[governance] MAG nomination - my "reason why".

[Deirdre Williams]

Dear IGC,

The internet is infiltrating more and more into everyone’s life whether
they are “connected” or not. The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was
convened at the request of the second phase of the World Summit on the
Information Society held in Tunis in 2005. The extracts below come
from the Tunis
Agenda <http://www.itu.int/net/wsis/docs2/tunis/off/6rev1.html>, one of the
documents produced by the meeting. The ones I have chosen are those that
are relevant to my motivation for submitting a nomination, particularly the
last one that refers to the interests of the “everyday users”.

29. … The international management of the Internet should be multilateral,
transparent and democratic, with the full involvement of governments, the
private sector, civil society and international organizations. It should
ensure an equitable distribution of resources, facilitate access for all
and ensure a stable and secure functioning of the Internet, taking into
account multilingualism.

We reaffirm our commitment to turning the digital divide into digital
opportunity, and we commit to ensuring harmonious and equitable development
for all

72 We ask the UN Secretary-General, in an open and inclusive process, to
convene, by the second quarter of 2006, a meeting of the new forum for
multi-stakeholder policy dialogue—called the *Internet Governance Forum* (IGF).
The mandate of the Forum is to:

 f. Strengthen and enhance the engagement of stakeholders in existing
and/or future Internet governance mechanisms, particularly those from
developing countries.

k. Help to find solutions to the issues arising from the use and misuse of
the Internet, of particular concern to everyday users.

The Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) was set up by the Secretary
General of the United Nations to advise “on the programme and schedule of
the Internet Governance Forum meetings”
<http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/magabout>

I submitted a nomination for the MAG selection this year because I believe
that I can contribute to a currently under-represented perspective in the
planning of the work of the IGF. Currently more than half of the world’s
population is excluded from participation in the “global phenomenon” of the
internet, although, more and more, their lives are being affected by its
presence. I cannot “speak for” them, but I can add a voice to those who
advocate on their behalf. In particular I am concerned with disability,
physical disability but also disability when it comes to mother tongue, to
education, to money, to the supply of electricity and/or access to an
internet connection, the disabilities that create the “other” in both the
developing and the developed the world. These disabilities exist in the
small island which is my home, across the region of the Caribbean, and in
the wider area of Latin America and the Caribbean to which I belong.

So one of my priorities would be working towards improving participation to
counteract these disabilities. Another would be to provide a reminder of
the needs of “everyday users”. And another would be a recognition of the
importance of the low profile unglamourous jobs which need to be done to
make things work smoothly, and a willingness to engage with these. I think
that Fatima did a tremendous amount of work in the background while she was
a member of the MAG. I would hope to be able to fill a part of the gap that
she will leave behind her.

Best wishes

Deirdre

-- 
“The fundamental cure for poverty is not money but knowledge" Sir William
Arthur Lewis, Nobel Prize Economics, 1979
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