Report: http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/documents/igf-meeting/igf-2015-joao-pessoa/igf2015-reports/610-igf2015policy-options-and-best-practices-for-connecting-the-next-billion
The purpose of this main session on ‘Policy Options and Best Practices for Connecting the Next Billion’ is to bring the IGF community together in a roundtable format for an interactive and output-oriented discussion which will review the work of some of the main inter-sessional activities of 2015 including the collaborative ‘Policy Options for Connecting the Next Billion’ compilation report and the six Best Practice Forum’s. The session will gather those from the community who have made great contributions to the inter-sessional work, including representatives from National and Regional IGF initiatives, and representatives from all stakeholder group’s, to identify both challenges and potential solutions for bringing the next billion global citizens online. A report produced by the UN General Assembly Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Working Group on Improvements to the IGF called for the development of more tangible outputs to ‘enhance the impact of the IGF on global Internet governance and policy’. To enrich the potential for IGF outputs, the IGF Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) developed an intersessional programme intended to complement other IGF activities, such as national and regional IGF initiatives, dynamic coalitions, and best practice forums (BPFs). The outputs from this programme are intended to become robust resources, to serve as inputs into other pertinent forums, and to evolve and grow over time. The topic “Policy Options for Connecting the Next Billion” was chosen for the 2015 intersessional work after an earlier public consultation during the preparatory process for IGF 2015. In order to continue the valuable intersessional work, a theme for the 2016 IGF programme of activities is expected to be determined during/immediately following the next IGF in November 2015 by the global IGF community, pending the renewal of the IGF mandate by the United Nations General Assembly at the end of the year. The theme is intended to reflect topical issues and to increase support to national and regional IGF initiatives, dynamic coalitions, and BPFs. The draft IGF 2015 Policy Options for Connecting the Next Billion are available here: http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/policy-options-for-connection-the-next-billion/cnb-outdocs Theme: Policy Options for Connecting the Next Billion Technological advancement in connectivity has expanded broadband access and mobile penetration in recent years. Three billion people were connected to the Internet by the end of 2014. In spite of the progress achieved, more effort is necessary in order to connect the next billion and to address the digital divide. The identification of strategies to improve connectivity is timely due to the ongoing process of reviewing the outcomes of the World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS+10) and recent discussions of the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The newly adopted United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda also recognizes that ICTs are a crucial platform for the implementation of these visionary goals and the Agenda sets an ambitious goal to "significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020". Collaboration between governmental and non-governmental actors is key to meet this challenge and the mutistakeholder nature of the IGF makes it a privileged space for discussion. Examples of policy questions addressed throughout the preparatory process of the ‘Connecting the Next Billion’ exercise: 1. How would you define the issue “Connecting the Next Billion”? 2. Have you observed any regional or national specificities regarding connectivity (e.g. Internet industry development)? 3. Do you know of existing policy measures, and private sector or civil society initiatives addressing connectivity? If yes, was the policy a government policy, industry policy (either collective best practice or corporate policy), technical policy, or did it pertain to civil society collaboration? Describe them. 4. In your opinion, what worked well in the development of the policy, and what impediments were encountered? 5. What was the experience with implementation? 6. Did you experience any unintended consequences of policy developments/interventions, good and bad? 7. Can you think of unresolved issues where further multistakeholder cooperation is needed? 8. Did you gain any insight as a result of the experience? 9. List proposed steps for further multistakeholder dialogue/actions. Host Country Chair: Mr. Maximiliano Martinhão, Secretary of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications of Brazil Moderator(s): H.E. Benedicto Fonseca (Brazil) and Constance Bommelaer (ISOC) Panelists and agenda: High-Level Remarks – Lenni Montiel, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs – 5 min Welcome and Introduction – Constance Bommelaer, Senior Director, ISOC and H. E. Benedicto Fonseca, Brazil - 10 min • The importance of strengthening the IGF • IGF issues and the broader context: Sustainable Development Summit, WSIS+10, etc. • Types of outcomes: Policy Options, Best Practices, methodology and post-2015 perspectives Defining the issue – Dr. Pepper, Vice President, Global Technology Policy, Cisco 10 min • What does Connecting the Next Billion entail? • Why is this issue important and what are the challenges? Policy Options for Connecting the Next Billion • Overview of the complete findings – Brian Gutterman, Assistant Programme Manager, IGF Secretariat – 10 min • Pointer to short synthesis • Perspectives from the regions, i.e. regional/national IGFs - Lee Hibbard, Head of Information Society Unit, Council of Europe and Makane Faye, Chief, Knowledge Management and Library Services, UNECA (10 min) • Call for representatives of national/regional IGF leaders and other contributors/participants to weigh in – 30 min o open to all volunteers: Avri Doria, APC; Carolyn Nguyen, Technology Policy ad Strategy, Microsoft; Alice Siu, Stanford; Tomas Lamanauskas, Head, Corporate Strategy, ITU; Manu K. Bhardwaj US State Department, Jack Deasy, O3B Networks, etc. IGF Best Practices and how they help Connect the Next Billion - 60 min. • Leaders of IGF Best Practices report on outcome of their work, its importance in Connecting the Next Billion, and proposed next steps for IGF work: o Multistakeholder mechanisms - Avri Doria, APC o Establishing CSIRTs - Cristine Hoepers, General Manager, CERT.br/NIC.br o Mitigatin Spam - Julia Cornwell McKean, Manager, eSafety Commission, Australia o Enabling IPv6 - Izumi Okutani, Policy Liaison JPNIC and Susan Chalmers o Establishing successful IXPs – Malcom Hutty, Head of Public Affairs (tbc), Lynx, and Jane Coffin, Director, ISOC o Countering abuse against women online - Jac Kee, Wome’s Rights Policy Coordinator, APC and Subi Chatuverdi, Adjunct Faculty and DGM Corporate Communications • Question to the audience - Which Best Practices should be developed going forward, how they would be relevant to Connect the Next Billion? The way forward – Vint Cerf, Father of the Internet 10 min • What are the emerging trends/challenges to Connect the Next Billion? • How can the IGF catalyze global initiatives • What should be the role of the IGF in tackling issues and how should its community continue to shape its outputs in a relevant and useful way? • Q&A with the audience Conclusion – H.E. Benedicto Fonseca, Brazil (5 min) Remote moderator: Raquel Gatto, Regional Policy Manager, ISOC Feeder workshops: • 6 Best Practices Forums • Dynamic Coalitions • SD Main Session • IGF workshops
