarks Provided during Informal Interactive WSIS Stakeholder Consultations on the Zero-Draft

Tuesday, 14 October 2025
Provided by Mona Gaballa, Senior Advisor, Institutional Relations, Internet Society

Excellencies,

The Internet Society supports and promotes the development of the Internet as a global technical infrastructure, a resource to enrich people’s lives, and a force for good in society. Our work aligns with our goals for the Internet to be open, globally connected, secure, and trustworthy.

We commend the co-facilitators for their leadership and openness in engaging all stakeholders in the review process and would like to encourage closer engagement with non-governmental stakeholders as negotiations advance [as underscored by Global Partners Digital and other colleagues].
The Internet’s growth over the past two decades has been powered by open, collaborative, and multistakeholder approaches.

This model is vital if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

We thank the co-facilitators for the zero draft, which provides a strong foundation. We are pleased to see the feedback from earlier consultations reflected, including the strong references to WSIS commitments and multistakeholder Internet governance.

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) must become permanent.

For twenty years, the IGF has served as the world’s primary multistakeholder platform for dialogue on Internet governance. What began as a single global meeting has evolved into a dynamic, year-round ecosystem supported by over 180 national and regional IGFs (NRIs), and intercessional work.

We urge stronger recognition of the role of NRIs advancing multistakeholder collaboration in regions and within member states, and a commitment to strengthen the IGF Secretariat to expand these efforts.

We emphasize the need to ensure sustainable, long-term funding for the IGF to ensure its evolution. Existing IGF funders, such as the Internet Society, and other stakeholders should be part of any discussion on long-term funding and mandate.

We also encourage recognition of important milestones in the evolution of multistakeholder governance, such as the 2024 NETmundial statement.
It is also important to recognize the practical role of collaborative bottom-up initiatives that have brought the Internet in hard to reach areas, helped secure our online interactions, and build resilient networks. We must ensure those efforts can continue and grow.

Let’s ensure the WSIS outcome sets the path for meaningful connectivity for everyone, not just those who are easy or profitable to connect through traditional models of connectivity. We need to embrace creative solutions and policies that enable complementary connectivity solutions such as community-centered networks.

These local initiatives are effective. They empower unconnected and under-served communities to gain access to government services and education, enhance local business opportunities, address social challenges, including women and girls , as well as First Nation and Indigenous communities, to design and build networks that meet their needs. 

The draft needs to more explicitly call out elements that enable those solutions. These include open access to data, proportionate licensing fees, access to financing opportunities, innovative allocation of spectrum, infrastructure sharing models, and community-based approaches.

The outcome of the WSIS+20 review is our bridge to the Internet we all envision: open, trusted, and for everyone.