Civil society & Internet governance

Михајло Ј. Огхиа(Michael J. Oghia)

@mikeoghia

Part I: Civil society involvement

Outlined in 2005 Tunis Agenda

“Civil society has also played animportant role on Internet matters,especially at [the] community level, andshould continue to play such a role.”

Why involve civil society?

• Governance model

• Provide expert voices

• Accountability & transparency

• Represent interests

Civil society ultimately gives voice to communities and people, which is why policy-making and decisions should be

inclusive and holistic

Part II: How to get involved

Many ways to get involved – locally, regionally, and internationally – in

person or from home

• Consists of one annual meeting, and multiple national/regional meetings

• Civil society is a core community

1. Internet Governance Forum (IGF)

• Important for setting the policy agenda and engaging across communities

• Next IGF: Dec. 18-22 in Geneva, Switzerland

2. European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG)

• Agenda is set by the community in a bottom-up way

• Next EuroDIG: June 2018 in Tbilisi, Georgia

3. RIPE community

• Responsible for IP address policy for Europe, Middle East, and Central Asia

• RACI programme

• Next meeting: May 2018 Marseille, France

4. DiploFoundation & Digital Watch

• Follow developments

• Stay updated about Internet policy

• Take courses & more

https://dig.watch

Journalists too!

It’s important that journalists and media professionals get involved

https://bit.ly/CIMA-IG

Guide to getting involved

https://bit.ly/ParticipateNetGov

Next steps

• Civil society is most effective when we work together and with other stakeholders

• Know that Russian civil society is welcome!

• Help bridge the language gap

• Submit a proposal, join a mailing list, and give voice to the Russian Internet community

Cпасибо!

Twitter: @mikeoghia

Email: mike.oghia[at]gmail.com

Sources:

https://www.itu.int/net/wsis/docs2/tunis/off/6rev1.html

http://www.un.org/en/sections/resources-different-audiences/civil-society/index.html

https://www.icann.org/news/blog/why-civil-society-should-care-about-internet-governance-issues-series-of-events-in-washington-address-question

https://www.itu.int/net/wsis/docs/geneva/civil-society-declaration.pdf

http://archive1.diplomacy.edu/pool/fileInline.php?IDPool=129