Internet Governance/Appendix 1: Selected Organizations Involved in Internet Governance

http://www.atu-uat.org/
 * Forum of 46 African countries and 10 Associate Members (comprising telecom operators)

Lobbies on behalf of its members for globally allocated ICT resources such as Internet addresses

Represents the interest of African countries at international forums

Supports policy harmonization amongst its member States and promotes regional market integration

Founded in 1977, headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya
 * CENTR - Council of European National TLD Registries
 * CENTR - Council of European National TLD Registries

http://www.centr.org/
 * Association of top-level country code domain registries, primarily in Europe, but also open to non-European ccTLD managers

Lobbies on behalf of ccTLDs at Internet governing bodies like ICANN

Advises European governments and EU on ccTLD policy and regulatory matters

Founded in 1998, headquarters in Brussels, Belgium
 * CERN - Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire
 * CERN - Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire

http://public.web.cern.ch/
 * A fundamental physics research organization of 20 Europeans countries focused on particle physics

HTML, HTTP and the World Wide Web were developed here

Founded in 1954, headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
 * CERT - Coordination Center
 * CERT - Coordination Center

http://www.cert.org/
 * Funded by the US federal government to coordinate between Internet security experts during serious attacks on the Internet

Conducts vulnerability analysis of Internet infrastructure and informs the larger Internet community of possible dangers

Founded in 1988, headquarters in Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA

There are many similar organizations formed in many jurisdictions around the world in emulation of this concept
 * CITEL - Inter-American Telecommunications Commission
 * CITEL - Inter-American Telecommunications Commission

http://www.citel.oas.org/
 * Composed of 35 member states in the Americas and 200 associate members

Evaluates regulatory, technical and legal mechanisms to promote harmonization across member States

Develops regional standards for value-added networks

Promotes coherence of certification procedures for telecommunication equipment

Founded in 1923, headquarters in Washington DC, USA
 * CoE - Council of Europe
 * CoE - Council of Europe

http://www.coe.int/
 * Distinct from the EU, this organization has as members 46 countries from Europe

It was founded, among other things, to develop continent-wide agreements to standardize member countries’ social and legal practices

Finalizing world’s first international convention on cybercrimes

Promotes e-governance and data protection

Founded in 1949, headquarters in Strasbourg, France
 * Creative Commons
 * Creative Commons

http://creativecommons.org/


 * Non-profit organization funded by foundations and led by experts in cyberlaw and IPR

Offers non-restrictive licenses to owners of creative work to share their work on the Internet

Developed Web application to allow creative works to be made available in the public domain

Founded in 2001, hosted at the Stanford Law School, California, USA
 * DiploFoundation
 * DiploFoundation

http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/


 * Community space for dialogue on Internet governance

DiploFoundation is a non-profit organisation which works to assist countries to participate meaningfully in international affairs, through education and training programs, research, and the development of information and communications technologies for diplomatic activities.

Founded in 2002 as an independent non-profit foundation by the governments of Malta and Switzerland
 * DITE -Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise UNCTAD
 * DITE -Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise UNCTAD

http://www.unctad.org/ Templates/StartPage.asp?intItem ID=2983&lang=1
 * Part of the United Nations system, this division focuses on foreign direct investment and technology

Produced study on intellectual property rights and its impact on developing countries

Assists developing countries to building international competitiveness

It runs programmes to encourage the use of new technologies

Founded in 1964, headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
 * EFF - Electronic Frontier Foundation
 * EFF - Electronic Frontier Foundation

http://www.eff.org/
 * Non-profit organization composed of lawyers, IT experts and volunteers

Defends civil liberties in cyberspace

Active in a broad spectrum of rights issues in cyberspace including: File-sharing, Digital Rights Management, Internet governance, privacy and surveillance, spam and intellectual property rights

Founded in 1990, headquarters in San Francisco, USA
 * ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute
 * ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute

http://www.etsi.org/
 * Non-profit European standards body for telecommunications and ICTs

Composed of 688 members from 55 countries inside and outside Europe, including manufacturers, network operators, administrations, service providers, research bodies and users

Works closely with ITU for developing telecom standards

Part of consortium that developed IPv6, 3G and GSM standards

Founded in 1988, headquarters in Sophia-Antipolis, France
 * GAC - Governmental Advisory Committee of ICANN
 * GAC - Governmental Advisory Committee of ICANN

http://gac.icann.org
 * Composed of representatives of national governments, multinational and treaty organizations attached to ICANN

Provides policy input to ICANN on ccTLD names

Conveys concerns of governments on how ICANN’s policies interact with national laws or international agreements

Founded in 1999, with a secretariat staffed at various times by the Australian government, the European Commission and potentially others
 * GBDe - Global Business Dialogue on E-commerce
 * GBDe - Global Business Dialogue on E-commerce

http://www.gbde.org/
 * Business initiative led by CEOs to develop global policy framework for e-commerce

Promotes harmonization of country regulations for uniform treatment of e-commerce activities

Developed recommendations for micro-payments and secure online transactions

Founded in 1999, headquarters in Vermont, USA
 * GICT - Global Information & Communication Technologies
 * GICT - Global Information & Communication Technologies

http://info.worldbank.org/ict/
 * Spearheads the World Bank’s efforts to expand access to ICT infrastructure in developing countries

Provides policy advice to governments in the area of telecom liberalization, e-commerce and e-government

Provides loans to subsidize the extension of the ICT infrastructure in rural and poor areas by private sector operators

Founded in 1995, headquarters in Washington DC, USA
 * IAB - Internet Architecture Board
 * IAB - Internet Architecture Board

http://www.iab.org/
 * A 13 member technical reference group under ISOC, officially appointed by the ISOC Board, nominated by IETF

Provides guidance and advice to ISOC and ICANN, among others, on technical, architectural and procedural matters related to the Internet

Provides oversight of the process used to create Internet standards and protocols

Issues guidelines on future strategies as they relate to the Internet’s architecture

Founded in 1984, virtual group
 * IANA - Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
 * IANA - Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

http://www.iana.org/
 * IANA created in the earliest days of Internet development and run by Jonathan Postel until his untimely death in 1998. It functioned under the guidance of the IAB

Integrated into the ICANN organization on its founding in 1998

Allocates Internet address space to RIRs

Oversees the operation of the root name servers

Oversees the DNS including creation of new TLDs, redelegation of ccTLDs. Updating of the root zone file

IANA was an extension of the original ARPANET “Numbers Czar” position occupied by Jonathan Postel in 1969. Upon its creation around 1975, it was operated by USC Information Sciences Institute, Marina del Rey, CA until it was integrated with ICANN
 * ICANN - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
 * ICANN - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

http://www.icann.org/
 * Coordinates the Internet’s systems of unique identifiers: domain names, IP address, protocol port and parameter numbers

Oversees the distribution of unique identifiers

Fosters competition within domain name registry industry

Creates new top-level domain names, delegation of ccTLDs

Oversees the DNS root name server system

Founded in 1998, headquarters in Marina del Rey, California, USA
 * ICCP - Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy, OECD
 * ICCP - Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy, OECD

http://www.oecd.org/department/0,2688,en_2649_34223_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
 * Arm of the OECD, composed of 30 developed countries, that addresses issues arising from the “digital economy”

Produces research publications and statistics to contribute to more informed ICT policy-making among member States

Analyses the broad policy framework underlying the “e-economy”, the information infrastructure and information society

Founded in 1947, headquarters in Paris, France
 * IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
 * IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

http://www.ieee.org
 * A non-profit technical association of engineers numbering 360,000 from 175 countries

It is a leading technical authority and standards body for telecommunication, computer engineering and other areas

Developed 802.11b developed for the Wireless LAN or WiFi

Founded in 1961, headquarters in New York, USA
 * IESG - Internet Engineering Steering Group
 * IESG - Internet Engineering Steering Group

http://www.ietf.org/iesg.html
 * Group composed of members from IETF and functions under ISOC

Provides the final technical review of Internet standards

Issues the final approval of specifications as Internet standards

Responsible for day-to-day management of the IETF and monitors quality of its output

Founded in 1989, virtual group
 * IETF - Internet Engineering Task Force
 * IETF - Internet Engineering Task Force

http://www.ietf.org/
 * Structured as a loosely self-organized group of people whose leadership is appointed by IAB and functions under ISOC

Concerned with developing, testing and implementing new Internet technical standards

The technical work gets done in its working groups organized by topic (routing, transport, security, etc.)

Proposes standards to IESG for final approval

Founded in 1986, secretariat operated since 1988 by CNRI in Reston, Virginia, USA
 * Information Society and Media Directorate-General, EU
 * Information Society and Media Directorate-General, EU

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/information_society/
 * A unit of the EU that produces research and policy initiatives in the area of Information Society technologies

Initiated eEurope Action Plan touching number of areas including broadband, e-business, e-government, spam, privacy and data protection, and security for adoption by EU member States

Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium
 * ISO - International Organization for Standardization
 * ISO - International Organization for Standardization

http://www.iso.org
 * Composed of national standards institutes from 148 countries

The world’s largest developer of standards

Its principal activity is the development of technical standards

Developed two-letter code standard for representing country name on which country top-level domain names are based

Founded in 1947, headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
 * ISOC - Internet Society
 * ISOC - Internet Society

http://www.isoc.org/
 * International organization composed of 100 organizations and 20,000 individuals that addresses technical and policy challenges facing the Internet

Organizational home for groups responsible for the Internet’s architecture and standards-IAB, IETF, IESG, and IANA, etc.

Provides forums to discuss the future evolution of the Internet

Sponsors training workshops in developing countries

A global clearinghouse for information on the Internet

Founded in 1992, headquarters in Reston, Virginia, USA
 * ITU-D - International Telecommunication Union Development Bureau
 * ITU-D - International Telecommunication Union Development Bureau

http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/
 * The development arm of the ITU, composed of member States and private organizations like telecom operators and equipment manufacturers

Provides assistance to developing countries in the field of ICTs

Helps developing countries evolve telecommunication policies and strategies

Mobilizes technical, human and financial resources needed for extending network infrastructure and services

Supports initiatives to bridge the digital divide

Founded in 1989, headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
 * ITU-R - International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication
 * ITU-R - International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication

http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/
 * The arm of ITU, composed of member states and private organizations, that deals with the allocation of finite telecommunication resources

Allocates bands of the radio frequency spectrum, frequency and satellite orbits for a variety of services including fixed and mobile telephony, broadcasting, amateur radio, space research, meteorology, global positioning systems, etc.

Developed the IMT 2000 standard for broadband mobile Internet and wireless data transmission

Founded in 1992, headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
 * ITU-T - International Telecommunication Union Standardization
 * ITU-T - International Telecommunication Union Standardization

http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/
 * The standardization arm of ITU, composed of member States and private organizations like telecom operators and equipment manufacturers

Provides global telecommunication standards by issuing recommendations

Issues standards from numbering plans and accounting rates to the functioning of circuit-switched networks, packet-based voice and data networks

Founded in 1992, headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
 * MINC - Multilingual Internet Names Consortium
 * MINC - Multilingual Internet Names Consortium

http://www.minc.org/
 * A non-profit, non-governmental, international organization that focuses on developing and promoting multilingual Internet domain names and keywords

Composed of individual members from all continents of the world and from different sectors – industry, academia, research, government, investors and international organizations

Promotes internationalization of Internet names standards and protocols by coordinating with other international bodies like ICANN, ITU, IETF and as well as language groups

Founded in 2000, headquarters in Jordan
 * NRO - Number Resource Organization
 * NRO - Number Resource Organization

http://www.nro.net
 * Formed in 2003 by the four RIRs – APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC and RIPE NCC

The purpose of the NRO is to undertake joint activities of the RIRs, including joint technical projects, liaison activities and policy coordination

Aims to protect the unallocated Number Resource pool; promote and protect the bottom-up policy development process

Acts as a focal point for Internet community input into the RIR system
 * RIPE NCC
 * RIPE NCC

http://www.ripe.net/
 * A non-profit membership organization that supports the infrastructure of the Internet through technical co-ordination in its service region

The RIPE NCC service region consisting mainly of ISPs, telecommunication organizations and large corporations located in Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and African countries

Acts as a RIR and allocates and assigns IP address space and other Internet numbers to its members

Founded in 1992, headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
 * SIP forum- Session Initial Protocol forum
 * SIP forum- Session Initial Protocol forum

http://www.sipforum.org/
 * The forum is made up of individuals, network engineers, application developers and other Internet professionals

Focus is on developing global Internet communications based on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)

Advances the adoption of products and services based on SIP, namely Internet technologies such as IP phones, PC clients, SIP servers and IP telephony gateways

Explicitly not a standards-setting body. IETF defines the core SIP protocol

Founded in 1996, headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden
 * UN ICT Task Force - United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force
 * UN ICT Task Force - United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force

http://www.unicttaskforce.org
 * A UN task force supported by the Heads of State and governments of all UN member States

Formulates strategies for the UN to use ICTs for development

Launched initiatives to bridge the global digital divide

Established Working Group on ICT governance for helping developing countries play a role in global ICT policy-making

Founded in 2001, headquarters in New York, USA
 * UNDP-ICTD – United Nations Development Programme- Information, Communication Technologies for Development
 * UNDP-ICTD – United Nations Development Programme- Information, Communication Technologies for Development

http://sdnhq.undp.org/it4dev/
 * ICTs for development is a crucial component of UNDP’s global development strategy

Assists developing countries in designing and implementing strategies for leveraging ICTs for development

Supports WSIS activities through substantive contribution and logistical help

Assists developing countries to make use of Free/Open Source software

Links deployment of ICTs to poverty reduction strategies

Founded in 1992, headquarters in New York, USA
 * UNESCO CI - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - Communication and Information Sector
 * UNESCO CI - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - Communication and Information Sector

http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en
 * Embedded within UNESCO, its programmes focus on promoting universal access to ICTs, especially in developing countries

Promotes multilingualism on the Internet

Supports initiatives to fight poverty through ICTs

Founded in 1990, headquarters in Paris, France
 * W3C - World Wide Web Consortium
 * W3C - World Wide Web Consortium

http://www.w3.org/
 * The Consortium consisting of 350 members is mainly composed of organizations and government entities

Develops Web application standards and guidelines to allow hardware and software used to access the Web to work together

Developed simple mechanism to add style (e.g. fonts, colours, spacing) to Web pages via Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

Launched Web Accessibility Initiative to make the Web accessible to all regardless of physical disabilities

Developed XML that allow interoperation between different software applications, running on a variety of platforms

Founded in 1994, collaborative headquarters in Sophia-Antipolis, France, MIT, Massachusetts, USA and Keio University in Japan
 * WGIG - Working Group on Internet Governance
 * WGIG - Working Group on Internet Governance

http://www.wgig.org/
 * WGIG is a working group of WSIS tasked with developing a working definition of Internet governance and to identify public policy issues surrounding this topic

The group’s final report will be presented in the second phase of WSIS meeting in Tunis, November 2005

Founded in 2004, located within the UN Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland
 * WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organization
 * WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organization

http://www.wipo.int/
 * One of the specialized UN agencies consisting of 181 member States tasked with protecting intellectual property rights globally

Promotes the protection of intellectual property (inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce) throughout the world through cooperation among States and other international organizations

Played an early role in trademark disputes relating to domain names

Co-developed with ICANN UDRP used to arbitrate trademark-based domain name disputes

Founded in 1979, headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
 * WSIS - World Summit on Information Society
 * WSIS - World Summit on Information Society

http://www.itu.int/wsis/
 * Summit conducted in two phases by UN and ITU to discuss strategies to bridge the digital divide between developing and developed countries

Participants at the Summit consisted of UN member States, civil society groups and the private sector

First phase of Summit discussed how to establish the foundations for an Information Society globally

Explored strategies for using ICTs for promoting development goals of the Millennium Declaration

Set up a number of working groups that are exploring issues related to Internet governance, intellectual property rights, management of the DNS, etc.

Founded in 2001, rotating summits, no permanent headquarters
 * WTO - World Trade Organization
 * WTO - World Trade Organization

http://www.wto.org/
 * A global international organization consisting of 148 countries dealing with the rules of trade between nations

Forum where trade agreements are negotiated and signed

Has mandate to examine all trade-related issues relating to global electronic commerce

Negotiated telecommunications agreement which liberalized telecom markets globally and introduced greater competition

Founded in 1995, headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
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