Internet Governance Forum 2009, "Taking Stock and Looking Forward" main session, Intervention by Heather Creech

This intervention by Heather Creech in the "Taking Stock and Looking Forward" main session at the fourth annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) meeting, November 2009, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, reflects the UN Secretary-General's "formal consultations with Forum participants" on the "desirability of the continuation of the Forum," as stipulated by Paragraph 76 of the WSIS Tunis Agenda. Heather Creech's intervention on behalf of IISD is broadly supportive of the IGF and affirms that the IGF should renew its mandate for a second five-year term. One key concern, however, is that the IGF has been insufficiently inclusive, in spite of its multistakeholder mandate. Large areas of civil society concern, including the environment as well as social and economic development, are either poorly or not represented. These stakeholders need the engagement of the IGF community to meet these broader challenges, and a renewal of the IGF should include a directive to broaden its stakeholder engagement.