With just half of our two-day planning session complete, some things are already clear. From what what I heard on Thursday (morning session transcription | afternoon session transcription) and read in the written submissions, a substantial majority of governments and private sector participants agree on the following:
- The IGF should meet only once per year;
- Each IGF meeting should last three or four days;
- The IGF should be a multi-stakeholder forum, with participation open to anyone with expertise and interest in its work;
- The IGF's agenda should be set by a multi-stakeholder Programme Committee;
- The IGF Secretariat should be based in Geneva, with Marcus Kummer assuming the role of Secretary (and at a cocktail party Thursday evening, the Swiss government announced that it would fund and support a Geneva-based Secretariat, including assuming the costs of participation in its work by those in developing countries);
- The agenda for the initial meeting later this year probably should focus on two or three core topics, including capacity building; multilingualism, and spam (many other topics were floated, but these were the three recurring themes); and,
- The IGF should use the tools of the Internet to encourage remote participation.
Now for the things that still have not been decided:
- What does "multi-stakeholder" really mean? We know it means that anyone can participate in the IGF through the Internet. Most people also assume it means that anyone with expertise and interest can attend the IGF meeting in person. Many people also believe it means that anyone can speak during the IGF's sessions. What is quite unclear, however, is how the IGF will make recommendations, if it does so at all, and if it does make recommendations, how will they be made? If the IGF holds a vote, who votes?
- Who picks the membership of the IGF's Programme Committee and/or Steering Committee?
