Follow up ICC BASIS intervention on IGF Rio topics

  • 23 May 2007

by Walda Roseman

Thank you, Mr. Chairman; I’m Walda Roseman of CompassRose International speaking on behalf of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS).

We wish to respond to your invitation to comment on others’ suggestions, and have comments on 3 structural and procedural points.We have heard here strong support for the success of the Athens meeting and believe the IGF Advisory Group and the work performed by the Secretariat were keys to the success of that meeting. In our experience, when something works well, it is important to build on its foundation. Hence ICC/BASIS joins APC, Canada and others on this point and opposes the proposal that we’ve heard by some to establish a bureau.

We believe as well that the open, multistakeholder nature of the Athens meeting provided the essential building block for its success and that it will be similarly critical to the success of future IGFs. Moreover, the open exchange of information among all stakeholders planted many seeds for growth, even since Athens, of new and enriched approaches to meeting the challenges of expanding the benefits of the Internet to everyone.

ICC/BASIS also supports APC’s suggestion that there be an annual dialog among organizations with responsibilities for aspects of the Internet. This was, in fact, the reasoning behind the ICC/BASIS proposal that there be a single reporting session in Rio where Internet related organizations could update and engage each other and the larger community.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman