[bestbits] IGF plus

[Jeremy Malcolm]

On 26/08/2013, at 3:36 PM, michael gurstein <gurstein at gmail.com> wrote:

> I think before we start thinking about an IGF+ we need to be thinking about getting some kind of "formalization" (democratization etc.) in the MS processes that are at the core of the IGF etc. Until experiences like mine with the selection process for the ECWG are worked through and some determination is made as to what constitutes a "stakeholder" group  and under what sort of governance/transparency/accountability structures those operate within I think it is seriously premature to be thinking about an IGF that is capable of working through to Soft Law or whatever.  This isn't to say that we should be working in that direction but just to say that if the fundamentals aren't taken care of, everything that follows is suspect.

I agree with everything bar the prefatory "before we start thinking about an IGF+" - as indeed as soon as we start to think about an IGF+, we are led inevitably to the reinforcement and formalisation of the IGF's governance/transparency/accountability structures.

We have collectively begun to explore the IGF+ with the "IGF multistakeholder opinions" statement that many of us signed at http://bestbits.net/igf-opinions/.  So that's a good starting point.

I continue to stand by the slightly more elaborate "Multistakeholder Internet Policy Council" proposal that I developed for the CSTD Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation.  See the thread "Comparison of five current civil society options" in the EC list for more on this (21 July and following, or I can repost here).

For more detail still (largely consistent with the above, though with some differences in nomenclature), there's the paper "Appraising the Success of the Internet Governance Forum" that I wrote for the Internet Governance Project some (five!) years ago now, which is available from both http://igfwatch.org and http://www.internetgovernance.org.

-- 
Dr Jeremy Malcolm
Senior Policy Officer
Consumers International | the global campaigning voice for consumers
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