[bestbits] declaration of cgi.br members regarding NETmundial Initiative

[Carlos Afonso]

[with apologies for possible duplications]

To all of you directly and indirectly involved with the lively debate 
that has been observed within the Internet governance circles 
surrounding the NETmundial Initiative (NMI), we would like to clarify 
the following:

1)There are two main reasons for CGI.br to embark on the NETmundial 
Initiative.

a) CGI.br is moved by a strong, crystal-clear and well known commitment 
to the preservation, the promotion and the implementation of the 
principles and the roadmap that were adopted in São Paulo during the 
Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance - 
NETmundial. As long as CGI.br is involved in any activity, process or 
institution related to the global governance of the Internet, there will 
be a group of 21 board members representatives of the broader Internet 
community in Brazil, assisted by a deeply committed Secretariat, working 
for the promotion of the achievements of the NETmundial meeting earlier 
this year.Instead of watching from a distant perspective the different 
processes and environments that comprise the complex distributed IG 
ecosystem, CGI.br members have been actively engaged with a myriad of 
other stakeholders and the community as a whole in the different spaces 
within which Internet governance is dealt with. CGI.br is committed to 
raise a voice whenever there can by any unjustified reversion on the 
thresholds set by NETmundial for Internet governance, namely: 
collaboration, openness, transparency, and multistakeholderism by default.

b) Brazil is to host the 2015 IGF. CGI.br is closely working with the 
Brazilian government in order to assure that the 10th edition of the IGF 
yields all the results that were normatively set by the community in 
2014 in different occasions: the renewal of its mandate in the UNGA 
later this year; the strengthening of its role as the focal point for 
the community; the assurance of funding sources, and the harmonization 
of activities of the IGF with the different initiatives that are 
sprouting (nationally, regionally, and globally) since the Community 
issued the NETmundial Statement.

2) From its inception, CGI.br has been willing to dialogue and of work 
together with every single member of the Community who is willing to 
promote, reflect upon, strengthen, and enhance multistakeholderism. The 
NMI is one among those efforts and can contribute to those goals by 
publicizing ideas and connecting people from all over the world using a 
single Web platform. Anything additional to the development and the 
maintenance of the platform shall be a result of the Initiative after it 
is set up. Bearing that in mind, on behalf of all of the members of the 
Board of CGI.br, we would like to invite all stakeholders to join the 
effort of building NMI based on the spirit and the aspirations of the 
community in a collaborative manner.

3) The NETmundial Initiative is in its formation. The whole 
institutionalization of NMI shall be community-driven. That is why the 
Transitional Council, as soon as it got a request from the Civil Society 
Coordination Group (CSCG),  accepted to work together with the CSCG to 
come up with a solution for defining Civil Society names for the NMI 
Council by consensus and fully respecting the indications of Civil 
Society. It is important to say that CGI.br is pretty confident that if 
any other group of stakeholders approach the Transition Council with 
similar solutions to strengthen the process, the Council will be 
willingly open to recognize and implement them as a way of putting the 
community at the center of the process of shaping the ulterior 
composition of the NMI Council.

Finally, let us reaffirm that CGI.br would never agree with top-down, 
closed decision-making processes that could possibly undermine its 
legitimacy as a true bottom-up, multistakeholder body. It is up for the 
community to transform NMI into something that is concrete and useful 
for the advancement of IG in full respect of the principles enshrined in 
the NETmundial declaration.

Best regards,

Virgílio Almeida
Coordinator of the Board of the CGI.br - Representative nominated by the 
Federal Government

Demi Getschko
Member of the Board of CGI.br, nominated as Internet Expert

Carlos A. Afonso
Member of the Board of CGI.br, representative of the Third Sector

Flávio Wagner
Member of the Board of CGI.br, representative of the scientific and 
technological community and Selected member for the MAG/IGF 2015

Eduardo Parajo
Member of the Board of CGI.br, representative of the business sector - 
Internet access and content providers

Hartmut Glaser
Executive Secretary of the Board of the CGI.br