The Internet is the fastest growing media in the history of the world, so the question of who 'governs' the Internet interests just about everyone. The EBU has been helping.
The United Nations established an "Internet Governance Forum" in 2005, and the first meeting is now in session in Athens Greece, supported by EBU staff.
The meeting's subject is 'new', and the meetings 'form' is also new. It is open to all those with reasonable cause to attend. They come from all the interest groups and governments that believe they have a stake in the Internet.
Trying to arrange interactive discussions with 500 or so delegates is no easy task, and the EBU was asked to help. We did so by arranging moderators - for example, the BBC's Nick Gowing is bringing his skills as a current affairs show host to moderating.
The EBU has done more - two workshops are being organsised on Web content and content rights.
Yoshinori Imai, NHK newscaster, leads an interactive discussion about how the web can be made
more accessible to those with different languages
Though the extent of US control of the Internet is still a thorny issue, another light is beginning to dawn. The world has one billion Internet users, but there are five billion more who have no access at all to Internet. Maybe the first thing to do is to help them to get it, then the finer detail issues can come to the top of the agenda.
More information:
www.igfgreece2006.gr/
More information on workshops:
November 1
World Broadcasting Union workshop on Content Creation (9.30 – 11.00)
(Click on the link for recommendations made during this workshop)
UNESCO workshop "Openness in Cyberspace - the Challenges of Freedom of Expression"
(15.30 - 17.00)
ICC / BASIS / Government of Canada workshop, moderated by Arne Wessberg, former EBU President and currently member of the IGF Council: Building human and institutional capacity for meaningful participation in Internet governance issues
(17.30 - 19.00)
November 2
World Broadcasting Union workshop on Content Rights (9.30 – 11.00)
dw/nc
