Global Forum on Internet Governance Starts in Baku

Baku today launched its seventh meeting of the Forum on Internet governance (Internet Governance Forum - IGF), with more than a thousand delegates from more than 100 countries participating.

Representatives of government agencies, international organizations, private sector, civil society, the Internet community and the media - will discuss on November 6-9, the trans-boundary issues of Internet governance.

The main theme of the current annual meeting, being held in Baku at the Exhibition Center, is "Internet Governance for sustainable human, social and economic development."

The issue of Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) is one of the main topics on the agenda. The discussion will raise issues such as the implementation and use of the sixth version of Internet protocol IPv6 and the transformation of the Internet into a common reality through innovation policy "Access and Diversity".

"Every day we see new evidence of the successful application of engineering and technology in our joint efforts to promote economic and social development as well as human development," said the Deputy Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo. "However, the same techniques and technologies bring with them new challenges. These challenges need to be solved by all stakeholders - so as to ensure engagement of the widest possible range of participants. The Forum on Internet Governance is an ideal platform for the dissemination of knowledge about the Internet, initiating discussions to find ways to overcome the "digital divide" and the information management process of political decision-making."

"Azerbaijan pays special attention to the development of information and communication technologies and the Internet. Approximately 65 percent of the Azerbaijani population are Internet users. Our country already uses the latest technology - 4G. It is commendable that in Azerbaijan there is freedom of the Internet. In our country, widespread Internet Radio and Internet TV programs, electronic newspapers and magazines, foreign and internal social network. Thousands of bloggers are engaged in free activities in the online environment of Azerbaijan. We support any well-intentioned Internet activities aimed at establishing friendly relations between people and nations, to build an equal relationship based on mutual respect. I wish you success in the work of the Forum. I believe that this forum will contribute to global development," stated Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, Baku on November 5, 2012.

According to the report of the Department of Public Information of the United Nations, within the framework of the meeting, workshops will be held on Internet safety, transparency and privacy in global networks which are "core" problems permeating the philosophy of the Internet and which make a continued presence on the agenda of the Forum on Internet Governance. Among the other topics, the seminar will discuss issues such as the filtering of Internet traffic, blocking access to Internet resources and the effects of measures to stop access to the Internet for individuals, groups and countries. Further development of the topic at the meeting will be the protection of freedom of speech and innovation, discussed at the meeting of the Forum in the past year. In addition, the meeting will consider the role of traditional and new media, and professional and civic journalism in the world united by the Internet.

It is expected that the focus of the upcoming forum will be some new problems - such as the protection of intellectual property rights, new business models, open data and government organizations use the Internet in the course of operations in the aftermath of natural disasters. In the subtopic "Summing up, outlining the prospects" there will be considered a multilateral model, the evolution of the Forum on Internet governance, and the role and features of similar national and regional forums.

The Forum on Internet governance is not a decision-making body. It is more a platform for dialogue between equal partners in public policy in relation to the Internet. Forum meetings are terminated with agreed solutions. However, discussions on it are a source of information for managers in both the public and private sectors, and encourage them to take action.

Note that in the forum a number of international human rights organizations held a discussion on the situation in Azerbaijan's human rights and freedom of expression on the Internet.

The Forum on Internet Governance was established by the decision of the Tunis Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society in 2005. -06D -