[governance] Tunis Parallel Event: WGIG Book Release, Wed. 16th

Wed Nov 9 12:43:47 EST 2005

A parallel event to be held during the World Summit on the Information
Society at Tunis

Presented by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR), in
cooperation with the Secretariat of the UN Working Group on Internet
Governance (WGIG)

Reforming Internet Governance:
Perspectives from the UN Working Group on Internet Governance

Book Release Event

Wednesday. November 16, 11:00-13:00, Hammamet room, the Kram Exhibition
Centre

At the December 2003 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in
Geneva, governments adopted a Plan of Action that, inter alia, called on
the Secretary-General of the United Nations to set up a Working Group on
Internet Governance (WGIG). The WGIGs mandate was to analyze the
governance of Internet and make proposals for action, as appropriate;
develop a working definition of Internet governance; identify the public
policy issues involved; and advance a common understanding of the
respective roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders. In
November 2004, Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed forty individuals
from government, the private sector, and civil society to the WGIG. After
seven months of work, the WGIGs Report and a longer Background Report
were released in July 2005. The two reports surveyed the landscape of
public and private sector Internet governance mechanisms; advanced
recommendations for improved governance in a range of key issue-areas;
offered alternative models for the future oversight of the Internets core
resources and logical infrastructure; and proposed the establishment of a
global, multistakeholder forum to facilitate continuing, inclusive
dialogue on Internet governance. The reports elicited much debate around
the world and served as key inputs in the second phase of the WSIS
process, which culminates with the November 2005 Summit in Tunis. The
issues they addressed will remain of central importance in the post-WSIS
global debate on Internet governance.

With the continuing debate in mind, after the release of the two reports,
a group of former participants in the WGIG process decided to collaborate
on the production of a book on the WGIG experience  and Internet
governance issues.  Edited by William J. Drake, the book includes
contributions by the WGIGs Chairperson and Executive Secretary, twenty
one members of the WGIG, and four members of its Secretariat.  Writing in
their personal capacities, the authors offer reflections on the value of
the multistakeholder cooperation in the WGIG and beyond, and on some of
the key substantive issues and institutional reform proposals currently
under consideration by the international community.  The volume is being
published in the United Nations Information and Communications
Technologies Task Forces book series and will be released at this
parallel event in Tunis.  The book will subsequently be available on the
WGIG and UNICT Task Force websites, which are www.wgig.org and
www.unicttaskforce.org, respectively.  The books Introduction and
Conclusion are now online at http://www.wgig.org/book-Launch.html

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Overview of the Event

Opening Remarks:

Markus Kummer, Executive Coordinator of the Secretariat supporting the
Working Group on Internet Governance

Moderator:

Nitin Desai, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations for the World Summit on the Information Society, and former
Chairperson of the Working Group on Internet Governance

Panel Participants :

Peng Hwa Ang, Director of the Singapore Internet Research Centre and Dean
of the School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological
University, on, Self Regulation After WGIG

Vittorio Bertola, Chairman of ICANN's At Large Advisory Committee, on,
Oversight and Multiple Root Server Systems

Avri Doria, independent researcher, on, WSIS, WGIG, Technology and
Technologists

William J. Drake, President, Computer Professionals for Social
Responsibility, on, Why the WGIG Process Mattered

Baher Esmat, Telecom  Planning  Manager  at  Egypt's  Ministry of
Communications and Information Technology, and Juan Fernández,  Senior
Advisor in the Ministry of Informatics and Communication of Cuba and
Coordinator of the Cuban Commission for Electronic Commerce, on,
International Internet Connections Costs

Willy Jensen, Director General of the Norwegian Post and
Telecommunications Authority, on, Striking the Appropriate Balance
Between all Stakeholders

Wolfgang Kleinwächter, professor of international communication policy and
regulation, University of Aarhus, Denmark, on, DeMystification of the
Internet Root: Do we Need Governmental Oversight? 

Alejandro Pisanty, Head of Academic Computing Services for the National
Autonomous University of Mexico, and Vice-Chair of the Board of ICANN, on,
Internet Names and Numbers in WGIG and WSIS: Perils and Pitfalls

Others possible, TBC

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Reforming Internet Governance:

Perspectives from the UN Working Group on Internet Governance

Table of Contents of the Book

 Preface
NITIN DESAI

Introduction
MARKUS KUMMER

The Dynamics of Multistakeholder Collaboration: WGIG and Beyond

A Brief History of WGIG
DONALD MACLEAN

A Reflection from the WGIG Frontline
FRANK MARCH

The WGIG Process: Lessons Learned and Thoughts for the Future
TAREK CHENITI

Internet Governance: Striking the Appropriate Balance Between all
Stakeholders
WILLY JENSEN

WSIS, WGIG, Technology and Technologists
AVRI DORIA

The Current Landscape of Internet Governance: Selected Issues

Internet Names and Numbers in WGIG and WSIS: Perils and Pitfalls
ALEJANDRO PISANTY

Multilingualism and the Domain Name System
KANGSIK CHEON

International Internet Connections Costs
BAHER ESMAT & JUAN FERNANDEZ

Intellectual Property, e-Commerce, Competition Policy and Internet Governance
C. TREVOR CLARKE

Internet Governance and International Law
JOVAN KURBALIJA

Internet Governance: Strengths and Weaknesses from a Business Perspective
AYESHA HASSAN

Self Regulation After WGIG
PENG HWA ANG

The Development Dimension

Driving the Public Policy Debate: Internet Governance and Development
HOWARD WILLIAMS

Encouraging Internet Public Policy Development and Capacity Building in
Developing Countries: Lessons from the FLOSS Community
CHENGETAI MASANGO

The Case for National Internet Governance Mechanisms
WAUDO SIGANGA

Challenges for Africa
OLIVIER NANA NZEPA

Challenges for the Caribbean
JACQUELINE MORRIS

Options for Institutional Change

The Need for International Internet Governance Oversight
ABDULLAH A. ALDARRAB

Internationalized Oversight of Internet Resource Management
QIHENG HU

A Scenario for a New Internet Governance
CARLOS AFONSO

DeMystification of the Internet Root: Do we Need Governmental Oversight?
WOLFGANG KLEINWÄCHTER

Oversight and Multiple Root Server Systems
VITTORIO BERTOLA

Proposal for the Establishment of an Internet Governance Forum
CHARLES SHABAN

Conclusion

Why the WGIG Process Mattered
WILLIAM J. DRAKE

*******************************************************
William J. Drake  wdrake at ictsd.ch
President, Computer Professionals for
   Social Responsibility www.cpsr.org
Senior Associate, International Centre for Trade
   and Sustainable Development www.ictsd.org
   Geneva, Switzerland
http://mitpress.mit.edu/IRGP-series
http://www.cpsr.org/board/drake
Morality is the best of all devices for leading
mankind by the nose.---Nietzsche
*******************************************************

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