The following are the outputs of the real-time captioning taken during the Tenth Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in João Pessoa, Brazil, from 10 to 13 November 2015. Although it is largely accurate, in some cases it may be incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. It is posted as an aid to understanding the proceedings at the event, but should not be treated as an authoritative record.
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>> CHENGETAI MASANGO: We will just wait for the Deputy Minister and the Governor, and also Mr. Ivan Koulov from UN DESA to take the stage. Are they here? Yes, thank you.
Thank you very much.
Yes, please, I'd like to invite them on to the stage and to take their seats where their name tags are. Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to invite the chair of the meeting, Ambassador Jose Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho, and Secretary‑General of Environment, NEG, Science and Technology, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, to start the Closing Session of the 10th meeting of the Internet Governance Forum. Mr. Ambassador.
>> JOSE ANTONIO MARCONDES de CARVLAHO: Thank you very much.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to open this Closing Ceremony of the 2015 IGF meeting in the City of Joao Pessoa.
We will now hear from eight speakers drawn from all stakeholder groups, who will make some closing remarks. It is my honour to introduce the first speaker, Mr. Ivan Koulov, Executive Officer of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN DESA, speaking on behalf of Assistant Secretary‑General, Mr. Montiel, Assistant Secretary‑General for Economic Development for UN DESA. You have the floor.
>> IVAN KOULOV: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I'm pleased to deliver the closing statement on behalf of Assistant Secretary‑General for Economic Development, Mr. Lenni Montiel.
We would first like to thank our host. As the United Nations Secretary‑General recognized in his opening message, Brazil is the only country that has twice hosted IGF.
The United Nations is deeply grateful for Brazil's global leadership and commitment, and for President Dilma Rousseff's inspiring message, as well as the personal participation of the Governor, Ricardo Coutinho, Minister Andre Figueiredo, and yourself, sir.
Your warm hospitality, your dedicated professional high standard support have made this Forum an unforgettable experience. Paraiba has welcomed the world to its beautiful capital Joao Pessoa.
Thank you, Paraiba. Thank you, Joao Pessoa.
(applause).
We thank CGI Brazil and we thank the Brazilian stakeholders for their vibrant contribution and participation. During this 10th meeting of the IGF, more than 3,000 on‑site participants from over 100 countries came here to Joao Pessoa to share their extensive knowledge and experience. More than double that number actively participated remotely, bringing additional insights and perspectives to our workshops and main sessions.
The IGF also featured a WSIS+10 consultation session. We deeply appreciate the participation of WSIS+10 co‑facilitators, His Excellency Mr. Janis Mzaeks, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Latvia to the United Nations in New York, and Her Excellency, Mrs. Lana Nusseibeh, permanent representative of the United Arab Emirates to the UN in New York.
We are very glad with the active participation of all stakeholders in this consultation.
We heard loud and clear that the 2015 IGF is foreseeing the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development and the ten‑year review of the World Summit on the Information Society. The 10th IGF once again saw increased participation from stakeholders from the developing countries.
Upon the renewal of the IGF mandate, we hope that to further enhance the diversity of participation from stakeholders, from developing countries, including youth and women, among others.
In keeping with the IGF inclusiveness, this gathering in Joao Pessoa addressed both opportunities and challenges under the following sub‑themes: Cybersecurity and trust, Internet economy, inclusiveness and diversity, openness, enhancing multistakeholder cooperation, Internet and the human rights, critical Internet resources, and emerging issues.
More than 150 sessions were convened during this week, organized by interested stakeholders to facilitate comprehensive debates among participants from across the world.
We also witnessed the fruits of the intersessional work, the IGF policy options and best practices for Connecting the Next Billion. Its bottom up community‑driven approach has proven to be a successful initiative.
We benefited from the presence of two United Nations Special Rapporteurs, who invigorated workshops with key insights. We also appreciated the work carried out by our UN partners, the agencies, including the regional commissions, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ITU, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WIPO and others.
We recognize the contribution of more than 40 national and regional IGFs, initiatives that have taken place over the past year. We hope the number of national and regional initiatives will continue to grow and that their work will feed and become an even more integral part of the global IGF work.
We wish to take this opportunity to thank the many donors for their financial support to the Forum, as well as the financial contributions to the United Nations IGF fund.
We count on your continued support. Your commitment to strengthened IGF will be crucial as we look forward to the renewal of the IGF mandate.
Finally, we would like to thank the multistakeholder advisory group for its tireless efforts in preparation of the program of the session.
Our appreciation also goes to the group of moderators, panelists, online participation, facilitators, and all live transcript experts for their outstanding work, and to our event team for their hard work.
This Forum would not have been possible without the great local members, staff members. I would like to invite a round of applause for them.
(applause).
Mr. Chairman, in fact, the fact that I use almost the entire speech to acknowledge the contributions of all these people and organizations demonstrates that the IGF is a team effort. It is a multistakeholder effort. It's a global partnership.
Let us continue this partnership. As the UN Secretary‑General said, let us turn the digital divides into digital opportunities.
Let us leave no one behind. Thank you.
(applause).
>> JOSE ANTONIO MARCONDES de CARVLAHO: Thank you very much indeed for your remarks, and kind words referring to my country.
Our next speaker is Governor of the State of Paraiba. It is my great pleasure to invite the Governor to take the floor. Governor, please, I pass the floor to you.
>> RICARDO COUTINHO: Thank you, Ambassador. Mr. Chairman, to close the sessions, I'd like to greet Mr. Ivan Koulov from the United Nations that represented here Lenni Montiel, I'd like to greet Ms. Izumi Okutani from Japan, Ms. Nadine Moawad from APC, Mr. Chris Painter, the Cybersecurity representative for the United States, Mr. Chengetai Masango, Secretary of IGF, and also Mr. Hartmut Glaser, Executive Director of CGI Brazil, Ms. Yolanda Martinez, Secretary of the Public Department of Mexico, and I'd like to greet all Internet users that for these four days were individuals present here in this event, and also were able to open the eyes and hearts to the state of northeast, State of Paraiba and its capital Joao Pessoa, and I'd like to greet you all here present in this closing session for the 10th IGF. We were very grateful to be able to hold this in the City of Joao Pessoa.
I'd like to also congratulate organizers and participants for all the significant advancement that was able to be reached throughout the week.
We can say that this 10th IGF meeting closes a multistakeholder approach, when it comes to the strategies and initiatives, in terms of Internet Governance. I'd like to stress and support another cycle of IGF forums, and expecting that the December meeting with all the members involved will bring the confirmation of its continuity, because we need to keep advancing to this participative and multistakeholder discussion.
So I hope that in 2016, we will have the 11th meeting of IGF in Mexico that is here represented. I find it essential, the focus and the emphasis by the present leaders and the high level meeting of the zero in terms of the role of digital inclusion and the SDGs, and the dialogue among all the stakeholders has been incentivized, and we are part of the whole challenge.
The State of Paraiba wants to keep being connected and being challenged, and all of us, specifically those who live here can count on us. I would also like to greet all members of the academia and technical communities, representatives of the Civil Society, Government, private sector, of all the discussions brought with relevant themes to have a more and more accessible, neutral, Democratic and inclusive Internet.
The future of democracy in the world must also go through the digital inclusion in all different population segments. I had a great opportunity during perhaps the moment not only in a meeting as this one, but through interviews, a certain contradiction in terms of what the planet is going through.
We have a level of technology that has been accumulated that is very strong, and we have to bear things from two centuries ago. It is not possible to go to the semi‑arid regions around the world and see the like of good fellowship, productive experiences of human beings with their own regions. So we must use technology.
We need to make technology available so that people can be more than what they are and live happier.
(applause).
We cannot just sit and see the migration around the world that embarrass mankind, because most of the immigrants are not migrating for their own wish, but they are being forced to it either because of war or hunger, and one that controls this level of technology, specifically the developed countries, and many of the developing countries as well have no right. That is how I see it sincerely, to really impose this type of situation to mankind, we must wake up to the situation and to the problem that can become even worse.
I think that the academia, I would say that technological community has great contribution to be given in terms of a very firm decisive voice to bring on peace and harmony, so that we can actually have that in the plan, in our planet.
So, otherwise, we will not have basic equality. It is not possible to think about peace, it is not possible to think about justice, and it seems like the big inventions of mankind should serve first to foster peace and justice.
I do believe in such thoughts.
(applause).
And we do also understand that interactivity in an open manner as we experienced this week is one of the core pillars for the legacy that we all get at the end of this IGF meeting. We should all be committed to the cause, and that this IGF meeting can bring great aspiration when it comes to the regulation of the Marco Civil in Brazil.
Because there is still a long path ahead of us, but it's important to recognize what has been done. I only believe in the future if we do understand the steps taken in the past. Brazil has taken great steps in this field, and Brazil is a role model to the world when it comes to Internet Governance, and in terms of including everyone, not considering the Internet just a matter of status itself.
Internet is much more than that. It belongs to society, to the academia and also I believe to the general population, more and more. The Internet has to belong to the general population.
And finally, I would like to invite you all to just remain a few more days in our state. I can assure you that you haven't seen much. The type of things we have here are much more appealing than what you were able to see. This state has many attractions to offer, either through its natural beauty, or through our culture.
We are a very rich state culturally speaking, and since this is a Friday, Saturday seems like nobody will be working on Saturday, let alone Sunday. So going back Sunday, I can tell you that you will feel a warm welcome by all here in Paraiba for this long weekend.
(applause).
And I hope that through this opportunity, you can enjoy the beauty of our beaches, of the hospitality of our people. Joao Pessoa and the State of Paraiba would like to see you back some other time. And I have a little notion, and that is why I'm really thanking the Brazilian Government, CGI, the United Nations, for holding this event here.
We once decided to hold the event here, and to carry on the responsibility to propose the State of Paraiba that is not very much known by others, to hold an event of this magnitude, we understood that we had to do our best, and to really have all the responsibilities on our back through all these days. There were some situations where we thought that some individuals had to be there, but for some reason they could not be because the State of Paraiba was able to hold up, and I'm not going to be very modest here, IGF was not even able to see. So I can tell you that this was the best IGF that we have had considering all ten IGF meetings that have been held around the world.
(applause).
And that is why I'd like to publicly thank you all for giving the State of Paraiba this capital to hold this meeting to be included in a world that is still opening to us, which is the world of technology. And this world is writing the history of our future.
We must be in the living the present, and still look out into the future, because that is where we will see a bit of what I said before in the middle of my speech. That is where we will find justice, peace, and then minimum in terms of equality among all the different, differences in this planet. Thank you all for being here.
And please come back and again a warm welcome.
(applause).
>> JOSE ANTONIO MARCONDES de CARVLAHO: Thank you very much, Governor.
So I would like to then pass to our next speaker, Coordinator for Cyber Issues of the United States Department of State. Mr. Painter, please welcome to the rostrum.
>> CHRIS PAINTER: Good afternoon. As we come to the close of the 10th Internet Governance Forum, I'm honored to share thoughts and observations about this unique annual gathering of the global Internet community. I thank and congratulate the many people who made this event possible, in particular our Brazilian hosts, the IGF Secretariat, and the multistakeholder advisory group. Your efforts have paid off tremendously, as we have heard at this important juncture in the life of the IGF.
Whether this is your 10th, fifth like mine, or your first IGF, I trust you agree that it is a rich opportunity to discuss the spectrum of Internet related issues in a dynamic environment. The week of workshops and other engagements represents many hours of work and preparation, as well as thoughtful and candid discourse.
As this IGF draws to its close, three elements stands out. When I spoke at the closing of last year's IGF in Istanbul, I said one way to make the most of its success was to connect conversations. This past year has seen remarkable connections, including further work on best practices throughout the year and showcasing them here in Brazil, the connection also with the national and regional IGFs and compiling policy options to help bring the next billion people online, and the connection with the processes taking place in the UN General Assembly on the ten‑year review of the World Summit on the Information Society.
I want to thank, we want to thank the co‑facilitators from Latvia and United Arab Emirates for coming to IGF to participate and hear the views of the global stakeholders who came here.
Second, the engagement of youth programs in the IGF was tangible this week. I had the opportunity to join the Youth Coalition on Internet Governance session. I was struck by their passionate discussion on the issues and their perspective that they bring to the broader discussion.
One Brazilian college student noted that the discussions here at the IGF have, quote, broadened his horizons. There are young people on the MAG helping to build the program, partner with stakeholders and bring their perspectives. I hope the young people that have been here this week have learned from being here with the experts from industry, Civil Society, the technical community, the academic community and Government and with such figures as one of the fathers of the Internet no less.
But we have very much to learn from our young people as well. They are the future of the Internet, after all, and they are the ones who will take all these policies forward. Third, the power of the multistakeholder dialogue on these issues and often difficult questions is palpable here at the IGF.
We may stand at microphones with different labels on and to make our points, but we are in the same room at the same table every time we come together here at the IGF. That is one of the IGF's great values. The discussions at IGF have matured and deepened and foster more effective solutions to the challenges we face.
Even if we keep having conversations, those conversations always get richer and better. Where do we go from here? First let me reflect on the comments here this week regarding the conversations at IGF and whether they matter in other forums. Simply, yes. They do.
Let me assure you the United States Government comes to IGF to engage in this discussion, hear from the global stakeholders and incorporate your views in our work in New York, Geneva and around the world. To sustain that effort, we first must ensure that the IGF conversations continue, and the multistakeholder model continues to be recognized and supported as the best approach to Internet Governance.
This was affirmed at NETMundial, which we need to continue and take forward in all our discussions.
The United States Government has called for an extension of the mandate of the IGF, and we are pleased that many others have echoed that call, and we trust the UN General Assembly will affirm that rousing support from governments and other stakeholders that we heard this week to renew the IGF mandate at the high‑level meeting in December.
We must also ensure that these conversations continue throughout the year, intervening year between IGFs. We must continue to capture these conversations and package them in a way that makes what happens here at IGF an accessible and valuable resource for the entire global community.
Remote participation, transcripts and workshop reports are all important ways we are doing that already. We can collectively and creatively find more ways. We must include more people from all stakeholder groups from all countries, and from more countries around the world in these conversations.
The IGF by its nature is an inclusive environment, as are the national and regional IGFs that we heard about that emulated in their own circumstances.
Let's leverage that inclusiveness and continue to strive for greater participation, particularly from developing countries. By doing these things, we can help foster an open Internet, that has seen tremendous growth and innovation, provides an engine for economic growth, serves as a platform for expressing ideas, thought and creativity.
Thank you for your contributions to the IGF, and to the Internet community overall. We look forward to continuing to work with you and seeing you all again soon. I hope to be at my 6th IGF next year. Thank you again, Brazil. Thank you all.
(applause).
>> JOSE ANTONIO MARCONDES de CARVLAHO: Thank you very much. Our next speaker is going to be Ms. Izumi Okutani, policy liaison at the Japan Network Information Centre. You are invited to take the rostrum.
>> IZUMI OKUTANI: Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. My name is Izumi Okutani, and I'm here today to speak on behalf of the global technical community. As the Chair of ‑‑ sorry ‑‑ (chuckles).
As the Chair of the team that has worked on the number of resources component of the stewardship, I have experienced all the hard work and commitment that has been involved in the global or multistakeholder process. And this proposal which has developed on the IANA stewardship position, I see this as a concrete example, excellent example and a product of how this multistakeholder process has worked and produced in addressing a policy question that has been put to be addressed in a specific way.
I'm very proud of what we have produced so far. At the same time, the Internet is growing and evolving so quickly, and we often see that these policies, that needs to be addressed, is catching up with quick fast‑moving development, with fast‑moving technologies.
This is accommodated by the creativity of developers and users. And one of the most important contributions the technical community has made is that we actually have helped enhance a better understanding of all stakeholders to understand the technical realities, and in addressing to make better policy decisions.
IGF is the most valuable platform where we actually are able to engage with all stakeholders in addressing these issues.
This year is the 10th point of the IGF. And we have actually reached a milestone in terms of the global community working together, in a way that tackle all sorts of fast evolving issues around the Internet.
The value of the IGF is not just about meeting up and having dialogues at this physical meeting, but we have actually ten years worth of archived discussions, presentations, debates. And this is actually something that all of us can actually take a look, and it's valuable in tracking, what are the discussions that have taken place in these ten years, and the changes that has been made in these past ten years.
This year, we have reached further improvements in IGF in compiling the expertise and dialogues by stakeholders. We have better record of the best practices forums for six themes on access, critical infrastructure, security, online abuse and multistakeholder mechanisms.
And, sorry ...
(applause).
Thank you.
I'm not able to receive ... (pause).
The need for the Internet Governance to reflect the latest technology realities is the heart of the IGF and the multistakeholder approach. The technical community is a willing contributor and bringing in its expertise and which enriches the quality of the quality outcomes and help ground the technical reality.
On day one, we have talked about the upcoming review of the World Summit of the Information Society, including what the review will say about the ongoing mandate of the IGF.
Clear from what has been said by all of us here at the IGF, it is that the IGF must continue driven by people who have made it such a success, this is a clear message for New York. We thank the WSIS and co‑facilitators for the WSIS review for joining here in person. No question that the WSIS has been a landmark in recognizing global multistakeholder nature of the Internet Governance, and now we are in the ten‑year review. It is vital and fitting that the UN listens to the voices that has been raised by the IGF.
The technical community supports the continuation of the IGF and the multistakeholder model. We would like to thank Brazil for hosting this excellent IGF, which has turned real value for all stakeholders in all parts of the world and working together to address the latest issues on the Internet Governance.
Thank you.
(applause).
(cheering and applause).
>> JOSE ANTONIO MARCONDES de CARVLAHO: Thank you very much, Izumi Okutani, for your remarks.
I invite our next speaker, Ms. Nadine Moawad, Coordinator of the Association for Progressive Communications Sexual Rights Program. You are kindly invited to take the rostrum.
>> NADINE MOAWAD: Thank you.
(cheering and applause).
This is an opportunity for me to take this with my own head so I will use the last ten seconds.
Thank you very much. I'm happy to be speaking today on behalf of the Civil Society, and I'm happy for this opportunity and quite honored. I want to tell a personal story because as a kid who grew up in a small Lebanese town in the '90s, the issues that we discuss here today of Internet freedom, access, freedom of speech, gender and sexuality, these are very personal issues to me because they reflect my own struggle for freedom, for knowledge, for community and for love.
So little did I imagine when I was a kid, teenager growing up, that one day I would come to multistakeholder settings and to the UN and discuss these issues as political issues. I wanted to invite us in this last Closing Ceremony to remember that moment where we first connected to the Internet, and that infinite feeling of possibility, because that I believe is the feeling of liberation that has to guide us as we make decisions about how we govern the Internet. So we have heard these amazing technological developments in the last few decades, mostly driven by capitalism, and I think the greatest advancement has been the Internet. But we also know that capitalism as an economic model will not last forever, that it is eating up our planet. It's widening the gap between the rich and poor. The one percent get richer, the rest of us get poorer.
We have to ask ourselves, if we believe that the Internet is a facilitator for equality, for justice, empowering people, why is it that in the last ten, 20 years, we have seen the greatest inequalities of our time? We have to ask ourselves that, because we all come here with the belief that technology is an equalizer, and we come here with the belief that the Internet will bring good to people.
Right? That it will lift us up somehow from these models that aren't working, and take us to better egalitarian equitable systems. We have to ask how come the Internet that we used to log into, and those of you who are a bit older will remember, logging in, in late '90s and 2000s, when everything was possible, and yet now, every interaction is monitored, regulated, surveilled, and every virtual point of our identity is sold for profit and is monetized and is privatized.
These are the questions we have to grapple with. When we come to spaces like the IGF, and talk about human rights and about the right to privacy, right to human dignity, human anonymity, sometimes it's strange to sit around the same table and discuss things that are such fundamental human rights. We have to ask ourselves, how are we framing the questions around these issues?
Because you know the saying in debates that those who frame the question win the debate. Right? So I'll start with a first question, for example, freedom of speech. How are we framing our discussion on freedom of speech? Freedom of speech is not the freedom to offend people who are weaker than you. It's not the freedom to push down people who are already battling against complexes of military, of war, racism, of genocide. It is not the freedom to see someone who is struggling because of structural issues, and then bash them and say, look, freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech is our right to offend those who are untouchable, those who are in power, those protected by media, banks, armies. It's our right to offend those people.
(applause).
That is what we understand as freedom of speech. Otherwise, it's called hegemonic speech. So it is our right for example to demand of Arab governments to release immediately people like Hala and all of the bloggers that are detained because of tweets and blog bots.
(applause).
This is what we believe freedom of speech is. Also freedom of speech is the right of African‑Americans to say loudly and clearly, Black lives matter. One of the most beautiful campaigns ‑‑
(applause).
‑‑ happened on the Internet recently, was Black Lives Matter, and they had to say it a hundred million times to get people to listen to them. Yeah? And freedom of speech also is the right for persons and activists to come to the IGF and carry a banner that says, free basics.
(cheering).
Free of basic human rights, that is what we defend as freedom of speech.
We see, my friends, it is not the governments who protect freedom of speech, not the corporations, not the police. The only people who will protect it is us, by our relentlessness and our sheer insistence that we will not shut up about our rights, to say what we want to say.
A further example I want to talk about is access, because we have talked about access in this Forum. Remember how we frame the question, those who frame the question win the debate. Right?
The debate about access is mostly controlled by those who have access, deciding on behalf of those who don't have access what they need. I'll tell you a story about my mother. She joined the Internet because she heard from her neighbor in the town that she could raise a virtual Forum with animals, crops, she could feed things, she could look after them. She got excited about the idea of a Forum.
She plays on the Forum all day, tells me about it, sometimes sends me photos, etcetera. My mother is not interested in using the Internet for information, because she doesn't trust it. She would actually be an excellent content producer. She could populate the Internet with better content than most of the information that is out there. But yet when we talk about access, we don't think of my mother as a content producer, as someone engaged in this Internet. We see her as someone who will use the Internet, for example, to talk to her local Government. It so happens her local Government is her cousin. If she wants to talk to him, she stands on the balcony and yells across the street.
But since we frame her, when we frame the discussion as these poor people who are not connected, we need to bring them Internet, we are disempowering people, instead of empowering them, and instead of putting the agency where it belongs.
Technology by default is a product of creativity. People understand technology, but somehow when we make it into this cryptic complicated issue, we are disempowering them. I also want to talk about anonymity. I can't see my timer. Anyway, I want to talk also about anonymity.
(laughter).
Anonymity, the debate is framed in a way where anonymity causes crimes, which is also such a strange debate. If I go to my, I get my bag stolen, run to security, I say my bag is stolen, he will not say, I'm sorry, your criminal is anonymous. Right? He won't say, oh, damn it, anonymity, we should have scared everybody and put chips in everyone to monitor where they went, otherwise we have crime.
Crime by default is anonymous. We figure out ways to work around it without saying, because of crime, we have to rid people of anonymity. The fact is, my friends, anonymity saves lives. A lot of people are free and alive today because of their right to be anonymous.
Now we have to go to extra lengths.
(applause).
It's getting harder and harder to be anonymous. And they are talking about making encryption illegal. We have to fight for these things. We have to retain these things.
Finally, I must speak a little about sex, because that is my main job with APC. I look at the intersection of sexuality and technology. If we think about sex, sexual rights, as fundamentally your right to have good sex, this is what you advocate for. What does it mean? It means you can have healthy sex, you have all the information you need, you can talk about it openly, you are having consensual sex, nobody is forcing you. You have access to contraception. You can choose your partner. You have access to abortion, etcetera. We are talking about rights that are sexual rights.
We fought hard for decades to get the United Nations and get local Government to recognize that sexual rights are human rights, including the right of LGBTs and rights of queer people and people of diverse sexualities.
So we come to think about the Internet in relation to sexual rights, because the Internet has a lot to do with sex. We all have sex online, we all use the Internet to look up sex information; it's a political act, particularly for people whose sex lives don't make it into the mainstream. Yeah? For women, for LGBTs, for people with disabilities, people with color, all categories of people whose sexuality are still taboo and don't want to talk about it, the Internet enables us to discuss them. We have to keep having these conversations about sex at the IGF, in Internet Governance spaces, because we have to unpack the complexities of the relationship of sexuality with technology.
For example, who decides what is harmful content? Who decides what is pornographic? Why do we rid young people of their agency to decide of what is harmful for them and what is not? Why do we put young people under the blanket and say protect them, protect them. What do we censor using this blanket because we want to protect young people, instead of recognizing the young people use the Internet better than any other generation can use it, and can make decisions about what to say for them and what is healthy for them and what is right for them. Embedded in this is the question of consent.
We started talking a little at this IGF about consent. I think we have to move forward and discuss more, how do we embed the idea of consent, meaningful consent into our technology, design, structures and discussions and our politics.
To summarize, my friends, I think it is a time for us to be braver, be bolder, and to demand what we want to demand, what we believe is right, and to up our efforts to keep the Internet an Internet that we love, an Internet that can transform our lives. And if there is anything we know about the Internet, it's that it always has amazing surprises for us.
Finally, I want to name, I was asked to name a Civil Society colleague who was in IGF for a long time, Ronnie Coven from the World Press Freedom Committee, who is not with us anymore. Keep fighting for a free and open Internet. If you are not going to fight for it, we are going to lose it. Thank you.
(cheering and applause).
>> JOSE ANTONIO MARCONDES de CARVLAHO: Thank you very much indeed. Our next speaker is Mr. Jimson Olufuye, chair of the African Information and Communication Technologies Alliance, AfiCTA. You are invited to take the rostrum.
>> JIMSON OLUFUYE: Your Excellencies, distinguished stakeholder representatives, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. As was mentioned, my name is Jimson Olufuye. I'm the chair of the concerned private sector‑led Africa ICT Alliance, AfiCTA, founded in 2012, and currently with member associations and companies in 23 African countries.
Our vision is the fulfillment of the promise of the digital age for everyone in Africa. We are a member of the Chamber of Commerce Business Action Support of the Information Society, which is the global business focal point for constructive engagement on WSIS and the IGF.
It is my pleasure, therefore, to deliver this message on behalf of ICC BASIS.
We have come to a crucial moment for the future of Internet Governance, before the conclusion of the WSIS review process next month that will determine the fate of the IGF.
As we consider the future, we should acknowledge how far we have come in ten short years, and recognize the value of all the IGF has achieved in this time.
Across the range of IGF stakeholders, we have witnessed strong support for the continuation of the Internet Governance Forum. We are pleased to see the support translate to the WSIS draft document as a proposal to extend the IGF mandate for another ten years. It is now vital to maintain momentum and continue to develop ways for the IGF to add value across all stakeholder communities, and to ensure that the future IGF mandates are adhered to in a way that preserve and protect all the things that have made this unique Forum a huge success.
Sincerely speaking, Your Excellency, we are not here to negotiate. Dialogue, unconstrained by negotiation of a text, is an essential element of the IGF. We come together to freely share experiences, ideas and practices. This helps form inputs to policy and practice development in other organizations and across geographies.
We come to pool our views and good practices, so that every community can better understand the needs and ideas of others.
We meet so that no individual or group misses out from these benefits, or from expressing their own views that may help others form their own ideas.
We are here to build two‑way bridges that inform policymakers and enable the further beneficial use of these ideas and practices.
Everyone at the IGF benefits from hearing different perspectives from every vantage point. This approach has received widespread support from the Internet stakeholders represented here, who recognize the value of collaborating on an equal footing and in an open and free environment. This approach is not only a requirement for a sustainable Internet, but one to leverage for achieving Sustainable Development Goals, for improving people's living standards, human rights and for ensuring good governance.
Looking ahead, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we must strive to build on the strengths of the IGF. We must wrap up our collective effort to reach more people in more regions particularly in developing and least developed economies. This effort will expose those in developing or remote regions to the elements of the IGF that can best serve their needs. In turn, it will also enrich our discussions.
The engagements of regional and national IGFs in countries including Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Paraguay, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the innovative sub Senate IGF that took place in Nigeria about last week, are tangible success stories from this annual meeting which should be sustained. We have already seen the benefits of this two‑way communication. The IGF is a Forum not about the future of the IGF, but about the future of the Internet itself. The Internet is here to stay.
But it can only thrive if we continue to pursue the evolving, multistakeholder process, the process based on principles of collaboration, openness, transparency and inclusiveness.
Again this approach is necessary for a sustainable Internet. Across stakeholders, it is also considered a valued tool for improving governance and human rights for sustainable development. We truly look forward to securing the future of the IGF, so we can meet again in Mexico next year to continue the conversation we have started and to benchmark progress.
This will allow us to focus discussions on ways to, one, expedite access for the remaining unconnected 4.3 billion; two, to narrow access gaps in relation to gender and disabilities; and three, to exploit the full potential of ICTs and the Internet for social and economic development and progress.
Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen, finally, I'd like to say that on behalf of the global business community represented here, it is my pleasure, deep pleasure, with sincere and gracious thanks, we appreciate the Government and people of Brazil, and the IGF Secretariat, UNDESA and all those involved in making this event a success and for the hospitality you have shown to us. Obrigado.
(applause).
>> JOSE ANTONIO MARCONDES de CARVLAHO: Thank you very much for your remarks.
It is now my privilege to call upon Professor Hartmut Glaser, to say a few words about the youth at IGF program and to introduce our young next speaker. Professor Glaser, you and your guest are invited to take the rostrum.
>> HARTMUT GLASER: Last year in Istanbul, we have the idea to include more young people in our IGF meetings. We have a kid, children with 14 years, in Istanbul. We developed a project, CGI and ISOC chapter in Latin America together. And you will see some nice interviews on a video. But before, I'd like to introduce Kimberly. She was selected by our 73 to be the speaker at this moment.
(applause).
>> KIMBERLY: Hello. My name is Kimberly. I'm from Brazil. I'm part of the Youth of IGF program for Latin America and Caribbean, together with the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee. I turned 20 years old this year. This means I carry with me the whole development of Internet Governance in my countries. As my fellows with the youth program, I was born when the Internet was already running. And we watched the Internet grow around us from waiting for our own video game to actually run to sharing our first viral video, downloading our favorite series and creating the next innovative app. For us, all that was natural.
We were born and raised based on the open Internet, built on the collaboration of great women and men, some of them that are here today. We are native youngsters from the Internet environment, and not afraid of change, nor of the future.
Since we were not there during the Internet in its beginning, we are not attached to old fears raised in the process; therefore, we are transforming the Internet promises that were not fulfilled into new solutions. That is why we are here today, conquering space in the IGF, letting our voices be heard, aiming for more interaction and youth participation within IGF sessions. We are living the youth declaration and building a Youth Observatory. We maintain the need for open, collaborative Internet. We value privacy and freedom of expression, and we fight for gender equality inside the Internet system. We are fighting for the real and full connection of both our generation and next ones.
Specifically, we Brazilians are also fighting for the maintenance of the democracy view. The youth is coming to IGF. As Vint Cerf said, the Internet was designed to change. We are the ones changing it. Therefore, we want to see the youth actively engage in every IGF to come. Quoting my fellow friends, we are not the future, we are here. We are already present. Obrigada.
(cheering and applause).
>> The video, please.
(video playing).
(no English interpretation).
>> Let me ask the 73 young students from Brazil and Latin America, please stand up and give applause.
(no English interpretation of video).
>> VINT CERF: If we don't take their ideas into account, whatever Government principles we might adopt will fail to capture what they know or what they do. If we fail to do that, eventually, whatever rules we make up won't be relevant.
(video continues, no English interpretation).
(video ends).
(cheering and applause).
>> HARTMUT GLASER: As I am on the floor, I will mention how hard it is to work to do the preparation of a conference as IGF. You saw around a lot of yellow shirts, green shirts, probably other colors. I only like to mention that more than 400 people worked full time to support everything that you received this week here in Joao Pessoa.
The secret of any event is never one person. It is a teamwork. IGF is the best model that we can work together. For me it was a privilege to coordinate more than 400 people supported by CGI, supported by ISOC, supported by you. We are friends.
Let's stay together, and see a one‑minute video now. Please, the next video.
(video plays).
>> HARTMUT GLASER: Thank you very much!
(applause).
>> JOSE ANTONIO MARCONDES de CARVLAHO: Thank you very much indeed, Professor Glaser, for your remarks, the videos presented, and a very special thanks to you, Kimberly, for all of those you represent. You are not the future, you are the present. Thank you very much.
(applause).
I would now like to call to take the rostrum our prospective hosts for the 2016 Internet Governance Forum, certainly pending on an extension that we all expect to happen in the month of December. Ms. Yolanda Martinez, Head of the Digital Government Unit of the Secretariat of Public Administration of Mexico, welcome.
(applause).
>> YOLANDA MARTINEZ: Wow. If there is one word that I can use to describe what I witnessed the entire week, that word is passion; the passion from all the multistakeholder IGF community that believes in the principles and values that gather us together, as well as the passion of all the people behind the scenes that work very hard to make sure that we have food, transportation, a smile when we arrive into an airport after 20 hours of traveling. It is amazing.
And this is why, first of all, I would like to congratulate all the hard work and passion of Host Country Brazil, the Governor and people of Paraiba, UNDESA, CGI, and the IGF Secretariat, all the volunteers, and the multistakeholder IGF community, that together made possible this great IGF.
(applause).
Openness, inclusion, Cybersecurity, privacy, open data, gender equality, net neutrality, and more, were common themes over the last four days' conversations, within the main sessions, Dynamic Coalitions, best practices forums, and workshops.
This is a conversation that in our opinion should continue, and we really hope that the mandate is renewed this coming December, since there is still a lot to be done in making sure that Internet remains open, free, neutral and governed by a multistakeholder participatory model.
Internet is the most powerful tool we have to democratize access to information, to public services, to enable human rights, to promote freedom of expression, in short is the most valuable asset to end digital poverty, to create more equal societies, to make the 2030 Sustainable Agenda feasible, and where no one shall be left behind of the benefits of an Information Society.
Mexico is committed to IGF principles and values. We have innovated our legal framework with a telecommunications reform that not only recognizes access to broadband Internet and ICTs as a fundamental constitutional right, we have been making this right a reality through increasing competition in the telecommunications sector, the deployment of Telecom infrastructure, and establishment of a Universal Digital Inclusion Policy as an obligation of the state.
We continue working in an innovative and collaborative way in important matters such as Internet Governance, net neutrality, privacy and data protection.
If the mandate is renewed by the United Nations General Assembly, we are ready to host all of you and more in Mexico. As the beginning of a new IGF era, we need more actors from all of the stakeholders coming from least developed and developing countries to join this conversation. We need more women, more persons with disabilities, more elder, more indigenous people, and more youth to come and join this Forum. See you all in Mexico, 2016.
(applause).
(Video:)
>> Something big is happening in Mexico. Mexicans have made a bold decision to transform all of the country's main structures. In 2013, 11 key reforms which allow us to achieve our maximum potential were enacted and are now being implemented. Among those, telecommunications reform is the cornerstone to insert Mexico into the Information Society and the one that is allowing us to build an ecosystem in which the cyberspace, Internet and ICTs become true enablers of our development goals. For Mexico, cyberspace means limitless potential, for growth, innovation, education, health and citizen participation, among other goals. To achieve these goals, we aim to use the Internet and cross‑hand tools to drive the nations and people's development, a tool which means freedom of expression, privacy, data protection are fully guaranteed, at the same time that we protect crucial information for governments, citizens and organizations.
Mexico celebrates that the Internet Governance Forum is focusing in the principles in which the Internet has been founded, a global network that is free, neutral, open and decentralized, principles previously convened in the Geneva and Tunis World Summit on the Information Society agendas. Over the last two years, Mexico has led key digital trails that are relevant worldwide. The open Government partnership, digital agenda for the Latin America and the Caribbean region, the international open data Charter as enabler of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, and we will host the OECD ministerial on the digital economy in 2016. As a result of the transformation that Mexico is witnessing, our country is the ideal place to discuss the future of the Internet Governance of the next global Forum in 2016.
We are ready to welcome all of you in Mexico, as we are proud to offer ourselves to host this important event because today, a common understanding in a global context of the opportunity provided by the governance of the Internet demands a new dialogue. We are ready to welcome you at the 2016 Internet Governance Forum.
(end of video).
(applause).
>> JOSE ANTONIO MARCONDES de CARVLAHO: Thank you very much indeed, Ms. Martinez.
We shall all be in Mexico next year, but in New York we will formally hand you the baton of the IGF hosting country. Thank you very much.
(applause).
I would now like to revert to my mother tongue to deliver our closing remarks.
Brazil, Brazilian Government, is honored for having hosted for the second time the Internet Governance Forum. I thank deeply for the hospitality of the Brazilian State Government here represented by its Governor. Without the support, this event would not have been possible. Thank you very much, Mr. Governor.
(applause).
We are deeply convinced that the Forum in Joao Pessoa has exceeded the expectations when it provided us a rich debate and exchange of experiences regarding some of the most important topics related to Internet Governance.
Thousands of people around the world have followed the words of this Forum through remote hubs or their personal computers.
Along the last five days, more than 2500 representatives from the Government, Civil Society, private sector, international bodies, international organizations, and the technical academic communities could exchange their point of view about different topics such as right to privacy, digital economy, openness, digital inclusion, safety and security, Cybersecurity and other topics.
Along these lines, we must acknowledge that 2015 IGF was most of all a great celebration of multistakeholder principles. Just like NETMundial, which occurred in Sao Paulo in April 2015, IGF 2015 was a clear demonstration that the global community can organize itself collectively and promote debates that will have a very great importance for the future of Internet Democratic governance. IGF in Joao Pessoa has also contributed a lot of steps forward, like the report on policy options for Connecting the Next Billion, together with the outcomes from the best practice forums, BPFs and Dynamic Coalitions has shown that IGF can still evolve and produce tangible outputs, that it can, thus, have a more substantial impact on the future evolution of Internet.
Also, regarding public policies, Joao Pessoa so far also convenes an unequivocal message about the importance of IGF's legitimacy, and its relevance, and how relevant its continuity is. As we all know, in little more than a month, we will have in New York a meeting, high level meeting of the UN assembly, in order to review the ten years of WSIS, World Social Information Society, WSIS+10. In this context Brazil is very honored with the presence in Joao Pessoa of co‑facilitators for the negotiators for this important outcome document, which will be adopted in the meeting in New York.
We believe that the participation of the co‑facilitators and their request for us to provide a summary of the discussions here established to be distributed as an additional input to the people in New York for the meeting. We are sure this will contribute to enrich and strengthen difference of opinions in the process of reviewing WSIS. In light of the discussions kept at Joao Pessoa, we are very confident that the international community will strengthen its conviction regarding IGF's maintenance as a Forum for dialogue and for discussions. This is the reason why we are very convinced that this feeling regarding the IGF shall prevail in New York's meeting, and that in 2016, all of us together with our Mexican friends will be able to have yet another celebration of this Forum.
I echo the words of thanks that have been proffered to all of those that contributed to this Forum, through Professor Hartmut Glaser, Executive Secretary of CGI. Without his diligent action, his knowledge and his leadership, this Forum would not have been as successful as it was.
And on behalf of the Brazilian Government and of President Dilma Rousseff, I make this public acknowledgment to all through you, Professor Glaser, to all our friends who participated in this meeting, all the UN friends who came to this event to support us, and also our thanks to all of those who worked at this meeting, the volunteers included.
(applause).
With their participation, they made this 10th issue of IGF a meeting that was effectively memorable. Thank you very much on behalf of the Brazilian Government, for the participation of all of you. And with these words, I would like to defer to English to close the 10th Internet Governance Forum. See you all in New York and later next year in Mexico!
Thank you all for coming!
(cheers and applause).
(meeting adjourned at 18:40)