United Nations General Assembly, 21 October 2010, New York

  • 11 November 2016

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Internet Society (ISOC) and our memberships believe that the IGF is one of the most effective and successful outcomes of the WSIS. The IGF inspires people to work effectively in support of people-centered development – a key goal of the WSIS. It feeds work in communities, in countries, in all regions and at the global level.

We believe the current IGF model is uniquely successful

  • A body that does not negotiate decisions: without this fundamental characteristic, it would not be possible to have a free exchange and learn from different stakeholders’ positions.
  • Supported by multistakeholder voluntary funding: voluntary funding acts as a feedback mechanism; multistakeholder funding demonstrates that the IGF is of value.
  • Led by an independent secretariat based in Geneva where the Internet policy networks and the history of the WSIS lie: it is important for stakeholders to feel they can trust the secretariat to be unbiased and not unduly influenced by any one interest.

The IGF Should Continue in its Current Open and Multi-Stakeholder Framework

  • The ICC and ISOC have had the privilege to contribute to all phases of the WSIS and the IGF. We believe diverse and strong participation to these processes are a condition to their success, and ISOC has also supported participation of diverse groups of stakeholders, including those from developing countries, through our “ISOC IGF ambassadorships”.
  • The multi-stakeholder framework of the IGF was established as the result of extensive discussion and negotiation during the WSIS summits. It has proven to be one of the most effective and successful outcomes of the WSIS.
  • ICC and ISOC support the continuation of the IGF in its current multi-stakeholder framework, which has proven to be a valuable forum for addressing global policy issues raised by the rapid growth and evolution of the Internet. We support continued enhancements to the IGF process within the existing flexible framework so the Internet can continue to grow and evolve for the benefit of users around the world.