IGF

Italy Opening Remarks

Constance Bommelaer, Director Public Policy, The Internet Society

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Colleagues and Friends:
It is a pleasure to join you today for the annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) of Italy. The work that
occurs in this venue is extremely important to all of us who are committed to preserving an Open
Internet. We consider the IGF model to be one of the most important outcomes of the World Summit on
the Information Society (WSIS). Since its inception seven years ago, the IGF has demonstrated the value
of having truly multi-stakeholder dialogues to address Internet issues.

In 2005, the Tunis Agenda called for the IGF to be multi-lateral, democratic and transparent, with all
stakeholders taking part on an equal footing. When the mandate of the IGF was renewed for 5 years,
back in 2010, the UN Commission on Science and Technology Development (CSTD) set up a multi-
stakeholder WG on Improvements to the IGF that was chaired in its final phase by Peter Major. The
recommendations we elaborated then remain to be adopted by the UN General Assembly - hopefully
beginning of 2013 but was it remarkable is that although improvements are still possible, it was
acknowledged that the founding principles that have made the success of the IGF need to be preserved:
1/ A bottom-up process 2/ open to all stakeholders and operating in a truly multi-stakeholder fashion 3/
and laid by an independent Secretariat.

It is also recognized that all the national and regional IGF type meetings that have sprung up all over the
world have proven the validity of the concept. IGF Italy is a vibrant example of the liveliness of the IGF
Community. Stakeholders from all over the country - and even abroad - come together to discuss
complex and difficult issues. The IGF is a unique place where the community can freely share insights,
experiences and even best practices in some cases, without negotiating text or outcomes.

These events are also an opportunity to give voice to national and regional concerns. An area of possible
improvement that has been identified by the CSTD WG on improvements to the IGF was to articulate
mechanisms allowing national and regional IGFs to feed in the annual IGF. Reporting processes,
information sessions, remote participation many options would allow this to happen and the Internet
Society is committed to supporting IGF initiatives at all levels and in all regions.


Todays global nature of the IGF reflects the open and distributed architecture of the Internet itself. The
Internet is based on open, transparent and inclusive standards and policy development processes:
everyone who is interested is welcome to participate. And it is our common responsibility to preserve
this Openness.
1. Open for Business: Because the Internet is an extraordinary platform for business opportunities
opening new territories, expanding market places, and creating new business models. It is
open standards that put the power of innovation in the hands of all businesses, large and small.
2. Open Governance: The open, inclusive, transparent processes of the Internet Model of
development brings business, civil society, the technical community, governments, and
regulators together to participate in the multi-stakeholder dialogue necessary to meet the
challenges of an ever more complex world.
3. And finally, Open to the Public: People choose the services they need, create their own content
in the language they want, and share it with others.

I recall a couple years ago, Stefano Trumpi and others in Italy had expressed a visionary idea; that the
Internet and Human Rights are closely linked. It is wonderful to see how national IGFs can be used to
shed light on forward-looking concepts and ideas.

Today, Internet and Human Rights have come to the fore of local and international policy discussions.
The relationship between Internet and Human Rights has become increasingly intricate, shedding light
on the organic relationship the open and global nature of the Internet and the ability of people to
exercise some of their most fundamental rights. In many instances, threats to the Internet model of
development have become threats to individuals rights such as freedom of expression and opinion or
freedom of association.

The Internet Society joins with the many other Internet organizations to stand up and speak out to
emphasize the importance of multi-stakeholder cooperation within an Open Internet.

With this, Id like to conclude and thank you again for the opportunity to address you today.