Nonformality

For years now I have been collecting information on and tracing the origins of different models, schemata and theories of participation. Enticed by a current project, I have put together a selection of models with their original imagery and, in excerpt, original introductions and explanations. I will review and extend the selection regularly, and update this post as well as the pdf-file (Version July 2011, 11 MB). These are the (currently: 30) models covered:

The European Dialogue on Internet Governance (with the obvious but easily unfortunate abbreviation EURODIG) understands itself as an open platform to discuss internet governance and related policy issues. It was created in 2008 and aims to involve all stakeholders from across the region, from governmental and non-governmental organisations to content and infrastructure providers, from internet makers and users to internet observers and regulators. Once a year, the European Dialogue on Internet Governance culminates in a multi-stakeholder conference. The conference, and the entire process, need some serious upgrading.

Here are twelve starting points to reload EURODIG for 2012.

Civil society and internet governance | Photo by suxsie.q

It’s almost impossible to give a comprehensive overview of all the civil society actors and activities; too much is happening and going on. A few good starting points for globally active civil society organisations, groups and initiatives are:

• the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), defending freedoms in the networked world. The foundation works on issues such as free spech, intellectual property, privacy and transparency;
• the Internet Society (ISOC), one of the leading nonprofit organisation on internet related standards, education and policy;
• the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the main international standards organisation for the web;
• the Internet Governance Caucus of Civil Society Organizations (IGC), striving for internet governance to become inclusive, people centered and development oriented;
• the Internet Rights and Principles Coalition (IRP), an initiative formed to establish an Internet Governance regime founded upon human rights that has developed a Charter of Human Rights and Principles for the Internet;
• La Quadrature du Net, a collective and advocacy group promoting the rights and freedoms of citizens on the Internet that starts from the assumption that net neutrality means that the internet has no gatekeeper;
• Reporters Without Borders (RWB), advocating and fighting for the freedom of the press, on- and offline;
• the Open Rights Group (ORG), striving to preserve and promote citizens’ rights in the digital age;
• the combined effort of the pirate party movement to bring the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) out into the open at www.stopp-acta.info;
• the Creative Commons Network, working towards the vision of universal access to research and education and full participation;
• the European Digital Rights Initiative (EDRI), founded to defend civil rights in the information society and working, among other issues, on
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  privacy, governance and freedom of speech;

• the International Modern Media Institute (IMMI), a foundation working to reopen the discussion about how free speech is defined and how it is to be protected for and in the digital age.
• and, last but not least, and of course, WikiLeaks.

Feel free to add organisations, groups and initiatives in the comments!

The United Nations and Internet Governance

The work of the United Nations on internet governance spans across several agencies and bodies within the UN work, most notably the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations Group on the Information Society (UNGIS), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the United Nations Conference on Trade amd Development (UNCTAD) and UNESCO.

Much of the United Nations’ engagement relates back to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the Geneva (2003) and Tunis (2005) conferences aiming to bridge the digital divide and take concrete steps to establish foundations for an information society for all. In Geneva,

UNESCO and Internet Governance

The work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on internet governance is based on UNESCO’s basic approach of creating the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, a dialogue that aims to achieve sustainable development encompassing human rights, mutual respect and the alleviation of poverty.

UNESCO runs two programmes related to internet governance, namely the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) and the Information for All Programme (IFAP).

UNESCO’s work on communication and information centres on six thematic areas:

Access to Information | Capacity Building | Content Development |
Freedom of Expression | Media Development | Memory of the World

Publications of UNESCO on digital governance include:

The OECD and Internet Governance

The work of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on internet governance is rooted in the mission of OECD to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

The organisation has developed key indicators on information and communication technologies, which are updated annually, to provide a knowledge-base for digital governance policies. The fifteen indicators mostly cover availability, accessibility, affordability and usage of landline, mobile, broadband and internet connections.

The Information Technology Outlook is a complementary regularly OECD updated publication.

The OECD’s work on internet governance spans across several themes, including information economy, information security and privacy, broadband and telecom and e-government.

The OECD has published a number of Digital Economy Papers, among them