The closing day of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) has ended on a high note with attendees from across the world (from business, government, international organisations and civil society) all expressing their delight at the experimental forum.
When the forum opened its doors in Athens four days ago it was uncertain whether the meeting would work, or would even continue next year, despite its five-year remit. But following a series of changes introduced to its structure while the meeting itself was going on, the final session saw two countries vying to host the event in 2010 – Azerbaijan and Lithunia – and the host for next year, Brazil, announcing the date and location for the meeting.
“We are here, we are ready, and we are ready to participate,” said a joyous representative from the Women’s Centre, who also announced a “dynamic coalition” of a number of organisations for discussing online gender issues. Jamie Love, director of the Consumer Project on Technology, explained that he was searching for words to explain “just that I feel good about this meeting”. He settled for: “This is the right thing to do at the right time for the internet.”
IGF head honcho Nitin Desai made a joke this time last year when he was asked about the forum’s likely success: “Every United Nations meeting is either a success or a great success.” We asked him which it was after the end of the closing session. “It was an outstanding success,” he smiled.
