Consultations on Internet Governance Forum to be held in Geneva

With preparations well under way for the second Internet Governance Forum, taking place in Rio de Janeiro from 12 to 15 November, participants of the event will gather in Geneva at the Palais des Nations on Monday, 3 September to discuss the details of the agenda and programme of the four-day meeting in Brazil. Representatives of government, the private sector, civil society, academia and the technical Internet communities will hold informal consultations alongside members of a 47-member Advisory Group appointed to assist the UN Secretary-General to convene the Forum. At its last round of consultations on 23 May, participants agreed on an agenda and programme for the Rio de Janeiro gathering, which builds on the success of the inaugural Forum meeting, held last November in Athens. This year’s gathering in Brazil will address a wide range of issues related to Internet governance including freedom of expression, cybersecurity, multilingualism and building information infrastructures in communities in developing countries. The Internet Governance Forum, which can best be described as a dialogue between two worlds – the world of governments and the world of the Internet community – has been viewed by many as a great success given its ability to discuss virtually any subject related to the Internet within a unique, comprehensive setting. Co-chairing the Geneva consultations will be Nitin Desai, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Internet Governance, and Hadil da Rocha Vianna, Director for Scientific and Technological Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil. They will be joined by Markus Kummer, the Forum's Executive Coordinator, who will serve as Secretary to the meeting. Following Monday’s consultations, members of the Advisory Group will meet in a private session on 4 and 5 September to work out details for the meeting in Rio de Janeiro. All journalists are invited to attend the consultations on Monday, 3 September, which will be held in Room 18 at the Palais des Nations. Source: eGov monitor

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