The 8th meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2013 was held in Bali, Indonesia from 22 to 25 October 2013. The theme this year was “Building bridges – Enhancing multistakeholder cooperation for growth and sustainable development”. The different workshops were categorised into:
• Internet as engine for growth
• Human Rights, Freedom of Expression
• Security – Legal and other frameworks
• Principles of Multistakeholder Cooperation
• Internet Governance Principles.
Being an IGF Ambassador meant actively participating in sessions by supporting some workshops either as a rapporteur or a remote moderator. 2 days before the IGF, ambassadors had an opportunity to attend pre-IGF events that included ISOC Chapters workshop and a Collaborative Leadership Exchange (CLX) workshop. These pre-events were really useful and interesting as ambassadors met with ISOC chapter leaders to share ideas about how to improve the relevance of local ISOC chapters. Some of the topics discussed included: financial management within the chapter, events for young members, membership management, setting chapter goals and objectives, among others. The CLX workshop discussed topics like Cybersecurity in developing countries; online intermediaries and human rights; child protection online and technology learning.
During the sessions, speakers talked about various Internet-related issues. Participants were informed that nearly 40% of people worldwide would be online by 2014. A representative from W3C (Web Accessibility Initiative) confirmed that the Internet was of utter importance to everyone, including persons with disabilities. The Internet has indeed created a world of possibilities and it is important to ensure that it is transparent, safe and inclusive. The cyberspace continues to expand rapidly as the number of users on the Internet increases. As this happens, other issues such as cybercrimes (including cross-border crimes) come into play but they can be mitigated if the right laws are put into place. The Internet is also undergoing significant changes like IPv6 and VoIP and it is important to understand what is happening in cyberspace if full potential of the Internet is to be realised.
One major concern was attendance by government officials, especially from developing countries. While some countries had good government representation, Uganda was represented by a few members mainly from civil society and academia. Government support is vital in fostering Internet development and improving Internet access among citizens in the country. The challenge for the chapter is to therefore improve government interest in Internet-related discussions by creating awareness among leaders.
There were several workshops related to vulnerable children online as some speakers noted that parents and teachers are always late in protecting children online. This could be attributed to the fact that many parents and teachers have little or no information about what their children do online. In addition, the community seems to be less informed about what can be done to ensure that children are safe online. Everyone has a role to play in ensuring that children are safe online.
Most importantly, members are encouraged to actively participate in Chapter meetings and discussions as well as the national Internet Governance Forum because the discussions at this level feed into regional and global discussions.
About IGF 2014
The next IGF will take place in Istanbul, Turkey from 2nd to 5th September 2014.