[governance] Aug. 15 deadline for inputs on IGF 2009 agenda

[Jeanette Hofmann]

Dear Anja, please add my name as well.
jeanette

Anja Kovacs wrote:
> Thank you to all those who responded to my question.
> 
> As time is indeed short, I would like to take up Ginger's suggestion, 
> and have drafted a brief statement, which you can find below.  If you 
> and/or your organisation would like to sign this, please let me know by 
> the end of today, 15 August (whatever your time zone), and I will make 
> sure it reaches the IGF Secretariat.
> 
> Below the proposed statement, I have also pasted the statement that the 
> IGC submitted in April.  A few other submissions, made around that time 
> by various groups and individuals can be found here: 
> http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/index.php/discussionspace?func=view&catid=5&id=14 
> <http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/index.php/discussionspace?func=view&catid=5&id=14>
> 
> Thanks,
> Anja
> 
> _Suggested statement:_
> 
> The undersigned would like to express their surprise and disappointment 
> that Internet Rights and Principles was not retained as an item on the 
> agenda of the 2009 IGF in any way. Although this topic was suggested as 
> a theme for this year's IGF or for a main session by a range of actors 
> during and in the run-up to May's Open Consultations, this widespread 
> support is not reflected in the Draft Programme Paper, which does not 
> include Internet Rights and Principles even as a sub-topic of any of the 
> main sessions. The WSIS Declaration of Principles, 2003, and the Tunis 
> Agenda, 2005, explicitly reaffirmed the centrality of the Universal 
> Declaration of Human Rights to an inclusive information society. To make 
> these commitments meaningful, it is of great importance that a beginning 
> is made to explicitly building understanding and consensus around the 
> meaning of Internet Rights and Principles at the earliest. We recommend 
> that the Agenda of the 2009 IGF provide the space to do so.
> 
> _IGC Submission - April 2009:_
> 
> The following statement is submitted on behalf of the Civil Society 
> Internet Governance Caucus.
> 
> The Internet Governance Caucus continues to support "Internet Rights and 
> Principles" as a major theme for IGF-4 in Egypt. This should lead to 
> discourse at the IGF meetings moving towards the definition and 
> clarification of rights in relation to the Internet, and how they relate 
> to pre-existing definitions of human rights. It also includes a space 
> for discussions about the responsibilities of all parties.
> 
> The concept of "rights" continues to stress the importance of openness 
> and universal access. This framework will continue to emphasize the 
> importance of access to knowledge and development in Internet 
> governance, while adding to it the basic right of individuals to access 
> the content and applications of their choice. This is in keeping with 
> current debates regarding an “open Internet”, and relevant aspects of 
> the often confusing network neutrality discussions.
> 
> The inclusion of "principles" allows for wide discussion of the 
> responsibilities that the different stakeholders have to each other. It 
> allows for open examination of the principles that should govern the 
> Internet, particularly in its commercial facets.
> 
> 
> On Fri, 2009-08-14 at 19:15 -0430, Ginger Paque wrote:
>> Hi Anja,
>> I agree with your concern. However, I do not think there is time for 
>> the list to reach consensus on a substantive statement.
>>
>> If you write a statement, could you post it to the list, so that those 
>> who want to sign with you can email you directly, so you can add names 
>> before you send it in?
>>
>> Best,
>> Ginger
>>
>> Anja Kovacs wrote:
>>> Dear all,
>>>
>>> As Ginger noted, tomorrow is the last day for comments on the Draft
>>> Programme Paper. What continues to strike me as I read this paper is the
>>> complete absence of attention for Internet rights and principles - in
>>> fact the word 'rights' is not mentioned even once - despite Internet
>>> rights and principles being raised as a theme or a topic for a main
>>> session repeatedly by a range of players (including the IGC, the IRP DC
>>> and the Gender DC) during and in the run-up to May's Open Consultations.
>>> Although I realise that there is little chance of it being included as a
>>> main session at this point, I think it is important for us to at least
>>> comment on this glaring absence.  Would it be possible for the IGC to
>>> express, by tomorrow, its disappointment in this regard? (we could use
>>> some of the wording of the April submission)  
>>>
>>> For those of you with whom I have had the pleasure to interact before, I
>>> also would like to share that I have now joined the Centre for Internet
>>> and Society, Bangalore.  
>>>
>>> I look forward to continuing to engage with you all on Internet
>>> Governance issues.
>>>
>>> Anja
>>>
>>>
>>> Dr. Anja Kovacs
>>> Fellow
>>> Centre for Internet and Society
>>> T: +91 80 4092 6283
>>> www.cis-india.org <http://www.cis-india.org> 
>>>
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> Dr. Anja Kovacs
> Fellow
> Centre for Internet and Society
> T: +91 80 4092 6283
> www.cis-india.org <http://www.cis-india.org>
> 
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