ARIN and the Internet Governance Forum
By Hollis Kara, ARIN
Members of TeamARIN spent the week of 5 November in Baku, Azerbaijan for the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). ARIN Board members, Vint Cerf, Paul Vixie, and Bill Woodcock played key roles in a number of panels and workshops. Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy, Cathy Handley, continued to work with a range of stakeholders in preparation for the upcoming World Conference on Telecommunications Conference (WCIT-12). While other ARIN staff worked with colleagues from the other Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) to represent the Number Resource Organization (NRO), which hosted workshops on IPv6 and RPKI and a booth in the IGF Expo area.
Why does it matter?
The IGF provides a vehicle for open dialog between a wide range of stakeholders: governments, industry, civil society, along with Internet entities like ISOC, ICANN, and the RIRs. As Vint Cerf stated in his opening address,
“The Internet Governance Forum emerged from the World Summit on the Information Society as an expression and recognition of the roles and responsibilities of multiple stakeholders with an interest in the Internet’s growth, operation, accessibility, and use. It is founded on the belief that policies associated with the Internet should be informed by the views of all parties affected by and benefiting from its operation.”
What was discussed?
Each IGF has a theme, and this year it was “Internet Governance for Sustainable Human, Economic and Social Development”. Workshops and panels fell into one of six general categories:
• Critical Internet Resources
• Internet Governance and Development
• Access and Diversity
• Emerging Issues
• Security, Openness, and Privacy
• Taking Stock and the Way Forward
In many ways, the IGF provided an opportunity for many stakeholders to add their thoughts to the WCIT-12 dialog. Many WCIT proposals were discussed or alluded to in these open sessions where issues of Internet geography and rights to access were debated freely.
It was an exciting and enlightening week.
The webcast has been archived for your viewing pleasure, if you want to explore the experience that was IGF 7!
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