Experts of the Coordination Center and the Technical Center of Internet attended the Internet Governance Forum that has opened today in Bali. The IGF, a major Internet governance event, has its regional spin-offs: in Russia, the Russian IGF is an annual event held by the Coordination Center for TLD RU/РФ.
The Internet Governance Forum has been officially opened by Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. “Inclusive, transparent and collaborative governance of the Internet is essential if we are to rebuild trust and to truly harness the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to achieve sustainable development for the generations to come. As the international community strives to accelerate the Millennium Development Goals, expanding the benefits of ICTs will be crucial”, said Gass. He also responded negatively to the Internet surveillance: “Any surveillance of the internet without safeguards to protect the right to privacy hampers fundamental freedoms.”
Sabine Verheyen, an representative of the European Parliament, said that the European Parliament has always supported current bottom-up multistakeholder Internet governance and would not like to see any kind of centralized Internet governance. "The Internet is yhe central nervous system of our information society", Verheyen says.
ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé states he's also a strong believer in the multistakeholder model: “While governments are central to Internet Governance, governments alone cannot govern the internet,” Chehadé notes. “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.” He has also been very positive about the Internet for everyone, saying that the first four IDN gTLDs are now ready to enter the root.
At the IGF, the experts from around the world will discuss many topical questions, namely openness of the Internet, Internet trading, legal aspects and the trans-border Internet.
