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As you all know, work on Best Bits is going on behind the scenes
including the new website, calendar, fundraising and the two IGF
workshops that will follow on from our main Best Bits meeting in
Bali in October. For the first workshop on enhanced cooperation, we
propose inviting the members of the CSTD Working Group to lead
discussions. Andrew will be writing more about that soon.<br>
<br>
Meanwhile as I mentioned earlier on the <a
href="http://lists.bestbits.net/wws/info/ec">ec@lists.bestbits.net
list</a>, in the leadup to Bali we also have the opportunity for a
workshop at the <a href="http://aprigf.asia/">Asia-Pacific Regional
IGF</a> (APrIGF) in Korea. Here is my proposed text for that
workshop, which is open for your comment. In line with the purpose
of the regional IGFs, it intended to feed in to the later global IGF
workshops, so the content is basically similar to those:<br>
<br>
<blockquote><b>Title:</b> Internet governance for human rights and
democracy<br>
<b>Thematic area of interest:</b> Enhanced cooperation, Internet
principles and multi-stakeholder Internet governance<br>
<b>Description:</b> The Internet is governed through a patchwork
of rules, norms and standards, which its stakeholders have
developed largely independently and without reference to an
overarching framework of principles. This has allowed the
Internet to flourish through the adaptive and innovative
development of new services, particularly in the technical
sphere. But the absence of guiding principles has also allowed
powerful stakeholders to drive changes to Internet governance that
conflict with human rights and other emerging global norms of
Internet user communities, though undemocratic processes such as
the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, member-only discussions
at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and
North-heavy regional groupings such as the G8 and OECD. Is this
status quo sustainable? Would it help to democratise global
Internet governance if all stakeholders had a better way of
developing guiding principles for policy makers in areas that are
not already covered by multi-stakeholder democratic processes?
How will the discussions at the CSTD Working Group on Enhanced
Cooperation be able to address this? What progress (if any) was
made at the ITU's World Telecommunication/Information and
Communication Technology Policy Forum (WTPF)? What principles
initiatives already exist, and what role could the IGF play in
legitimising these at the global level? What other mechanisms are
available to advocate for the Internet we want, that is globally
democratic and respects human rights? This workshop will attempt
to address these questions, including through the presentation of
concrete proposals for practical reforms.<br>
<b>Expected format:</b> A roundtable discussion that will feed
into the two-day Best Bits civil society meeting in Bali in
October, and into two subsequent multi-stakeholder workshops at
the global IGF.<br>
<b>Target panel members:</b>* Parminder Jeet Singh (IT for
Change), Ian Peter (consultant), Anja Kovacs (Internet Democracy
Project), David Allen (Harvard University), Michael Gurstein
(Centre for Community Informatics), Iarla Flynn (Google), Keith
Davidson (Internet NZ)<br>
<b>Workshop organiser:</b> Best Bits<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
* The panelists list is not really satisfactory because of the lack
of gender balance. Suggestions for improving that appreciated...
note the Best Bits members are those who volunteered already, mostly
subject to funding; likely not all of them will end up coming.<br>
<br>
PS. Separately, Deborah from Access will be writing here soon about
a possible Best Bits statement to the WTPF, which I think is a great
idea.<br>
<br>
For those who haven't seen it already, I think today's blog from
Milton Mueller, "WTF? WTPF! The continuing battle over Internet
governance principles" at
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.internetgovernance.org/2013/04/23/wtf-wtpf-the-continuing-battle-over-internet-governance-principles/">http://www.internetgovernance.org/2013/04/23/wtf-wtpf-the-continuing-battle-over-internet-governance-principles/</a>
does a nice job of linking the WTPF to the failure of the IGF to
live up to its potential.<br>
<br>
The proposal with which I kicked of discussion on the
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:ec@lists.bestbits.net">ec@lists.bestbits.net</a> list, and which is also online at the top of
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://igfwatch.org/">http://igfwatch.org/</a>, was about turning that around, by developing a
mandate for further reform of the IGF in the CSTD enhanced
cooperation discussions. We had some comments on the ec list, but
more are welcome here. The ec working group will be reporting back
here also once discussions are further advanced.<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<p style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black"><b>Dr Jeremy Malcolm<br>
Senior Policy Officer<br>
Consumers International | the global campaigning voice for
consumers</b><br>
Office for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East<br>
Lot 5-1 Wisma WIM, 7 Jalan Abang Haji Openg, TTDI, 60000 Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia<br>
Tel: +60 3 7726 1599</p>
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