Internet Governance Forum Secretariat Information

IGF Mandate Paragraph 72 of the Tunis Agenda: 72. We ask the UN Secretary-General, in an open and inclusive process, to convene, by the second quarter of 2006, a meeting of the new forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue—called the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The mandate of the Forum is to: * Discuss public policy issues related to key elements of Internet governance in order to foster the sustainability, robustness, security, stability and development of the Internet; * Facilitate discourse between bodies dealing with different cross-cutting international public policies regarding the Internet and discuss issues that do not fall within the scope of any existing body; * Interface with appropriate inter-governmental organizations and other institutions on matters under their purview; * Facilitate the exchange of information and best practices, and in this regard make full use of the expertise of the academic, scientific and technical communities; * Advise all stakeholders in proposing ways and means to accelerate the availability and affordability of the Internet in the developing world; * Strengthen and enhance the engagement of stakeholders in existing and/or future Internet governance mechanisms, particularly those from developing countries; * Identify emerging issues, bring them to the attention of the relevant bodies and the general public, and, where appropriate, make recommendations; * Contribute to capacity building for Internet governance in developing countries, drawing fully on local sources of knowledge and expertise; * Promote and assess, on an ongoing basis, the embodiment of WSIS principles in Internet governance processes; * Discuss, inter alia, issues relating to critical Internet resources; * Help to find solutions to the issues arising from the use and misuse of the Internet, of particular concern to everyday users; * Publish its proceedings