[WSIS CS-Plenary] Invitation to attend United Nations - Internet Governance Forum workshops being co-organised by IT for Change

Fri Nov 9 05:16:14 GMT 2007

Dear Friends

**Apologies for Cross Posting**

Greetings from IT for Change

This is to invite you attend workshops being co-organised by IT for Change
(ITfC) at the United Nations - Internet Governance Forum 2007 at Rio,
Brazil. Details regarding these workshops are given below 

1.      Frameworks for Governance of Critical Internet Resources

*         Time and Venue: 14th November 2007, 12:30 - 14:00 hrs, Pardo I,
Windsor Barra Hotel

*         About the Workshop

With the Internet becoming the infrastructure of an ever-increasing range of
social, economic and political activities, the manner of governance of its
core or critical resources - a term whose meaning itself is contested - is a
matter of importance for all. Private commercial law, voluntary standards,
community-based norms and practices, and national, regional and
international law, may all have a role in the governance of Critical
Internet Resources (CIRs). Their governance is exercised by private parties
in contractual arrangements, local/ national regulators, regional and
international governmental institutions, communities of Internet users and
non-governmental, voluntary standards bodies of national, regional and
international purview. 

*         The purpose of this workshop is to examine some key issues
regarding the governance of CIRs, such as:

(1) The resources critical to the working and growth of the Internet and its
appropriation by all individuals and groups, including the disadvantaged;

(2) The level and means by which CIRs are governed/ should be governed; and

(3) The normative basis of different approaches to the governance of CIRs.

The multi-stakeholder, multinational panel of this workshop will map the
current landscape of Internet Governance mechanisms and institutions, as
well as explore alternatives, including "commons-based" and "public
interest-based" frameworks, for the governance of CIRs. 

More information on this workshop can be found at
<http://www.itforchange.net/images/stories/files/governance_frameworks_for_c
ritical_internet_resources_flyer.pdf>
http://www.itforchange.net/images/stories/files/governance_frameworks_for_cr
itical_internet_resources_flyer.pdf

2.      Dynamic Coalition on Framework of Principles for the Internet

*         Time and Venue: 14th November 2007, 16:30 - 18:00 hrs, Meeting
Room Imperial, Windsor Barra Hotel

*         About the Dynamic Coalition

The dynamic coalition on 'Framework of Principles for the Internet' has the
objective to understand, influence and contribute to the processes of making
international laws, conventions, treaties etc in the area of Internet
Governance - both of the soft law and hard law varieties - incorporating the
multi-stakeholder principle. For this purpose, the coalition will explore
the possibility of civil society taking the lead in collaboratively
developing some overall normative principles for the Internet which can
underpin such international processes, and/or themselves be adopted through
a framework convention kind of a process. 

*         About the Workshop 

The present workshop will map out the objectives and working methods of the
dynamic coalition, apart from taking on the substantive agenda of exploring
what kind of frameworks and principles will be suitable for guiding global
public policy for the Internet. It will also seek to address the possibility
of engaging with global Internet public policy processes including that of
the WSIS mandated 'enhanced cooperation'.

More information on this workshop can be found at
http://intgovforum.org/dyn_col_session.php?DC=Framework%20of%20Principles%20
for%20the%20Internet

IT for Change is also involved in the organising of a third workshop being
sponsored by the Civil Society - Internet Governance Caucus (IGC)

3.      Fulfilling the mandate of the IGF

*         Time and Venue: 15th November 2007, 08:30 am - 10:00 am, Pardo 1,
Windsor Barra Hotel

*         About the Workshop 

The Tunis Agenda for the Information Society mandates the IGF to: discuss
public policy issues; facilitate discourse between bodies dealing with
cross-cutting international public policies and discuss issues that do not
fall within the scope of any existing body; interface with appropriate
intergovernmental organizations and other institutions on matters under
their purview; facilitate the exchange of information and best practices,
and in this regard make full use of the expertise of the academic,
scientific and technical communities; advise all stakeholders on increasing
the Internet's availability and affordability in the developing world;
strengthen and enhance multistakeholder engagement in existing and future
Internet Governance mechanisms; identify emerging issues, bring them to the
attention of the relevant bodies and the general public, and, where
appropriate, make recommendations; contribute to capacity-building; promote
and assess, on an ongoing basis, the embodiment of WSIS principles in
Internet governance processes; discuss critical Internet resources; help to
find solutions to the issues arising from the use and misuse of the
Internet; and publish its proceedings.

It could be argued that the IGF is contributing to the realization of some
of these objectives. However, other items in the list are more difficult to
promote solely through annual conferences comprising main sessions with
panels of speakers and an assortment of workshops.  Accordingly, this
workshop will consider what additional steps, if any, could be taken on a
consensual, multistakeholder basis to help the IGF community achieve the
mandate.  In particular, the workshop will consider: 

1.  The thinking behind the formulation of the mandate, which derives from
the WGIG Report and the discussions held during Prep-Com 3 of the WSIS Tunis
phase;

2.  Whether some or all of the functions enumerated in the mandate remain
important, value-adding, activities that are not being performed elsewhere,
would benefit the global community, and are uniquely suited to the IGF; 

3.  Operationally practical steps that could be pursued on a consensual,
multistakeholder basis by the IGF community in order to perform those
functions;

4.  Related current trends and challenges in the IGF's activities.

More information on this workshop can be found at
http://intgovforum.org/wks_session_info.php?numes=37

Additionally, information on those workshops where ITfC is participating in
can be found at
http://www.itforchange.net/images/stories/files/itfor_change_at_theun_igf_20
07.pdf

Best Regards

Vivek

Vivek Vaidyanathan

IT for Change (ITfC)

Bridging Development Realities and Technological Possibilities

Tel:(+91 80) 26654134, 26536890

Fax:(+91 80) 41461055

Mob: +91 9980084835

 <http://www.ITforChange.net> www.ITforChange.net

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