ICC BASIS preliminary reflections on Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Hyderabad, India 3-6 December 2008

ICC BASIS members congratulate the host country India, the organizers and the IGF secretariat on a very successful event, and look forward to working with all stakeholders to prepare another successful IGF in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt in 2009.

The Indian hosts managed the organizational and logistics responsibilities with grace and effectiveness. Particularly under the circumstances, we applaud the Indian government and organizers for all they did to reassure and secure participants, and manage the underpinnings of the event to ensure that it could go on and be productive.

ICC BASIS members believe that the spirit in which the Indian government and organizers welcomed participants played a critical role in the success of the event, and would like to express our deep appreciation for each person involved in that effort. ICC BASIS members believe that the IGF in Hyderabad successfully built upon the productive experiences of Rio and Athens. The sheer number of business representatives present in Hyderabad is just one indication of the importance business around the world places on the IGF.

There are many organizations involved in a wide range of Internet governance issues and each of them has a useful role to play. The IGF‟s unique capability to bring together the range of organizations and stakeholders involved in Internet governance issues for the open discussions we had in Hyderabad is a particular value add to the global level discussions on these matters. The IGF‟s format brings all stakeholders together, treats all of them equally, and provides a space to address any Internet governance issue in a timely manner because it is not a negotiation process that requires compliance with set preparatory processes. This unique benefit cannot be fulfilled by alternative approaches.