Session
Organizer 1: Civil Society, Eastern European Group
Organizer 2: Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 1: Janis Karklins, Government, Eastern European Group
Speaker 2: Peter Major, Government, Eastern European Group
Speaker 3: Markus Kummer, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 4: Bertrand de La Chapelle, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 5: Desiree Miloshevic, Technical Community, Eastern European Group
Speaker 6: Disspain Chris, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Theater
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: The Workshop will be conducted in a collaborative manner and ensure that the views and inputs of all workshop participants are well incorporated. A theater-style seating arrangement will be used, as it best facilitates a dynamic and collaborative dialogue.
What have been the key challenges faced by enhanced cooperation as a follow-up process related to Internet governance? Are there mechanisms on regional and global levels - within intergovernmental organizations and within Internet governance related organizations - that can facilitate enhanced cooperation rather than creating an independent process? Does enhanced cooperation remain a standing commitment - or can we consider that the progress made so far is sufficient and shift the focus on multistakeholder policy dialogue platforms like the IGF? What frameworks and modalities do you foresee for enhanced cooperation? Can the IGF and enhanced cooperation co-exist?
What will participants gain from attending this session? - Gain a foundational understanding on enhanced cooperation, its history and its process. - Insights into past activities related to enhanced cooperation and the key reasons behind it. - Exposure to diverse stakeholder perspectives of enhanced cooperation. - Ability to understand why some views support it and who finds it important and who find it less relevant and for what reasons. - Opportunity to interact directly with the panelists who were involved in the enhanced cooperation process. - Ability to critically assess and develop their own informed perspective on enhanced cooperation by the end of the workshop.
Description:
The Tunis Agenda introduced two follow-up tracks on Internet governance (IG): - Enhanced Cooperation (International organizations) - Internet Governance Forum (IGF) The IGF made significant progress and success, within its mandate, on Internet governance policy dialogue. The CSTD Enhanced Cooperation Working Group made progress but also faced several challenges that stopped its work. Enhanced Cooperation was referenced in the Tunis Agenda paragraphs 69-71. 69. We further recognize the need for enhanced cooperation in the future, to enable governments, on an equal footing, to carry out their roles and responsibilities, in international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet, but not in the day-to-day technical and operational matters, that do not impact on international public policy issues.” Organizations responsible for essential tasks associated with the Internet have contributed by enabling governments to develop public policy principles. There are different views on enhanced cooperation. Some view it as an ongoing process, while others view it as a no-longer applicable process. However, the commitment for it still remains and is reflected in The Global Digital Compact (para 27): “..Internet governance should continue to follow the provisions set forth in the outcomes of the summits held in Geneva and Tunis, including in relation to enhanced cooperation.” The workshop will discuss enhanced cooperation in the context of latest development in the GDC, exploring potential progress, its significance, whether existing mechanisms are considered part of Enhanced Cooperation, and how both the IGF and enhanced cooperation can better support Internet governance policy dialogue.
The workshop will produce a report documenting the panelists’ interventions, diverse perspectives from participants, and the key interactions during the discussion. Additionally, we anticipate developing a paper publication that will focus on presenting a possible framework, or processes that can serve as a modality for enhanced cooperation. A follow-up event may also be organized within NRIs or other IG related events to further bring understanding on enhanced cooperation as a topic and work toward a shared understanding on how to move forward.
Hybrid Format: We will depend on the host’s platform to facilitate the smooth communication for the onsite/online interaction. The session will allow a 5 (min) intervention from each panelist on a specific policy question. Following this the floor will be opened for participants to share their views. The workshop will be designed to foster collaboration and allow a balanced interaction between onsite/online participants with sufficient time given to participants onsite and remotely.