i2Coalition Urges for Multi-Stakeholder Process in WSIS Review

Over the past year and a half, the i2Coalition has established itself as the unified voice for public policy and education for the Internet infrastructure industry. We continue to be particularly focused on connecting with our international colleagues in support of a multi-stakeholder process in Internet governance.

As head of the i2Coalition’s Public Policy Working Group, I’m proud to announce that the i2Coalition is one of 10 global organizations that recently petitioned the co-facilitators of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to keep Internet policy negotiations open and collaborative for the 10-year review.

The WSIS was held as two United Nations conferences in Geneva in December 2003 and Tunis in November 2005. The goals included establishing a framework to help bring the developing world online and work through a multi-stakeholder process.

The next set of consultations on the WSIS process is tomorrow, March 11.  The i2Coalition believes that the WSIS process creates a unique opportunity to ensure that the future of both is more synergistic. We envision an overall WSIS review that:

• Renews and revives the international community’s commitment to the Geneva principles’ vision of a “people-centered, inclusive, development-oriented and non-discriminatory Information Society”;
• Is firmly rooted in the international human rights framework and the multi-stakeholder tradition, which is at the heart of the Information Society;
• Considers fully how private enterprise, especially SMEs, can help deliver a networked economy with the greatest benefits at the lowest cost for all, especially those who are in developing and least-developed countries and not yet online;
• Learns from the last 10 years WSIS implementation and ensures future implementation is designed to helping the world deliver on the goals of the post-2015 development agenda.

Read the entire joint-statement outlining the details here [PDF].