Public Policy 

Internet Governance

World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)

The United Nations convened the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to develop a "common vision and understanding of the information society and the adoption of a declaration and plan of action for implementation by Governments, international institutions and all sectors of civil society".

WSIS was held in two phases: the first in Geneva, hosted by the Government of Switzerland from 10 to 12 December 2003, and the second in Tunis hosted by the Government of Tunisia, from 16 to 18 November 2005.

ISOC Workshop at WSIS 2003

Workshop presentations now available for download - see below

WHAT: The Internet: How it works, Why it works, Who makes it work

WHEN: Tuesday, December 9th at 9:30 to 12:30

WHERE: Saleve room, Geneva Palexpo, Geneva, Switzerland

The Internet is now over 30 years old.

The multiple facets of the Internet have evolved through the participation of all stakeholders - the technical community, business community, civil society, governments, academia, to mention just a few. This workshop explains how the Internet functions, and how it has evolved successfully with the participation of all stakeholders. The Internet's success is due to the unique nature in which it develops - through international, transparent, inclusive processes, with no restriction on the ability to participate. With no barriers to participation, there is also full accountability to the community. It is important in discussing Internet Governance to have a full understanding of how many things can fall under the term, such as fraud, trademark and copyright violations, spam, digital signatures, content control, as well as technical infrastructure matters such as standards and unique identifiers like IP addresses and domain names.

No facet of the Internet can work in isolation, technology impacts policy, and policy can impact technology. It is also important to understand that there are many entities involved in any aspect of the Internet, and the workshop shows the roles played by such organizations as ICANN and the role of ccTLDs, gTLDs, RIRs in relation to the domain name system, the work of the technical community such as the IETF, and the important work of organizations such as ISOC.

The workshop also explains how all interested parties, including governments, can and do participate in some of these organizations, and how decisions are reached.

Agenda: