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Thanks Parminder and Avri. Here's a consolidated draft with Avri's
edits.<br>
<br>
Basic courtesy stuff.....<br>
<br>
We understand that the French Presidency of the G8 proposes to
hold a G8<br>
Internet meeting, immediately prior to the G8 Summit in
........,with a view<br>
to prepare or influence the agenda for the G8 Summit regarding
key global<br>
Internet issues. We also understand that many heads of states of
G 8<br>
countries are expected to attend this meeting. The meeting is
especially<br>
important since in the past G 8 has set up the global agenda on
many key<br>
issues, especially in the information society arena.<br>
<br>
We are very concerned about the manner in which the G 8 Internet
meeting is<br>
being organised which is ignoring current best practice in
public policy making.<br>
It also jettisons the principle of multistakeholder
participation that has evolved<br>
globally, especially in the area of Internet governance. It
appears that the G8<br>
meeting is organized by large Industry with access given only to
industry and<br>
government actors. We have also understood that there is a
linkage between<br>
donations and invitations.<br>
<br>
Big businesses already have a disproportionately large influence
on<br>
government bureaucracies. For governments to sanction a
dedicated meeting<br>
with top G8 leaders and officials to plan the global agenda for
Internet related<br>
policies is inappropriate. What is required is a discussion that
includes civil<br>
society actors, who will bring to the table the concerns of
global public interest<br>
derived from a diversity of people's, of many sections of
society, interests and<br>
concerns.<br>
<br>
It is also pertinent to state here that since the Internet is
essentially a<br>
global phenomenon, policies framed together by the most powerful
nations,<br>
quite likely, will become the default global norm. This is most
true for<br>
architectural and economic issues, while the global impact on
other areas<br>
will also be substantial. It is therefore appropriate that G 8
countries<br>
engage with the same, and other issues, of Internet policies at
the more<br>
democratic global forums where all countries are present at an
equal<br>
footing. In this connection, there is the World Summit on the
Information<br>
Society mandated set of processes for dealing with pressing
global Internet<br>
related issues. Multistakeholder participation is an important
part of these global<br>
IG related processes. We see the proposed G 8 Interent meeting a
significant<br>
step backwards both for global democracy and for
multistakeholder<br>
participation.<br>
<br>
We therefore request you, and other G 8 leaders, to make the
proposed G 8<br>
Internet meeting genuinely multistakeholder, following the model
of the UN<br>
IGF. We are impressed with the solid support provided by the G 8
countries<br>
for upholding a multistakeholder model for the IGF. The strong
support that<br>
many of G8 countries, including your own, have shown for full
multistakeholder<br>
participation makes this current decision to limit discussion to
vested interests<br>
of governments' industry partners is baffling and is
unacceptable to many of<br>
the users of the Internet.<br>
<br>
closing and salutations.....
<pre wrap="">--
</pre>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><b><span style="color: black;">Dr
Jeremy Malcolm<br>
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color: black;"> <br>
</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;">Consumers
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