/1Net: What works for me

Paul Wilson of APNIC was the first to take his time to do a blog post on /1Net. He did try to clear what was a kind of spider web in the minds of many. In the few weeks between that post and the end of the year 2013:

• The call for nominations to /1Net Steering Committee has been taken up by all stakeholder groups and discussions are being fed back into the 1Net main discussion channel
• The /1Net site has been redesigned to be IPv6 Compliant
• The original “Coordination” list has gone from closed to open and its name has evolved from coordination to “Discuss”.
• Even in the midst of the different holidays that accompany the last days of every year, discussions are still heavily ongoing in the 1Net discuss list and if any signs, they are certainly going to get more intense when folks “get back from the beach”.

From the onset, I had set myself on “reserve” on the /1Net list, for reasons best known to me. However, I have read almost all the email exchanges, perhaps, except those that are on the IPv6 thread.  After the 1000 or so emails, here is what is rocking for me about /1Net at the moment:

First and foremost, the singular opportunity to have most stakeholders on one platform. In my 11 years of WSIS prepcoms, WSIS 1, WSIS 2, IGFs, ICANN and IG-related engagements, this is the ONLY time I have had one platform where I get an insight to the workings of the IG Business Community.

The second thing is the apparent “ease” with which the Civil Society transcended the nomination process of members to the 1Net steering committee. In so many years, I have come to believe that Civil Society is that stakeholder group that achieves the least consensus among itself. As a Civil Society actor, I have come to accept this “fallacy”, hook, line and sinker. /1Net has given me the opportunity to do a turn-around on that. This time around, the CS organized itself within the deadline, in a more or less efficient manner, whereas other stakeholder groups were needing more time to get things sorted.

The other great thing about /1Net for me is the quality of the issues raised. Most importantly, on transparency of representational networks. I have seen the likes of  BASIS, GIGANET, Best Bits, Diplo and IGC questioned from all angles. To varying levels questions have received their answers, at least, for those who are seeking information, collaboration and progress.

I have also seen pro-active engagement in circles that have not had the Internet Governance question as a centre-point of activity. This is the case of the Community Informatics network and the AFREN group. Individuals have been pivotal in piloting these initiatives and I’m really happy to see such engagement from the research and academia stakeholder group, a group, which I believe, have not had enough  platform allowance to bring its issues to the fore in the IG journey. 

Then there is the Africa representation question. Again? Yes, again! The debate is back. Are folks from Africa participating enough? Are they being represented? Do they volunteer for tasks?  Do they feel/think ably represented by anyone from the “Global South”?  After these initial talks, will Africans take  the issues “home” and take them up from there?  I’m keeping my eyes open.

/1Net’s positioning of itself in Brazil 2014 has been fast and furious. In only 2 months, the “Network” or "Coalition"  has set itself as a major partner in the Brazil International Conference on Global Internet Governance …. And beyond that, even future IG framework. Impressive! It is a space that needs to be watched..

As some still “observe” how things roll out with /1Net, I can only look forward to what 2014 will be from the /1Net lenses. But between now and then… some things already have happened for me..

Happy New Year!

 

PS/

Are the Acronyms and abbreviations  confusing?

1Net is the global coalition on the Internet. 1Net.org has info. APNIC is the Asia-Pacific Network Information Center. IPv6 is Internet Protocol Version 6. WSIS is the World Summit on the Information Society. PrepCom is Preparatory Committee (of the WSIS).  IGF is the Internet Governance Forum. www.intgovforum.org  has all the info. ICANN is the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.  IG is Internet Governance. BASIS is the Business Action to Support the Information Society. GiGANET is the Global Internet Governance Academic Network. Best Bits is a platform for Civil Society actions around Internet issues. www.bestbits.net has info. Diplo is the short form of The Diplo Foundation. www.diplomacy.edu has info. IGC is the Internet Governance Caucus of some civil society and other organisations. AFREN is the Africa Regional Education Network

Internet Governance Forum opening ceremony speech

8th Internet Governance Forum – IGF 2013

Nusa Dua Bali Convention Center – NDBCC

Bali, Indonesia

Official Opening session

[On behalf of Civil Society Stakeholders]

Address by Ms Nnenna Nwakanma

Africa Regional Coordinator

World Wide Web Foundation

Volunteer organiser, Africa IGF

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening

My name is Nnenna Nwakanma. I am of Nigerian origin, living in Côte d'Ivoire. I love football and the Internet has made me a global citizen. I am part of the group steering the Best Bits platform of Civil Society Organisations in the IGF. I work for the World Wide Web Foundation as Africa Regional Coordinator.

The World Wide Web Foundation was established by Web inventor, Sir Tim Berners-Lee to strengthen and defend the open Web as a global public good and a basic right.

We work with others to make the web truly universal, open and free, through initiatives like the Alliance for Affordable Internet to bring down the cost of access, and the Web Index tracking the health and utility of the Web in over 80 countries.

We also put the open web to work to strengthen democracy and participation, especially by harnessing the power of open data.

And that is the reason we are here. To engage as Civil Society, to remind us of the key principles we agreed and signed up to.

The first is Human rights. We seem to be moving farther from it as we move further on the Internet Governance process. Human rights need to make a come back, and be kept at center stage.

The second is multistakeholder participation in an open, accountable and transparent manner at all levels. It is not clear how we have been collectively doing and it might be the right time to start measuring the adoption, the impact and the promises made in this domain.

The third is our development agenda. We must never lose focus that our collective effort in the Internet governance process is aimed at making the Internet a tool for poverty reduction, for health delivery for education at all levels, for the economic well-being of our world.

We must continue to extend the « Internet of opportunities »

Opportunities for indigenous people ;

Opportunities for illiterate and nomadic persons

Opportunities for rural dwellers
Opportunities for landlocked countries

Opportunities for Island states

And opportunities for countries made up of islands, like Indonesia.

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen

• A basic broadband plan costs the average African almost ⅔ of their monthly income.

• In the world’s 49 poorest countries, only 1 in 10 people has access to the Internet.

• 25 Netizens and citizen journalists were killed and 157 netizens were imprisoned last year.

• Since May 2012 alone 24 countries have passed new laws or regulations that could restrict free speech online, violate users’ privacy, or punish individuals who post certain types of content

This, therefore, is an urgent call to action.

• A call to action for greater and enhanced cooperation of all stakeholders
• A call to action for an affordable Internet for everyone, everywhere

• A call for action in favour of accessibility, to make the Internet real for persons with disabilities

• A call for action for a more efficient Internet Governance process at national levels, because that is where « home » is

• A call for action in mainstreaming gender equity, youth engagement and remote participation at all levels of Internet Governance process.

• To continue to enhance the capacity of the Internet as a tool for safeguarding social justice, equity, diversity, and multilingualism.

Excellencies

Ladies and gentlemen

The growing threat of unwarranted government surveillance across the globe deserves our attention. The current trend to justify rash and poorly considered expansion of state surveillance in the name of protecting us must be rejected. Humanity needs the Internet to be and remain, neutral, open, universal and free.

In closing my address, as we meet this year under the theme of Building bridges, enhancing multistakeholder cooperation for growth and sustainable development

It is important to salute the individuals who build bridges daily in the IGF journey :

• People like Sir Tim Berners-lee, the inventors
• People in the policy circles grappling with the new reality called the Internet
• Nations like Brazil, that are actively seeking for innovative ways to make the process more participative and inclusive
• People in the technical community, who make sure the Internet works
• Organisers, volunteers and conveners of local, national, sub-regional, regional and Global IG discussions, instances and forums 
  
  Organisersations that are commited to the affordability of the Internet, like the council and members og the Alliance for Affodable Internet.

• Organisations, like NRO and platforms that fund the IGF, especially Civil Society participation

• To the people and governments who have hosted us, at all levels for these past years..

To the awesome people of Bali, the people and government of Indonesia.

To you, for listening,

Thank you.

Merci

Shukran

Terima kasih

Nnenna Nwakanma.

www.webfoundation.org

www.a4ai.org

www.webwewant.org

MAG: To be or not to be?

I am reading Ginger's "actions call" for MAG self/nominations. And it is so spirited that I have decided to write down my "thoughts" here as a blog. Will be my third blog of the day.. Looks like I'm in a bloggy mood.. if ever such a word exists.

In reading the scoring, I see that I actually have a "BIG FAT" chance. Here is the way I see it:

1. I will get a 10% for being in Côte d'Ivoire, a country that has yet to be on the MAG

2. I will get another 10% for being from a developing country

3. And another 10% for not being male.

If I add that I have been active in my national IGICI and the West Africa IGF - WAIGF and also the AfIGF that is taking shape.. I sure will get some extra points.

Then I will add a 10 year history in WSIS and its related activities, and a formal training in International relations and linguistic diversity etc

So I think I will be around something like 70 or 80%

The question, therefore, that warrants this blog is "so why are you not nominating yourself or seeking someone to do so? Even despite the fact that you have received solicitations asking you to do so?"

To be or not be.

Here is my shot: Thanks, but NO, thanks. I will pass on this one. Why? Well for at least 5 reasons:

1. I am busy. I wish I could get 30 hours a day, but no, I dont have it. I am doing this blog at about 100 minutes to midnight! I would love to spare myself the MAG work.

2. I have downgraded ALL unpaid trips to anywhere outside of Africa. I cannot spend 3 days running visa, spend at least 200$ in the case of a Schengen one, and not get paid for that. Especially now that the ECOWAS passport is 32 pages instead of 48.

3. Anybody knows where a Nigerian living in Côte d'Ivoire will get a visa for Azerbaijan? I may probably need to do a trip to one other African country first.. Okay, enough with the visa thing..You only get a visa problem when THE FUNDING problem itself has been resolved. And the song around "civil society participation", "gender balance" and "participation from developing countries" is beginning to tire my Spirit.

4. I want to invest locally and if possible invest in action. I am a development-oriented African. Though words are of the legal profession and the whole of the "activism" thing is great.. but you know what? Over the years I have grown wider but also wiser. I want action, change, things done. At this age and weight.. I have a leaning for "less talk, more action"

5. I have 512 KBPS on wifi at home here. Add to that, that little tiny thing that if groomed well will come in handy for folks like me.. Remote Participation. I'd rather be reclining on my couch in my sitting room with this netbook of mine, eating my own kitchen food, enjoying the warm and airy Abidjan weather while connected remotely than to be trudging in any Geneva cold paying 15$ for ugly sandwiches!

MAG: To be or not to be?

Aint no question for me.. I will PASS! Maybe some time later, if/when things change.