Virtual Meeting XI, 27 October 2016

 

National and Regional IGF Initiatives:

Planning the IGF 2016 Substantive Session

- Virtual Meeting XI: 27 October 2016 -

 

About 

1. The Eleventh Virtual planning Meeting for the National and Regional IGF Initiatives’ (NRIs) Substantive Session at the IGF 2016, took place at 27 October 2016 at 14:00 p.m. UTC.

 

2. Meeting was hosted by Ms. Anja Gengo from the IGF Secretariat and moderated by Ms. Marilyn Cade, MAG Member and the NRIs Substantive Coordinator.

 

3. The agenda is attached to this document as Appendix A1 and a list of Meeting Participants as Appendix A2. Appendix A3 includes a list of other relevant documents, as referenced in this report.

 

SUMMARY REPORT

Introductions and Agenda adoption

4. Participants introduced themselves stating which IGF initiative they are affiliated with, and were asked to share any updates on their Initiatives’ activities and future plans.  

 

5. The Host shared the agenda with everyone. Participants were asked if they are in agreement with the proposed agenda and to suggest any edits. Two participants asked to add two additional discussion segments to the proposed agenda. One came from Prof. Christopher Yoo from the ‘1-World Connect’ Project and the other one from Ms. Marilyn Cade, related to discussing the funding issues. It was decided that prof. Yoo will present its project during the first 5 minutes of the Meeting, while the issues of funding will be discussed as a last agenda item, under AoB.

 

6. All suggestions were fully endorsed and agenda unanimously adopted.

 

Presentation of the ‘1-World Connect’ Project

7. On behalf of the ‘1-World Connect’ research project, prof. Christopher Yoo from the University of Pennsylvania and the co-organizer of the IGF Dynamic Coalition on Innovative Approaches to Connecting the Unconnected, briefed the participants about the objectives of this project and how the NRIs can engage. It was noted that this Project will focus on building on the NRIs work done so far and will explore the status of connectivity and challenges across the countries and regions.

 

8. The background information were presented, as shown in the attached presentation [Annex A3] and all NRIs invited to engage with the organizers during the IGF meeting and during the upcoming ICANN meeting, as well as through the social networks and provided email addresses. The presentation attached contains contact details.

 

NRIs Main Session: Finalization of preparatory process

9. Participants were reminded on the basic structure of the session, with emphasizing the following elements:

 

1. The session will be three hours long, and is scheduled to be on 7 December from 15:00 to 18:00 pm local time at the Main Meeting Hall.
2. The format of the session will be a Round Table.
3. The structure of the session is as described below:

• 10 minutes Introductions from the Host Country Honorary Co-Chair. Participants were reminded that the Host Country will assist in the selection process here.
• 10 minutes Presentation of the current NRIs Landscape. The IGF Secretariat will prepare the needed material to be shared with the audience.
• 90 minutes First Session Segment. Presenters will have six minutes time in total to present their perspectives on the following topics:
  • Access and Enhancing Opportunity for the Un-Connected and Under-Connected
  • Secure, Resilient and Trusted Internet from the NRI Perspectives
• 10 minutes Open Mike section for the on-site and online participants to comment on the presented.
• 30 minutes Second Segment. Presenters will have 2 minutes to present their issues and propose solutions on the following topics:
  • Reliable and sustainable funding sources for the NRIs events 
  • Challenges in how to create more awareness about Internet Governance and why stakeholders should be actively engaging 
• 10 minutes Open Mike section for the on-site and online participants to comment on the presented.
• 10 minutes presentations of NRIs Messages by the Rapporteurs.
• 10 minutes closing comments from the Host Country Co-Chair.

 

10. Some of the participants emphasized that it is important that the NRIs will be producing messages, that do not have any nature of recommendations.

 

11. One participants asked for the clear objectives of this session to be posted on the NRIs mailing list, so that we remind everyone on what we want to achieve with this session. In regards to this, it was reminded that the NRIs will explain some of the main Internet governance relates issues from their perspective and by that, show the diversity amongst substantive issues and ways for further action steps.

 

12. Some participants raised the question of who will take the role of a moderator of the session. It was advised to move this question to the NRIs mailing list, and to ask all NRIs colleagues for inputs, after what the meeting will be scheduled to make the finalization on this segment. Some of the participants advised that the moderator needs to be neutral, thus not a member of any of the NRIs organizing teams.

 

13. Participants were called to express their views about the proposed guiding questions to each of the topics, as shown in the NRIs shared document. It was advised to send final four to five questions on the mailing list, in case the NRIs colleagues will need some guidance in developing their presentation. Participants made comments on these questions, as shown in the shared document, that are now being reviewed. The Secretariat will summarize everything into 4-5 final questions and share through the NRIs list.

 

Confirmed NRIs attending the IGF2016 Meeting

14.  Below list shows the NRIs that confirmed that will have a representative at the IGF 2016 annual Meeting in Mexico:

 

• Africa
  • Ghana IGF
• Asia Pacific
  • Indonesia IGF
  • Sri Lanka IGF
  • Japan IGF*
• Eastern Europe
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina IGF
• GRULAC
  • Colombia IGF
  • Mexico IGF
  • Argentina IGF
  • Peru IGF
  • Brazil IGF
• WEOG
  • UK IGF
  • German IGF
  • IGF-USA
  • Spain IGF
  • Portugal IGF
  • Finland
  • Austria*

The regional IGFs that confirmed their attendance are: African GF, Arab IGF, Asia-Pacific IGF, SEEDIG, EuroDIG and LACIGF.

 

14. Concerns were raised about the geographically diversity of this session, as not many participants from regions other than GRULAC and WEOG confirmed their attendance.

 

15.  In line with above said, many of the participants stressed out the issue of funding, especially for the developing countries and asked for more support from the global IGF community side.

 

16. Some of the NRIs will have more than one representative at the session. Questions were raised if there could be more than one speaker per the IGF initiatives. It was noted that this will depend on the final number of the NRIs presenting on-site.

 

17. It was proposed to ask the NRIs to sign up for speaking positions with indication of the session segment, co-moderators, and rapporteurs, as a next action step. The Secretariat will assist here and send a Call after this Report is submitted to the NRI.s

 

Other updates from the NRIs and the IGF Secretariat

18. On behalf of the Portugal IGF, participants were informed this year’s Portugal national IGF is organized on several momentum basis, with the main session being scheduled for 23 November.

 

19. On behalf of the Armenia IGF, participants were informed that the recently held Armenian IGF attracted more than 150 participants, with all stakeholder groups being represented. The official report will be sent soon.

 

20. From the African IGF, it was remind that their annual meeting was recently hosted in South Africa. The meeting report will be submitted to the IGF Secretariat and shared with the NRIs shortly.

 

21. Participants were reminded that the official report of the Croatia national IGF is available on the IGF website.

 

22. It was remind that the Bangladesh Youth IGF is schedule to be on 25 November.

 

23. Participants were informed that the deadline for a mandatory online registration to attend on-site the IGF 2016 Meeting  is 17 November 2016. Also, participants that will participate online need to register, using the online form available at the IGF website, different than the one for on-site registration.

 

24. Participants were encouraged to register their IGF Remote Hubs by 27 October.

 

25. Participants were informed that the deadline to comment on the IGF Retreat Compilation Document  was extend until 31 October 2016. Their attention was drawn specifically to the comments that some of the NRIs members already have inserted.

 

26. It was noted that the interactive IGF schedule will be available in a week time from the Meeting day.

 

27. The Secretariat reminded that the newly joined IGF initiatives are: Poland national IGF, and Youth IGF of Hong Kong. The in-formation initiatives are: Pakistan Youth IGF, Estonia national IGF, Japan national IGF and Nepal IGF.

 

Booth Material Review and NRIs gathering at the ICANN 57 Meeting

28.  Participants were informed that the NRIs FAQs, a world NRIs map and a timeline of the events were developed, to be incorporated in a 4-pager info-publication. It was noted that the FAQs will be shared after the call through the NRIs mailing list, as a subject for public consultations to have the final version.

The draft version of the FAQs is attachedto this Report as Annex 3.
 

29. It was noted that the NRIs gathering at ICANN is tentatively schedule to be on Monday, 7 November during lunch break. As soon as the availability of the room is confirmed, the meeting details will be shared on the NRIs  mailing list.

AoB

30. Some participants explained that they are facing many  issues with going through the visa processes to attend the IGF annual meeting. Some advised to consult their embassies and consular offices and ask for more clarification if the B2 type of visa can be issued to enter the USA as well as if it stands as a USA multiple entries visa and if so, does it requires the holders of this visa type to have visa for Mexico.

 

31. The Host Country representatives promised to share some additional information on this matter through the NRIs mailing list and asked all participants to be free to approach them if any assistance is needed.

 

Next Steps

32.  The Secretariat will summarize the key suggestions raised during this meeting and will distribute the meeting Summary Report in the next three days.

 

33. The NRIs FAQs will be shared through the NRIs mailing list.  

 

34. The Call for signing up the moderators, rapporteurs and speakers per segments to be launched in the week of 31 October.

 

35. Next meeting: The Secretariat will distribute the Doodle poll for the members of the NRIs to cast the votes for the best time slots for the next Virtual Meeting, during the week of 7 November.

 

36. For any suggestions or questions regarding the Report, kindly contact the Secretariat at: [email protected].

 

 

APPENDIX A1: 

AGENDA: National and Regional IGF Initiatives

Planning the IGF 2016 Substantive Session: Virtual Meeting XI, 27 October 2016

1. Introductions
2. Main Session Finalization
   1. Structure Overview
   2. Guiding questions
   3. Host Country Opening Remarks  
   4. NRIs Speakers Allocations

5. Booth Material Review
6. NRIs at ICANN57: updates
7. Updates from the NRIs and the IGF Secretariat
8. AoB

 

 

APPENDIX A2:  

MEETING PARTICIPANTS (in alphabetical order):

 

1. Abdul Awal, Bangladesh Youth IGF
2. Anja Gengo, IGF Secretariat
3. Charlotte Simoes, Portugal IGF
4. Christine Arida, Arab IGF
5. Christopher Yoo, 1-World Connected, University of Pennsylvania
6. Daniel Macías, Government of México
7. David Vroyst, USA-IGF
8. Fotjon  Kosta , IGF Albania*
9. Imran Ahmed Shah, Pakistan IGF* and Youth Pakistan IGF*
10. Israel Rosas, Government of México
11. Janvier Ngnoulaye, Cameroon IGF
12. Judith Hellerstein, USA-IGF
13. Lianna Galstyan, Armenia IGF
14. Lorena Jaume Palasi, German IGF and EuroDIG
15. Makane Faye, African IGF
16. Marilyn Cade, USA-IGF,  MAG member, NRIs Substantive Coordinator
17. Mark Carvell, Commonwealth IGF and UK IGF
18. Mary Uduma, IGF Nigeria, Africa IGF
19. Nigel Cassimire, Caribbean IGF
20. Sandra Hoferichter, EuroDIG
21. Sharada Srinivasan, 1-World Connected Project
22. Sindy Nur Fitri, IGF Indonesia
23. Sorina Teleanu, SEEDIG
24. Yannis Li, Asia Pacific IGF
25. Zdravko Jukic, Croatia IGF

 

APPENDIX A3:  

SHARED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:

• 1-World Connected Presentation (Please click Here to access the Presentation)

 

 

• NRIs FAQs

 

IGF 2016: Materia for NRIs Booth Infographic [ First Draft ]

 

 

National and Regional Initiatives of the IGF [NRIs]

FAQs

 

Who are the NRIs?

NRIs is an acronym that stands for National, Sub-Regional, Regional and Youth IGF initiatives. These are the Internet Governance Forums organized on a national basis in different countries, or on a regional or sub-regional level, depending on the size of the geographic area, where the main criteria for identifying region is geography, but also in some cases mutual language and culture. A shared objective for all NRis is adhering to the core values of the IGF, and contributing to Internet Governance related matters, nationally, regionally, and globally. Youth IGFs are specifically organized Forums that discuss the issues pertaining to the Internet arena from the youth[1] point of view. All NRIs are required to support the main IGF criteria and principles in order to be listed on the IGF website.

 

Where are the NRIs located?

The NRIs are located all around the world. Currently, the NRIs network includes 65 IGF initiatives that are officially recognized by the IGF Secretariat, with the new initiatives constantly emerging. There are national IGFs in 40 countries, 14 sub-regional and regional IGFs on four different continents and five Youth IGFs, organized on national or regional levels.

 

How are the NRIs organized?

The NRIs are independent in their organization. However, they have agreed and are expected to respect the main IGF principles and working modalities. Therefore, the NRIs are open, inclusive and non-commercial, with a multistakeholder participation during the whole organizational process of the annual meetings, as well as during the meeting itself, and with a bottom up decision making process.  All parties agree and accept to act on an equal footing, which is a unique but important aspect of the Internet Governance Forum [IGF].

Internally, the most crucial organizational segment of the IGF initiatives is the existence of the Organizing Committee[2], where the most basic requirement is to have representatives from at least three different stakeholder groups, with intention of evolving toward the inclusion of all stakeholder groups. In addition to the coordination of the NRI, there is also an identified  contact person who takes on the role  to commit to act as a liaison between the initiative, wider community, IGF Secretariat and the NRIs network.

NRIs need to create  a website, maintain a working email address, and provide support to social media accounts for conducting effective outreach toward the NRI’s respective communities, but also toward the wider IGF community. The Coordinator[3] also accepts responsibility for ensuring that the NRI meets the basic requirements to be listed on the IGF NRI website, and coordinates the submission of the required report for the NRI.  The Coordinator also accepts the responsibility of participating in the NRI network’s working calls, which are also open to everyone.

 

What are the ‘In-Formation’ NRIs?

Several countries are working toward launching their first IGF. As some of the criteria are met soon after the process is initiated, while some others require more time, the IGF Secretariat classified these types of the initiatives as the ‘in-formation’ ones, to show that the recognition process is under development, but not yet finalized.

 

What do the NRIs do?

The NRIs gather their community to undertake consultation and develop an annual event that addresses key issues of concern locally, or regionally.

Using a bottom up consultation process that strives to include Governments, civil society, private sector and technical community, all involved stakeholder groups work together on an equal footing. Taking into account all received inputs from their respective communities, the NRIs  develop comprehensive agendas that  reflect the needs of the community, and logistics for organizing the major annual event, where mentioned different stakeholder groups will gather and discuss the issues of highest priority to them. Some recommend messages or outputs for potential solutions and next steps toward the improvements on Internet governance related fields should be developed.

 

My country does not have an NRi: How can I organize an IGF initiative?

To organize the IGF initiative, the first step would be to contact the IGF Secretariat. The Secretariat will further assist in explaining how to get started, with details for the main criteria and procedures that need to be followed, also providing concrete examples from the more experienced NRIs and advice on how to improve and speed up the organizing  process. It is important to gather the group of interested individuals that are coming from at least three different stakeholder groups, for the process to be initiated.

 

Are there other ways to be engaged with the NRIs, except to organize one?

Absolutely. On the global level, the NRIs are conducting regular (bi)monthly virtual meetings for the purposes of coordinating their joint work activates. The NRIs are also organizing their face-to-face gatherings at any of the bigger Internet governance related meetings.

Every year, the NRIs organize dedicated focus sessions at the IGF annual meeting, with discussing substantive issues from different world perspectives. They are regular contributors to the IGF intersessional work. To keep yourself updated about the most up to date NRIs work activities, subscribe to the NRIs mailing list, where all relevant information are shared.

 

NRI Presence at the IGF2016: Meet us at the NRIs Booth

The NRIs will have a booth at the IGF.

There is also a Main Session organized by the NRIs, schedule to be on 7 December from 15:00 to 18:00 pm at the Main Meeting Hall.

There is also a 90-minute NRIs working session open to all interested stakeholders. This session is scheduled to be on 9 December, from 10:15 to 11:45 pm local time at Workshop Room 9.