[Chapter-delegates] On my way to IGF 2014...

[Richard Hill]

Dear Kathy,

Thank you very much for this.  The Electronic Freedom Foundation has also
expressed some reservations regarding the WEF activities, see:

  https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/08/internet-governance-and-netmundial-i
nitiative-flawed-attempt-turning-words-action

And I've heard similar things privately.

Thanks again and best,
Richard
  -----Original Message-----
  From: Chapter-delegates
[mailto:chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org]On Behalf Of Kathy Brown
  Sent: vendredi, 29. aout 2014 20:01
  To: Chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org
  Subject: [Chapter-delegates] On my way to IGF 2014...


  To my ISOC Colleagues,

  I am writing as I fly to Istanbul with much anticipation for a week of
important work. I understand that more than 3000 people have registered for
the IGF. This past year, as a diverse Internet community, we have given much
thought and energy on how to best "govern" ourselves. In Istanbul, we will
have an opportunity, with our colleagues from around the world, to, once
again, demonstrate the power of collective collaboration and action. As we
know, collaboration is essential to ensure the future of the Internet.  If
decisions related to the Internet and its future are not in the hands of the
many, they will only be in the hands of the few.  I will post some further
thoughts this weekend on IGF before the panels, workshops, lunches and
dinners begin.

  I wanted, however, to take a few moments before we land to report back on
my observations of the WEF event yesterday.

  I applaud the leadership of the World Economic Forum for highlighting and
recognizing the enormity of the effect of the Internet on the global economy
and the benefits and challenges inherent in its adoption in much of the
world. It is, of course, entirely legitimate that it seeks to understand and
participate in the debate on internet governance. When given the opportunity
to comment during the morning session, I urged that its thinking about
governance include as its central tenet the continuing investment,
innovation and access to the Internet to and for everyone, particularly for
those who do not yet have access and for the "unborn innovator".

  Many of us in and around the Internet Society--on Staff, on the Board, in
our organizational members and Chapters, in the IETF and the IAB have been
deeply committed and involved in working with our extended communities to
address the threats to the Internet as well as to develop, manage and deploy
the ever-evolving technology of the Internet throughout the world. We revel
in inventing the future. Together, we have adopted a bottom up culture and
method of decision making around numerous, local and global, technical,
social and legal issues that arise in the decentralized, distributed
ecosystem which is the Internet.

  We were delighted with the cooperative spirit in Brazil at Net Mundial as
well as our collective ability to reach rough consensus on the principles
that should govern our governing. Olaf Kolkman, ISOC's new CITO,
enthusiastically said, lets tack these principles on the door and, for all
who are ready to embrace them, come on in.

  Many of us are busy implementing features of the NetMundial roadmap. ISOC
has developed toolkits for spam and IXPs; our regional offices hold INETs
throughout the world to demonstrate and teach technical skills; our
Leadership program creates and administers online courses and sponsors
leadership seminars, ambassadorships and internships; we take active
leadership in policy development for governance issues; and our staff has
worked tirelessly to introduce best practices workshops to the IGF, while
our Chapters have actively supported Regional and National IGFs around the
Globe. The Internet Society is a party to the NTIA Transition Coordinating
Committee. Our representatives and Chapters are intimately involved in the
ICANN accountability dialogue. We believe that we are well along the
Internet Governance journey.

  We welcome any and all people and groups of good will to work with us and
the broader Internet Community in a multi-stakeholder effort to deepen and
broaden this effort.  We certainly invite WEF to get acquainted with our
collective work that is serious and ongoing. I heard some intention to do
that.

  I was disturbed, however, as others have expressed, with the opaque way
the meeting came about; about what seemed to be established agendas; talk of
some new single entity and top down models that purport to represent organic
community processes that could be hobbled by definitions and artificial role
expectations.

  I frankly do not know enough to know whether my concerns are justified. I
look forward to hearing more from WEF, and perhaps, from the ICANN
leadership, this week, about the initiative. I hope, too, that the folks at
WEF who are coming to the IGF soak up the energy, creativity, work and sweat
of the community that will gather this week. A constructive dialogue and the
collaborative spirit of NetMundial may just cause us to join forces for the
good of the Internet and the good of the world.

  So, on to Istanbul. We have work to do.


  Kathy
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