|
The Internet Society (ISOC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world. Since 1992, ISOC has served as a global clearinghouse for technically sound, unbiased information about the Internet, as an educator, and as a focal point for a broad based community of interest engaged in Internet-related initiatives around the world. It provides the institutional home for the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Internet Architecture Board (IAB), and the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF).
We appreciate being able to provide input into the work of the Council Working Group on International Internet-Related Public Policy Issues (CWG). However, we also feel that in the spirit of the WSIS Tunis Agenda, the ITU should open up the dialogue and invite all stakeholders to engage in the discussions.
We firmly agree with the Tunis Agenda that “the management of the Internet encompasses both technical and public policy issues and should involve all stakeholders and relevant intergovernmental and international organizations”. We therefore call on the ITU to take into account the outcome of WSIS in the organization of its work; adapt the proceedings of the CWG accordingly and take the next step to fully engage the entire multistakeholder community.
As a Sector Member of the ITU Telecommunication Standards and Telecommunication Development Sectors, the Internet Society respectfully submits this contribution to the CWG as part of its public consultation.
Issue 3: Consultation on developmental aspects of the Internet. The Council Working Group on International Internet-Related Public Policy Issues invites all stakeholders to provide input on international public policy issues related to developmental aspects of the Internet.
The Internet Society has been involved in Internet infrastructure development and has further supported the development of Internet standards for over twenty years in partnership with a variety of stakeholders. Some of our partnerships have been with network operators, research and education networks, government authorities, Internet exchange point coordinators and operators, international financial institutions, regional development organizations, the RIRs, ICANN, the IETF and other Internet technical experts.
Our experience has shown that the combination of human, technical, and governance infrastructure development has driven successful and effective Internet infrastructure development. No one organization is successful on its own. Partners are critical and help drive sustainable and effective change.
The Internet Society respectfully suggests that regional and local partnerships for infrastructure development should form the foundation of any work in the ITU on the “developmental aspects” of the Internet. Based on our experience, it is clear that partnerships must be at the center of any efforts to create an enabling environment for development.
Given the upcoming preparations for the ITU’s World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC), the ITU membership has a unique window of opportunity to work with its members and a wide range of other relevant experts and organizations to strengthen regional and local cooperation. For example, the ITU-D regional offices have a long track-record of hosting useful training workshops and seminars. Building on this success, the upcoming ITU-D should reinforce the role the regional offices can play in partnership with relevant stakeholders. The ITU-D regional offices should work closely with regional and local partners to identify training and capacity building opportunities that leverage the respective expertise of all partners.
Conclusion
We believe that open and inclusive dialogue based on the input from a variety of stakeholders is key for any successful dialogue on International Internet Public Policy Issues. We appreciate the opportunity to submit input as part of the open consultation process of the Council Working Group and reiterate our call for greater openness, inclusiveness and transparency of this activity within the ITU. It is only through open and inclusive discussion that robust and sustainable Internet policies can be developed.
|
