[governance] my opening statement at WSIS +10

[Grace Githaiga]

Good peoplePlease find my opening statement made on Monday 25/02/13 during the opening ceremony. It was crowd sourced from the IGC, IRP coalition and bestbits. 
Thanks to Deidre, Ginger, Allon, Anriette, Deborah, Andrew, Trevor, Marianne, Nobert and all of you for your support and for your showing  faith in me. 
Opening Remarks

Acknowledge dignitaries and Participants


As
CS, we applaud the efforts being made to provide accessible remote
participation for this meeting, improving possibilities for inclusion and
active engagement in this significant global policy process. It is exciting
that WSIS is setting an example, which strongly supports timely interventions
from remote participants, and registration as participants in the WSIS +10.


The
civil society wishes to note the following developments that stand out:

·        
Enormous growth in
number of Internet users, in absolute figures, in percentage per country, in
global reach. 

·        
At the same time
most people in the world still can't access the Internet at all (for reasons of
infrastructure, economics, disabilities, politics, etc.), or are experiencing
censorship, limited bandwidth, physical accessibility, etc.)

·        
Others like the
Small Islands Developing States that are susceptible to
natural disasters have such challenges as ageing infrastructure, a lack of
universal accessibility with Digital Inclusion and scarce resources. 

·        
Explosion
of mobile phone use in particular in Africa, which are also facilitating
adoption and use of internet. 

·        
Social
media: People increasingly reaching beyond passive consumption of information
to actively creating and sharing information. There is much wider involvement of citizens in debates on
information society issues. 

·        
Growing awareness
of the impact of policies on how we enjoy the Internet and on our lives in
general.

·        
Continued
incredible intuitiveness and creativeness with which people use, adapt and
invent technology—a demonstration that the human mind is free. 

·        
A lot has been
achieved in terms of consciousness-raising and shifting agendas. A very
concrete achievement is the Charter of Human Rights and Principles for the Internet
that has already been making its mark in the wider IG community.


However:

 

The internet presents a
new challenge in thinking about the protection and promotion of human rights, protection of the right to privacy, and data
protection online. 

 

Therefore an understanding of the human rights
environment online calls for an 
understanding of the technical design of the internet and how it is
shaped by commercial forces as well as looking at the kinds of content it
carries, and the controls that apply to such content.

 

As we reflect on WSIS + 10, and as someone who comes from
Kenya, I can attest to the fact that the multistakeholder model endorsed at
WSIS IS doable and has worked for us. It has deepened efforts to expand access
and therefore needs to be preserved.

 

There is need for all sectors, all countries to work
together to bridge divides, tackle issues, and not allow geopolitical interests
to prevail.

 

Conclusion

The right to information, both to impart and to receive,
is a fundamental right that impacts every country in the world. While the right
to information is often regarded as being a "first world problem"
that is secondary to the right to life, education, and health, neither of these
rights can truly exist if we don't facilitate every means to achieve the right
to information.

 

As we take stock let us remind ourselves that
this event is not just a reiteration of well-worn themes, or a
self-congratulation 'festival' but that it really challenges and provides concrete
examples of how and where to implement the WSIS plan of action in a
holistic sense.

 

We need to ensure that internet access is
universal and affordable, and must therefore, be seen as a global public
infrastructure. 

 

Any positive agenda for internet freedom will
need to address  issues raised by developing nations
as well as being in line with the human rights values, and be negotiated
through a multi-stakeholder process.


 

A long-term objective would be to ensure that the internet continues to be a global, interconnected information commons governed in a
dispersed and participatory manner by its users.          

 

I thank you for
your attention. 		 	   		  
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