FINISHED TRANSCRIPT
EIGHTH INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM
BALI
BUILDING BRIDGES – ENHANCING MULTI-STAKEHOLDER COOPERATION FOR GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
22 OCTOBER 2013
14:30
OPENING CEREMONY
The following is the output of the real-time captioning taken during the Eigth Meeting of the IGF, in Bali, Indonesia. 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 session, but should not be treated as an authoritative record.
>> C. MASSANGO: Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome. Excellencies, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Eighth Annual Internet Governance Forum meeting. We will now start the Opening Session of the IGF 2013. And to start off with, I would like to call upon the assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, UNDESA, Mr. Thomas Gass, to give the opening remarks.
(Applause)
>> T. GASS: Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I am honoured to be here with all of you in beautiful Bali at this important event. It's also my pleasure to deliver a message -- (Applause) -- yes.
(Applause)
It's also my pleasure to deliver a message here on behalf of Undersecretary General Wu Hongbo who regretfully could not be here with us today.
On behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon, allow me to welcome you to the Eighth Annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum. I thank the government and people of Indonesia for hosting this important event. A special thanks -- (Applause). Yes.
A special thanks must also be given to the Indonesian Multistakeholder Organising Committee for all of their hard work it has put in to pull this forum together. Thank you very much.
(Applause)
And let us also acknowledge all of the past, current, and future donors to the IGF Trust Fund. Without your financial support, both monetary and in-kind, the sustainability of the IGF would not be possible. So thank you to all those who have invested financially in making this possible.
(Applause)
Finally, I also want to recognize the members of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group of the IGF. These are the people who provide leadership and guidance to the Forum who have been leading your workshops or will be leading your workshops while helping to support the discussions. The United Nations is grateful for your work, ladies and gentlemen. As the Forum continues to grow, your role becomes increasingly more important. So thank you to the MAG members here among us.
(Applause)
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, let me reaffirm today the support of the United Nations for the multistakeholder model for Internet Governance that the IGF embodies. This embodiment is seen at its annual meetings and at all of the regional and national IGFs that are held throughout the year. The Forum continues to be the premier multistakeholder forum for policy dialogue related to Internet Governance issues. This is a direct result of the dedication and commitment of you here today and thousands of others participating remotely. It is you, the many stakeholders of the IGF, participants from governments, intergovernmental organisations, civil society, the business community, and the Internet technical communities, who are responsible for the success of the Forum to date.
As you know, this meeting marks the third year of the IGF's second five-year mandate. In 2015, once again, the IGF will be reviewed by the General Assembly in connection with the broad review of overall WSIS implementation efforts. The Secretary-General stands behind the continued growth and success of the IGF.
The most recent statement, the Joint Statement of the United Nations Group on the Information Society, emphasized the need for increased interaction between the post-2015 development agenda and the World Summit on Information Society plus 10 review process. Such an interaction should create synergies so that parallel efforts across the UN system are coherent, connected, and coordinated to achieve maximum sustainable impact.
We look forward to working closely with our partner agencies, such as UNCTAD, UNESCO, the ITU, and others to ensure that we create such synergies.
Ladies and gentlemen, Excellencies, together we must build bridges where gaps may exist towards ensuring that our global Internet is one that promotes peace and security, that enables development and ensures human rights. Inclusive, transparent, and collaborative governance of the Internet is essential if we are to rebuild trust and to truly harness the potential of ICTs to achieve sustainable development for generations to come. Only with good governance will we be able to foster an accessible, affordable, and safe Internet.
As the international community strives to accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and as it shapes the Post-2015 Development Agenda that focuses on sustainable development, expanding the benefits of ICTs is crucial. Nearly 40% of people worldwide will be online by the end of the year. However, with more than two-thirds of those in developing countries remaining unconnected, there is no place for complacency. ICTs in general and the Internet in particular play an important part in ensuring rights-based development, especially enabling a greater exercise of freedom of expression and freedom of the press. These freedoms in turn are critical to combating corruption, ensuring gender sensitivity, deepening social accountability, and promoting social inclusive development.
The Internet has become a critical driver of and an essential tool for the creation of jobs and the delivery of basic public services for improving access to knowledge and education, for empowering women, to enhancing transparency, and for giving marginalized populations a voice in decision-making processes that directly affect their own lives.
ICTs by themselves cannot guarantee the achievement of development goals, and enabling online environment which we create together during the IGF is critical to ensure that the potentials of information communication technologies for sustainable development is fully harnessed by and for all.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, we have learned that cyberspace, while clearly accelerating economic and social development in many ways, will continue to present us with new emerging opportunities and threats. This makes the IGF platform all the more important.
A major issue that has arisen over the past year is that of surveillance of the Internet. Through concerns about national security and criminal activity, concerns although concerns about national security and criminal activity may justify exceptional and narrowly tailored use of surveillance, any surveillance without safeguards to protect the right to privacy hampers fundamental freedoms. People should feel secure in the knowledge that their private communications are not being unduly or unjustly scrutinized by the state or by other actors.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted more than 60 years ago, includes Article 19 that proclaims that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. This right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
We need to work together to find the appropriate balance between security and openness.
Because the global Internet accessed through all of today's various ICTs is transforming our world, opening doors, educating and empowering people, saving and improving lives, so our overall objectives must be to ensure universal access to ICTs, especially for the world's population currently not online. We must also strive to open data and share it for the benefit of all. To cite a recommendation by the high level panel of eminent persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, we need a data revolution. Let us continue to work together to find consensus on how to effectively govern the Internet to keep it open, accessible, affordable, secure, and beneficial for all.
I wish you all yet another successful annual Internet Governance Forum. Now, in accordance with the customs of the Internet Governance Forum, I have the honour to invite you, Excellency Titaful Sembiring, Minister of Communication and Information Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, to assume the Chair of the 2013 IGF. Thank you.
(Applause)
>> T. SEMBIRING: In the name of God, most gracious, most benevolent, peace and prosperity be upon you.
Good afternoon, everybody. Excellencies, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, at the outset, let me, on behalf of the government of the Republic of Indonesia and its people, welcome all of you to Indonesia and the island of Bali. It is truly an honour for Indonesia to host the Eighth Internet Governance Forum.
Likewise, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to representatives of governments, international organisations, civil societies, academia, business and industry sectors, and technical communities for participating in this Forum.
I would also like to extend my appreciation to the United Nations and the IGF Secretariat for their cooperations with the Ministry of Information and Communication of the Republic of Indonesia in the preparation of this IGF. And to assistant Secretary-General Gass, thank you for your kind words. It is my pleasure to accept the Chairmanship of the 2015 IGF. We look forward to a very productive and usable dialogue over the next few days. Also, to those for their kind support of this meeting.
Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, Internet presents opportunities for development and valuable contribution in connecting and providing closer and easier communication to its billion users. The Internet also expands the reach and effectiveness of social development projects. This growing trend of the use and reliance of people at all levels on Internet have encouraged the nations to provide Internet access wider and broader to their peoples. Indonesia indeed is no exception. We are now one of the countries with the largest Internet users. Until 2012, we have more than 63 million Internet users or approximately 24% of Indonesia's total population.
During the last decade, Internet traffic volume in Indonesia has grown by more than 2 million. This number is stimulated by the growing number of local content providers and local applications throughout the nation. Nevertheless, making the Internet available to our people is not the only goal we want to achieve. We are also committed to make sure that it is affordably and equitably accessible throughout the nation, particularly in the rural areas.
We also expect in the next few years the expansion of Internet for SME will support Indonesia's e-Commerce sector which contributes to our economic growth and sustainable development. These are our national priorities in order to maximize the potential advantages of the Internet enjoyed by the individual as well as the nation and beyond.
Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, despite the broad potential of the Internet, these emerging trends also create challenges that we are facing today. The rapid expansion of technology and Internet also creates challenges which threaten individuals, societies, and even nations and may lead to tensions and eventually conflicts. It widens the multidimensional divide among the societies and also creates other issues such as cyber crimes. The questions of ethics in the virtual world, vulnerability from exploitation, exposure to danger, and deception when using the Internet and digital illiteracy, which emanates due to the progressive rate of unemployment in developing countries.
Increased connectivity indeed poses many adverse impacts and a real security concern that needs to be addressed. It requires us to assure global public confidence and security in the use of Internet. We need to ensure that the cyber technology brings us common progress, peace, and prosperity. And to reach that objective, neither governments nor nongovernmental entities could work alone. Securing the cyberspace requires a global partnership between and among governments, civil societies, private sectors, and other stakeholders.
Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, the IGF meetings that have been annually since 2006 have shown to us the importance and the advantages as well as benefits of close multistakeholder dialogue and cooperation in developing our common goal. IGF, as a multistakeholder forum, was established from our one big concern on what the future of the Internet will be. This forum was established from a big question: How should we govern the Internet for the benefit of all?
To add this outcome and concern and answer the question, we need all stakeholders, governments, private sectors, civil societies, technical and academic communities to participate and contribute all resources we have. And this year, in the Eighth IGF in Bali, Indonesia, we are going to continue to strengthen our collaboration. The theme of this Eighth IGF, Building Bridges -- Enhancing Multistakeholder Cooperation for Growth and Sustainable Development is not only relevant to Indonesia, but also for most of countries in the world.
What we are addressing within the next four days requires a comprehensive and multidimensional approach; and therefore, it is my fervent hope that your personal contribution in the discussion.
Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that IGF 2013 will give significant contributions to recent global discussions on Internet Governance. Let us seize this opportunity to reaffirm our support for the Internet Governance, drawing strategy, concrete actions in addressing the challenges on Internet. I also believe that through closer and open dialogues we can come up with common views and mutual understanding in order to strengthen engagement and to enhance multistakeholder cooperation for growth and sustainable development.
Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, to formally open the IGF 2013 in Bali, Mr. Gass, I would like you to join me in a traditional Indonesia custom for opening important events. Please come with me to the gong.
Thank you.
(Applause)
(Sounding gong)
>> TITAFUL SEMBIRING: Excellencies, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, now IGF 2013 is formally opened. It will be continued with several contributions from some eminent IGF stakeholders communities to enhance the presentation of the contributions, I would like to ask the IGF Secretariat, Mr. Chengetai Massango, to invite our speakers. Mr. Chengetai Massango, please.
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you very much, Chairman Sembiring. We will now proceed with the remarks of all stakeholder groups. We have 18 people on the list who will each speak for around about 6 minutes. Please kindly try and keep in that timeframe. If not, I will -- I may remind you from time to time to keep it short. Thank you.
Our first speaker is traditionally the ITU Secretary-General, Mr. Hamadoun Toure. Unfortunately, he could not be here with us today, but he did send us a video message so he can speak to us virtually. If you can please put that up on the screens now. Thank you.
>> H. TOURE: Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I would like to appreciate the Government of Indonesia for hosting the Internet Governance Forum and inviting ITU. While I do also commend the United Nations, especially UNDESA for organising the IGF in Bali, Indonesia.
I am sorry not to be able to join you in person this year but happy to be joining you virtually. From the beginning, ITU has been firmly committed to the IGF, which is a great example of multistakeholder action. As the United Nations agencies that initiated the WSIS process in 2003, I am proud to see that multistakeholderism has evolved to the level where different stakeholders can develop consensus on critical issues to the Information Society.
Since 2005, WSIS issues have been addressed in the multistakeholder WSIS forum, which this year attracted over 1800 participants. The Forum is now being used for the WSIS review, aiming at the elaboration of a concrete WSIS vision beyond 2015 to be adopted at the WSIS+10 high level event next year.
Let me encourage all of you to engage in the ongoing WSIS preparatory process. It has been a very busy year for ITU since the last IGF, with different events, including the WTSA and WCIT-12 in Dubai and WTPF-13 in Geneva. It was tremendous to see more than 900 participants present, including many of you working together in such a positive spirit of collaboration. The WTPF produced multistakeholder agreement on six nonbinding opinions to guide Internet-related policymaking as well as a clear communication of the importance of continuing the discussion in various forums. As a result, ITU is organising an open talk here at the IGF focusing on the role of governments in the multistakeholder model, and I would like to encourage you all to take this opportunity to make your voices heard.
Ladies and gentlemen, this year is particularly important for all of us given the lively debate concerning international frameworks in a world where major recent events in the news reflects growing global concerns about freedom of expression, privacy, data protection, and security in cyberspace. Let me, therefore, reassure you that although I will not be able to listen and participate in person, ITU will nonetheless be fully engaged in all of the discussions at the IGF. I wish you a very successful forum. Thank you.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you. Now it's my great pleasure to invite His Excellency, Elmir Valizada, Deputy Minister of Communications and Technology of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the host country for IGF 2012.
>> E. VALIZADA: Excellency Mr. Thomas Gass, Excellency Mr. Tifatul, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and personally, I would like to extend our greeting for you all. The majority of you within the framework of 7th IGF meeting in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. Baku was marked by its highest participation, dynamism, and content richness. Over 128 countries, 1600 delegates, remote participants from 3800 unique IPs were involved in a variety of topics as well as 120 workshops were conducted throughout the Forum.
Therefore, we assume the Baku meeting was a positive input to the IGF process. I consider that the current meeting in Bali will be a vital step for the future advancement of IGF movement. Taking this opportunity, I want to express our sincerest gratitude to organisers and wish fruitful exchange during the Forum.
Generally, considering the role of Internet at the global level as well as its importance for states and individuals, I assume that IGF is the most appropriate platform for the discussions of issues on Internet Governance and defining human principles, mechanisms, and procedures. This IGF assembly, public, private, and civil society present together provides a unique opportunity for multistakeholder initiatives and will be the major cause for the positive outcomes. This fact is quite well illustrated in the main theme of the forum, Building Bridges, Enhancing Multistakeholder Cooperation for Growth and Sustainable Development.
Therefore, participants, the advancing of the ICT is a most important policy of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The truth of the fact is that, and 2013 was declared by ICT Year by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. This year, Azerbaijan successfully launched its first telecommunications satellite and has joined to the list of cosmic countries.
The development of ICT was depicted at special chapter of Azerbaijan 2020 division of future development concept. The activities on modernization around communication infrastructure, establishing fiber optic cable network covering all residential areas, and expansion on broadband services within country is under implementation. All due sections resulted in Internet penetration reaching of 30% and broadband penetration at 50%. Social media users are estimated more than a million, where every single condition exists for the access to Internet.
Our aim is expand and broaden this environment. On this regard, the innovative development model was chosen by Azerbaijan and prepared steps were already taken. So far, High Technology Park is under construction. IT fund was already funded, as well as IT University has been established. Regional development projects are also one of our targets. For instance, Azerbaijan in the part of express gateway APEC project and benefits from other similar transit projects. Another example is information superhighway project initiated by Government of Azerbaijan and which received unanimous support of the UN General Assembly.
Therefore, participants, through sharing with you all of our achievements, we wanted to prove once again this issue taken for development of ICT not only serves for sustainable development of the country, but entire region. We assume that these strengths should be taken into consideration during discussions within the framework of IGF. While preparation between states, defining transparent Internet Governance, providing safe Internet, and using Internet for development should be our ultimate goal.
Therefore, participants, at the end of my speech, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to the UN for their administration of the current meeting, to IGF Geneva Secretariat for displaying impressive conference year by year, and all UN special institutions, particularly to UNDESA, as well as wish good luck to all Forum participants.
Thank you for your attention.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you. On behalf of IGF participants, I would like to thank you and the people of Azerbaijan for your kindness while hosting us at the IGF 2012.
And now we carry on with our speakers from multistakeholder groups. The order from now on was chosen yesterday through a random drawing, and the first speaker is -- sorry -- His Excellency Paulo Bernardo Silva, Minister of Communications from the Republic of Brazil.
(Applause)
>> P. BERNARDO SILVA: Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Indonesian Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Massango, ladies and gentlemen, last September 24, President of Brazil delivered a speech before leaders of more than 190 countries at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. In her opening words, the President brought to the attention of all foreign delegations something that she regarded as of greater relevance and gravity. The Brazilian President referred to the activities of global network of surveillance which sparked strong debates on the ways the Internet operates today.
I'm here today to reinforce our President's concerns, which had obviously reflected the feelings of each Brazilian citizen at the UN stage. More than that, I'm here to bring the Brazilian view on this matter and to request the support of all IGF participants so that we can draw together a path.
Brazil acknowledges the value of the Internet. This is where new horizons of economic and social development arise, and knowledge and opportunities are shared. Moreover, this is how citizenship is promoted. We need to build a new model for Internet Governance, a model which allows us to achieve all these possibilities, a model which is truly democratic and transparent, ensuring human rights, freedom of expression, privacy, security, and respect for the sovereignty of all countries.
Over the last decades, Brazilian society achieved several democratic improvements, such as free elections, freedom of the press, human rights, and policies for social inclusion and wealth distribution.
Along with these developments, Brazilians witnessed the rise of an Internet which reflects much of the values underlying our recent histories. Our share in the global network is one of the most vibrant in this planet. It makes our country more open to the world while reflecting our culture, politics, and economy. It's a home for social movement, businesses, entertainment, and knowledge. It protects individuals without restraining their freedom.
In Brazil, we are more than 100 million people online according to a survey published yesterday. More and more people and places are digitally included every year. We have made special progress in least assisted regions, thus decreasing the digital divide in our country.
Although we have already reaped the benefits that connectivity brought to millions of citizens, we are facing the challenge of taking the Internet to many other Brazilians. However, we do not want just any Internet. The Internet is not a mere measure of technological or economic development in a certain society. It is, rather, an instrument to the benefit of humankind. It must be employed in favor of the progress of peoples and nations. The usage of cyberspace for obtaining information in an unauthorized way or for the violation of fundamental rights is not ethical. It has harmful effects on the unicity and globality of the Internet.
At the same time, the asymmetry and uneven distribution of economic resource that is characterizes the Internet today has generated a disproportionate competitive advantage to one single market. Therefore, talking about governance of this global network does not only concern technical standards but also such economic imbalance and its possible solutions.
There is a clear unsatisfaction towards the status quo. If Internet is so widely known as a place where new forms of democratic participation are practiced, then I believe it's time to add more democracy to it.
It has been a long time since Brazil started talking about it, and we congratulate the organisations that signed the Montevideo Statement on the Future of the Internet Cooperation. The voices of Brazil and other developing countries echo together. It seems clear, once and for all, that in order for us to have one Internet, we must include the voices of all nations and stakeholders.
We search for a model that would embody the principles mentioned by President Dilma Roussef at the United Nations. Freedom of expression, privacy of individual and respect for human rights; open multilateral and democratic governance, carried out with transparency by stimulating collective creativity and the participation of society. As President Dilma tweeted last Sunday, a multistakeholder model;
Universality that assures the social and human development and the construction of inclusive and non-discriminatory societies;
Cultural diversity without the imposition of beliefs, customs, and values; net neutrality, guided only by technical and ethical criteria, rendering it inadmissible to restrict it for political, commercial, religious, or any other purposes.
Over the last 20 years in Brazil, we have experienced very good results regarding issues of Internet Governance. The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee is a model, is a global reference for the multistakeholder model, where the government, the private sector, and academia work together. We are also very close to voting of the Internet Bill of Rights in our country. This will be a modern legislation establishing a set of principles for the usage of Internet in Brazil. It also defines rights and duties of Internet users.
Principles guiding Internet usage and governance in Brazil positively connect with the moment and feelings that we are sharing in this IGF meeting.
We are ready for an open dialogue aiming at designing a new model for Internet Governance in the world. Our participation in different international fora grants us the credentials for this task.
We have been doing everything within our reach in order to accommodate the recent effects regarding the nonauthorized monitoring of our citizens, businesses, and authorities. We are also concerned that the news on espionage would break people's trust in the Internet, leading to its fragmentation at national levels.
The way the Internet is currently governed can only further this concern. What contributes to the fragmentation is the decades-long prevalence of excessive unilaterality and centrality regarding connectivity and storage of data and information. The Internet has been open to everything except the way it is governed.
We are pleased to have received the visit of the Chairman of ICANN, Mr. Fadi Chehade, when he reported the willingness of the ISTARs entities to promote the institutional changes in Internet Governance. Our President welcomed the proposal of hosting an international meeting in order to discuss and propose such changes. Therefore, I would like you all not only to attend, but also to help in the construction of this Summit on Internet Governance to be held in Brazil in the first semester of 2014.
As we used to do in Brazil with the participation of society, technical community, and businesses, we want to review with other countries the ways of the world Internet Governance.
If you would ask me right now what model would I support, I must admit that I don't have a finished answer. I have mentioned the principles for it, but its format, details are yet to be designed, and the best way to do it is collectively.
We may close the Summit with clear commitments and a well-defined common agenda leading to concrete actions to be implemented by all. In order to achieve that, we need the cooperation of those who study, live, and build the Internet. The IGF gathers people with skills, knowledge, and commitment with an open, democratic, and participative Internet. More than this, it gathers passion, a rare feeling to be found at this level. This is the reason why President Dilma Rousseff sent me here, to ask for the support from this forum and from each one of you.
I hope these days at the IGF will renovate our strength so that we have the very best of us in order to advance the discussions until our meeting in Brazil.
Thank you very much.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you very much, Minister.
The next speaker on my list is Mr. Shadi Abou-Zahra, Web Accessibility Initiative, WAI, lead, World Wide Web Consortium, W3C.
(Applause)
>> S. ABOU-ZAHRA: Wow. I must say beautiful stage and beautiful place to have this conference.
Thank you for your hospitality, Indonesia.
(Applause)
So as mentioned, my name is Shadi Abou-Zahra. I work with the World Wide Web Consortium, W3C, more specifically with the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, WAI.
W3C is an international organisation that develops the core standards of the Web, such as HTML, XML, and many more, that together build the Web as we know it today.
The Web is the predominant interface to the Internet. W3C was founded by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, and he continues to direct the Consortium.
W3C standards are developed collaboratively in an open environment and are freely available on a royalty-free basis. This has significantly contributed to the wide success of the Web as the open platform that we know today and is available on a multitude of devices, on the desktops, on mobile phones, on tablets, increasingly on televisions, and so on.
The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, WAI, develops strategies, guidelines, and resources to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities. It's an integral part of W3C since 1997.
Some of you might know the WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG. This W3C standards on how to create Web sites that are accessible to people with disabilities is internationally recognized among many organisations and governments around the world as the standard for Web accessibility. Recently, it has also been adopted by ISO, the ISO number 40500, as an international standard as well. But today I speak on behalf of the IGF Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability, DCAD. It is generously supported and hosted by the International Telecommunication Union, ITU, and is chaired by Ms. Andrea Saks. Many of you may know.
DCAD was formed soon after the first IGF meeting in Athens, when many of us soon realised the many issues that stand before us that need to be addressed at, with, and through the IGF, and that stronger -- with a united voice, we have a stronger position to address.
You see, the Internet is of utter importance to people with disabilities. Never before has there been such an opportunity for people with disabilities to participate equally in society.
The Internet provides access to education, employment, government services, and much more. It helps people to combat poverty and social exclusion that affect many people with disabilities all around the world. It empowers people to be active members of society and live with independence and dignity rather than on welfare and depending on others.
This is the reason why the UN adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the UNCRPD, that recognizes access to information, including information on the Internet, as a human right. But it is also why the IGF is so critically important. It serves as an international platform for raising awareness of the global community, discussing the issues, and looking at ways of reducing accessibility barriers for people with disabilities. Because unfortunately, there are still many accessibility barriers that prevent people with disabilities from benefiting from the unique and unprecedented opportunity that the Internet provides.
As we speak here in this room today, one of our colleagues is, unfortunately, unable to join remotely because the system doesn't work with the screen-reading software that he needs to use to operate his computer as a blind user. He and many others are not able to participate in our discussion because of some technical incompatibilities that are actually solvable if the developers of those different systems that need to work together were more aware of the needs and the standards that exist.
But it's exactly this lack of participation of people with disabilities that contributes to lack of awareness about the need for accessibility. In turn, it leads to yet more exclusion and promotes a vicious cycle that we, together, have to break.
On the other hand, accessibility has many benefits for everyone. For example, text to speech is essential for blind people to use computers, as with our colleague who is unable to join today, but it is also critical for the inclusion of people with low language skills for whatever reason, and there are a broad variety of reasons. For instance, literacy, migration, ethnic minorities, and so on. So when we talk about Internet Governance and how to address the needs of all members of our society, including the many overlapping needs that we all have in common, it is essential that truly everyone is involved in the discussion and in the process.
And there have been many improvements over the years. Today we have remote participation and realtime captioning which prove to be so useful to so many participants, especially for those who, in this case, their first language is not English, regardless of any disability.
But there's still much more that needs to be done to truly get everyone involved. So the DCAD put together guidelines for accessible IGF meetings for everyone. DCAD tried to document good practices on accessibility and to help transition of the IGF from one host country to the next. The DCAD has been evolving those guidelines over the years, and with the strong support of the IGF Secretariat -- and I really wish to emphasize the strong support that we've been receiving from the Secretariat -- without which we would have not been able to be as effective and contribute to the IGF. These guidelines are made available to the host countries. They're also available from the DCAD homepage on the ITU website, which sponsors the DCAD and supports and runs its Secretariat.
We hope that also the regional IGFs and other event planners will use these guidelines to make their events more open and more inclusive to everyone. We at the DCAD also provide ourselves as resources to the IGF and to the host countries and always seek exchanges with other groups on the many overlapping aspects of Internet Governance that we all commonly have.
So, this is an open invitation for you to work with us, the DCAD, not only on making the IGF, but the Internet in itself, more accessible and more inclusive to everyone.
Thank you.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you very much, Mr. Abou-Zahra.
The next speaker is Mr. Sabine Verheyen, member of the European Parliament for Aachen, Germany.
(Applause)
>> S. VERHEYEN: Excellencies, distinguished persons, organisers, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to speak at this opening panel this afternoon, and I'm happy to represent the European Parliament's delegation at the IGF in Bali. The Internet is a multifaceted economy and social space. It is the extremely fast development that has created a new world of possibilities, challenges, as well as risks for business, citizens, and states.
The Internet has become the central nervous system of our Information Society. Over the last 15 years, personal computers and tablets, mobile phones and smartphones, and many other devices have transformed the way we access and use information, and they will change the way we communicate, learn, travel, buy, and live. These developments are that profound that they cannot be left to the interaction between business and users. They need to be closely followed by politics, and developments need to be addressed as quickly as possible for two reasons. Establishing a business environment that creates opportunities and safeguards fair competition on the one hand, and on the other hand, securing citizens' rights and allow users to fully benefit from the advantages of an open, transparent, and fair Internet.
A fresh look at the EU Internet strategy for the time after the next European elections in 2014 is needed. The EU will have to shape a common strategy as important decisions will have to be taken, and these must address adequately the challenges. Otherwise, the EU will miss the essential steps towards economic growth in a new era of Internet.
Guaranteeing freedom of expression, free flow of information, and access for everyone, as well as taking care of individual rights and business will remain the benchmarks of our approach.
For me, there are three main political issues to be focused during the next legislative term of the European Parliament 2014-2019. The Internet must be transparent and safe. The Internet must be open and competitive. And the Internet must be fair and inclusive.
The European Parliament sent an ad hoc delegation to WSIS in 2005 and thereafter to every annual meeting of the IGF. The issues discussed at this Forum are of utmost importance to the policy debates on the EU level. There are various Internet Governance-related policies discussed on EU level at the moment. For example, this week the European Council is discussing Digital Agenda policies in Brussels and will set the political guidelines in this field for the next year.
The meeting focuses on various questions related to the digital economy, innovation, and services. The overall aim is to overcome market fragmentation in Europe and develop a stable legal framework which will boost the digital internal market.
The European Parliament is working very closely with the other European Institutions on achieving this aim. For us, key policy debates have circled around questions of net neutrality, data protection, cybersecurity, media pluralism, the European cloud partnership, copyright, big data, open data, the protection of minors online, and spectrum allocation, just to name a few of them. These topics are very much related to the broader Internet Governance questions, and we will be discussing in the following days.
Ladies and gentlemen, last year there were growing concerns of proposals being presented by different states on international level which would impact the Internet architecture operations, content, security, business relations, Internet Governance, and in some cases the free flow of information online.
The European Parliament has always rejected any ideas of making changes to the international telecommunications regime which would generally give regulatory power over the Internet to supernatural government organisation.
The European Parliament has always supported the present bottom-up multistakeholder model that has expressed concerns that any proposal that might question the multistakeholder model may seriously affect the development of and access to online services for end users as well as the digital economy as a whole.
A centralized governance of the Internet is certainly nothing which is desired on European level. The Internet has made an enormous contribution to growth and innovation in Europe's economies and has become a crucial part of the everyday life of most citizens. Much of this success is down to the openness of the Internet as a platform, providing low barriers to entry and fertile ground for innovation. In particular, the development of new content and applications.
Therefore, Internet Governance and related regulatory issues should continue to be defined at a comprehensive and multistakeholder level. We believe in the institution of the IGF, as it has a clear focus on bringing together people from all stakeholder groups to engage as equals in a dialogue on public policy issues related to the Internet and its governance. Nevertheless, I am sure we will have many discussions this week about the future organisation of the IGF. During these discussions, we should keep in mind our common commitment to build a people-centred, open, competitive, fair, transparent, inclusive, and development-oriented Internet, where everyone can create, access, utilize, and share information and knowledge.
I am looking forward to fruitful discussions, and I want to thank you very much.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you very much, Ms. Verheyen.
Our next speaker is His Excellency Masahiro Yoshizaki, Vice-Minister of Policy Coordination, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan.
(Applause)
>> M. YOSHIZAKI: Excellency, ladies and gentlemen, I am Yoshizaki. First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for all those who worked hard to make this Forum possible. This Forum is a valuable international platform where we can discuss a wide range of Internet Governance issues.
There are many issues to discuss concerning Internet Governance, but I have only a few minutes today, so I would like to introduce Japan's activities, especially concerning cybersecurity issues, which is one of the subthemes of this forum. Cyberspace continues to expand beyond national borders and has become widely used across the board, along with spread of the Internet. Accompanied with such an expansion of cyberspace, cybercrimes and cyberrisks are also expanding and globalizing. For this reason, in order to ensure security in cyberspace from attacks, Japan adopted a new cybersecurity strategy this June. Based on this strategy, Japan is working on the maintenance of safe and secure telecommunications networks by addressing public-private partnerships, international cooperation, technological development, and so forth.
Japan also issued the international strategy on cybersecurity cooperation, J Initiative for Cybersecurity, on 2 October. In order to make clear the Japanese policy to actively engage in collaboration and mutual assistance on this issue.
The following three points are the focused agenda of this policy:
One, international rulemaking of norms and technical criteria.
Two, collaboration between investigating authorities for crossborder cybercrimes.
Three, confirmation with trade so as not to degrade security levels by prioritization of one's own country's technology.
Let me introduce to you our recent example of such an effort. Cooperation between ASEAN and Japan was established 40 years ago. So this September, Japan, with ASEAN, held ASEAN Japan Ministerial Policy Meeting on Cybersecurity Cooperation in Tokyo. And adopted Joint Ministerial Statement of the ASEAN Japan Ministerial Policy Meeting on Cybersecurity Cooperation. His Excellency, the Minister Sembiring, thank you for your kindness and for coming to Japan. At this meeting, Japan and ASEAN countries have promoted now cooperation by agreeing of the JASPAR project. This is Japan ASEAN security partnership project, which as achieved and has technical cooperation in the network security field of ASEAN by enabling us to detect and providing a lot for malware infection.
Japan's fundamental policy is to secure free flow of information in cyberspace. Along with the viewpoint of that, everyone has the right to obtain maximum benefits from the Internet. No one has a right to disturb or deprive someone of his freedom by cyber attacks and cyber crimes.
Furthermore, we believe that keeping openness and interoperability of the Internet without excessive control and regulation by governments leads to sustainable growth and development. In order to achieve this, Japan will continue taking initiatives and working actively with other countries to build a safe and reliable cyberspace.
Last but not least, I hope that fruitful discussion at this Forum will encourage the international community to work together more hand in hand and to take an ever more effective approach to Internet Governance issues.
Thank you very much.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you, Mr. Vice Minister.
The next speaker is Mr. Fadi Chehade, President and CEO of ICANN.
(Applause)
>> F. CHEHADE: Your Excellencies and all of us, you, excellent ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.
I want to start, really, by asking the permission of our Chairman to ask the people in this room who are with APJII and PANDI to stand up because for those of us who saw what they did behind the scenes, it is to them the thanks goes for all of this, so please, come on.
(Applause)
Together with the amazing Chengetai Massango from the Secretariat of IGF, these are the people who worked very hard in a multistakeholder fashion to bring this forum together, and really to them we owe the thanks. Thank you very, very much.
(Applause)
A year ago I met many of you for the first time at the Baku event. This was the 7th IGF and my first one. And at the time, if you remember, the big challenge that was put on the table, which I shared with all of you would be my priority, is to make ICANN a more international organisation. ICANN was viewed very much as a maybe too much of a U.S.-centric organisation, huddled up in Los Angeles, enjoying the California beaches and asking the world always to come to ICANN. And we promised at the time that we will make ICANN go to the world.
Today I'm happy to report to you, a year later, that ICANN has gone to the world. We have divided our headquarters into three operational hubs in the world: Los Angeles, Istanbul, and Singapore. The hubs are open, operating legally, with employees in them and operations working around the clock we have also opened engagement centers in China, in Montevideo, and I just came from India, where we announced the first Centre of Excellence in the world for DNS security in partnership with the leading research organisations in India. This is just the beginning.
Then we expanded ICANN, and we told our team to start moving out of Los Angeles. Our head of global policy is now based in Istanbul. Our next head of global technology will be based in Singapore. I, myself, with my family will be moving to Singapore in January and then back to Istanbul in May.
So we, today, have an organisation that from the inside out is changing our centre of gravity to be a global organisation.
But that's not enough. We are clear that truly international organisations must also change many things, not just their operational posture, but also potentially, over time, their legal posture. So whilst we are a California corporation today, there is nothing that precludes us being also, in addition to that, a legal organisation in other places, and we intend to do that in order to make ICANN a more international organisation.
We also believe that our commitment to the world should be, indeed, to the world, not to any particular stakeholder. And we will work towards that and change that.
These fundamental changes must happen because the current status quo is not sustainable. But we must do this with care. We must do this wisely. Because the security, stability, and reliability of the Internet must remain our number one job because all of us depend on it. So we will do this, but we will do it as a community. We will work together, and we will get there.
And finally, as part of our international focus, I am happy to announce today a very important piece of news. Today, for the first time in the history of the Internet, ICANN has announced that the first new Arabic, Russian, and Chinese top-level domains has been sent to be delegated to the root of the Internet. This is good news for the world and good news for all of us.
(Applause)
And also for my aunt in Egypt who can now type an entire name in Arabic because she doesn't even have an English keyboard.
So this is good for all of us. It's good for the users of the Internet. And we will keep doing what we need to do to make ICANN and the Internet a global place.
Today is also a good time to talk about a new season for the Internet. As ICANN becomes more international, Internet Governance needs to become also a global affair. Just today and yesterday, I had bilaterals in which many governments were coming to us and saying we're finally embracing the need for our country and our government to be part of the multistakeholder effort to make the Internet a better place. So Internet Governance is becoming everyone's interest, and that's a good thing. However, it could turn badly. It could end up being the affair of a few governments. And we all agree that while governments are central to Internet Governance, governments alone cannot govern the Internet. Governments must partner with all stakeholders in the spirit of the IGF to create solutions that are multistakeholder. Governments, civil society, technical organisations, industry and businesses together -- together -- on an equal footing, as the Tunis Agenda said -- on an equal footing will govern the Internet and will make it a better place for all of us.
So today I see nothing but good things ahead of us. I think this community is clear that the multistakeholder approach is a good approach. And as we look to the 2014 events, we look for great opportunities for us to work together to ensure that we do not, as the representative of the EU parliament said, we do not create yet another major new organisation. We don't need more organisations. We have good institutions. We should empower them. We should give them the ability to work together, to cooperate with all governments and all stakeholders together on an equal footing. These are good news. So let's together focus on what needs to be done. There's a lot of work to be done. But we are committed.
ICANN, IETF, ISOC -- and you'll hear from their leaders -- the regional registries, and many of the business organisations, many of the civil society organisations together -- together -- working with our governments, we can make this happen.
Finally, I just would like to say we are here to engage with each other. Let's use this week to really be open to engage. Our Minister from Brazil presented a very courageous new offer for all of us to engage. I thank him and I thank Brazil for their readiness to come here and engage the multistakeholder community and invite us all to a multistakeholder dialogue, not Brazil centred, not ICANN centred, an open multistakeholder dialogue.
We thank you for the invitation, and we will respond to it, Minister Bernardo, because that's the spirit of the multistakeholder IGF.
The continent I come from, Africa, has a proverb that says if you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together. So let's go together. Thank you.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you very much, Mr. Chehade.
Our next speaker is Mr. Janice Karklins, Assistant Director General for communications and information, UNESCO.
(Applause)
>> J. KARKLINS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Honorable Minister of Communications and Information Technologies of Indonesia, Minister Sembiring, honorable ministers, UN assistant Secretary-General, Excellencies, distinguished participants, and ladies and gentlemen, I would like to start by thanking His Excellency Minister Sembiring for generosity hosting this Internet Governance Forum and welcoming us so warmly in Bali. In a literal sense as well.
I would like also to express UNESCO's appreciation for the remarkable work of the IGF Secretariat and interim chair of the open consultations and meetings of the IGF multistakeholder group, and all of the volunteers who contributed to preparation of 2013 IGF annual meeting. The organisation of the IGF itself is an excellent example of successful multistakeholder cooperation.
This multistakeholder aspect is the first out of four points that I would like to make. For UNESCO, Internet Governance must remain the exercise of effective multistakeholder collaboration. The multistakeholder approach to addressing Internet Governance issues that was established at the World Summit on the Information Society has proven its longevity and effectiveness at all levels, international, regional, and national. This was also evident at the WSIS+10 first review event hosted by UNESCO in Paris in February of this year. Many of you joined us in our special session on Internet Governance, as well as to other Internet Governance-related sessions. The participants of the WSIS+10 review event adopted by consensus a very rich Final Statement that underlines the need to preserve and promote free, open, secure, and trustworthy Internet. Consultations between all stakeholders took time and effort, but this was the most efficient way to advance, despite the challenges, the inclusive process may pose.
My second point relates to UNESCO's promotion of human rights to freedom of expression. This must also be safeguarded on the Internet and, consequently, reflected in the Internet Governance policies and practices, also upholding other rights such as privacy and security of the person.
This is particularly true in the current context of the ongoing discussions on the actual use of Internet and, in particular, to the preservation of privacy online. At its 192nd session of the Executive Board, which just closed ten days ago, UNESCO discussed an item, ethics and privacy in cyberspace. After heated debate, which clearly indicated the extreme complexity of the issue, Member States agreed that UNESCO should continue addressing ethical and privacy issues in cyberspace involving experts from different stakeholder groups and different parts of the world. At this upcoming session of the General Conference, which will start its work in early November, the question of a nonbinding normative instrument will be discussed further, and a decision will be taken.
I invite anyone who is interested in the subject to attend the UNESCO Open Forum, where this issue will be further addressed.
Thirdly, Internet Governance must ensure universal access to information and knowledge. Some commentators still link the access question simply to infrastructure issues, while access for all is much more complex. It also requires us to overcome language, content, and capacity challenges. The opportunity to use one's language on the Internet has a direct impact on the number of citizens who can benefit from such technology. We must ensure that provision of access to the Internet and also ensure that the empowerment of individuals with different cultural backgrounds and languages so that they can continue to create locally relevant content.
With that in mind, UNESCO is working with EURid in analyzing the IDN uptake in the world and will present this third edition of the report -- of the World Report on IDNs. And in this context, I would like to congratulate ICANN on placing in the root these three IDN Top-Level Domain names.
Fostering media and information literacy competencies, especially at school level, is vital if Internet users are to practice informed and ethical engagement with the Internet, and we are promoting a global network on this subject.
Fourthly, UNESCO is working on a new concept of Internet universality. Our organisation is seeking input from IGF community to feed the conceptual work on this notion at a workshop which will take place on Friday morning.
We think this concept could serve to highlight holistically the continued conditions for progress towards inclusive knowledge societies and the elaboration of the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda.
In closing, two years ago UNESCO, in its document, presented the General Conference stated that the tension of international debate will gradually shift from issues of infrastructure development to the actual use of Internet. Yesterday's high-level dialogue clearly showed how multifaceted and complex this discussion can be. It is much easier to count kilometers of cables than to understand and predict human behavior. It requires time, it requires patience. IGF is no place for such kind of exchange. Let's make best use of it all together.
Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to what surely will be very fruitful discussion.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you, Mr. Karklins.
The next speaker is Ambassador Danny Sepulveda, U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy.
(Applause)
>> D. SEPULVEDA: Good afternoon, everyone. It is my pleasure to be with you here today. The United States would like to thank the IGF Secretariat, the Multistakeholder Advisory Group for organising our week together in Bali. And of course, we want to thank our gracious Indonesian hosts.
The United States deeply values being a part of the IGF community. That is why this year the U.S. Government made a significant donation to the IGF Trust Fund, demonstrating our commitment to this institution and its continued vitality.
The architects of the Internet built it as an open and inclusive platform. As a result, the Internet today is no more any one country's than any other's. It no more any one stakeholder's than any other's. And having grown in a manner unprecedented in the history of communications, as a result, the Internet today is acting as a springboard for human development worldwide. It helps grow economies, it enables democratic discourse, it broadens opportunities, and it launches innovation.
The question for us at this IGF is how do we embrace that accomplishment and continue to advance?
The United States welcomes this opportunity to offer our views. We support an open dialogue on the modernization and evolution of the multistakeholder system that enables the operation of the global Internet. Bottom-up, inclusive, cooperative efforts to empower users and further enable innovation free from arbitrary intergovernmental control is what the U.S. has been calling for all along. We believe that the proper response to concerns related to Internet development, from bridging the remaining digital divide to protecting children online to developing best practices for securing networks, lies in the cooperative work between and within multistakeholder institutions.
The Internet's universal deployment will depend on all of us encouraging and enabling private investment in technology and infrastructure that will drive down the cost of access.
To demonstrate our commitment to affordable Internet access for everyone, the United States government proposed and worked with a variety of stakeholders to launch the creation of the Alliance for an Affordable Internet, a coalition of 30 partners from private sector, public sector, and civil society organisations. This multinational, multistakeholder coalition stands together in its aim to provide affordable Internet access in developing countries.
The United States also operates the Global Broadband Initiative out of USAID, which is working with countries to develop universal service programmes and national broadband plans. And our private sector is investing heavily in wireless solutions to bridge the world's remaining digital divide. There is always much more to be done, and collectively we should. But we think these efforts are positive contributions to the very real challenges that remain.
Separately, the leaders of the Internet's multistakeholder governing organisations have renewed calls to modernize the Internet's governing system and make it more inclusive. Their recent statement from Montevideo should be seen as an opportunity to seek that broad inclusion and for organising multistakeholder responses to outstanding Internet issues. And we must work together with these organisations in good faith on these important issues.
We should, however, guard against recent arguments for centralized intergovernmental control of the Internet that have used recent news stories about intelligence programmes for their justification. I can assure you that the United States takes your concerns, those that many of you have expressed regarding recent NSA disclosures, very, very seriously. And I certainly understand the desire to raise related issues here. As with all difficult issues that are discussed in this Forum over the years, let us remain good stewards of the Internet. As we mark the opening of the IGF, let us use this time together to construct solutions to the digital divide. Let us work cooperatively to improve the trust, confidence, and security of our networks. Let us continue to promote an open Internet that can serve as a platform for innovation and job growth.
Let us think creatively to bring more developing country stakeholders to the tables of the existing multistakeholder Internet institutions. And let us grow and evolve together. After all, that is what has brought us here today -- a common appreciation for the good that the Internet has enabled and an interest in the future of the Internet to perpetuate those benefits and bring them to all corners of the globe. Let's work together and engage in robust and candid discussions here this week. Let us capture them in a way that is useful for each of us as we take the next steps. And let us ensure that we make the most of this compelling opportunity. Thank you very much.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you very much, Ambassador. The next speaker is Ms. Nnenna Mwakanma, civil society, Africa Regional Coordinator, World Wide Web Foundation.
(Applause)
>> N. MWAKANMA: Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. My name is Nnenna. I am of Nigerian origin, and I live in Cote d'Ivoire. I love football, and I am a global citizen through the Internet. I am also part of the steering group of the platform called Best Bits that allows civil society to do things together in the framework of the IGF. Yes, I work for the World Wide Web Foundation as the Regional Coordinator for Africa.
The World Wide Web Foundation was established by the Web inventor, sir Tim Berners-Lee. He has been mentioned several times here. And what we do is to strengthen and defend the open Web as a global public good and a basic right. We work with others to make the Web truly universal, open, and free through initiatives like the alliance for affordable Internet that was just spoken about and the Web index to track the health and the utility of the Web in over 80 countries.
We also put the open Web to work to strengthen democracy and participation, especially by harnessing the power of open data. And that is the reason why we are here, to engage as civil society and participate in this process.
There are some issues we agreed to that need to be reminded to us. The first is human rights. We seem to be moving farther from human rights as we move further on the Internet Governance process. I strongly believe, and the civil society as well, that human rights needs to make a come-back in the IGF and be kept at centre stage.
The second is multistakeholder participation. I think every speaker has used that word. Open, accountable, transparent multistakeholder participation in the IGF. At the moment, it's not very clear how we are doing on it, and maybe the time is right for us to start measuring multistakeholder engagement, its impact, and the promises we've made in this area.
The third is our development focus. We must never lose focus that our collective effort in the Internet Governance process is aimed at making the Internet a tool for poverty reduction, for health service delivery, for education at all levels, for the economic well-being of our world.
We must, therefore, continue to extend the Internet of opportunities -- opportunities for people like me, opportunities for indigenous people, opportunities for nomadic people, opportunities for rural dwellers, opportunities for landlocked countries, opportunities for island states, opportunities for countries made up of islands like Indonesia.
Ladies and gentlemen -- (Applause) -- a broadband -- a basic broadband plan costs the average African like myself almost two-thirds of the normal monthly income. In the world's 49 poorest countries, only 1 in 10 people have access to the Internet. 25 Net citizens and journalists were killed, and 157 have been imprisoned last year.
Between May 2012 and today alone, 24 countries have passed new laws or regulations that could restrict free speech online, violate users' privacy, or punish individuals who post certain types of content. This is, therefore, a call for urgent action to everyone who is here and who is following remotely. A call for action for greater and enhanced cooperation of all stakeholders. A call to action for an affordable Internet for everyone everywhere. A call for action in favor of accessibility to make the Internet real for persons like my friend living with disabilities. A call for action for more efficient Internet Governance process at national levels because that is where home is. A call for action in mainstreaming gender equity, youth engagement, and more remote participation at all levels of Internet Governance, to continue to enhance the capacity of the Internet as a tool for safeguarding social justice, equity, diversity, and multilingualism.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the growing thread of unwarranted government surveillance across the globe deserves our attention. The current trend to justify rash and poorly considered expansion of state surveillance in the name of our protection must be rejected. Humanity needs the Internet to be and to remain neutral, open, universal and free.
In closing my address, it is important to remind us that we are meeting in Bali under the theme of Building Bridges: Enhancing Multistakeholder Cooperation for Growth and Sustainable Development.
It is only natural for us to salute the people and organisations that build bridges every day in this IGF journey. People like Sir Tim Berners‑Lee, who innovate, who invent. People in the policy circles who are grappling with this new reality called the Internet. Nations like Brazil that are actively seeking for innovative ways to make this process more participative and inclusive. People in the technical community who make sure the Internet works 24/7, organisers, volunteers, conveners of local, National, subregional, regional and global IG processes, instances, people who Tweet, people who are giving their time. People who spend sleepless nights, thank you very much. Organisations that are committed to affordable Internet like the Council members of the Alliance for Affordable Internet, thank you very much. And of course, to organisations like NRO, and platforms that fund the IGF especially those who fund the Civil Society.
To the people of Bali this wonderful place and a great people on Government of Indonesia. And through them, to all the countries who have hosted any IG conference at every level. I have organised at National, I've organised at sub regional, I've organised at regional I know it's hard work. Thank you very much. And whoever you are listening to me thank you very much, merci boucoup.
>> C. MASANGO: Thank you very much, Nnena. Our next speaker is Mr. Alan Marcus, senior Director, head of it's and telecommunication industries of the world economic Forum.
(Applause)
>> A. MARCUS: Honourable Ministers, Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for this opportunity to speak here today. Hyperconnectivity is increasing digital interconnection of people and things, any time and any place. This is the defining story of our times. Hyperconnectivity ‑‑ sorry. By 2020, there will be 50 billion network devices. These include cars, household appliances, trees, and even doctor‑prescribed pills. Everything becomes a computer and anything can be digital. Digital technologies becoming a medium of daily life, business and governance, shaping our future societies and economies. Future technology choices are increasingly becoming economic, social, and political choices.
How can we collectively make better use of technology? We all live in a hyperconnected world that is being catapulted into a future that is unknown and without precedent. The clock speed of societal change is accelerated to the point beyond the capacity of conventional comprehension and Government direction. Yet our way of thinking about such changes are still artifacts of the 18th and 19th centuries. They are inapparently mechanistic, reductive and static.
No match for the complexities that confront the 21st century leaders. What is needed is a new vocabulary, and analytic processes for modeling the complexities and dynamics of ecological, societal, economical and technological change. Our world is changing.
Driving this disruption is the impact of hyperconnectivity, the interconnecting of everyone with everything. Hyperconnectivity fundamentally redefines how individuals, enterprises and Governments interconnect and relate. It provides new models for innovation, new opportunities for growth, but also introduces new risks that need to be managed and mitigated.
Understanding the dynamics and its impact on leadership has become a global priority. New insights and understandings are vital for leaders, as they manage the transition from a complicated world driven by top‑down command and control systems, to a complex world characterized by decentralized, non‑linear change.
Our world is changing. It is complex. It is hyperconnected and it is increasingly driven by insights derived from big data. And the rate of change shows no sign of slowing, nor does the volume of data show any sign of shrinking. But the economic and social value of big data does not come just from its quantity. It also comes from its quality. The ways in which individual bits can be interconnected reveal new insights with the potential to transform business and society. Fully tapping that potential holds much promise and much risk. By themselves, technology and data are neutral. It is their use that can both generate great value and create significant harm, sometimes simultaneously.
This requires a rethink of traditional approaches to data governance, particularly a shift from focusing on controlling the data itself to focusing on the use of data. It is up to the individuals and institutions of various societies to govern and decide how to unlock this value, both economic and social, and ensure suitable protections. Against this backdrop, questions on how leaders collectively learn, make decisions, measure impact, mitigate risks, build sustainable and innovative systems are just some of the areas where new perspectives are required. Additionally, new structural approaches are needed for global governance, and a borderless, data-driven economy, where intangible digital assets can be copied instantly and distributed globally, there is a need for greater resilience, accountability, and alignment on shared principles.
There's a need for new approaches that help individuals understand how and when data is collected, how the data is being used and the implications of those actions. Simplicity, efficient design, and usability must lie at the heart of the relationship between individuals and the data generated by and about them. Organisations need to engage and empower individuals more effectively and efficiently, rather than merely providing a binary yes or no consent at the point of collection, individuals need new ways to exercise choice and control, especially where data uses more affect them. They need a better understanding of the overall value exchange so they can make truly informed choices. Complex matters. Given the complexity of applications, the idiosyncrasy of individual behaviors, and the speed of change, there is a need for flexibility to allow different approaches for using data in different situations. To keep pace with the velocity of change, stakeholders need more effectively understand the dynamics of how personal data ecosystems operate, a better coordinated way to share learning, shorten feedback loops, and improve evidence-based policy making must be established.
As traditional forms of leadership are no longer adequate under these conditions, a new model is emerging that is based on contextual intelligence, attitudinal traits, and technical competence. We have the opportunity to help leaders maintain focus and urgency while maintaining systemic understanding. To help them create and maintain powerful partnerships to enact change and to catalyze based upon the shared principles that can serve as the cornerstones of our new world. Identifying these principles provides a means to shape the global agenda, guide decision making, and achieve the outcomes we all collectively value.
Thank you.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you very much, Mr. Marcus. Our next speaker is Ms. Lynn St. Amour, President and CEO of the Internet Society.
(Applause)
>> L. ST. AMOUR: Thank you. Mr. Chairman, Honourable Ministers, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, it's a pleasure to be here today in this very beautiful country. I would like to thank the Government of Indonesia for hosting us and for making everyone feel so very welcome.
This year's theme is extremely relevant in light of the many challenges faced by the Internet since we were last together in Baku. I would like to be able to talk to you about the important work going on across the Internet organisations and community, such as efforts to bring the remaining 4.5 billion people online or to help reduce operating costs in developing countries by supporting IXPs or to help the developing world get ahead of spam, something we heard clearly was a problem at last year's WCIT, or perhaps increased local content or improved security through our DNSSEC, RPKI, email authentication, to list only a very, very small number of activities.
However, there is a cloud over all our efforts. The widespread covert government-sanctioned surveillance activities recently revealed have provided new challenges to all of us, alarming challenges. Any actions, even those justified on the grounds of national security, that interfere with the privacy of its own citizens or of other nations' citizens is wrong. Many of the ideas being promoted in response to these surveillance issues support a reductive model with a focus on security, risk mitigation, or control through digital borders, and this is worrisome.
The so-called technical community is fully engaged in the debates, and earlier this month the Internet Society convened many of the leaders of these organisations in Montevideo, Uruguay. We warned against Internet fragmentation at a national level. We expressed strong concern over the undermining of the trust and confidence of Internet users globally due to recent revelations of pervasive monitoring and surveillance. We identified the need for ongoing effort to address Internet Governance challenges, and we agreed to catalyze communitywide efforts towards the evolution of global multistakeholder Internet cooperation. And we called for accelerating the globalization of ICANN and the IANA functions towards an environment in which all stakeholders, including governments, participate on an equal footing.
We also noted that the Internet and the World Wide Web were built and governed in the public interest through unique mechanisms for global multistakeholder cooperation and that this has been intrinsic to their success. And we discussed the clear need to continually strengthen and evolve these mechanisms.
We all want a robust, sustainable, and secure Internet. And clearly, there are areas that are still challenging. If they were easy problems, they'd be solved by now. But many are difficult or complex to solve. They impact or implicate many different stakeholders or involve many disciplines or types of expertise. So the Internet Society has drafted a taxonomy, still in its very early stages, and will be looking for help to refine it. It is intended to aid in gaining a shared understanding of the challenges of today and clarity on how they can be addressed effectively. Since many issues are quite broad, it will be helpful to disaggregate them in order to find solutions. Security is a good example, of course, covering many, many areas.
So very briefly, here are the categories:
The first, connecting needs and resources. These cover issues for which answers are known by some, but not by all; for example, spam or IXPs.
A second, mobilizing collective action, issues for which we believe there are answers but require more time, buy-in, or deployment. For example, DNSSEC, which is not useful until much of the DNS is signed and resolvers are validating responses.
A third, collective behavioral change, issues which require others to change operations or habits. For example, privacy or intellectual property rights.
And the fourth we've labeled disputed issues, issues for which there is not general agreement on the problem. Sender pays proposals is a current example of that particular issue.
To successfully tackle these difficult or persistent problems clearly requires multistakeholder cooperation and flexible approaches.
In closing, we are all helping to build the Internet of the future, whether building physical networks, defining policies, creating standards, participating in the IGF, or building multistakeholder consultative or consensus processes. We are all working to build the future. There is really no status quo. It is a continual evolution. Returning to more traditional roles for any of us is not feasible. The proverbial horse has left the barn.
Over the course of this week, we'll have the opportunity to talk, listen, share experiences and best practices, and to shape decisions that will impact the future of the Internet. The IGF is, indeed, more relevant and essential than ever before. It is our strong plea that here at the IGF we show an increased commitment to a distributed, decentralized model of Internet Governance and that we all work to strengthen the IGF, to put it on a stable and sustainable basis, and to extend the mandate beyond 2015 for the future of the Internet and the benefits it brings to all of us.
So thank you for the opportunity to address you today.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you very much, Ms. St. Amour. The next speaker is Ms. Christine Arida, Director of telecom services planning at the National Telecom Regulatory Authority of Egypt and Head of the Arab IGF Secretariat, and is speaking on behalf of the regional and national IGF initiatives.
(Applause)
>> C. ARIDA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Excellencies and distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. It is an honour to speak today at the opening of the 8th Annual Meeting of the IGF here in Bali. Allow me to begin by thanking our gracious host, the Government of Indonesia, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, for hosting this event in beautiful Bali. I appreciate the opportunity to reflect, as the Secretariat of the Arab IGF, on national and regional IGF initiatives. I would like to begin by acknowledging the work that has been done this year by the coordination group of the national and regional track in bringing together organisers of the various initiatives to exchange their views and experiences and in compiling and analyzing their input.
It is, indeed, a pleasure to see this track extend to include three dedicated round table for interregional dialogue, which I am sure will allow for more focused discussion among them.
The IGF initiatives at national levels is momentum triggered by IGF. Over the years of IGF, this momentum has been growing, in terms of numbers, diversity, and maturity. To date, there is a total of nine regional IGFs, 19 national, a number of youth-focused initiatives, all listed on the IGF website. And as recent as yesterday, we have also witnessed the launch of Persian IGF.
Allow me today, ladies and gentlemen, to briefly reflect on the relation between the global IGF and the local ones. To begin with, it's important to note that national and regional IGFs are organic, bottom-up initiatives that are generally different and unique in their core setup and functioning. Some are viewed as capacity-building and knowledge exchange events. Others frame themselves as events that coordinate national and regional views in preparation for the annual IGF. However, all of them emphasize the same core values associated with the IGF process, namely, the principles of open, inclusive, noncommercial, and multistakeholder participation.
There's no doubt that the IGF has been playing a pivotal role in inspiring regional IGFs, this particular initiative in younger organisations that follow the same agenda.
In some cases, this even extends beyond the agenda to include mechanisms and processes. The Arab IGF, for example, has modeled its process around the one of the global IGF, including having a MAG-like body that works through open consultations.
On the other hand, new ideas and innovative structures introduced at national and regional IGFs may also inspire the setup of the global forum. I recall here the idea of introducing flash sessions introduced this year, which started actually at EuroDIG.
There needs to be a need to strengthen the link between local and global IGF initiatives. This is needed to ensure cross- globalization, which in a way mirrors the dynamics of the Internet itself. Moreover, unique topics discussed at national and regional IGFs may be of particular interest to all of us to highlight the dynamics of policy discussions on the global versus the more local levels.
Therefore, as those initiatives mature more and more, voices are increasingly calling for having more meaningful connections to the IGF. In fact, improvements to the IGF have clearly called upon enhancing linkages with national and regional initiatives, providing adequate channels and opportunities for them to feed into the global agenda.
Having said that, it's really encouraging to see preparation for this year's IGF take further steps in the right direction. Data has been collected, analyzed through tailored surveys, more agenda items have been dedicated from interregional dialogue, views from national and regional initiatives will feed back into focus sessions and main agenda.
To move forward, it will be interesting to study and analyze the impact of national and regional IGFs, both locally and globally. It is worth assessing how and to which extent they can bring new participants into the discussion. One has to note that national and regional initiatives are generally pioneered by individuals who are already active in the global arena. It is also worth exploring whether practices and values that travel through those IGF networks have a real impact on local policymaking activities.
Finally, to maximize the impact of national and regional IGFs, we need to address commonly faced challenges. For instance, a challenge by regional dialogue is the need to develop sustainable funding models to support the multistakeholder policy deliberations. One important discussion in that respect is how to maintain a balance between open and free policy dialogue while ensuring sustainable funds and continuous political support. Other challenges include linking national IGFs to the regional ones, outreaching to new participants, particularly in underrepresented stakeholders.
At the end, ladies and gentlemen, let me stress again the fact that national and regional IGFs are a rather young process. Allow me also to reiterate the need for collecting more analytical data with the ultimate objective of exchanging information, identifying common views and highlighting unique issues. This will serve a better understanding and addressing of the challenge, foster further participation and engagement. It will also provide guidance and serve as a blueprint for those launching their own local initiatives. It will strengthen the impact of the multistakeholder model.
With that, I conclude my remarks, and I thank you very much for your time and attention.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you very much, Ms. Arida.
The next speaker is Ms. Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for the Digital Agenda. Unfortunately, His Excellency is unable to join us in Bali but has kindly sent a video intervention.
>> N. KROES: Ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry I could not be with you for this Internet Governance Forum, in particular at such a critical time for the Internet. I greatly enjoyed the last three meetings, and I very much hope to see you at another occasion very soon.
The Internet continues to be of immense strategic importance as an economically essential modern marketplace, as a support for all aspects of our society, and as a forum for democratic discord. It is vital that it continues to function correctly. And the EU's goal remains to support that without undue government control.
Much has changed since last year. We have seen increased awareness of how important the Internet is for all countries. We have seen at the WCIT conference in Dubai the risk of the world splitting in two according to how the regulation of the Internet is perceived.
We have seen allegations of the shear scale on which governments use the Internet for intelligence gathering. There have been unfortunate reminders of the failures of multistakeholderism as currently practiced, such as when ICANN's governmental advisory Committee ignores legitimate government concerns. And there has been recognition of the problems these issues pose from the very highest levels. In short, there have been a series of blows to the credibility of the current system of Internet Governance and increasing perception that some particular countries retain undue rights over this resource.
The Internet is an Open Forum, a unified democratic platform for the free exchange of ideas. It should remain as such. It cannot and should not become a theater of combat, an instrument of terror, or a weapon of war. But this does not mean there is no need for rules. The more Internet pervades our lives, the more it raises questions, including for those institutions designed for a world without Internet.
We need a set of rules at international level that can follow the crossborder aspects of the -- for government and private business. And we must have rules that protect the privacy of users worldwide. To design those rules, we must not take potentially damaging unilateral decisions but remain open to a multistakeholder model where all can participate, a forum where all voices are heard. Among those voices must undoubtedly be those of governments. They should not dominate or abuse the Internet, but they must have a meaningful role in Internet Governance. Indeed, it is the responsibility of governments to represent the legitimate public policy concerns. Listening to those concerns is part of the checks and balances of a true multistakeholder model. Too many countries feel they cannot shape decisions, even those that have profound repercussions on their lives.
In short, there is a serious credibility gap. I worry that if current trends continue, the Internet will fragment along national lines, and we will lose the benefits of the Internet as we know it, unified, open, innovative. We need to move towards an environment where all stakeholders, including all governments, participate on equal footing.
There are many ways we can prevent the disengagement. The European Commission, together with many other partners, has set out plans for a global Internet policy observatory, a platform to give a better grasp of what's going on for Internet Governance around the world, making it easier to understand, engage with, and ultimately influence. There is a great step forward, and with an ever-increasing number of partners involved, we can create a tool which relishes those which share the same values.
But we also want to find a longer-term way forward. This requires proper debate, a serious global debate on the Internet, and this is a wonderful opportunity for the IGF because the IGF was created exactly for such discussion and debate within and between the different Internet communities, and that must include particularly the question of government's role in governance, but also in terms of responsibilities.
It is no surprise that a consultation stream has started. From my part, I have learned an online dialogue on Internet Governance to which I hope you will also contribute. I hope you will discuss those issues freely, and please send me your conclusions.
In a few weeks' time, the European Commission will set out its European vision for how to address current challenges in Internet Governance. This will build on exchanges with stakeholders and with governments. I hope that you can develop a constructive agenda, improving where needed, not doing away with a multistakeholder model, but fine tuning it. But tell me if you think I am wrong and there are other ways. Tell me if you think we need new institutions altogether. We need to start from a set of high-level principles, principles reflecting the EU values, but also respecting others and which can deliver a model, both pluralistic and inclusive. And we should be ready to review existing institutions or organisations to do that.
The Internet is not the property of any government or any company. It is for all of us, and we need to make it work to benefit all of us. I wish you the best of luck with your discussions and look forward to continuing cooperation to safeguard the amazing, innovative platform that is the Internet.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: I would like to thank Vice President for taking the effort to send us that video. Thank you.
Our next speaker is Mr. Jari Arkko, Chair of the Internet Engineering Task Force, IETF.
(Applause)
>> J. ARKKO: Mr. Chairman, honorable ministers, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to be working here this week on important topics relating to the Internet. I would also like to give my personal thanks to the Indonesian hosts for having us here. Indonesia is a special place for me in many ways, the people, the culture, the nature. Many people love the beaches. I personally love the volcanoes.
I could talk about many things today, but I wanted to focus on two important topics, future innovations and security.
We all talk about how the Internet has enabled incredible innovation, how it has pushed significant economic growth, social development, and how it has given tremendous benefit for so many users. The open and interoperable nature of the Internet technology has made this possible. When we talk about governance issues this week, it is important to think about them in terms of what the future will bring and not just today's Internet.
I wanted to highlight something that we see at the technical community and at the IETF very clearly. The speed of innovation is increasing. For instance, the Web protocol stack is undergoing significant change with HTTP 2.0, voice over IP is moving to browsers with something we call Web RTC, which is real-time communication for the Web. The Internet of things is coming to objects around us. Fundamental changes in even the basic networking technology are on the way too, such as moving from IPv4 to IPv6, some of the changes we've implemented on TCP, and so on. Many of these changes have fundamental impacts to Internet Governance. Governing an almost limitless access space is very different from managing scarcity. Having any Web server capable of becoming a voice provider will have an impact on regulating voice calls. And I think the engineers at the IGF have realised that things like emergency calls are something that we have to work on together with the larger community and not just work on the technology alone. So we want to work together with you.
The second topic that I want to talk about is security. The revelations on pervasive monitoring of Internet users have obviously been a hot topic this year. I do not think we should react to specific cases. I also think that the problems may be more widespread than one would assume just by reading the newspapers. But our commerce, business, and personal communications are all depending on the Internet technology being secure and trusted. So the reports about large-scale monitoring of Internet traffic and users does disturb us, but we at the IETF are taking this as a wake-up call. Since September, we have been discussing this topic extensively, and we will develop a big part of our agenda in the upcoming Vancouver meeting for it. And we are not just talking. We are looking at technical changes that will raise the bar for monitoring. We are looking at small things, like removing weak encryption algorithms. We are looking at bigger things, like making support for secure connections mandatory in HTTP 2.0. And these are, of course, general tools for improving Internet security and not just a reaction to the current concerns.
And perhaps the notion that Internet is, by default, insecure needs to change. For example, today's security only gets switched on for certain services, like banking. I ask should we change that assumption? And indeed, with ongoing developments in the Web protocol stack and all the attention on security, this just might be possible. If there is a moment this decade or perhaps even in a longer time scale when we can have an effect on the Internet security, that moment is now. Let us use that moment wisely.
Obviously, technology alone is not a solution to all problems, including this one, in my view, at the IGF and other organisations to work together with us to build a secure Internet.
Thank you.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you, Mr. Arkko. Unfortunately now, our Chair, His Excellency, Mr. Sembiring, has to leave, and also Mr. Gass has to leave for a press conference. So in his place, Mr. Sasasongo is going to take his place as the Chair of the meeting. Thank you.
(Applause)
Thank you very much. Our next speaker is Mr. Joseph Alhadeff, Chair of ICC's Digital Economy Commission.
(Applause)
>> J. ALHADEFF: Mr. Chairman, honorable Ministers, Excellencies, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, I'm here on behalf of the International Chamber of Commerce, which has a reach into 130 nations worldwide as well as BASIS, the Business Action to Support Information Society, which was created after WSIS to help coordinate both the input and participation of business into the multistakeholder processes, specifically IGF.
We want to give our thanks to the host country, Indonesia, and to the warm and welcoming people of Bali, to the IGF Secretariat and UNDESA, and to the many stakeholders for their invaluable part in contributing to the strength of the IGF as a truly open, representative, and inclusive forum on Internet Governance.
As an Open Forum, the IGF provides the perfect opportunity for enriching the debate about participation in Internet Governance and for highlighting the importance of a representative and inclusive process for debate. It is important that we continue to invest in the value that the IGF delivers. Multistakeholder cooperation is vital in ensuring effective approaches to Internet Governance.
The break-neck speak of technological innovation means that policy is always playing catchup. As an unparallelled economic force, digital innovation is transforming our societies and economies, transforming communications, and opening up a truly global marketplace.
To fully harness the potential of the digital economy, it is vital to build a policy framework that encourages investment in these next-generation technologies and which primes the path for future innovation in both technology and business.
Investment in high-speed networks and information and communication technology services create a platform for economic growth, job creation, and greater competitiveness.
Studies show a positive impact on productivity, on GDP contribution, and on job creation in ICT-enabled business sectors. ICT is enhancing every industry, and all are increasingly dependent on the flow of data. The ability for information to be harnessed and used by organisations and individuals, both within and across borders, will be increasingly important for economic growth.
To seize the opportunities presented by the increased use of ICT in the Internet, global business supports technology-neutral policies that promote market entry and investments and aim at attaining broader access to ICTs and related services and greater coverage of networks. The Internet can be an ever-driving force in contributing to global economic growth if we implement interoperable regulation with globally consistent policy principles that engender people's trust and that provide the credible online protection that consumers need.
Enabling more people to gain access to the Internet and related information and communication technologies is the most effective way to ensure diversity. Attracting investment and promoting innovation requires enhanced ICT literacy and access, open markets and pro-investment policies, and supporting policy approaches that foster entrepreneurship, independent regulators establishing fair and pro-competitive legal and regulatory environments that are sustainable and that also increase user choice regarding quality and cost of service, respect for the rule of law and independent courts, adequate protection of intellectual property rights, and enforcement.
Business strongly supports the freedom of expression and the free flow of information in a manner that respects the rights of others and the rule of law. Governments should work together with business and other stakeholders to develop policies and practices to maximize freedom of expression and the free flow of information over the Internet and to minimize trade barriers so that companies of all sizes have an ability to engage in legitimate commercial activity.
Today we face new threats that could harm the Internet's role as a vehicle for economic development and market innovation. Barriers such as forced localization of data management and storage discourage investment and hamper the prosperity and trade which the free flow of information can enable.
The value of the IGF is clear, and its role is both important and unique. A truly multistakeholder forum that enables conversation, enhances understanding and cooperation on the issues of the day without being limited by a constraining negotiated text. Yet despite the essential and unique role, the IGF faces a challenging future.
In light of the IGF's importance, we call on the continuation and strengthening of this platform for bringing together governments, business, the Internet technical community, civil society, and IGOs as equals to discuss public policies regarding the Internet.
The global business community recognizes the hard work many stakeholders here have made in ensuring the IGF went ahead as planned this year. We all have work to do in order to make sure that the IGF is able to continue into the future business supports and calls for the continuing of IGF after 2015. We hope that this week's open dialogues will help not only demonstrate the strengths of the IGF for protecting and promoting the free and open Internet, but also help us to consider potential improvements in an effort to reaffirm and reenergize the concept and practice of multistakeholder governments.
We should remember that a favorable Internet environment for investment, innovation, and development has yielded a digital economy and Internet Society that has been an unparalleled success. Multistakeholder cooperation is vital for a unified approach to Internet Governance and is the foundation for policy decision making that champions and enables future economic growth. The key to maintaining robust Internet for the future lies in the continued enhanced cooperation between all stakeholders. There is still a need for stakeholders to collaborate more fully in order to bring about the positive policy changes needed to deliver open trade and Internet investment to enhance future economic growth and maintain the free flow of information online.
That's why there is such great value in the transparent and Open Forums such as the IGF in enabling governments to work together with business and other stakeholders to foster policies and practices which reinforce the clear and positive correlation between investment in the Internet and economic growth, policies which progress the freedom of expression and free flow of information.
The IGF is perhaps more relevant than ever when we consider the important policy questions facing us today. The likes of user privacy, transparency, and data security. there is a clear need to strengthen public trust and confidence in these areas, and only through multistakeholder collaboration can we recognize our common interest in supporting policy frameworks that protect and enhance the Internet's value to global business and the wider society.
We thank you for the opportunity to participate and look forward to a productive meeting.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you very much, Mr. Alhadeff.
Our next speaker is His Excellency Mr. Edward Vaizey, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries from the United Kingdom.
(Applause)
>> E. VALIZADA: Thank you very much. I'm delighted to be here at the 8th Annual Internet Governance Forum. This is my third Internet Governance Forum. If I've been paying attention, when I first became a Minister, it would be my fourth, but I missed out on Vilnius as a new Minister.
This one has been fantastic. It's great to be in Bali. It's great to be here hosted by the Indonesian government. It was fantastic to meet Minister Tifatul, and I am slightly upset that he is not still here to supervise my brilliant speech.
I had lunch with Minister Tifatul yesterday, and I discovered that he has 668,000 Twitter followers. That is more than 50% more than my own British Prime Minister. So anyone who says that the Indonesian government doesn't take the Internet seriously hasn't met Tifatul, and his President, only been on Twitter for a year, has 3 million followers. So this is a networked nation that takes the Internet seriously. And even now, Minister Tifatul, at his press conference, is no doubt tweeting, blogs are being written, the word is going out about the launch of the IGF.
So I want to express my appreciation to the Minister, and I want to express my appreciation to the members of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group and the IGF Secretariat for their dedication in preparing such an important and highly relevant programme of workshops, focus sessions, and events here this week. Fadi, who is not here to hear my brilliant speech, praised you earlier in his remarks, and I echo that praise.
Everyone here knows the IGF has a remarkable record in ensuring that it involves and it continues to meet the needs of stakeholders, whether they are stakeholders from business or from civil society or from government or from the technical community in addressing the opportunities and challenges facing the Internet economy. And like the Internet itself, the IGF can't stand still. It needs to keep pace with developments, and the organisation of the IGF needs to ensure it meets people's expectations.
I know that this year's IGF will see the implementation of a number of important changes on the recommendation by the Working Group on Improvements that was chaired by Peter Major. These changes will be changes to the formats of sessions, better thematic linking of workshops, and a strengthening of the linkages with the ever-expanding number of national, regional multistakeholder IGFs. We can also expect the outcomes of our workshops and focus sessions to be on clearer and more immediate.
I think it's incredibly important that the IGF reaches out to communities in developing countries so that they can engage in discussions here more effectively. Their involvement in our debates, in the exchanges of information and so on, is absolutely crucial because it has the chance to transform their own Internet and economic strategies in ways that will help their growth and sustainable development. I think it's also important to make the point that there is a clear link between the Millennium Development Goals for sustainable development and the WSIS process in fostering a global knowledge economy. The UK government sees the IGF as playing a vital role in strengthening those links, and the IGF has to be an accessible forum for that to happen.
We all know one of the reasons the IGF is so exciting this year is because we are entering an important phase. We are approaching the ten-year review of the implementation of the WSIS outputs from Tunis in 2005. UNESCO held its successful review event in February. The ITU has now launched its Multistakeholder Preparatory Platform, the MPP, and this will prepare the ground for the High Level Meeting next April by bringing together all the UN agency Action Line facilitators, not only to review progress since 2005, but also to look beyond 2015. So we are pleased UNESCO and the ITU are leading this review process. But I have to emphasize that we don't see the need for another WSIS Summit in 2015, would all that that would require in terms of an extensive preparatory process. I think it should be enough for the recommendations from the multistakeholder events hosted by UNESCO and ITU to go forward directly for consideration by the UN General Assembly.
Perhaps convening a final review event or meeting in 2015. We do not expect the WSIS framework of Action Lines will need substantial changes. More likely, a continuation beyond 2015, some updating, some streamlining, perhaps so there are fewer overlaps.
Some of the great challenges identified in 2005 remain, for example, bridging the digital divide is still a huge issue, particularly with mobile Internet access. I believe we need to do more to address this challenge through the kind of cooperative partnerships and multistakeholder initiatives for which the IGF has proved to be so central.
So I'll end on a plea. In the context of the WSIS+10 review, the IGF, more than ever, needs to be about leadership and advocacy. And I really hope -- and I make this plea every year, so it's perhaps hope over experience -- I really hope the Secretary-General of the UN will be able to appoint a Special Advisor on Internet Governance at the earliest opportunity. I see this appointment as vital to maximize the role and contribution of the IGF to achieve sustainable development through a truly global knowledge economy which will bring enormous benefits to all stakeholders in our global knowledge economy.
Thank you very much.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you, Minister Vaizey.
Our next speaker, also our last speaker, but not least, is Mr. Jovan Kurbalija of DiploFoundation.
(Applause)
>> J. KURBALIJA: I can feel the sense of relief that I am the last speaker.
(Laughter)
And I will try to be short like all other speakers.
Honourable Ministers, Excellencies, dear colleagues, IGFers, it's my great honour to be at the opening session of the IGF Bali, and I would like to congratulate all involved in the preparatory process. And you can see already from the -- this lovely Conference Centre that it is extremely well attended and extremely dynamic IGF. You can hear the buzz in the corridors, and I can share with you one leak that I got thanks to the fact that I was sitting next to the Head of the Organising Committee. We have probably the record this year with more than 2,000 registered participants from 109 countries. Congratulations.
(Applause)
And yesterday's High Level Meeting was attended by 500 people from 53 countries.
Well, that's great news, and I will use this occasion to also announce or to inform the IGF meeting about one great innovation and success. If there were the IGF award, which we can think of introducing, this year should go to APJII, Indonesian Internet Service Provider Association. Those people were already mentioned, but I want them to stand up again.
The reason I am mentioning them is they did unique capacity development programme two years ago, started with a training research and awareness development activities. They didn't just run one workshop, one seminar. They had continuous process of engaging business, civil society, and academia in the preparation for the IGF. Therefore, we can learn a lot from them, and as far as I know, it's unique capacity development process on the national level.
Well, as you know, I am coming from DiploFoundation. It is a small foundation established in order to promote inclusive and effective diplomacy in global governance. This is our main mission. And those of you who know me and who know Diplo, you know we like to draw, and unfortunately, I was prevented from using the drawing for my presentation. Therefore, I will invite you to use imagination and to try to follow me by mentally drawing the following chart, which should summarize what was discussed today.
The chart is we can call it Internet Governance geometry, and it has two axes, like in traditional geometry. Vertical axis is the axis of moving of Internet Governance towards high politics. Internet Governance, if I can use a soccer terminology, is entering the premier league of the global governance and global diplomacy, with good and bad consequences.
We had in August Security Council discuss Internet Governance-related issues. In September, as you know, Internet Governance featured quite prominently at the UN General Assembly. Last week we had a meeting on cyberspace, Conference on Cyberspace in Seoul. We see the strength of emergence of Internet Governance in high politics. This is this vertical line.
Horizontal line is equally important for the shaping of IG geometry. It is the broadening of the IG agenda. Issues that we are discussing here are increasingly discussed from different professional and academics perspectives, and I will give you a few examples. The last WTO Public Policy Forum dealt with digital economy. And if you go through the agenda of the Forum, you can see exactly the issues related to Internet Governance, data protection, privacy, e-Commerce. Human Rights Council, you are aware, discussed the question of data protection and privacy. We can increasingly see extension of this horizontal dimension of Internet Governance.
Now, it will bring the new challenges to the IGF. IGF won't be any more the only show in town. It will be part of the broader scene. And in this context, we have to make efforts to contribute to this process. And you can see even from the simple statistics that all of us in the room are realising importance of this turning point or decisive moment in the history of Internet Governance.
I counted five workshops with multistakeholder in its title, and according to a quick analysis, there are about 40 workshops relating to the question of -- 40% of the workshops related to the question of institutional framework for Internet Governance, discussing roles and responsibilities and other issues. Now, it will be one of the underlying themes during this IGF.
Now, let me make a quick contribution and a few points where, based on Diplo's research, we can make some sort of input towards creating functional and inclusive new IGF geometry.
First is need to include evidence-based policymaking. We need more evidence what is the impact of the policy that we introduce and what are the effects of the various activities that we do, in the IGF, in ICANN, ITU, and other bodies? And I can announce at this point that in Geneva, with the help of Swiss government and other stakeholders, we are planning to introduce Geneva Internet platform as a place where evidence-based policymaking will be promoted.
The second point which is extremely important is policy coherence. In this mushrooming initiatives, conferences, and events, we should try to preserve as much coherence as is possible and avoid duplication of our efforts.
The third point which has been resonating in our discussion is inclusiveness. Inclusiveness through remote participation and all efforts that can make more people participating in IG discussion.
Well, over the next four days, I'm sure that all creative energy in this room, via remote participation, will produce many new and innovative ideas. And I think that the Internet deserves our great efforts. The Internet is a great enabler, great enabler of humanity, and our efforts should be equally great in our attempt to find suitable way to govern the future of the Internet.
Thank you.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you very much.
I will now pass the floor to Mr. Sasongko to say the final words, final remarks.
>> ASHWIN SASONGKO: Excellencies, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, finally we come to an end of the Opening Ceremony.
First of all, thank you to all speakers for their insightful remarks. It is a great honour again for Indonesia to host the 8th Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum. It is a pleasure for us to have all of us here to share your ideas. Internet Governance Forum has welcomed multi-stakeholders to strengthen cooperations in maximizing the opportunities and benefits provided by Internet use, and on another one is minimizing the Internet challenges.
During this meeting, His Excellency, as well as Mr. Fadi from ICANN, and Mr. Kurbalija now from ICANN, mentioned their thanks for -- and APJII, the Internet service providers organisations, and PANDI, both nongovernment organisations.
It is these organisations, together with other numerous Internet organisations, Internet companies, volunteers, et cetera, that actually carry out most of the activities to make this 8th IGF happen successfully.
I was informed, for example, that the High Level Leaders Meeting yesterday was attended by more than 500 participants from around 53 countries. The government, of course, has to carry out directives, and some of them cannot be done by other civil, nongovernment organisations, such as issuing visas, signing host country agreements with UNDESA, and others, of course, including to inviting all of you for a gala dinner next Thursday evening.
I hope this also demonstrates the importance of multistakeholder organisations, not only operating the Internet, but also in the meeting of the 8th IGF that we had today.
Internet Governance Forum indeed is an evolving process. Therefore, within the 8th Meeting of the IGF, we are going to have an open and inclusive dialogue on the same grounds with the aim to build bridges by enhancing multistakeholder cooperation for the growth and sustainable development and how we chart future directions of the Internet Governance.
With these comments, I conclude the opening sessions of the IGF 2013. We will resume tomorrow with our workshops and sessions and many hours of friendly and mutual dialogue. I wish you a very successful meeting and a very enjoyable stay in Bali, Indonesia.
Once again, thank you for all your presence here, and look forward to fruitful discussions in this forum. Thank you.
(Applause)
>> C. MASSANGO: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. The opening session is now closed. Thank you.
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This text is being provided in a rough draft format. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings.
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