WSIS+10 Explained: Interview With Constance Bommelaer, Internet Society 22/10/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)On 15-16 December 2015, government officials from more than 190 countries will meet in New York to discuss the future of the internet. They will review progress made in achieving the goals set forth 10 years ago at the Tunis World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) meeting. The aptly named WSIS+10 Review is a pivotal point in determining the fate of the open internet – discussions at the review can influence how the internet is governed for the next decade, as well as whether the internet will continue as a means of economic development and opportunity for the global economy. Alongside this week’s WSIS+10 stakeholder meetings at the UN, Intellectual Property Watch’s William New sat down with the Senior Director of Global Internet Policy at the Internet Society, Constance Bommelaer, to discuss what to expect in New York and the impact this meeting will have on the future of the internet. The Internet Society is a global organisation dedicated to connecting the world, working with others, and advocating for equal access to the internet. The group promotes open dialogue on internet policy, technology and future development, and work to keep the internet open, thriving and benefitting people around the globe. Intellectual Property Watch (IPW): Why is the WSIS outcome important from the perspective of the Internet Society? Constance Bommelaer (Bommelaer): WSIS+10 is not only an opportunity to celebrate the progress made over the past years in developing internet infrastructure and supporting human empowerment, it is also a chance to tackle remaining challenges to bring the internet to its full development potential. In late September, the United Nations hosted the Sustainable Development Summit (SDS) where the international community embraced a new global agenda. I was very pleased that ICTs were recognised as a crucial platform for the implementation of this agenda, which sets an ambitious goal to “significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the internet in least developed countries by 2020” (paragraph 9c of the text for the new Sustainable Development Goals). With the upcoming ten year Review of the WSIS, the international community has an unprecedented role with Sustainable Development Goals and WSIS+10 to lay the foundations of collaborative internet governance and sustainable development for the next decade. A key element of the post-2015 vision is to bring about an “internet of opportunity” that is accessible to all people around the world and trusted as a means of communication, connection, collaboration and commerce. The outline for achieving this will be established in New York at the end of the year. Beyond simply connecting the next billion people, we want to use the internet to enable access to opportunities in education, healthcare, banking, commerce and more. Opportunities will not become tangible unless we choose an open and collaborative governance model. In addition, this WSIS approach to collaboration and cooperation has greatly contributed to awareness of the importance of the multi-stakeholder approach in achieving good public governance. IPW: What are the Internet Society’s goals at the WSIS? Bommelaer: One critical issue for the Internet Society coming out of the WSIS Review will be to set the right framework to achieve our shared development goals, because no one can do it alone. In this regard, the renewal of the Internet Governance Forum mandate is a priority. This forum is the premier venue for multi-stakeholder consensus-building around existing and emerging internet public policy issues, allowing all stakeholders to take part on equal footing. And its success is largely due to its openness and collaborative nature. More broadly, the Internet Society would like to see the international community reaffirm the value of a distributed model of governance where each stakeholder group has its own role and responsibility in the evolution of the internet – while all converge towards a common goal of enabling an internet of opportunity for all. Additionally, affordable and widely available internet access is an essential foundation and should remain a primary objective of the WSIS review. This has been a priority for our organisation over the past 20 years. But access is not the ultimate goal ─ it’s a means of achieving human empowerment. Development concerns were at the origin of WSIS ten years ago; they must remain a central priority going forward. And by delivering access, increasing development and harnessing empowerment, we leave the world a better place. IPW: What is the best governance model for connecting the next billion to the internet? Bommelaer: The expansion of internet infrastructure around the globe has spurred economic growth and social development on all continents. Today, the digital economy contributes 5 to 9 percent to total GDP in developed markets, and in developing markets it is growing 15 to 25 percent per year. The accelerating speed of gaining access to the internet, and its growing impact on society, demonstrate the success and ongoing viability of a collaborative, people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented information society. Through the WSIS process we have seen how an open, transparent and accountable multi-stakeholder process works, and works well for all. The alternative is to go backwards toward a top-down, government-driven model – with the potential for increased control, censorship, regulation, taxes and government-approved innovation. At the heart of the governance issue at the WSIS+10 are very different views on whether “enhanced cooperation” is specifically about enhancing the role of governments in internet governance, or whether it is about enhancing cooperation between all stakeholders, including governments. The Internet Society believes in the latter – the current, multi-stakeholder model that helped to connect 3 billion people to the internet. It took over two decades for the internet to reach its first billion users in 2005; five years to reach the second in 2010; and four years to reach the third billionth person in 2014. This is all a direct result of this approach. IPW: Are you seeing any WSIS contributions that could threaten development and sustainability goals? Bommelaer: We are already seeing some proposals that suggest a fundamental move to marginalize the multi-stakeholder model, in favour of more top-down governance. The internet is for everyone and its governance must involve all stakeholders each within their respective roles and responsibilities. Of course, governments have a role to play in shaping public policies, but they need to involve relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, any attempt for a prominent role for governments in the day-to-day technical management of the internet is not desirable and would contradict the spirit of the Tunis Agenda. We have to ask ourselves, do we want the internet to continue to be a place of choice and opportunity or an unprecedented place for governments to monitor and exercise control. The evolution of the internet as a provider of information and as an economic engine has made it crucial to establish the responsibilities of governments, civil society, business and the technical community in shaping the evolution of the internet. In our view, multi-stakeholder governance is the only path forward for a sustainable, global, independent, open and empowering internet of the future. The WSIS+10 Review is an opportunity to confirm this collaborative approach once and for all, and to move the focus to where it should be – on ICT development and opportunity. IPW: What is the biggest challenge facing global ICT development? Removing barriers to connectivity is one of the most critical digital divide issues of our time. For example, cross-border connectivity remains a serious challenge in many parts of the world that contributes to the high cost of internet access for end users. In too many countries, taking fiber across a border is still an enormous task. All too often, bureaucratic roadblocks, insufficient cross-border agreements, and lack of regional cooperation lead to delays that slow down or even deter investment. One only needs to hear the stories of multi-year delays for cross-border connections to be established across the span of a single river – delays caused not by technology but by policy and regulatory obstacles that halt progress – to know that we can, and should, do better. There also continues to be a lack of locally relevant online content and services in many emerging economies. This can discourage communities from using the internet, even when basic services are available to them. Capacity building in this area along with further development of infrastructure through Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and community development can help address these challenges. IPW: Thank you. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Related William New may be reached at wnew@ip-watch.ch."WSIS+10 Explained: Interview With Constance Bommelaer, Internet Society" by Intellectual Property Watch is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.