[governance] Text of speech - losing remarks at UNESCO Connecting the Dots Conference

[Akinremi Peter Taiwo]

Great statement Nnenna! Keeping both eyes open will be good for security
purposes.

Peter
On Mar 4, 2015 5:57 PM, "Nnenna Nwakanma" <nnenna75 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Connecting the Dots: Options for Future Action
>
> UNESCO headquarters, Paris, France.
> Closing Remarks by Nnenna Nwakanma
>
> Africa Regional Coordinator
>
> The World Wide Web Foundation.
>
> March 4, 2015
>
>
>
> Deputy Director General
> Friends and colleagues
> Onsite and online
>
>
>
>
>
> My name is Nnenna.  I  come from the Internet. And I have been asked to
> say a few words to us, as a member of the civil society, before we leave. I
> coordinate the activities of the World Wide Web Foundation in my continent,
> Africa. The Web Foundation is  that organization that believes that the
> Internet is for everyone.  Therefore we work on affordable access to all,
> we work on opening up data for participation and  we support  the global
> Web We Want Coalition.
>
>
>
> I have three things to say.  The first is on the UNESCO study itself.  The
> second is on one of the issues raised.  The third is  on where we go from
> here.
>
> From the Civil Society end, we recognize that UNESCO’s consultation
> towards the study was open, online, multistakeholder and tried to be as
> inclusive as could be. This for me, lends trust. Trust in the organization,
> trust in its capacity to bring key actors to the table. The R-O-A-M
> principles of the study (Rights based, Open, Accessible, Multistakeholder
> participation) are not just important for the study, but they also are
> key in implementing its recommendations.  So  it is only natural that we
> engage as civil society, during, now and going forward.
>
>
> Do we endorse the outcome  document? I do.  But the Civil Society is too
> large a constituency for just one person to say yes on behalf of all others.
>
>
>
> On the issues, I will settle for one. Just one. Access.  Just today, the
> Alliance for Affordable Internet launched the Affordability report. Affordability
> Report shows that Over 2 billion people living in poverty cannot access the
> Internet affordably and that a fixed broadband connection costs on average
> 40% of monthly income across 51 developing countries.
>
>
> And we are working  towards access for everyone.
>
>
>
> To UNESCO,  I must say, that the Global Internet is of global importance
> and we must  seek at all times, to manage it for global interest, global
> benefit and global utility.  So,  many thanks for putting Internet
> Governance  and the IGF in the heart of the process.
>
> -        - In working for  access to knowledge and information,
>
> -        - in working  for freedom of expression
>
> -        - in working for privacy
>
> -        - in working for ethics
>
> We are not   just connecting dots. We are connecting people. We are
> connecting cultures, we are extending science by connecting knowledge to
> knowledge,  men and women, we are connecting continents.  We are righting
> the wrongs of the past,  consolidating the present and  building a viable
> future.
>
>
> We have a heritage.  A global heritage.  The Internet.
>
> The Internet represents a masterpiece of human creative genius
>
> It is  the most important  tool of interchange of human values
>
> And an exceptional testimony to our common civilization
>
> These are the basis on which UNESCO  selects sites as heritage. And here,
> we have more than a heritage. The Internet is our global heritage
>
>
>
> Ladies and gentlemen, friends here and online.  Tomorrow is my birthday.
> And my sister told me to make a wish.   I asked if I should keep my eyes
> open or closed and she said “any way”.  So I will close an eye and keep
> one open, for security purposes.  And here is my wish..
>
>
> *That the open Internet, the open web, will be established as global
> public good and a basic right of all men and women, all humans and that
> everyone can access it can use it  freely.*
>
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