The following text is excerpted from an ongoing discussion on the IGF Advisory Group mailing list. The only changes made relate to an effort to anonymize the comments in respect of the Chatham House rule. The discussion took place between 18-26 August, 2008. (Writer A) In order to facilitate the process of workshop selection, I wanted to let you know that I withdraw my proposal for the workshop on [EDITED]. You know the issue is dear to my heart and last year's workshop was a very interesting one. The purpose was to organize a second, follow-up one this year and participants were willing to do it. But given the overall number of proposals, I consider this to be less of a priority for the community and am willing to drop it if it facilitates the organization. Some of the elements will be addressed in workshop n°[EDITED]. On the other hand, I maintain workshop proposal n° [EDITED] regarding national multi- stakeholder consultations and their relation to the IGF. It is a "best practice" type of workshop that will highlight the positive impact that the IGF experiment has at the national level, with illustrative examples from UK, Finland, Brazil, Italy, Koweit and France. I will provide the needed additional information for the September meeting and hope this will allow this proposal to move into the green category with the support of all. In that context, I invite all MAG participants that know of such "national IGF" efforts to contact me to make this workshop as useful as possible. I hope this will facilitate establishing the final list of workshops. (Writer B) Some of the working groups organizing the main session workshops are beginning their discussions. In the past we've spent a lot of time trying to balance gender, stakeholders, regional representation in each main session. And it was noted in the taking stock discussion earlier this year that we didn't do such a good job with gender balance in the Rio sessions. I think this year we said as we were aiming for smaller panels we should try to balance these various interests across all the sessions. Does that sound correct? How can the MAG achieve this? Seems it will need MAG members involved to keep track of speaker recommendations across the six main session workshops. Just a thought! (Markus Kummer) Dear colleagues, Please find attached an email and a letter from the Dynamic Coalition on an Internet Bill of Rights for your consideration. Best regards Markus "Max Senges" 15/08/2008 21:08 To igf@unog.ch cc bill-of-rights@ipjustice.org, governance@lists.cpsr.org, "Adam Peake" , "Seiiti Arata Jr." Subject Rights as core theme of the IGF Dear IGF Secretariate & MAG The Dynamic Coalition on an Internet Bill of Rights would like you to consider the attached letter, in which we respectfully ask the Secretariat and Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group to reconsider the draft agenda and to add "Rights and the Internet" as a core theme for Hyderabad, as our input to the open discussion of the IGF 2008 program. Please note that the Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus has expressed its full support and endorsement of the letter. Kind regards, Max Senges ------------------------------------------------- Dr. Max Senges Chair of the Internet Bill of Rights Coalition http://internet-bill-of-rights.org ------------------------------------------------------------ (See attached file: IGF_rights_as_main_theme.pdf) ATTACHMENT 15th of August 2008 Dear IGF Secretariat and Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group, The Dynamic Coalition on the Internet Bill of Rights respectfully requests that the issue of rights and the internet is made a core agenda topic for the IGF. The Dynamic Coalition notes that, through the "openness" theme, rights have been a central topic in the previous IGFs, and is concerned that this topic appears to have been pushed down the draft agenda for this year's IGF in Hyderabad. We are greatly concerned by the significant reduction of emphasis on "openness" and "diversity" in the current agenda for Hyderabad. In particular, "openness and privacy" are only mentioned as a half of a sub-item of the general "Promoting Cyber-security and Trust" main theme. Rather than promoting positive discussion about how to expand the opportunities that the internet offers for realizing our fundamental rights and freedoms as enshrined in international law, the title of the main security theme plays on negativity and fear of the internet. We are concerned that the sessions will focus on security measures, without adequate discussion of how to ensure that these do not erode the capacity of the internet to support and advance human rights, for example to expression, culture, privacy and development. Given that, in addition to the IBR Dynamic Coalition, several other coalitions and IGF participants are also concerned over the limited consideration of rights on the program, we respectfully ask the Secretariat and Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group to reconsider the draft agenda and to add "Rights and the Internet" as a core theme for Hyderabad, and to work towards incorporating 'Rights and the Internet' into the IGF Cairo agenda as an overarching theme. We recognize that development of the draft agenda is well underway, but feel that it would still be possible to adapt the agenda without undue impact on the ongoing workshop merger process, by reorienting the sub-theme main session "Fostering Security, Privacy and Openness" to focus on rights. The issue of security would be better addressed in the partnering sub-theme session, coupled with the issue of cybercrime. The main plenary session could then bring these two strands together. Another possibility to give rights a more prominent stance would be to change the title of the main theme, "Promoting Cyber-security and Trust" to, "Balancing Security and Trust with Openness and Freedoms (or Rights)". As we wrote in the Dynamic Coalition report submitted to the Secretariat on 30th June, the coalition would like to offer its support in helping to shape such a session in partnership with the workshop organisers who have opted to merge with it. We also stand ready to engage in a dialogue with the Secretariat and Advisory Group in order to ensure that rights receive adequate attention at the IGF. We thank you for your consideration and await your response. Kind regards, The Internet Bill of Rights Coalition Please also note that the Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus has expressed its full support and endorsement of the letter. About the Internet Bill of Rights Coalition The Internet Bill of Rights Dynamic Coalition is acting as an umbrella coalition for all individuals and groups who are concerned with rights issues and internet governance. The internet has unleashed a raft of opportunities to protect and expand our human rights as protected by international law, and offers significant new possibilities for development and empowerment. However, the internet also presents us with serious challenges, including how to balance the social goods that stem from the openness of the internet with the need for security, and how to ensure that the benefits that the internet brings are shared by all. The Dynamic Coalition on the Internet Bill of Rights is working to address these issues, with a view to ensuring that human rights are integral to internet governance processes and decisions. Our membership is diverse in terms of stakeholders, geography and view points. For example, some people in the coalition are concerned with ensuring that our rights our protected when we use the internet, some are working to ensure that rights underpin the norms that guide internet governance, and others are seeking to establish rights to the internet so that all have access to the benefits and opportunities it supports. Yet all of our members are keen to see a greater focus on rights in the main agenda of the IGF so that these important issues can be given the attention that they deserve. The topic of the "Internet Bill of Rights", as a specific IGF main agenda item and long-term goal, has already received a significant degree of wide spread interest and support. This has included an appeal by illustrious people at the second WSIS in Tunis, massive participation in the Coalition's workshops in Athens and Rio, a dedicated international conference in Rome with attendees from over 70 countries, and an official declaration by the governments of Italy and Brazil. We also note that organizations such as the Council of Europe and the Association for Progressive Communications have made similar requests for a stronger focus on rights at the IGF. (Writer C) Dear Writer D et al. I very much agree with discussing the meaning of "Enhanced Cooperation". I already had proposed this issue as a topic for the CIR main session last year. In fact, I have been giving a presentation in several meetings about "LACNIC and the Enhanced Cooperation" trying to bring LACNIC's interpretation of the Tunis agreement and what are the actions that we have performed toward the accomplishment of that agreement. I very much prefer to discuss this issue in an open manner than in other less open fields. I understand that there could be concerns about the organizers of a given workshop and/or about the mind openess of the people behind a given proposal, some of those concers I could even share, but I am very confident that we can get a balanced workshop merging the current proposals and we can take care about the diversity of opinions and the openess of the organizers. (Markus Kummer) Dear colleagues, I am happy to inform you that the official announcement of the MAG renewal was issued earlier today by the UN Department of Public Information on the UNOG Web site: http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/(httpNewsByYear_en)/417AFED513 8FD8E5C12574AD002E6C13?OpenDocument The press release is attached to this email as a separate file.It will also be issued later today in New York. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the new members. Their names have been added to the list, so that they are included in our future exchanges and can read up on our previous correspondence. As you will recall, the MAG agreed in February that about a third of its membership should be renewed. Unfortunately, it is not possible to do this without letting go old members and friends who would have deserved to stay on. I am sure you will join me and thank them for their contribution and commitment to our common endeavour and express the hope that they will remain involved. In Athens and Rio we adhered to a policy of making sure that MAG members should not take centre stage. I hope therefore that in Hyderabad we can make full use of the talents of former members and count on them to be available as panellists, discussants or moderators for the various sessions. ATTACHMENT United Nations - Information Service Press Release www.unog.ch > News and media M/08/16 22 August 2008 MULTISTAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP RENEWED TO PREPARE INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM MEETING IN HYDERABAD, INDIA The membership of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group, which is entrusted with assisting in the preparations for the annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum, has been renewed. A total of 50 members, 17 among them new, have been appointed. This represents a renewal of one third of its membership. The members of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group are from all stakeholder groups representing Governments, private sector and civil society, including the academic and technical communities, representing all regions. The Special Adviser for Internet Governance to the Secretary-General, Nitin Desai, has been asked to continue as the Chairman of the Advisory Group. The Chairman may select special advisers to assist him. Representatives of relevant intergovernmental organizations and the European Commission are also invited to attend the meetings of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group. All members serve in their personal capacity, but are expected to have extensive linkages with their respective stakeholder groups. The main task of the Advisory Group is to provide advice on the preparations of the next meeting of the Internet Governance Forum, which is to be held in Hyderabad, India from 3 to 6 December 2008. The renewed composition of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group is the result of broad-based consultations. It reflects a widely held view that the group should represent a better balance in terms of geographical diversity and gender. The group now includes 16 women among its 50 members, compared to nine in its previous composition. As part of its mandate, the Multistakeholder Advisory Group has been asked to continue efforts to enhance the transparency of the preparatory process by ensuring a continuous flow of information between its members and the various interested groups. The assistance of the Advisory Group in planning the annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum is appreciated and the outgoing members of the group are thanked for their work and support. The Internet Governance Forum is an outcome of the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, which took place in 2005. In the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, Governments asked the Secretary-General to convene a "new forum for policy dialogue" to discuss issues related to key elements of Internet governance and set out the Forum's mandate. The Forum's first two meetings took place in Athens in November 2006 and in Rio de Janeiro in November 2008. For further information, please visit http://www.intgovforum.org or contact Markus Kummer, Executive Coordinator, Secretariat of the Internet Governance Forum, tel.: +41 0 22 917 54 88, e- mail: mkummer@unog.ch. Internet Governance Forum Advisory Group - List of Members Chairman: Mr. Desai, Nitin Delhi/Mumbai - Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for Internet Governance Members: Mr. Akplogan, Adiel Port Louis - CEO, Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Africa - AfriNIC Mr. Al Shatti, Qusai Kuwait City - Deputy Chairman of Kuwait Information Technology Society Ms. Arida, Christine Cairo - Director of Telecom Planning and Services, National Telecom Regulatory Authority, Egypt Mr. Bayramov, Ayaz Baku - Head of Department for International Relations and Cooperation with NGOs, Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies, Azerbaijan Ms. Betancourt, Valeria Quito - Coordinator of the Communication and Information Policy Programme in Latin America, Association for Progressive Communications (APC) Ms. Cavalli, Olga del Carmen Buenos Aires - Adviser for Technology, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Argentina Mr. Clarke, Trevor Geneva - Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations Office at Geneva Mr. Daftardar, Abdullah Riyadh - Senior Executive, Communications and Information Technology Commission, Saudi Arabia Mr. Dardailler, Daniel Nice - Associate Chair for Europe, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Mr. de la Chapelle Bertrand Paris - Special Envoy for the Information Society, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France Ms. Diop Diagne Dakar - Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Ndeye Maimouna Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and ICT, Senegal Mr. Disspain, Chris Carlton, Australia - Chief Executive Officer, AU Registry; Chair, Council of Country-Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) Ms. Dryden, Heather Ottawa - Senior Advisor, International Telecommunications Policy and Coordination, Telecommunications Policy Branch Industry, Canada Mr. Echeberría, Raúl Montevideo - Executive Director/CEO, Latin America and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC) Mr. Fältström, Patrik Stockholm - Consulting Engineer, Cisco Systems; Member, Board of Internet Society; Member, Swedish Government IT Advisory Group Mr. Graham, Bill Ottawa - Global Strategic Engagement, Internet Society (ISOC) Ms. Gross, Robin D. San Francisco, CA - Executive Director, IP Justice Mr. Hansen, José Vitor Brasilia - Deputy Head, Division of Science and Technology, Ministry of External Relations, Brazil Ms. Hassan, Ayesha Paris - Senior Policy Manager, E-Business, IT, and Telecoms, Executive in charge of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Policy, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Mr. Hilali, Aziz Rabat - Professor, Institut Supérieur des Télécommunications de Rabat ; President, Internet Society Morocco Ms. Hofmann, Jeanette London - Senior Researcher, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) / Social Science Research Center Berlin Mr. Jamil, Zahid U. Karachi - Senior Partner and Barrister-at-Law, Jamil and Jamil, Chairman Domain Name Dispute Resolution Center Mr. Karklinš, Janis Paris - Ambassador of Latvia to France and Permanent Representative to UNESCO Mr. Katoh Masanobu Tokyo - Corporate Vice President; President of the Law and Intellectual Property Unit and Security Export Control Headquarters, Fujitsu Limited Mr. Katundu, Michael Nairobi - Assistant Director, Information Technology Communications Commission, Kenya Mr. Lau, Stephen K.M. Hong Kong - Chairman, Electronic Data System (EDS) Mr. Lohento, Gemma Dakar - Panos Institute West Africa, Coordinator, Center for International Brice (Ken) ICT Policies for Central and West Africa (CIPACO) Mr. Matulis, Aurimas Vilnius - Director of the Information Society Development Committee, Lithuania Mr. Moedjiono Jakarta - Senior Adviser to the Minister of Communication and Sardjoeni Information Technology of the Republic of Indonesia for International Relations and Digital Divide, Indonesia Mr. Oliver, Colin Canberra - Assistant Secretary, International Branch, Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Canberra, Australia Mr. Ondrej, Filip Prague - Chief Executive Officer of the NIC, Czech Republic Mr. Papadatos, George Geneva - Minister-Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Greece to the United Nations Office at Geneva Ms. Park, Y J Delft - PhD Candidate at Syracuse University – Fellow TU Delft Ms. Piñeiro, Lorena Santiago - Head of International Affairs Department, Undersecretariate of Telecommunications, Chile Mr. Pisanty, Alejandro Mexico City - Director of Computing Academic Services, Universidad Autónoma de México; Director ISOC Mexico Ms. Primo, Natasha Johannesburg - Chair, Executive Board - Association for Progressive Communications (APC) Mr. Quaynor, Nii Accra - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Network Computer Systems; President, Internet Society of Ghana Mr. Riehl, Frédéric Bienne - Deputy Director, Head of International Relations Service at the Federal Office of Communications, Switzerland Ms. Rionge, Njeri Nairobi - Chief Executive Officer; Ignite Consulting Limited Mr. Sambrook, Richard London - Director, Global News Division, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC); Vice President, European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Mr. Seadat, Peiman Tehran – Deputy Director for International Specialized Agencies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamic Republic of Iran Ms. Selaimen, Graciela Rio de Janeiro - Executive Coordinator, Núcleo de Pesquisas, Estudos e Formação (NUPEF) Mr. Sha'ban, Charles Amman - Executive Director, Regional Office, Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property Mr. Shanker, N. Ravi New Delhi - Joint Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Communications and Information technology, Department of Information Technology Ms. Swinehart, Theresa Marina del Rey, CA - Vice President, Global and Strategic Partnerships, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Mr. Tang, Zicai Beijing - Deputy Director, Department of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Information Industry, China Ms. Taylor, Emily Oxford - Nominet.UK, Director of Legal and Policy Mr. Vasiliev, Vladimir Moscow - Deputy Director, Department of Information Society Strategy, Ministry for Information Technologies and Communications, Russian Federation Ms. Warren, Jennifer A. Alexandria, VA - Vice President, Technology Policy & Regulation,Lockheed Martin Corporation Mr. Yahaya, Issah Accra - Head of Policy Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation/Telecoms, Ministry of Communications, Ghana (Writer E) Congratulations to all. It has been a pleasure working with the MAG, Nitin, Markus and the IGF Secretariat and I wish you great success in Hyderabad. All the best. (Writer F) Dear new and old MAG members, congratulations to your nomination. I wish the new team great success in continuing with the innovative IGF experiment and in exploring new ways how global diplomacy in the 21st century can be developed. (Writer G) Thank you very much for the welcome note. I look forward to working within the MAG. For now, I would like to record a change to my affiliation. I am no longer [EDITED]. I am still affiliated to the organisation and now hold the portfolio of [EDITED] (Writer H) It is my great pleasure to join the MAG and to work with distinguished colleagues in the area of Internet Governance. I am not sure whether we still have the outgoing MAG colleagues here on this list. If so, I would like to express my appreciation for their hard work when they served the MAG and expect their continuous contributions to the UN IGF onward as key stakeholders. If not, could Markus forward this email to them so they know their work has been appreciated by incoming MAG members as well as their MAG colleagues here? Starting with 22. Aug. 2008, I tried to manage to follow up as many as MAG emails through archive but I am not sure whether I do have comprehensive understanding on the standing issues in general. Please, bear with me when I revisit to the established protocols or finalized issues without my knoweldge. If it happens, your clarification on that with previous record will be highly appreciated. I would also like to point out that some information on the press release is incorrect. I received [EDITED]. Lastly, as incoming MAG member, could I make a request that secretariat provide the agenda of the upcoming September MAG meeting well in advance, if possible? I look forward to meeting you all in Geneva in September. (Writer I) It is an honour and a privilege to be part of the MAG. Looking forward to the meeting in Geneva and its agenda in advance. (Markus Kummer) Dear colleagues, Please find attached an agenda for the open consultations on 16 September. As usual, the same agenda will also be the basis for the MAG meeting on 17-18 September. We are planning to post the agenda on our Web site later this week. Please let us know should you have any comments or suggestions. The meeting on 16 September will take place in Room XIX of the Palais des Nations and benefit from interpretation and real time transcription. Meeting hours: 1000-1300 and 1500-1800 hours. The MAG meeting will take place in Room XXV of the Palais des Nations with the same meeting hours (without interpretation), Your are kindly asked to register for the open consultations on 16 September. You will not need to register separately for the MAG meeting. Your name will be on a list at the registration desk and you should automatically be given a badge for all three days. For the benefit of the new members here are some logistical details: The visitors and delegates' entrance to the Palais des Nations is at the so-called 'Pregny Gate', just opposite the International Committee of the Red Cross. (The Bus stop outside the gate is 'Appia', with several lines from the station.) Please allow for plenty of time for getting the badge, as the queues can be long. All meeting organizers have been requested to inform participants that there is limited space for luggage storage at the gate. For security reasons you are not allowed to bring luggage into the Palais - it is therefore recommended to leave your luggage at the hotel, also after checking out on the last day. Wifi will be provided in both meeting rooms. Be prepared for limited access to power in Room XIX. Last but not least a word of explanation on our role within the UN calendar of meetings, as some new members have already suggested establishing a schedule for our future meetings. The IGF and the IGF Secretariat is not part of the regular UN activities, which are part of the UN budget and are listed in the official calendar of meetings. We are a so-called 'extra-budgetary activity', financed through voluntary contributions. However we do get the support of the United Nations Office at Geneva on an 'as available' basis. This means we get the meeting rooms for free if there are rooms available, the same goes for interpretation into all six UN languages. In practical terms, this means we can fix the dates for our meetings only once the official UN calendar of meetings has been fixed. As this can depends on political decisions, we have to wait for the various bodies such as the Human Right Council to finish their work before we can ask for meeting facilities. We have by now established a tradition to have three meetings in Geneva: one in February, one in May and one in September. While I expect to have a similar rhythm of meetings. We will not be able to give exact dates for the February and May meetings before the end of the year and for the September meeting before April or May. Please do not hesitate to ask us, should you have additional questions. Best regards Markus (See attached file: Agenda.Consultations.16.09.2008.doc) ATTACHMENT INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM Open consultations Geneva, 16 September 2007 Draft Agenda 1 Adoption of the Agenda 2 Agenda and programme of the Hyderabad meeting Participants may wish to review the draft agenda and programme of the Hyderabad meeting. A revised programme paper and a draft schedule will be made available on the IGF Web site. 3 Presentation of the logistical arrangements The Host Country and the Secretariat will update participants on the logistical arrangements and answer questions. 4 Dynamic Coalitions Dynamic Coalitions emerged as a new form of multistakeholder cooperation from the first two IGF meetings. There are no criteria for the establishment of a Dynamic Coalition, nor is their relationship with the IGF clearly defined. In consultations in September 2007 it was argued that Dynamic Coalitions were an experiment; more time should be given to them to develop their own format and the issue should be revisited after some time. Participants may wish to make proposals in this regard. 5 Review of the "desirability of the continuation of the Forum" Para 76 of the Tunis Agenda requests the Secretary-General to examine the "desirability of the continuation of the Forum, in continuation with Forum participants, within five years of its existence, and make recommendations to the UN Membership in this regard". There is need for a clear timeline to prepare this review process which will need to be based on broad-based consultations in this matter. The Secretariat will make available a short paper as a basis for the discussion. 6 Any other Business (Writer J) Thank you for the draft agenda for the september meetings. There had been discussion some weeks ago about devoting some time to work on the main session workshops and 'debates', and specifically including those who have now agreed to help organize the main sessions instead of doing their own workshop on aspects of the topics. I think it would be useful to consider devoting the first afternoon, for instance, of the MAG meeting to working on the main sessions, and inviting the organizers who have agreed to support the MAG and secretariat to participate in the MAG meeting for that specific slot of time. It would also be useful to consider asking the former MAG members who have agreed to help on particular main sessions to participate in the first day of the MAG meeting to share their insights and create a productive transition in the discussions for the new members. There are also key former MAG members who were taking the lead in helping to organize main sessions and the continued development of the programme in an efficient manner would benefit from their participation, if they can arrange their travel plans to stay for an extra day. My sense is that the MAG meetings in September will be most productive if part of the time is devoted to really organizing the main sessions so that a near final programme can be posted by the end of September. (Writer K) Good to be back in the IG business. To the outgoing members, I had the privilege of working with many of you during WSIS and WGIG: so many thanks for your dedication and hard work. To those WSIS and WGIG veterans - like Ayesha and Bertrand, still with the MAG: I count on your help and continued friendship. To the new members like myself: let's do it together. And finally to Markus: hard to imagine IG business without you and your team. (Writer D) it is a pleasure to read this note of yours - among veterans as well as all others in this group! I hope this group also receives the many benefits of your wisdom, experience, and savoir faire. We've moved along a lot since the WGIG but certainly we can still use those virtues. And, maybe, not only are you still a man with whom it's a pleasure to disagree, but also as before one to enjoy crafting creative ways to agree. (Writer K) Thank you Markus for sharing the draft agenda with us. On that, colleagues excuse me if I say something that may seem to be out of context here, however let me give it a try. I could not attend the First and the Second IGF. I however was able to follow the proceedings closely through IGF website. Relying on this amount of knowledge which is not that much, and while admitting the difficulty of managing a big or rather a huge meeting like IGF, what I sensed was that, as if it was almost up to the panelists to do the substance. To me, participants were only able to pose a question without having the opportunity to follow their arguments afterwards. Once again I totally understand the difficulty of running a huge meeting. I however am of the view that IGF is a forum for real participation and I did not sense that, according to what I got from the IGF website. Please correct me if I am wrong, but we may need to discuss the querstion of how to conduct the business of the meeting in a way that would brings us closer to real participation. If not a perfect solution at least a few steps to improve the situation. In an intergovernmental setting - some colleagues may not like it - this, I mean the culture of real interaction and participation, is already there. Another issue that I gathered from IGF 1 and 2 and again it may not pertain to the agenda, is the question of observing ethics of negotiation or rather discussion in a multistakeholder setting. I mean the way stakeholders address each other during IGF meetings. Constituancies of stakeholders with different backgrounds and working cultures, still needs to work with each other in a smooth and decent way. That may be considered when MAG convenes. One question to Writer J, and that is on the issue of "those who have now agreed to help organize the main sessions instead of doing their own workshop on aspects of the topics" as referred to in your e-mail. Could you kindly tell me who these people are? (Writer K) Dear Writer D Hi man. Thanks for the encouragement. I can't disagree more with what you've said. I am grateful to you for taking me as a friend with whom you may disagree, but still continue to work to come up with agreements on things that we disagree. No, really It is an honor to work with you and I look forward to learn more from your extremely valuable and enlightening contributions. (Writer L) Dear Writer K, first of all, welcome onboard! This topic on layout of the meeting(s) has indeed been discussed, and it definitely have to be discussed more. From my point of view, we have very competing goals. A few of them are: - Diving deeper into an issue or have a broader discussion. If we diver deeper, it is harder to agree on what topic to (not) discuss. - Discussing things from many angles. The more angles we try to describe, the less time we have for conclusions. - The audience might either be parties that have been working on the issues for many years that know about the history, or newcomers that want to know more what the issues are. And on top of this, we of course have the competition between having few people "on stage", while having proper representation also have the above issues leaning on their shoulders. And "proper representation" might lead to a large set of people (all continents, both genders, all constituencies etc). Nothing bad with that -- it is just the fact it has been hard to find for example "max three panelists" that can fulfil all requirements while still not get statements, but start of a discussion. I think (to continue on my personal views) that if one had a magic pixiedust that could make people that got the microphone (either people on stage or on the floor) (a) participate in the discussion and not make statements, and (b) only talk for 30 sec to 1 minute, we would be in a much better situation and the discussion could be more interactive. Until then (and historically at the previous IGF meetings), there have though been very good followup discussions both in corridors, at coffee and dinner tables, in the bar, and in the more relaxed other meetings (outside the main room). And the positive feeling at those "side discussions" have for me compensated (and more) any problems we have had at the main sessions. But more good ideas I think are needed, and I think you and other new members of MAG can help here as you might have _new_ ideas. Writer L, that I think have had most roles at the previous IGF meetings ;-) (Writer J) Dear Writer K, First, congratulations on being named to the MAG, and I join others in saying that I look forward to working with you again. On your question to me below----over past few months, the workshop proposals were reviewed by the MAG and the IGF secretariat and certain workshop proposers were approached to help the MAG and secretariat organize the main session workshops instead of doing the workshops on the side that they had originally proposed. The benefit for those organizations that agreed to help with main session workshops is that the issues they are interested in would now be part of the main session workshop discussion which takes place in the main session room with real-time transcription, translation etc. Dear Markus, perhaps you could provide us with a list of the people/organizations that are assisting with each of the main session workshops so that we are all clear on who they are? In addition, certain former MAG members have expressed a willingness to help with certain sessions so perhaps you can give us that information as well. (Writer K) Dear Writer J Many many thanks for your prompt briefing as well as for welcoming me in the group. You've already asked Markus what I was going to do, after going through your kind briefing. Maybe both list of the people/organizations as well as the topics they are going to cover.