Internet Society Launches Questionnaire on Multistakeholder Participation in Internet Governance
02 August 2013
Part of broader dialogue on open and multistakeholder governance for a sustainable Internet
[Washington, D.C. and Geneva, Switzerland] — The Internet Society today announced the launch of a survey to gain greater insights into multistakeholder governance perceptions and processes at all levels – national, regional, and international. The questionnaire, http://goo.gl/dGW1tv, is open to all interested participants and is available until 30 September 2013.
The survey is one component of the Internet Society’s broader initiative focused on the open and sustainable Internet. While the Internet has proven its success from economic, development, technological, and societal perspectives, its continued growth as a multistakeholder platform cannot be taken for granted. The Internet Society strongly believes that to ensure a sustainable Internet, the Internet must maintain its core characteristics of open, global and interoperable technical standards for innovation; open access and freedom of expression for all users; openness for business and economic progress; based on a collaborative, inclusive, multistakeholder governance model.
“The open Internet is challenged on many fronts and from many directions. There are attempts to change the very nature of the Internet to address policy problems in areas such as digital content, human rights, privacy, surveillance, and security,” said Markus Kummer, Vice President of Public Policy, Internet Society. “As technology evolves, as more people come online, as business models shift, and as policy priorities change, the Internet also evolves. These changes will have tremendous implications for the overall sustainability of the open Internet ecosystem. The inclusion of all stakeholders as participants in the Internet’s evolution – this is what we call the multistakeholder governance process – is essential.”
The Internet Society questionnaire will gather information on the different practices and understandings of multistakeholder governance. Survey data will be used in publications on the evolution of multistakeholder participation and the Internet Society will incorporate the survey feedback into its preparations for upcoming Internet governance discussions, including the 2013 Internet Governance Forum (IGF), the 2014 ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC), and the World Summit on the Information Society Review (WSIS+10). A subsequent phase of the Open and Sustainable Internet initiative will include a call for research papers based on the survey data and engagements to promote the value of open Internet governance.
In addition to collecting valuable insights and perspectives, the questionnaire is designed to serve as an informational guide on Internet governance. Constance Bommelaer, Internet Society Senior Director of Global Policy Partnerships, added, “The questions provide background information on key topics, and interactive links enable respondents to learn more about how the Internet works. We hope this survey will empower and encourage participants to engage in the multistakeholder dialogue and let their voices be heard.”
About the Internet Society
The Internet Society is the trusted independent source for Internet information and thought leadership from around the world. With its principled vision and substantial technological foundation, the Internet Society promotes open dialogue on Internet policy, technology, and future development among users, companies, governments, and other organizations. Working with its members and Chapters around the world, the Internet Society enables the continued evolution and growth of the Internet for everyone. For more information, visit www.internetsociety.org.
Media contact: Wende Cover, cover@isoc.org, +1-703-439-2773
OPEN LETTER TO THE INTERNET SOCIETY
I am a member of the GIGANET global network, and have reposted your press release to Phi Beta Iota the Public Intelligence Blog.
Internet Society: Questionnaire on Multistakeholder Participation in Internet Governance
I have three areas where I am concerned about a possible lack of focus by the Internet Society:
01 Resilience of the Internet in the face of government and corporate corruption and repression. I devised the Autonomous Internet Roadmap that you can find at P2P Foundation's wiki. What NSA has been doing with PRISM, and other countries and corporations betraying the public trust, is absolutely outrageous and should be
addressed by a self-healing network.
02 Focus on values and full participation by all eight tribes of intelligence: academic, civil society including labor and religion, commerce with particular focus on small and smallest business, government with particular focus on local and hybrid governance, law enforcement, media, military, and non-government/non-profit — and of course all individuals as themselves and as the amorphous public capable of collective intelligence.
03 Focus on sense-making. I had this discussion with Vint Cerf over sushi before he went over to the dark side with Google. Nothing available on the Internet now can offer the public a means of integrated requirements definition, collection management, machine-speed translation and multi-media processing, multi-cultural holistic and true cost economic analytics, and educationally helpful rapid visualization of complex topics to inspire public hybrid governance.
I am in Oakton, VA until 8 August at which time I begin a two year period away from the area. I would be delighted to come in for a round-table in the next few days if there were any interest. Otherwise I will be easily available via the Internet and Skype. The questionnaire you are about to launch could be one of the most important initiatives every undertaken by the Internet Society. I am also relatively certain it does not address the above three issues, and I would like very much to help you do that.
I am posting this for the record as an open letter at Phi Beta Iota, and offering it to Gordon Cook for republication in the Cook Report should he so wish. I attach a few graphics to make some of my points, this is an area that the Earth Intelligence Network (501c3) has been focusing on for six years, standing on the shoulders of many others going back to Quincy Wright in 1957 and forward to Buckminster Fuller and Russell Ackoff, among others. My short profile is attached.
Robert David STEELE Vivas
CEO (pro bono)
Earth Intelligence Network
Phi Beta Iota the Public Intelligence Blog
Cell (until midnight on 7 August) REDACTED
2013-01-01 Steele Mini-Bio Books Blurbs
Graphics in order of attachment to email:
