The future of Internet governance belongs to civil society, not to governments

The future of information governance in the Internet belongs to civil society, not to governments, said at the four-day Internet Governance Forum in Baku (IGF),  on November 6-9, held  under the auspices of the UN.

According to  the final document, the conference was attended by over 1600 delegates from 128 countries, including top managers of the leading companies, experts, civil society representatives, government officials, heads of international organizations on human development, scientists, private sector, etc.

It should be noted that in contrast to previous years, the most significant and interested components of the forum became representatives of civil society. Compared to previous years, the representation of women also increased. The youth also played an important role.   Another feature was that  all Internet users participated  in its work. 49 experts from the number of virtual users and participants via video and audio facilities interacted with members of the forum.

This forum differed by the protesting activities a global civil society, tat was expressed  by publications in various media even before the conference. Daily  online progress was commented not only  by professionals, but also by  tens of thousands of users of social networks (mainly, «Twitter» and «Facebook») in the world. Organizers noted not-reducing activity even after the forum. So, the theme of the forum IGF “Internet for sustainable human, economic and social development” fully justified itself.

The discussions covered a wide range of issues from cyber security to protect the psyche of children to the Internet, the growing influence of social networks, the data relating to state secrets to various aspects of human rights, and more.

At the closing session Haiyyan Jian, Head of State Administration and Development Management at the UN, said that a joint and transparent process  of management plays an important role in stimulating the growth of the Internet, bringing new social and economic opportunities for mankind in the developing world.

"We need to build capacity to solve the challenges and strategies, not only in  some countries and organizations. Our task is to help others, especially in developing and least developed countries, and countries with economies in transition. The Internet offers great potential and opportunities for sustainable development," she said.

The  UN report says that the IGF forum is not the directive body; this is a  space for dialogue where all  participants, including civil society, are to discuss public policy issues related to the Internet.

The next  IGF forum will be held in 2013 in Bali (Indonesia). Six previous meetings of the Forum were held in Greece (2006), Brazil (2007), India (2008), Egypt (2009), Lithuania (2010) and Kenya (2011). --17D—