[council] ICANN Commends Successful IGF Meeting

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http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-15nov07.htm

ICANN Commends Successful IGF Meeting

15 November 2007

RIO DE JANEIRO: The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers 
today commended the second meeting of the Internet Governance Forum 
(IGF) in Rio de Janeiro.

"Just as was envisioned, the IGF has brought together the Internet 
community — including ICANN — to meet and discuss the most pressing 
Internet issues we face together," said Dr Paul Twomey, ICANN’s 
President and CEO. "ICANN has had a large number of discussions with a 
wide range of people at the IGF, and have built new bridges and 
strengthened existing relationships."

During the course of the meeting, ICANN concluded two important and 
significant arrangements with other international organizations.

     * A global collaboration with the International Telecommunication 
Union and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural 
Organization (UNESCO) to build universal standards that encourage a 
multilingual cyberspace.
     * A Memorandum of Understanding with the African Telecommunications 
Union that help raise awareness and increase understanding of Internet 
governance issues with African policy makers and regulators

"As I said in my remarks at the opening of the IGF, ICANN wants as many 
people as possible to take part in our community. I invite all IGF 
participants to get involved with ICANN and help us strengthen the 
single, global, interoperable Internet."

ICANN representatives also took part in panels and workshops ranging 
from the opening session to critical Internet resources; multilingual 
standards, the functioning of the DNS system, DNSSEC, malicious use of 
domain names, the root server system, and public policy on the Internet. 
ICANN also held its own public forum where it heard from participants 
and explained how the ICANN model is working.

Peter Dengate Thrush, ICANN’s new chair, also expressed his delight at 
the IGF’s bringing together of the global Internet community

"The IGF has provided us all with a great opportunity to share 
information and experiences, and in some cases correct misimpressions of 
how the Internet works and what roles organizations like ICANN play," 
Dengate Thrush said. "All of these discussion will play a key role in 
strengthening and protecting the single, global, interoperable Internet 
that ICANN stands for.

"The meeting has also strengthened the multistakeholder model pioneered 
by ICANN — where everyone from governments to civil society can 
participate as equals — as the best way to approach Internet issues. We 
look forward to more conversations next year at the IGF in India," 
Dengate Thrush said.
-- 
Glen de Saint Géry
GNSO Secretariat - ICANN
gnso.secretariat[at]gnso.icann.org
http://gnso.icann.org