[governance] opening remarks of the co-chair -- IGF public consultation

[Carlos Afonso]

The opening remarks by Hadil Vianna yesterday, reproduced below, at the 
open consultation prior to the MAG meeting help clarify the whys and 
hows of co-chairing for the IGF Rio meeting.

--c.a.

Co-chair Desai, distinguished delegates,

First of all, allow me to express my most sincere satisfaction in
co-chairing these open consultations in preparation for the 2nd. IGF,
in Rio de Janeiro. As representative of the host country, I feel
honoured to participate in these works. I can assure you that Brazil
is willing to collaborate closely with the United Nations,
Governments, civil society and the private sector to ensure that the
second IGF will be a successful event.

I would like to take this opportunity to stress that, in my country,
issues related to Internet Governance are taken up by the Internet
Steering Committee (CGI.br), which, like the IGF, includes
representation from all stakeholders. In fact, CGI.br, that is
strongly represented in these consultations, is offering full support
to the preparations for the 2nd IGF.

I would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely commend Mr.
Desai's skillful conduct of this process and his active contribution
to the implementation of the IGF mandate. His straightforward style
and able guidance have been decisive to the important achievements of
the 1st IGF and to the preparations for the 2nd. In this regard, I
consider  important to highlight that the Athens meeting proved to be
a successful event and laid the grounds for the important work yet to
be done towards the full implementation of the IGF mandate.

I am aware of the general expectation that the Rio meeting will
represent one step ahead in the incremental IGF process, in accordance
with its mandate as contained in the Tunis Agenda.

In this context, we welcome the UN Secretary-General decision to
invite Brazil to co-chair this preparatory process. The idea of having
the Host Country as co-chair is a step further in gradually involving
the stakeholders in the conduct of the meeting from a substantive
standpoint. I accepted this task in good faith and am willing to
contribute to my best in order to meet all stakeholders´ expectations
with regard to the 2nd IGF meeting in Rio de Janeiro.

We all are well aware that the IGF cannot be seen as a traditional
UN-style Conference. Its format is in the forefront of multilateral
policy-making and may set precedents for a renewed, upgraded style of
multilateral conferences, therefore contributing to the evolution of
the concept of global governance, in an open, inclusive and
representative environment, with the participation of all
stakeholders.

As we are touching unchartered grounds, we need to be conscious of the
many challenges to be faced. The tools usually available for
organizing, convening and conducting multilateral events are not
automatically applicable to this new scenario we are building. Such
challenges require from us creativity and innovation with regard to
the format as well as to the substance of IGF discussions.

I understand that one of these challenges refers to the need for
balanced regional representation, according to the Tunis mandate. I am
referring not only to Government participation, but to other
stakeholders as well, in particular from the developing world.

At this stage, it is worth recalling the UN Secretary-General mandate
set forth at the Tunis Agenda. He was asked to convene the IGF and
encouraged to (and I quote) "examine a range of options for the
convening of the Forum, taking into consideration the proven
competencies of all stakeholders in Internet governance and the need
to ensure their full involvement" (end of quotation).

This mandate clearly entails the need of a collective work. Although
we all acknowledge  the competent work of Mr. Desai, Mr. Kummer and
his small but efficient staff, we cannot expect that they will come
out with magical solutions to all organizational questions raised
along the preparations for the Rio de Janeiro meeting and the
forthcoming IGF editions. The answers to some of these questions
depend, basically, on policy decision-making. I am therefore convinced
that the work of a co-chair can add value to our activities.

My intention is to work closely with Mr. Desai, the secretariat and
the Advisory Group, in conducting the preparations for the IGF in Rio
de Janeiro. I invite you all to join us in this innovative and
challenging work. That is not supposed to be a Brazilian isolated
task, nor is it a UN task. It is a task that requires commitment and
participation from all stakeholders, with open, unprejudiced minds. I
count on your support and contributions to make sure that the Rio
meeting will be a success, for the benefit of the international debate
on Internet Governance.

-- 

Carlos A. Afonso
Rio       Brasil
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Projeto Sacix - Apoio técnico a iniciativas de inclusão digital
com software livre, mantido pela Rits em colaboração com o
Coletivo Digital. Para mais informações:
www.sacix.org.br   www.rits.org.br   www.coletivodigital.org.br
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