Summary Report: IGF MAG Meeting and Open Consultations 4-6 April 2016

1st IGF Open Consultations and Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) Meeting

 4-6 April 2016

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva, Switzerland
 

Executive Summary: Announcements, Decisions Taken and Next Steps:

• It was announced that the 2016 IGF annual meeting was tentatively scheduled to be held from 6-9 December in Guadalajara, Mexico, in the state of Jalisco, at the Instituto Cabanas, a UNESCO Heritage Site, pending final confirmation from the host country and the United Nations.
• It was decided that the main overarching theme and title of the 2016 IGF would be: ‘Internet Governance Forum 2016 - Enabling Inclusive and Sustainable Growth’.
• The MAG Chair appointed Ambassador Benedicto Fonseca Filho as Special Advisor to the MAG Chair to assist with outreach efforts within the UN and with senior policy makers
• A timetable for the call for workshop proposals, workshop evaluation and selection was established by the MAG (ANNEX I), and it is expected that the public call for workshop proposals will go out no later than 15 April, with the final selection of workshops coming at the next face-to-face MAG meeting during the week of 11-15 July.
• The 2016 sub-themes/thematic tracks for the programme will be established through the call for workshops in a bottom-up manner after the workshop proposals are received and evaluated. A list of possible issue areas/sub-themes (ANNEX II) will be provided to help guide workshop proposers, who will be able to label or ‘tag’ their workshops using the list provided or by writing in their own sub-theme/issue areas.. The call for workshops will also include some guiding, broad issue-areas and possible sub- themes and issue areas for the 2016 IGF.
• A consensus decision was taken that NRI’s, BPFs, DCs, and intersessional work on CNB Phase II would be given space to hold main/thematic sessions at the annual meeting. There was also general agreement for a main/thematic session related to the UN SDGs, pending further consideration from the MAG.
• MAG members who wish to put forward formal proposals for other main/thematic sessions should make such proposals to the MAG mailing list for further discussion and decision by the MAG.
• There was agreement that BPF work should continue on the themes of 1) IXPs, 2) IPv6, 3) a theme related to cybersecurity (exact title TBD), and 4) a theme related to Gender and Access (exact title TBD).
• There was strong support for a potential BPF on the theme of Internet Governance and Corruption (exact title TBD), pending a formal proposal and consideration of the MAG.
• There was strong support for continuing the ‘Policy Options for Connecting the Next Billion(s)’ intersessional work in a ‘Phase II’, pending a formal proposal for such work to be reviewed and considered by the MAG.
• There was a discussion re establishing an IGF WG to improve the MAG modalities on appointment processes, TOR, etc. and to do this in conjunction with the implementation of the CSTD Working Group on IGF Improvements. It was decided to move the discussion on creating a working group to a future meeting of the MAG given the clear willingness of all participants (including UNDESA and the UN) to work together to improve on various modalities.

 

Overall Summary

 

1.         The 1st Open Consultations and MAG Meeting of the 2016 IGF preparatory cycle took place from 4-6 April at WIPO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Online participation was made available (live transcription, webex, webcast) for those who were unable to join in person. Ms. Lynn St-Amour moderated the meeting as newly appointed Chair of the MAG. Mr. Victor Lagunes, Chief Information Officer, Office of the President of Mexico, acted as co-chair of the meeting representing the 2016 IGF Host Country. Mr. Chengetai Masango represented the IGF Secretariat and Mr. Wai-Min Kwok represented the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

 

2.         The agenda for the 3-day meeting was focused on taking stock of the IGF 2015 meeting and intersessional processes, and progressing discussions on the programme and structure of the IGF 2016 meeting in Mexico as well as other ongoing IGF activities. Transcripts[1] and archived webcasts[2] from the 3 days of proceedings held in plenary can be accessed via the IGF website and IGF YouTube channel.

 

3.         The Open Consultations Day opened with a welcoming statement from United Nations Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs Mr. Wu Hongbo, who extended on behalf of the United Nations Secretary General a warm welcome and thanks to all incoming, continuing and outgoing MAG members, and the entire IGF community. Many expressions of thanks were given to outgoing MAG Chair Ambassador of Latvia Jānis Kārkliņš and many congratulatory messages were given to incoming MAG Chair Ms. Lynn St. Amour. Many expressions of thanks were also given to the 2015 IGF Host Country, Brazil, the 2015 Honorary Host Country Co-Chair Ambassador Benedicto Fonseca Filho, and to all those in Brazil who organized the meeting particularly the team from CGI.br.

 

4.         Much of the first day was spent consulting with the broader IGF community, taking stock of the 2015 IGF and looking ahead to the 2016 IGF. Many recalled what a big achievement the WSIS+10 review and the extension of the IGF mandate for another 10 years was. Many speakers expressed the importance of taking advantage of the new 10-year mandate, of continuing to deliver the mandate set out for the IGF in the Tunis Agenda[3], and in the WSIS+10 outcome[4] which states that the IGF should improve its working modalities and increase the participation of relevant stakeholders from developing countries.

 

5.         The Honorary Host Country Co-Chair Mr. Victor Lagunes gave a short presentation on preparations thus far for the 11^th IGF. It was announced that the 2016 IGF annual meeting was tentatively scheduled to be held from 6-9 December in Guadalajara, Mexico, in the state of Jalisco, at the Instituto Cabanas, a UNESCO Heritage Site, pending final confirmation from the host country and the United Nations. It was emphasized that Mexico is working to make as much information available to the community as possible and on Day 2 of the meeting the initial version of the Host Country website[5] was made public. The host confirmed that they were working closely with the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry to ensure that information on how IGF delegates would be able to obtain visas to attend the IGF would be made available as early as possible.

 

6.         Some of the highlights and achievements from the 2015 Meeting that were mentioned were the Youth programme and the tangible outputs produced through intersessional activities including the Connecting the Next Billion exercise, Best Practice Forums, Dynamic Coalitions, and National and Regional IGF Initiatives. An input document to the consultations, the Synthesis Paper[6] of contributions taking stock of the 2015 IGF and looking forward to the 2016 IGF, was presented, and recalled many other important suggestions and recommendations received from the broader multistakeholder community. The setup and location of the IGF Village in 2015 was mentioned as a major success and the 2016 host country took note of this.

 

7.         Many participants appreciated the efforts undertaken to better integrate National and Regional IGFs into the Global IGF program and work, and some suggestions were made as to how National and Regional IGF initiatives could increase their linkages with the IGF in 2016 and beyond. Many interventions noted the strong participation in 2015 from high-level officials such as the WSIS+10 Co-facilitators and UN Special Rapporteurs, and that efforts to increase high-level government and other official’s participation and year-to-year engagement in IGF activities should continue.    

 

8.         There was a good dialogue and consensus amongst the MAG and broader community that the IGF should explore new ways to foster dialogue on how Internet Governance, Internet and ICTs, etc., can help achieve the newly established United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)[7]. There was also strong agreement amongst the community and the MAG that increased efforts must be made to engage and encourage participants from developing countries to participate in IGF intersessional activities, National and Regional IGF Initiatives and at the annual IGF meetings.  Further, that the IGF agenda of work should be shaped in such a way to invite and encourage their participation. These efforts should also be in line with the WSIS+10 Outcome Document and the renewed mandate of the IGF, as well as the recommendations[8] of the CSTD Working Group on Improvements to the IGF. Both the 2016 Host Country and the community agreed that the newly established SDGs should facilitate the engagement of new stakeholders and government Ministry officials working on the broad SDG agenda, as Internet Governance, Internet and ICTs, etc. are cross-cutting enablers for many of the 17 SDGs.

 

9.         Invitations to increase collaboration with the IGF, the MAG and broader IGF community, including National and Regional IGFs, were extended by representatives from organizations such as the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development[9] (CSTD), the Global Internet Policy Observatory[10] (GIPO), the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise[11] and the World Economic Forum Internet for All Initiative[12]. Invitations for the IGF community to participate in upcoming events and meetings came from the ITU’s annual WSIS Forum[13], the United Nations Multistakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation[14] (STI Forum) and the United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development[15].

 

10.       The MAG meeting officially opened on the morning of day 2 and was open to observers, and began with introductions from new, continuing and outgoing MAG members participating in-person and online.  Next, the 2016 Host Country Co-chair presented some additional details about Mexico’s plans to build on the successes and lessons learned from past IGFs. Mexico plans to have a technology infused event that uses online participation and interaction to fully engage both the Mexican multistakeholder community and the global IGF community participating both in-person and online. Mexico also plans to build an improved mobile application and to better integrate social media channels to help participants navigate the event and to enrich discussions online.

 

11.       There was a constructive dialogue about the recent MAG nomination and selection processes that had been carried out by the United Nations. Some MAG members had clarifying questions about the procedures and process and made some good suggestions for how the transparency of the process could be improved moving forward. It was emphasized by UNDESA that the UN would work to continually increase the transparency of the MAG renewal process and encouraged all stakeholders to provide the UN with suggestions. It was also emphasized that the UN will continue its work to implement the recommendations of the CSTD Working Group on IGF Improvements, particularly those recommendations pertaining to the MAG.  It was also noted by some MAG members that good progress had been made on diversifying MAG participation as this is a critical goal. For example, one member cited that 61% of the current MAG are from developing countries and off the new 2016 members, 71% are from developing countries. An orientation session was also held where the MAG terms of reference[16] were explained to new members.  

 

12.       There was a discussion about establishing a working group that would focus on the implementation of the CSTD Working Group on IGF Improvements, in conjunction with MAG modalities on appointment processes, terms of reference, etc. Given the clear willingness of all participants (including UNDESA and the UN) to work together to improve on various MAG modalities for MAG member and MAG Chair selection, it was decided to move the discussion on creating a working group to a future meeting of the MAG.

 

13.       Much of the afternoon of Day 2 was spent discussing the coming timeline of the work of the MAG and the IGF Secretariat in regards to the overall programming of the annual meeting, including the call for workshop proposals and the workshop evaluation and selection process. There was agreement amongst the MAG that work, particularly on the workshops, should build upon previous work carried out by the MAG[17]. This work included detailed guidelines, criteria, etc. to make the process as streamlined and useful for the community as possible. An informal working group of MAG members was set-up to review and bring back recommendations for improvements on the morning of Day 3. This meeting was well attended and the next day the MAG was able to approve the recommended changes.

 

14.       Intersessional IGF activities[18] were discussed at length on the last day of the meeting and many of those who were heavily involved in the 2015 intersessional work, including the work of the IGF Dynamic Coalitions (DCs), IGF Best Practice Forums (BPFs), National and Regional IGF Initiatives (NRI’s) and the work on ‘Policy Options for Connecting the Next Billion’ reflected on the work of 2015 and how activities could be taken forward in 2016.

 

15.       It was said by many that the work done in 2015 to bring the long-standing IGF DCs more into the IGF mainstream was a success, and should continue moving forward. The DCs reported that they had been meeting periodically since the close of the 2015 IGF annual meeting and that they were planning to put together a coordination group that would facilitate efforts to mainstream their activities. MAG members were invited to join this coordination group, and the DCs also expressed interest in again holding a main/thematic session at the 2016 IGF.

16.       MAG coordinators of some of the 2015 IGF BPFs reported into the MAG meeting on their experiences in 2015 and provided some ideas for how to take the BPF work forward. Many suggested that BPF work could now be seen as longer-term work for the IGF community with the new 10-year mandate, and many pointed to the BPFs as examples of how the IGF can produce tangible outputs on timely issues. Many expressed thanks to the IGF Secretariat for producing a useful handbook[19] summarizing the work of the 2015 BPFs.

17.       There was agreement that some of the BPF themes from 2015 should continue in 2016, specifically work on IPv6, IXPs, a cybersecurity related theme and a theme related to Gender and access. The cybersecurity related BPF would build on the CSIRTS and SPAM BPFs and the Gender and access theme would build on the work of the 2015 Countering Abuse Against Women Online theme. One suggestion for a new BPF theme that received significant support from the MAG was Internet Governance and Corruption, and this will be discussed further at an upcoming MAG virtual meeting. Many suggested that BPFs in 2016 should focus on increasing their outreach in regards to the ultimate dissemination of their outputs, and that the work should be carried out with longer-term continuity and focus on bringing in new voices and stakeholders into the IGF process.

18.       The ‘Policy Options for Connecting the Next Billion[20]’ intersessional work from 2015 was discussed and many appreciated the tangible outputs the work produced and the way in which it was produced in a bottom-up manner using the NRI’s and inputs from the multistakeholder community. It was noted that the document was produced to be a ‘living document’ that could evolve overtime and it was suggested that the work could continue into a ‘Phase II’ in 2016, building upon the progress made in 2015.  Specifically, there was significant support for focusing on how this work might be more useful/implemented at local levels.  The 2^nd phase will be the subject of a future virtual MAG meeting.

19.       Many interventions from both MAG members and participating IGF stakeholders throughout the week emphasized the importance of continuing to better integrate the work of the NRI’s into the IGF, and vice-a-versa. Many consider the NRI’s to be one of the most important ‘outcomes’ of the IGF’s first 10 years, and it was said by many that coordination and communication between the NRI’s and the IGF was vital and should increase with the renewed IGF mandate. There was broad agreement that the NRI’s should be given not only a dedicated thematic/main session at the 2016 meeting but that multiple channels should be made available for the work and outcomes of the NRI’s to feed into the IGF annual meeting and intersessional activities.

20.       There was a forward looking dialogue with the 2016 Host Country about the traditional role of ‘Day-0’ of the IGF and specifically the ways in which a ‘high-level’ session might be carried out at the 2016 Mexico. The Host Country Chair expressed interest in innovating a bit in the organization of a traditional high-level event by perhaps integrating it into the main IGF program. The Host Country expressed its’ intentions to bring more high-level government officials to the IGF, through such a special session, and to innovate away from holding a traditional session which often times results in a series of prepared statements, and is seen as somewhat duplicative with the official Opening Ceremony. The MAG, IGF secretariat, and the host country were also in agreement that the MAG should be informed about the planning for ‘day-0’ to ensure optimal overall programming for the IGF and its delegates.  Traditionally, this has been largely between the IGF secretariat and the host country.

21.       During the general discussion on possible main/thematic plenary sessions for the 2016 IGF, there was agreement that space would be given to NRI’s, BPFs, DCs, and perhaps SDGs and the Phase II of the ‘Policy Options for Connecting the Next Billion’. to plan such sessions in coordination with the MAG and representatives and coordinators from these activities. Other suggestions were made by MAG members to hold main/thematic sessions on Human Rights, Cybersecurity, Internet and Inclusive Economy, Gender and Trade. MAG members were asked to submit formal written proposals on possible main/thematic sessions to the MAG for further discussion. The MAG Main Session guidelines should be used when planning any main/thematic sessions and there was broad agreement that such sessions should be forward-looking and aim to produce tangible outputs/results that could be forwarded to other relevant processes working on common themes or issues.

22.       Over the three days there were recurring discussions about how to establish the ‘overarching/main’ and ‘sub’ themes for the 2016 IGF meeting. The discussions aimed at finding a main theme/title for the meeting that would recognize the recent 10-year extension of the IGF’s mandate as well as other significant events such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the SDGs). Possible sub-themes were also discussed in the context of the upcoming open call for workshop proposals, where traditionally sub-themes were used to guide proposers.

23.       A decision was made to decide on a title/main theme for the 2016 meeting which would help guide potential workshop proposers, but also leave room for the community and related intersessional efforts to influence the ‘sub-themes’ and thematic tracks of work for the programme through letting them ‘tag’ their workshop proposals. It was decided that a hybrid approach would be taken in regards to the themes and the workshops, as workshop proposers would be given some potential themes/issues to tag their workshop proposals (Annex II) but would also have the opportunity to write-in their own sub-themes/issues, thereby helping shape the programme more directly. It was decided that the overarching theme/title of the IGF would be ‘Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2016- Enabling Inclusive and Sustainable Growth’.

Annex I

 

WORKSHOP SELECTION FOR IGF 2016

PROPOSED SCHEDULE

CALL, EVALUATION, FINAL SHORT LIST

 

 

Annex II

 

IGF 2016 Workshop Tags

Note: For thematic classification of the workshop proposals, it was decided that a hybrid approach will be taken in regards to the sub-themes and the workshops, as workshop proposers will be given some potential sub- themes/issues to tag their workshop proposals with, (below) but will also have the opportunity to write-in their own sub-themes/issues, thereby helping shape the programme more directly.

1. Access and Diversity

 

-Policies Enabling Access

-Interconnection and Price Regulation

-Multilingualism and Local Content

-Enhancing Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities

-Digital Literacy

 

2. Security, Openness and Privacy

 

•  
•  
•  

-Freedom of Expression Online

 

3. Internet & ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals

 

4. Internet Economy

 

5. Human Rights Online

 

6. Youth Engagement

 

7. Gender Issues

 

8. Multistakeholder Cooperation

 

9. Critical Internet Resources

 

10. Other Issues

 

-Net Neutrality

-Cloud Computing

-Zero Rating

-Internet of Things

 

List of Participants