2023 is shaping up to be a big year for internet governance. In this blog post we highlight auDA’s planned work in the internet governance sphere for the year.
Australian organisations and internet governance participants, including auDA, are busy across a range of internet governance forums. We work collaboratively through multi-stakeholder processes to promote the open, free, secure and global internet.
The multi-stakeholder approach to the internet is at the foundation of the internet’s dynamism and strength, and it only works when stakeholders take part in it. However, this approach to governing the internet is under pressure, not least from countries that want to see more government control and less of the kind of internet we value so strongly here at auDA.
That is why auDA works in the internet governance environment. Internet governance done right helps protect the sort of internet we value, and supports its ongoing evolution and development. This understanding explains why auDA’s Strategy and the Terms of Endorsement from the federal government support us taking part in the internet governance system. auDA has a long history of effective participation in this work, and more recently we’ve been building our resources, involvement and influence to achieve even more.
Here are some of our key areas of focus and involvement for 2023:
- Convening stakeholders in Australia for a series of roundtables that will bring the internet governance community together and help build a stronger shared approach for the country in responding to the changing internet governance environment
- Supporting NetThing, Australia’s Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which is open to the whole community and will be held later in 2023
- Developing an Internet Governance Roadmap, aimed at informing and shaping our advocacy for how the internet governance system can be improved so it can better succeed at sustaining an open, free, secure and global internet
- Involving and leading at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), through active participation in the country code Name Supporting Organization (ccNSO) and its committees and in the wider ICANN environment, including on tackling Domain Name System (DNS) abuse
- Taking part in the Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network’s work to develop norms and shared expectations about how to effectively deal with content concerns on the internet
- Offering our support to Pacific region internet governance participants to help deliver a Pacific IGF and improved Pacific participation in regional and global IGFs
- Deepening our thinking and sharing more of it (including in blog posts!) in the longer-term internet governance environment, with a particular focus on the upcoming review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) outcomes and on the development of a Global Digital Compact, major United Nations processes that will take place in 2024 and 2025 that could be a moment to reshape the internet governance system.
You can keep an eye on the .au blog or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter to stay across our work in this area, or get in touch with our team members to find out more.
