Multistakeholder Internet governance mechanisms/approaches at national level: Difference between revisions

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*'''Moderator''': tbc
*'''Moderator''': tbc
*'''Remote moderator''': tbc
*'''Remote moderator''': tbc
*'''Rapporteur''': Ana Kakalashvili, Georgia
*'''Rapporteur''': Ana Kakalashvili, Tbilisi State University, Georgia


== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==

Revision as of 10:19, 9 May 2015

Session description

Multistakeholderism is a term widely used in connection with “Internet governance”. While it does not have a widely agreed definition, a multistakeholder mechanism is generally seen as an “iterative, open, known, accessible, transparent process, balanced among stakeholders who are seeking rough consensus”. In the realm of Internet governance, a “multistakeholder mechanism is one where all the relevant stakeholders are engaged in making the decisions that affect them” (IGF 2014 Best Practice Forum on Developing Meaningful Multistakeholder Mechanisms).

At global level, multistakeholder mechanisms exist within organisations and process such as the IGF and ICANN. Such mechanisms are also implemented at national level, in various instances: in some countries, relevant country-code top level domains (ccTLDs) are managed and administered by multistakeholder registries, where all relevant stakeholders are represented; in other instances, multistakeholder entities are formed with the aim of guiding the Internet development at the national level; in yet other cases, national IGF initiatives are annually held as open spaces for discussions on key Internet governance issues relevant at a national level.

Multistakeholderism in the context of Internet governance starts to be understood and implemented in countries in South Eastern Europe and the neighbouring area as well. This is despite the fact that, similar to the term “governance”, the term “multistakeholder” also tends to lose some of its meaning when translated into local languages (for example, in some instances, the term is simply narrowed down to mean “multilateralism”). There are ccTLD registries that are based on a multistakeholder model; IGF initiatives have been formed or are in the process of being formed in some countries; and multistakeholder bodies are also being created in order to deal with Internet governance issues at a national level.

In this context, the first part of this session is aimed at:

  • explaining multistakeholder mechanisms, from a theoretical perspective: What are they? How do/should they function?
  • sharing best practices and experiences from the region in terms of developing and implementing multistakeholder mechanisms. Questions to be raised: What motivated the creation of such multistakeholder mechanisms in the region? Have regional and international organisations and processes (such as the IGF, ICANN, European Commission, Council of Europe) played a role here? If so, what role? What were the challenges in building national multistakeholder mechanisms? How were they addressed? How do these mechanisms function nowadays? Are there more challenges?

In the second part, all participants will be invited to discuss about multistakeholder Internet governance mechanisms at national level, trying to answer questions such as: Do we want multistakeholder IG mechanisms in our countries? Why? Why have some countries succeeded in implementing multistakeholder mechanisms and others have not? Can the few examples shared during the session be replicated in other countries in the region? If yes, how? If not, why?

Keywords

Multistakeholder, mechanism, best practice

Format

Short introductions by key participants, followed by discussions among all participants.

People

  • Keynote speaker (introduction to multistakeholder mechanisms in the Internet governance ecosystem): Thomas Schneider, Federal Office of Communication (OFCOM), Switzerland.
  • Key participants:
    • Hristo Hristov, Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Bulgaria
    • Megan Richards, Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content & Technology, European Commission
    • Grigori Saghyan, Internet Society Armenia
    • Dušan Stojičević, Serbian National Register of Internet Domain Names (RNIDS), Serbia
  • Moderator: tbc
  • Remote moderator: tbc
  • Rapporteur: Ana Kakalashvili, Tbilisi State University, Georgia

Further reading

Current discussion

See the discussion tab on the upper left side of this page

Live stream / remote participation

Report