By Bill Ray for The
Register.
This story has been reproduced with permission.
The IGF, beginning tomorrow in Athens and continuing until
Thursday evening, has been designed to allow everyone to have their
say over the problems thrown up by the internet from spam, porn,
and cybercrime to censorship, privacy, and open software
standards.
Run by the United Nations and with top-ranking officials from
governments across the globe including the US, UK and EU in
attendance, not to mention leading net companies such as Google,
Microsoft, and Cisco, the meeting is the most far-reaching ver held
over the internet.
The main sessions of the meeting will be webcast, with
audiocasts of the three workshops rooms also provided. In an effort
to provide the maximum number of people with input into the
discussion however, the IGF will introduce comments from the wider
internet into the process itself.
A collaborative website to help build and encourage discussion
online has been set up at http://igf2006.info/, complete with full
information on what is happening in Athens. Those that sign up to
the site are given their own blog which feeds into the process, as
well as the ability to take part in discussions and forums with
those in the room and across the world.
With many of the world's experts and legislators in the room,
the meeting plans to make others aware of what is really going on
online, and so prevent future mishaps in internet law and
policy.
So if you feel strongly about an issue being discussed, or have
some insight you feel might be useful – or even if you want to
see what the world's experts make of the internet's problems –
the next four days provide the chance for you as an ordinary
internet user to get involved.
The Register will be providing regular reports from
the Athens meeting.
© The Register
2006
