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Media InformationArchived Press ReleasesFuture of the Internet: Internet Society supports more active involvement by the developing WorldGeneva, Switzerland - April 2nd, 2004 - Several members of the leadership of the Internet Society (ISOC) participated in last week's meeting of the United Nations Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Task Force, as part of the Internet Society's efforts to assure the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world. The goal of the meeting was to prepare the ground for a new working group on Internet governance which will contribute to the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to be held in Tunisia late next year. ISOC strongly supported the meeting's efforts to increase involvement of developing countries in these activities."This meeting is further evidence that government leaders around the world understand the power and potential of the Internet," said Lynn St. Amour, President of the Internet Society. "In most countries, governments now realize that the Internet is too important to be left only to the telecommunication ministry. Government officials and ministers responsible for foreign policy, trade, science and education, all need to understand how the Internet works and how it can benefit their citizens. And they all can help promote the Internet's development. The Internet Society stands ready to help policy makers around the world learn more about the Internet and find ways for citizens to participate more fully in the organisations that are shaping its development." UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, during the opening session of the meeting noted that the issues surrounding Internet governance are numerous and complex. He went on to add that "even the definition of what we mean by Internet governance is a subject of debate. But the world has a common interest in ensuring the security and dependability of this new medium. Equally important, we need to develop inclusive and participatory models of governance. The medium must be made accessible and responsive to the needs of all the world's people." ISOC strongly agrees with Secretary-General Annan's observations and is pleased that many meeting participants recognised that the continued successful coordination of Internet standards and resources depends largely on the proven consensus-based processes that were developed by individuals and organisations drawn from the global Internet community. Among the prominent speakers at the meeting were Dr. Vint Cerf and Dr. Robert Kahn - two pioneers of the Internet, and co-founders of the Internet Society. They explained how open processes and user participation in all aspects of the Internet's development and administration had helped the Internet to grow so quickly. "For the most part, the Internet has evolved openly, freely, and without a great deal of governmental or other oversight because rules are developed openly and adopted voluntarily," said Cerf. "The diverse nature of Internet coordination activities and the need to cater for differing requirements at national, regional and global levels, make it unrealistic to expect a single body - government or otherwise - to take on all these roles effectively," said Michael Nelson, Vice President for Policy of the Internet Society. "The Internet - with its hundreds of millions of users - is well served by the open and inclusive processes at standards setting bodies such as the Internet Engineering Task Force and organisations such as ICANN. Today we are very glad to see so much support for increased LDC participation in these processes". Some Forum participants, including representatives of the business community, called for a focus on issues that are not already being addressed by expert bodies and where concrete action is possible. In this respect, ISOC supports the International Chamber of Commerce's call for caution in ensuring that the scope of the UN working group be confined to acting as a steering committee rather than a group that would draft recommendations or specifications. A strong message of the meeting was the importance of finding ways in which the Internet can assist the developing world, and of ensuring that the benefits of the Internet contribute to the cause of human development. Ms Louise Frechette, UN Deputy Secretary-General, pointed out that "ICTs - particularly the Internet - can play a vital role in contributing to the Millennium Development Goals." To this end, ongoing education in network design and operation, and application technology transfer, are critical to ensuring the continued open development, evolution and use of the Internet. Education and development have always been key focus areas for ISOC. ISOC education initiatives, for example, have helped bring Internet connectivity to virtually all developing countries over the last 12 years. Today, ISOC is more committed than ever before to supporting activities that can help build additional technical expertise and capacity in developing countries. "The Global Forum was an important step towards raising general awareness of the role of effective Internet coordination processes in increasing the reach of the Internet," said Fred Baker, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Internet Society. "These processes clearly extend well beyond the traditional definition of 'governance' and ISOC looks forward to continued participation in the ongoing consultations that the UN working group will be undertaking in the coming months." About ISOCThe Internet Society (www.isoc.org) is a not-for-profit membership organisation founded in 1991 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. With offices in Washington, DC, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world. ISOC is the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and other Internet-related bodies who together play a critical role in ensuring that the Internet develops in a stable and open manner. For over 12 years ISOC has run international network training programs for developing countries and these have played a vital role in setting up the Internet connections and networks in virtually every country connecting to the Internet during this time.Note to EditorsSeveral Internet Society white papers on how the Internet is managed can be found at:http://www.isoc.org/news/ http://www.isoc.org/briefings/ More information on ISOC educational programs can be found at: http://www.isoc.org/educpillar/ For further detailsInternet Society: http://www.isoc.orgPeter Godwin Senior Program Manager E-mail: godwin at isoc.org Internet Society 4, rue des Falaises 1205 Geneva Switzerland |
