The Stakeholder Consultation on Public Participation in Internet Governance will discuss the results of the exploratory research into a “Code of good practice on public participation, access to information and transparency in Internet governance”, undertaken through a trilateral initiative of the Council of Europe, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), initiated at the scond Internet Governance Forum (November 2007).
The aim of the proposed “Code of good practice on public participation, access to information and transparency in Internet governance” would be to enable all the institutions which play a role in some aspect of governing the Internet to commit to ensuring transparency, public participation (of all stakeholders) and access to information in Internet Governance.
The objective of the consultation is to consider the purpose and scope of the proposed instrument and to discuss with panellists and participants its possible opportunities, limitations and risks. Any related initiatives in the field of Internet governance, such as on participatory issues, human rights including freedom of expression, content control, as well as the proposed Internet Bill of Rights should be discussed and analysed in respect of their compatibility or complementarity with the proposed instrument.
The consultation also aims to identify other interested stakeholders from different stakeholder groups with a view to associating them with the initiative. It will lay the groundwork for a proposed workshop to be held at the third Internet Governance Forum, in Hyderabad, India, from 3-6 December 2008.