ISOC annual event

Event report

The ISOC Annual Event focused on providing an overview of how far ISOC have come on the draft document they have been preparing to present to the United Nations (UN) during the WSIS+10 meeting in December 2015.

Comments were made by members of the ISOC leadership team including Constance Bommelaer and Kathy Brown. A representative from APC, Deba Brown, also expressed her views on the documents.

Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist for Google, stated that one thing the document needs to reflect is whether we have learnt anything in the past 10 years since 2005. If progress has been made over this period, the document should reflect it. However, if progress has not been made then we have effectively wasted the last 10 years.  

The discussions also touched on the multistakeholder approach and processes for WSIS going forward, and reflected on the benefits of a multistakeholder approach as compared to a multilateral one.

Kathy Brown emphasised the significance of trust. Vint Cerf echoed this sentiment by agreeing that trust is crucial at a number of different levels and amongst different entities, for example having trust in government, technology, and end users.

Kathy Brown also stated that there was a lot of confusion amongst people and society as a whole on where the IGF should go from here. She expressed her view that the answer is right here: to create our own forum where we as a society establish our own place and significance.

by Suprita Lnu