Session
Organizer 1: Rosalind KennyBirch, UK Government - Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Organizer 2: Nigel Hickson, DCMS (UK Government)
Organizer 3: Marek Blachut, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Speaker 1: Chris Buckridge, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: Olga Cavalli, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 3: Githaiga Grace, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 4: Tatiana Tropina, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 5: Rosalind KennyBirch, Government, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Rosalind KennyBirch, Government, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Marek Blachut, Government, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Rosalind KennyBirch, Government, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Panel - Auditorium - 60 Min
1. What commitments need to be reaffirmed as part of the WSIS+20 review process?
(Sub-questions to question 1) a. How can we use WSIS+20 to set new goals in order to ensure public access to information and protection of fundamental freedoms on the Internet, the aim of Sustainable Development Goal 16.10? b. How can we reaffirm, and strengthen the multistakeholder model as part of the WSIS+20 review process? c. How could the multistakeholder definition of internet governance be updated, to ensure diverse perspectives are included in the continuing development and evolution of the Internet?
2. What specific actions can be taken by stakeholders, and where should stakeholders engage, ahead of the UN General Assembly in 2025 to uphold the vision and aims of the WSIS mandate?
3. What role does the IGF have in the lead up to the WSIS+20 review process, and how can it focus stakeholders?
Connection with previous Messages: This workshop proposal builds on the IGF 2021 issue area of universal access and meaningful connectivity. The proposal seeks to advance the debate in the context of the WSIS+20 review process, specifically in regards to the following message from that issue area:
“Ensuring that all people everywhere have meaningful and sustainable access to the Internet must be a priority. Access to the open Internet is key for bridging the digital divide, as well as fostering democracy and human rights.”
The workshop aims to explore how consensus around the multistakeholder definition and model for internet governance can be strengthened ahead of 2025, and how the WSIS+20 review process can maintain an open Internet, ensuring that global citizens can freely access information and knowledge.
10.2
9.c
16.10
Targets: This workshop proposal links to three key sustainable development goals. Primarily, 16.10. The workshop will explore how the WSIS review process can renew the Tunis Agenda’s commitment to promoting equitable access to information and knowledge for all for 2025 and beyond. This directly connects to the IGF’s key theme of connecting all people and safeguarding human rights.
However, to enable the Internet to be truly accessible to all, people need to be able to utilise it in the first place. Therefore, our workshop will also connect to 9c. We may discuss the UK and other stakeholders' work to contribute to this goal.
Finally, our workshop will discuss how the Internet is a key tool for achieving goal 10.2.The Internet is a resource that can enable societal inclusion, by connecting people to a wide array of information and networks, in their local area and globally.
Description:
The review of the WSIS mandate is a critical opportunity to renew support for the multistakeholder governance of the Internet and the UN IGF’s continuation as well as making new commitments to enhance global connectivity.
This workshop proposes to examine how the WSIS+20 review process can renew the multistakeholder mandate and protect the continuation of the system that has made the Internet successful to date, rather than implementing any form of top-down intergovernmental control. The workshop will also examine how the process can contribute to the aim of using the Internet to connect all people, ensuring access to information and knowledge. In this regard, it will take note of the P2C pledges made at the ITU WTDC and the UN Digital Compact.
In December 2015, Member States agreed on a resolution confirming the initial World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) vision of a “people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, where everyone can create, access, utilise and share information and knowledge”. The multistakeholder definition for internet governance was affirmed, allowing for an array of expertise from diverse perspectives to be collected and deployed to further the evolution and development of the Internet. Member States also called for a close alignment between the WSIS process and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, noting how information communication technologies can contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals.
In 2021, the Report by the Director-General on the implementation of the WSIS outcomes stated that it is now critical to ensure that the coordination mechanisms set up to pursue WSIS’ vision are adapted to new realities, including challenges posed to digital inclusion and participation. The Internet is a vital tool across all aspects of modern life. People expect to be able to access information and communicate online and businesses rely on an open Internet to trade globally.
Looking to 2025, it is more important than ever to reaffirm the importance of the multistakeholder model to the WSIS mandate. The multistakeholder model ensures that the private sector, the technical community and civil society, alongside governments, help to shape the evolution and development of the Internet. The model enables the global community to benefit from technical expertise aimed at creating an Internet that is free, open and secure. Strengthening consensus around the multistakeholder definition of internet governance can support the efficacy of that model.
This workshop will build awareness of the importance of the WSIS+20 review process, including the direct links between WSIS renewal and the IGF’s structure. It will aim to find consensus around the way the multistakeholder model can be upheld through WSIS+20, and identify opportunities for collaboration in the lead up to the UN General Assembly in 2025.
Hybrid Format: In this highly interactive panel we will facilitate interaction through onsite and online discussants and attendees by adopting a hybrid workshop format, supported by Google Meet/Zoom and onsite AV equipment. Over 50% of the session will be devoted to interaction with both physical and virtual attendees.
We plan to begin with an introduction and welcome from the moderator, followed by 3-5 minutes of speaking time for each discussant. That allotment will take up the first 25-30 minutes of the workshop. In the subsequent 30+ minutes, we will facilitate an open discussion, welcoming comments and questions from the audience, where remote participants and physical participants are both able to raise points for discussion.
We plan to utilise a virtual platform (Zoom, Google Meet) to facilitate a hybrid panel and audience discussion.
Usage of IGF Official Tool.