IGF Wrap Up

IP Justice is providing a nice wrap up of the November 2007 UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Rio de Janeiro with pictures, videos, texts…

Coalition Meeting in Rio

‘Case studies on Internet censorship:
Future challenges to freeexpression online and the role and possibilities of the FOEonlinecoalition within the IGF process.’

Monday, 12 November
17:30 – 19:00
Room Imperial 

Introductory presentations by:

Bob Boorstin
Policy Communications Director, Google

Nicholas Dearden
Campaigns Manager, Amnesty International UK

Robert Faris
Open Net Initiative

Julien Pein
World Press Freedom Committee

Moderator: Christian Möller
Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media 

Rio Schedule and FOEonline Meeting

The IGF Secretariat has presented the schedule for the 2007 IGF in Rio from 12-15 November (MS Excel file).

The FOEonline Coalition will have a meeting on the opening day of the IGF, Monday 12 November at 17:30 in the Imperial Meeting Room.

Speakers include Nicholas Dearden (amnesty international) and Julien Pein (former internet desk of Reporters without Borders).

Joint Council of Europe, OSCE RFOM and UNESCO Workshop in Rio

The Council of Europe, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and UNESCO will jointly host a workshop at the 2007 IGF in Rio.

The workshop “Freedom of Expression as a Security Issue” will take place after the opening ceremony on the first day of the IGF, Monday 12 November at 13:30 in the room Versailles II.

The outline of the workshop can be seen here. Speakers include representatives from Brazil, India, the Council of Europe and Google. A list of ‘confirmed participants’ for the discussion will be circulated closer to the event.

Dynamic Coalitions in Rio

The IGF Secretariat announced that all Dynamic Coalitions will be given a slot in the programme for thesecond IGF meeting in Rio de Janeiro from 12-15 November.

As the speakers are also potential panellists for the main session, Dynamic Coalitions are asked you to provide an initial list of speakers by 22 September 2007.

A revised tentative schedule is now available on the IGF web site. To accommodate as many events as possible, the Secretariat included new slots early morning, late afternoon and during lunchtime.

New Round of Open Consultations in Geneva

In Geneva today the last round of Open Consultations before the November 2007 IGF in Rio is held.

Discussions on the schedule of the Rio IGF, a presentation by the host country of the logistical arrangements, questions around the rotation among the members of the Advisory group and the review of the desirability of the continuation of the IGF are among the topics of the agenda for this meeting.

Live video and audio casts from the Conculsations are available at http://live.polito.it/mediateca/igf_live. A transcript of the meeting will be available at www.intgovforum.org.

OSCE: Media freedom representative publishes report on Internet governance in OSCE region

VIENNA, 26 July 2007 - Implications of Internet regulation on media freedom in the OSCE region are the focus of a report presented by Miklós Haraszti, the Organization’s Representative on Freedom of the Media, in Vienna today.

The publication offers case studies from different parts of the OSCE region on how governments, civil society and the telecommunications industry can co-operate in their approaches to Internet governance.

“The Internet is an additional - and in some regions the only - source for media pluralism,” said Haraszti. “Internet governance is not only about technical standards or the Domain Name System. It also has commercial, cultural and social implications, concerning issues like the free flow of information, the fight against intolerance, and freedom of the online media.”

“Involving all of society’s actors is a difficult task and there is no ready-made approach suiting all OSCE countries. These case studies highlight good practices, but also show where there is room for improvement,” he added.

The United Nations has addressed the issue of Internet governance at World Summits on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva and Tunis, and has established a new Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in which the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media participates.

The publication, entitled ‘Governing the Internet - Freedom and Regulation in the OSCE Region’, is available from the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and online at: www.osce.org/fom/publications.html

The publication has been financed by the Governments of France and Germany.

Bibliographical note:

Christian Moeller/Arnaud Amouroux (eds.) Governing the Internet - Freedom and Regulation in the OSCE Region. 2007. Vienna: OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. ISBN 3-9501955-4-8.

(Source: http://www.osce.org/item/25756.html)

IGF 2007 Workshop Proposals Online

Proposals for workshops submitted for the IGF 2007 in Rio are now published at http://info.intgovforum.org/wsl2.php.

A number of FOEonline coalition members submitted workshop proposals.  As the demand for workshop slots outweighs the number of available time slots the IGF Secretariat invites proposers to consider merging workshops before 22 July.

FOEonline at Geneva Open Consultations

Mary Rundle of Harvard University today presented the position paper of the coalition at the IGF open consultations in Geneva. Here is her contribution: 

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  I’m speaking on behalf of the Free
Expression Online dynamic coalition that formed as a follow-up to the first
Internet Governance Forum meeting in Athens last year. This coalition celebrates
article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which holds 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. The
coalition also looks to the 2003 WSIS Geneva declaration of principles, which
reads, in part, “Communication is a fundamental social process, a basic human
need, and the foundation of all social organization.  It is central to the
information society.” I would like to call your attention to a contribution made
by the Free Expression Online dynamic coalition found on the IGF Web site under
“contributions.”  The paper tells how protecting freedom of expression on the
Internet is crucial because free expression is the foundation of democracy,
essential to the individual pursuit of happiness, and a tool that provides
protection for other foundational human rights and basic freedoms. Moreover,
this freedom promotes education and enables human development.  The paper also
urges, in planning for the Rio meeting, that the IGF community consider several
points.  And here I’ll note three. First, freedom of expression should have a
prominent place in the agenda, since it is implicated by all four of the main
IGF themes, especially the openness theme. Similarly, civil liberties as a whole
are cross-cutting, foundational concerns that all workshops and main sessions
should factor in. Finally, the IGF can add value by emphasizing a
multistakeholder and cross-dimensional approach in the development of
technologies and technical standards, as these processes carry serious
implications for civil liberties. On behalf of the Free Expression Online
dynamic coalition, I thank you for your attention to these concerns and best
practices that are foundational for a thriving information society.”

Many other speakers, including UNESCO and Council of Europe, also referred to freedom of expression online.

Also Henry Judy of the American Bar Association associated himself in his statement with FOEonline: “… as far as the substance is concerned, I would like to associate myself with the comments of the Free Expression Online dynamic coalition earlier today and with the point of the previous speaker from Australia as to the great importance of freedom of expression in this connection. Lawyers, when they are at their very best, deeply care about freedom, freedom of expression, of association, of communication, all of the fundamental values that are deeply embedded in U.N. documents, ranging from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to the statement of millennium goals, to the WSIS declaration, and down to the theme of openness in the documents of this forum. In that regard, it is disturbing to see that the Internet, which is and must continue to be a tool of liberation, is being misused as a tool of exclusion, of repression, and even as a weapon. We would express the hope, Mr. Chairman, that the Rio meeting could be organized so that the themes of openness and security from misuse animate the proceedings. Thank you Mr. Chairman.”

Transcripts of the session can be found at the IGF website http://www.intgovforum.org.

Some People Think the Internet is a Bad Thing: The Struggle for Freedom of Expression in Cyberspace

Join Amnesty International UK and the Observer Newspaper for a unique global event. On 6 June we will use the internet to link activists from around the world to discuss the struggle against internet repression and to celebrate the irrepressible desire of people towards freedom of expression.

Wednesday 6 June 18.30 (UK/19.30 Europe/13.30 EST/ 10.30 PST)

Speakers include: Martha Lane Fox, Clark Boyd, Richard Stallman, Ron Deibert, Sami Ben Garbia, Josh Wolf, Morton Sklar, Yan Sham-Shackleton, Markus Beckedahl, Kevin Anderson, Shava Nerad and contributions from Jimmy Wales, Cory Doctorow, Ethan Zuckerman, Dan Gillmor, Yu Ling and Jonathan Zittrain.

A unique global event linking activists from around the world to discuss the struggle against internet repression. Wherever you are, you will be able to watch the debate live on the day by webcast, and ask questions at www.amnesty.org.uk/webcast.

For sneak preview of the event go to www.amnesty.org.uk/irrepressible.