IGF 2022 EGM Inputs
Forward: As you may know, I’m not an international policy expert. What I do bring is over a decade overseeing the design and implementation of digital infrastructure to support major governmental/intergovernmental initiatives. So, the proposals I submit are for a online Internet Governance System to support and enhance existing governance mechanisms. It implements quickly with minimal start-up costs, and generates a multi-billion-dollar revenue stream to secure the future of the Internet as a independent, global public asset. Search Skate (https://searchskate.com) is offering to give the IGF all rights and privileges to the system to be used for the benefit of the Internet and the world.
To this end, I offer the following concrete IGF changes/improvements:
1a. To strengthen and improve focus and relevance:
Review identified issues for dependencies and prioritization
While all the issues discussed by the IGF are important, not all are equal. For example, most of us would pick Hunger (SDG#2) and Clean Water (SDG#6) as the most important SDGs because they sustain life. However, something called “critical dependencies” tells a different story. As it turns out, all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have either a direct or indirect “dependence” on stable, clean energy (SDG#7), with 72% of the 169 SDG Targets require electricity. And biogas solutions enable nations to cleanly and odorlessly use their landfill and human waste to generate power while improving their air and surface water quality while improving the health of the populace. So based on critical dependencies, electricity becomes the most important and the #1 SDG to be implemented as the foundation for effective and efficient implementation of the rest of the SDGs.
With a stable national power grid to the door in place, the Internet infrastructure can be implemented to provide connectivity that is also inclusive by enabling women, children, the elderly, disabled, bedridden and quarantined to have Internet access from their homes. Universal Internet access provides the communication and coordination necessary for effective and efficient implementation of the other SDGs, and creates a level playing field in rolling out Public Goods and Capacity Building. When combined with the Internet Governance architecture provided by the Search Skate system it also addresses Human Rights, Digital Trust and Security, and Digital Cooperation, SDG to be implemented. This makes implementation of the Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (#9) to be the second most important SDG.
Create a separate but fully integrated “Non-Commercial Internet”
With over >$26.7 trillion USD in global ecommerce trade in 2021, the Internet has become a wildly successful global economic tool. The success of the both the applications and of the Internet itself is judged by the value of the trades and the profits generated. It’s a Commercial entity with the primary driver being profit, not social change. Profit is good. Our nations, companies and families all depend on robust economic growth, but our society also needs support.
It's important that we continue to promote the economic success of our Commercial Internet. However, to fully address equally important social issues including poverty, hunger, health, literacy, gender and human rights, climate, and peace we need recognize the need for a separate but fully integrated Non-Commercial space on the Internet. A space where organizations working to advance mankind can work together to accelerate implementation of initiative by the UN, the CSTD Working Group (2012), IGF Retreat Proceedings (2016), the Roadmap on Digital Cooperation (2020), and Our Common Agenda (2021). A place dedicated to organizations promoting public good that can facilitate coordination of their activities, sharing knowledge and skill sets and possibly even tracking and reporting on their individual and collective success in responding to specific initiatives at the local, regional or global level.
The Search Skate system expands and diversifies participation by:
1) Quickly distributing the Internet by enabling potentially thousands of citizens in each country to have their own interest-based, locally owned, and operated portal businesses at little to no cost to them. [SDG#8] In turn, these Quickly Portals:
a. Expedite growth of the local Internet economy and businesses (growing the Internet economy from the bottom-up);
b. Create a network of future IXPs;
c. Deliver culturally and linguistically relevant content;
d. Offer local digital literacy and skills training; and [SDG#4]
e. Introduce a local entry point where users can access Internet Governance to participate in discussions at the local, regional, or global level as well as report and track local issues and share solutions.
2) Standardizes and expands stakeholder groups globally to better reflect the representation and
facilitate uniform, inclusive participation from every nation (i.e. Private Sector represents the
commercial users need to be divided into individual industry sectors in alignment with WTO
industry sector classifications. Civil Society represents non-commercial entities that support the
public good and disaster response. Separate categories such as Agri/Food, Education, Housing,
Infrastructure, Public Health, etc. will allow these important entities to have the voice they need
in discussions.
There are many areas of the world, including areas of the United States, where there is little knowledge or understanding of Internet Governance, even among technology leaders. Using Zoom the IGF can extend its influence by broadcasting select Internet Governance discussions to local technology leadership groups like the Austin Technology Council.
Search Skate’s system provides an integrated, digital framework consistent with the IGF-Plus Model, combined with the addition of an automated Workflow management subsystem consistently directs concerns/communications to the right resource for review and action to expedite and enhance Internet Governance Forum (IGF) processes, facilitate multilateral, multi-stakeholder and multi-organizational communications and extend the IGF’s influence within and across nations, stakeholders, agencies and organizations.
It’s bottom-up architecture (see 1b) enables the interest-based portal businesses to contribute and provide representation at the standardized local Stakeholder level. Each standardized local Stakeholder Group then provide representation to the national (NRI) level for inclusive representation of viewpoints at the local level. NRI provide representation at the regional level, then up to the global level. This bottom-up approach that incorporates identifiable, standardized stakeholder groups at the local level enhances bottom-up communication as well as communication within and across stakeholder groups to improve understanding and build cooperation.
Strategic Planning
Many corporations and governments find Strategic Planning provides the structure needed to build and implement consensus on the direction, goals, activities/projects and outputs to be achieved in a 3-5 year period. While the IGF is called to lead discussions, there is an equal desire to be effective.
Peter Drucker, the man who invented modern business management, says, “If you can’t measure it you can’t improve it.” Once a Strategic Plan is in place to identify and prioritize what needs to be done, Search Skate’s implementation of a separate but fully integrated Non-Commercial Internet, combined with its integration of a Workflow Management subsystem will enable nations, regions and the IGF at the global level to record, categorize, direct, track and share success stories of technical, gender and human rights, as well as social needs. Search Skate also implements a central repository of ALL state and international laws, norms, policies, guidelines, etc. Using AI this repository can let corporations know if their proposed new product is compliant; can identify and track the laws, norms, policies, etc. violated when issues arise and rate their effectiveness.
Project Portfolio Management
The activities/projects identified in the Strategic Plan can be independently and corporately managed, dependencies and tasks identified, individuals assigned, and milestones and deadlines established. There are several Project Portfolio Management software packages available in the marketplace and are used by corporations and governments to ensure successful, timely completion of important initiatives. The software is most effectively implemented by a PMI certified Project Manager with several years of experience managing intergovernmental projects.
As discussed earlier, Search Skate’s system:
• Distributes the Internet to achieve global connectivity and implements a bottom-up system and recommends electricity to the door to help ensure safe digital inclusion;
• Introduces an inclusive, balanced architecture that enables bottom-up user input on how technologies like AI should be implement on their Internet platform, introduces standardized processes and procedures along with coordinated cybersecurity to promote and enhance Digital Trust and Security. Once the architecture is implemented it can enhance Global Digital Cooperation, Digital Gender and Human Rights, and deliver a common platform for a uniform roll out of Digital Public Goods and Digital Capacity Building.
The Search Skate system that: 1) implements a bottom-up process that is inclusive and provides representation at the local, regional and global levels for Global Solidarity; 2) implements a new, separate but fully integrated Non-Commercial Internet to support and promote social contracts; 3) implements locally owned and operated interest-based portal businesses that can help ensure integrity in public information; 4) measures Non-Commercial activity (gender and human rights, hunger, health, etc) from its proposed Non-Commercial Internet and from the addition of a Workflow Management subsystem; 5) Introduces a bottom-up system of participation in Internet Governance that actually favors youth by growing their skills and education through progressive participation in Interest Based Portals, to Stakeholder Groups, NRI representatives, Regional representatives and finally global; 6) implementation of Strategic Planning and Project Portfolio Management combined with Search Skate’s inclusive, bottom-up participation can facilitate stronger, more networked multi-lateral system to support and enhance all UN goals.
By implementing the Search Skate system along with Strategic Planning and Project Portfolio Management, I envision the IGF operating in the mode of review and continuous process improvement to find ever better ways to serve the World.