The Internet - a Global Collaboration Markus Kummer APNIC, Busan. Korea 29 August 2011

The Internet Society The Internet Society is an international cause- related organization that works for the open development and evolution of the Internet for all people. The Internet is for everyone… and the Internet Society is for everyone who cares about the Internet! Our vision: We see a future in which people everywhere can use the Internet to improve quality of life: 2

The Internet Society: Working to support the next billions coming on line The Internet if for everyone – our mission is not accomplished until all people have access to the Internet! Priority: Enabling Access -aims to advance Internet development and growth through: -capacity building, -policy-related activities, and -catalyzing communities of practice that foster local and regional Internet collaborations.

The changing shape of the Internet We have 2 billion connected, 4 billion more to come online Those yet to be connected will create both new opportunities and new challenges for the Internet as we know it: The majority of the growth will come from the non-English speaking world: (China, India, Russia, Brazil, Africa) Consequences: more languages, different cultural values.

The Internet Society’s Strategic Directions - Promote, validate and defend the open and distributed underlying architecture of the Internet. -Promote, validate and defend the distributed, bottom-up participatory governance model that relies on voluntary collaboration of many institutions and where no-one is in charge (the “Internet Ecosystem”).

Enabling innovation The ability of the Internet to continuously spur innovation and creativity is at the heart of its success. The next billions need the same opportunity to innovate as the first billions. To do this, we all need to ensure that we can maintain the elements that have made the Internet such a success to date: It is user-centric and user-driven – the user shapes the Internet It is an unprecedented and empowering tool It encourages and thrives on human ingenuity, inventiveness and curiosity.

The Internet Model The Internet is successful due to its unique model of development and deployment: A common set of values and processes: Open technical standards Shared global ownership – no central control Collaborative engagement models – researchers, business, civil society, government – expertise driven Freely accessible processes for technology and policy development Transparent and collaborative governance based on multi-stakeholder involvement (the “Internet Ecosystem”)

The Internet Ecosystem The array of organizations that contribute to the Internet model interact in the “Internet Ecosystem,” each playing its own role

The Internet Ecosystem The term “Internet Ecosystem” describes the organizations and communities that guide the operation and development of the technologies and infrastructure that comprise the global Internet They are the actors that have shaped the Internet and contribute to its future success. Multi-stakeholder governance is what has made the Internet what it is today. It is based on open, transparent, and collaborative processes; and the use of products and infrastructure with dispersed ownership and control.

Openness The key characteristic of the Internet is its openness in all dimensions. The principle of openness encourages innovation, growth and the free flow of ideas. The Internet based on open technical standards; and Open, transparent and collaborative governance models – expertise driven, with freely accessible processes for technology and policy development Open to the exchange of information across borders. => Article 19 of UDHR: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

The Internet of the future The Internet will be more multilingual Domain names based on non-western characters The new Internet users will have different cultural and societal views. This will influence: The global policy debate and influence policy making The not-yet invented ‘game changing innovation’. Technological challenges: Mobile or wireless connections. The huge growth in scale and the growing prevalence of mobility

Change is inevitable, as more billions come online. The increased importance of the Internet for all countries makes the increased involvement of governments inevitable. The economic weight of the Internet will lead to increased economic pressures. Not all governments, not all corporations are comfortable with the Internet as it is. While changes will happen, our mission is to defend the essential characteristics of the Internet: its open architecture; and its open and collaborative governance model. These characteristics have served the Internet well and are in the long-term interest of all Internet users. Don’t take this for granted – but: we (the users) are the Internet and we have to speak up for the Internet we want! Conclusion

THANK YOU Markus Kummer