Reaching the Next Billion: Internet Governance Forum Opens in India

The third meeting of the Internet Governance Forum officially opened today in Hyderabad, India, focussing on the overall issue of "Internet for all." Participants from government, the private sector, civil society and the Internet community are gathering for the next four days to share information, experiences and best practices and to explore how the Internet can be used to its full potential for the benefit of all while combating its use for harmful purposes.

The meeting will address five main themes: reaching the next billion; promoting cyber-security and trust; managing critical Internet resources; taking stock and the way forward; and emerging issues -- the Internet of tomorrow. In addition to plenary sessions on these themes, there will be open meetings and thematic workshops to discuss specific issues and share best practices.

At the opening of the meeting, participants stood for a minute of silence to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attacks of last week in Mumbai, at the request of the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Jomo Kwame Sundaram, who expressed, on behalf of the Secretary-General, his condolences to the families of the victims of the attacks.

Opening Ceremony

The UN Assistant Secretary-General said India was a very appropriate venue for this meeting. Here, in India 's Silicon Plateau, we see at first hand how well the savvy application of information and communication technologies has accelerated the nation's development. The Internet has become the backbone of our globalized world and is transforming our lives, and thus we should all take an interest in how it is run and managed.

That is very much the spirit of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), a space for frank and enlightened debate, shaping and informing the decision-making processes. The IGF has become a valuable melting pot for forging a common understanding of complex Internet issues from diverse points of view. The year 2010 will represent a turning point for the Forum, when the General Assembly will decide on whether or not to extend the initial five-year mandate of the IGF. Jomo announced that the 2010 IGF meeting would take place in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Though we are on the way to a not too distant future when the next billion people will have access to the Internet, providing access alone is not enough, Jomo continued. Access needs to take into account the diversity of the world's population -- the diversity of languages but also the diversity of people of different abilities. Clearly, the IGF has much work ahead of it, in terms of suggesting further ways to bridge the digital divide, particularly through dynamic coalitions to foster inclusive governance and evolution of the Internet. The IGF will continue to accompany the evolution of the Internet and provide useful counsel to decision-makers and policy-makers on the further deployment and equitable development of the Internet and how best to use it, while coping with abuse and threats to its security. Furthermore, the IGF will both build bridges between the various actors involved and deepen their understanding of how the Internet works and is governed.