The following are the outputs of the captioning taken during an IGF intervention. Although it is largely accurate, in some cases it may be incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. It is posted as an aid, but should not be treated as an authoritative record.
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>> PARTICIPANT: Hello. Testing. Testing. Hello. Testing. Hello. I see that the captioners can hear me talk. This is Jen. Just testing microphones right now. a
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>> MODERATOR: This is a test caption.
>> PANELIST: This is a test caption. Are you seeing captions here?
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>> SPEAKER: Internet Governance Forum 2024
>> SPEAKER: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
>> SPEAKER: Hello everyone. Thank you for being so patiently waiting for our technical problems to be solved. This is the 2024IGFSA general assembly. We'll begin quite shortly. Thank you for your patience. IGFSA General Assembly.
>> JENNIFER CHUNG: Hi everyone. This is the IGF Support... IGFSA General Assembly.
>> JENNIFER CHUN:
>> VINT CERF: .
>> CEDRICK ADRIEN MBEYET: .
>> FLAVIO WAGNER: .
>> JENNIFER CHUN: Testing to see if the room can hear us on channel one. Testing to see if the room can hear us on channel one. Testing to see if the room can hear. That they have... on channel one. Channel three. Channel three. Channel three. Testing to see if the room can ‑‑ perfect. We are back on. Okay. Thank you for your patience.
We are just to start. This is the channel three.
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Thank you for being patient with us as we walk through the technical difficulties. I'm going to hand the mic to our chair to start the General Assembly.
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Can you hear me now?
>> PARTICIPANT: Okay. So Flagstaff owe will lead the discussion on the Executive committee. We have the release of the obligations for the Executed Committee Members. And any comments the community would want to raise. If the agenda is okay with all, could we adopt it. And if there is anything else, you would want us to please put in the chat, if you're participating remotely.
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I would like to share the summary record of the 2023 General Assembly. If you can share the presentation. I'm passing it on to Jennifer.
>> JENNIFER CHUN: Thank you everyone. This is Jen Chung from the IGFSA Secretariat. Just a brief overview of the summary record of last time, the 2023, IGFSA General Assembly that was held on the margins of the Kyoto meeting last year. This was shared to the membership via the membership list. And it was also posted on the IGFSA website.
I think if you're able to click through. Yes. Or not that. It's okay. Go back to the slide. It's fine. I'll speak to it briefly.
Last General Assembly, we had over 45IGFSA members and servers as well as remote hubs in the room. The agenda is largely the same as this year. It was adopted. We shared a different ‑‑ apologies. One second.
We shared the results of the elections that were actually held in the early February of 2024. As a result of that elections, we actually have the current slate of Executive committee Members that are before you now. We had approval of the annual budgets, based on the recommendation of the Executive committee last year.
There was discussion on fundraising and appreciation expressed by recipients of the Association of Small Grants. There was a note it has been an increase of youth initiatives, which is also reflected in the grant applications we have received.
There was some further discussion over the IGF's association to look at ways to expand the donor base. The Chair noted this was a priority discussion item. Last time with the Executive Committee. We have done so this year in 2024, which I'll share later in the Activity Report. There was also brief discussion on how we can involve the IGF Support Association members further in the fundraising activities. It was noted that in previous years, there were informal gatherings, and the margins of different meetings where we meet physically and IGF Support Association can leverage this to bring more value to the NRIs we serves and the IGF Support Association members. This is a brief overview of the summary record of the 2023 general assembly. Now I leave it to our Chair to see if there are any questions from the membership before we adopt it.
>> CHAIR: May I ask a sound bar to be moved. People aren't able to see the screen. Thank you.
Is there any questions on 2023? If not, Jennifer, we can move supporting what our predictions are for the future.
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There is a question so I'm passing it on.
>> AUDIENCE: It's really a comment rather than a question. I think it was fantastic how in 2023, the NRI and Youth IGF community bounced back after COVID. It was just really... it almost felt as if there was an expansion in activities, as a result of COVID. So just it was good to see that.
>> CHAIR: We have a comment saying it would be good if we could enable video and sound for remote participants. Thing is closed.
If we can allow our online participants so we can see them in the Zoom room, as well as allow them to speak. Could we have the remote participants shown on the video? If we can allow them to speak when they do.
We'll see the next set of what was done in 2023. I'm passing it on to Jennifer.
>> JENNIFER CHUN: Thank you. This is Jen. Now on to the agenda item describing the Activity report. Between the last General Assembly we've had.
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Can the captioner hear me? Okay it seems they can. Okay.
In 2024. As I mentioned very briefly in the summary record of the previous Annual Report. I'm not going to repeat that.
But I will ‑‑ the mic.
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I will do some highlights of the activity report of 2024. So as mentioned earlier, we held two Executive committee elections in the year. Because we postponed the previous one. The current slate of executive committee members we have Amrita as the chair. We have Flavio Wagner. We returned four executive committee members to the EC. They are Joyce Chen.
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The executive committee held 10 meetings over the course of the activity period. There were also separate committee meetings and informal discussions to try to discuss how we can expand the donor base of IGF support associations. Seven meetings were held in a virtual setting. Three in a hybrid matter, on the margins of the different meetings throughout the year.
In carrying out the tasks, the EC supported by a secretary and Secretariat responsible for day‑to‑day activities. Organization provides additional personnel for this effort. We still have our IGFSA accountant, Michael, retained to do our audit and books. The membership category for IGF Support Association with the annual membership dues of $25 and the organizational membership with an organizational membership of $100. To date, we have 270IGFSA individuals and organizations inclusive.
And 34 of these members are deemed "active." Meaning they are currently paid up with the dues. Active membership confers the benefits to be able to run for open executive committee seats as well as receiving the ballots to vote in these particular elections.
Now a brief update on the fundraising activities of the association this year.
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In 2024, the association received new donor. And returning donors ICAN and the NRO. While the membership fees are not the primary resource for the funding, we've also received regular membership dues from individual contributions and donations. For a more detailed breakdown, we'll be talking through that from Nigel.
I would like to go into the allocation of funding we allocated out this year. We prioritized the regional and national, sub regional, and youth initiatives. This year we have funded 26 of these initiatives. Six of them went to the regional and sub regional IGFs. And 10 from the youth initiatives. Which is work from the previous year. This brings the IGFSA total contributions to a cumulative total of $ ‑‑ $601,000. We have a projected funding allocation for 2025. In U.S. dollars. I don't know if you're able to show this on the screen, as well. If you're able to let me know, let know if not. I'll refer our members to the annual activity report posted on the website.
We project to be allocating $50,000 U.S. for the national, sub regional, regional initiatives. $10,000 U.S. with the additional support to the IGF Secretariat operations and logistics, including interns they bring to the annual meetings. For the the accessibility, the captioning, the captioning for the different intercessional meetings and works of the dynamic coalitions and the NRI, $5,000. And then, finally, the projected expenses for the administrative portion, which is $20,000 U.S.
I had mentioned already the contribution to the trust fund. I won't repeat myself here. I'll go through a brief list with National and Regional Initiatives.
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Have given funding [?]
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Maybe Zoom cannot hear me. Okay. Okay. Following national IGFs, our meet ‑‑
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Maldova, Uganda, and Kazakhstan. And the following youth IGFs were approved to receive the funding. Ghana youth IGF, Myanmar youth IGF, Hong Kong youth IGF, Southeast Asia. I will skip now to some special outreach activities that IGFSA has conducted over the past year.
This produced a 10‑year report last year, because of establishment of IGFSA back in [?]
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We also conducted a series of outreach efforts during the kickoff lead where we meet with several different constituencies
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Please come to us if you are an active member.
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IGF membership base. And that's my conclusion or a brief overview of the activities that IGFSA has conducted in the past year. Back to Amrita.
>> CHAIR: Thank you so much. For those who have not seen the entire report, I think, Jennifer, you will be posting it online. It's already posted on the website. If someone can post the link in the chat of the NRIs who have been supported this year.
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Over to Nigel.
>> NIGEL HICKSON: Good morning from Europe. Good afternoon to you in Saudi Arabia. Can you hear me?
>> CHAIR: It's very faint.
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>> NIGEL HICKSON: I'll continue. I'll be very brief. I think it must be the Zoom.
Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be talking to you. I'm Nigel, I work with the UK government and currently the treasurer of the IGFSA, which is an honour.
Jennifer has already outlined a lot of activities that have been taking place. So I think I can very briefly go through the funding. The financial statement, which, hopefully, can either be put ‑‑ I don't know if it's distributed or can be put on the screen.
I'll leave the logistics to those in the room. But hopefully people will see it, in some way or another. Is that correct, Amrita?
>> CHAIR: We are trying to have it showcased on the screen right now. Can we have it? The financials? Just give us a moment, Nigel. And apologies, everyone. We're just trying to sort this out. By the time the statement is up, in case anyone has any questions, please feel free to raise your hand online or you can speak, if you want.
>> NIGEL HICKSON: It's difficult to pick out bits in the account, unless you have it in front of you. Let me give you a high‑level summary. So as you can see the IGFSA, as you can see from the report that Jennifer gave. Has been successfully funding a whole range of NRAs from youth IGFs to regional IGFs to national IGFs. This is our purpose. It's excellent we've had applications. A whole range of applications this year. I managed to allocate a considerable sort of sum of monies to these activities. Which is, of course, what it's all about.
In terms of the overall funding. Right. Excellent! Yeah. Thank you so much for that.
Let's go to the top. In terms of total assets, these are all shown in Swiss frans. We also have a dollar account, which we generally use. And the total assets this year, as you can see donated in Swiss francs. 106,000. So that's gone down from 132,000. Roughly 132,000 Swiss francs last year. Now I'll come back to that. Clearly, this is of concern.
If you go down a bit further to the statement of activities, and we just touch on the total revenues here. So the revenues made up of membership fees, which is, of course, a contribution. And contributions. And I think Jen has already mentioned we had contributions from the NRIs. Thank you so much for that. We had con try bruises from Ican. And contribution from [?] so we're grateful for those. I'll come back to that again in terms of further contributions needed.
If we go down, under the "total revenues." You'll see the total expenses, which is ‑‑ sorry. If we could go on just a bit. I just wanted to... can we go back up? Thank you very much.
So under "activities" total revenues. So contributions to the trust fund, contribution to regional IGFs and national IGFs. I wanted to highlight that. That's the crux of our business, so to speak. To ensure that we're able to put out those activities.
And then if we go down a bit further on total expenses. Thank you so much. Total expenses, the total expenses were 57,000, as you can see.
Okay. So those are the, I think, are the primary figures that we have spoken about here. There is a projection for next year's expenditure, which Jennifer mentioned. Which is in the annual report. That projection bases current funding levels would be $19,000 U.S. But given the similarity of the dollar rate and the Swiss franc rate we are talking about a significant, if you like, decline in our funding levels. Or in our assets levels. We were at 106,000 Swiss francs. If we were to spend $90,000 next year, we would, our assets would be considerably deplanished. We are looking for further funding sources next year. We're thankful to the [?] continuing to fund us. We can't rely on those institutions alone. So that's why we're looking further for funding.
But I mean, the positive thing is that we're able to fund the really valuable activities of the NRIs. So we'll make sure that we continue to have the assets, one way or another, to be able to continue to fund the activities of the NRIs. Because their contribution to the overall IGF is so significant. As was mentioned earlier.
So I think I'll stop there. I'd like to thank Michael, of course. Who assembles ‑‑ who helps with our financial needs. In Geneva and works with me in approving all of the payments, et. cetera.
So I'll stop there. But happy to answer any questions.
>> CHAIR: Thank you, Nigel. Can we have it on the screen, please. The projected budget for 2025.
In case there are any questions for Nigel, please raise your hand in the Zoom room. Can we see the Zoom room participants? And anyone in the room, if you have any questions. Yes?
>> AUDIENCE: There is a Zoom room question from Joly. Have ICANN indicated they'll repeat contribution?
>> NIGEL HICKSON: I'm not sure if ICANN is in the room.
>> CHAIR: I don't know if Adam is in a position to answer. But Joly will have to ask ICANN. They haven't said no. They have not given any indications to say no. But Adam is trying to respond to it.
>> AUDIENCE: Thank you. I can't answer at the moment, Joly. I can tell you, we give significantly to the global IGF fund. I'm looking at a list here, we support last year seven or eight youth IGFs, all the regional IGFs, and about 25 other national and regional IGFs through the engagement activities. This includes people, resources, money, and support. I'm sorry I can't answer the specific question, but I think we are supporters of the IGF. Thank you.
>> CHAIR: Thank you. Vint.
>> VINT CERF: Thank you for the report.
>> CHAIR: Can you unmute, vint.
>> VINT CERF: I am, theoretically unmuted.
>> CHAIR: Can you unmute?
>> VINT CERF: I am unmuted. Are you not able to hear me?
Okay. Nigel can hear me. Can anyone else hear me? I'm not getting confirmation from the room that they can hear me.
>> CHAIR: Sorry, Vint. We can't hear you. Can we hear him? No.
>> VINT CERF: If you can't hear me, I'll enter something in the chat. How is that?
Apparently people on the Zoom can hear me, but no one else.
>> CHAIR: We can hear you now.
>> VINT CERF: All right. I want to emphasize the importance of support for the NRIs and the youth activities. This is the one thing that is very unique about IGF. In addition to the annual meetings. And as you know, we are under scrutiny during the World Summit on the Information Society Plus 20 coming up next year and our existences in question. I will argue that the support for the regional and national activities, and the youth activities, are very, very important to justifying our existence, in addition to the annual meeting.
So I want to encourage IGFSA to continue its support for those activities.
>> CHAIR: Thank you so much, Vint. All of you have seen the projected budget for 2025. If it is okay with all, could we adopt it? And I see Nigel's hand raised. By the time you think about it. Over to you.
>> NIGEL HICKSON: Yes. Thank you very much for your comments, Vint. It's remiss of me [?] have been a major funder of the IGFSA over the years. And your contributions in recent years have really put us on a standing where we could support these NRI activities. We could support various transcription services, which we provide for various IGF meetings.
So it really has been very valuable. We are looking for, obviously, to sustain our funding so we can go on and fund these activities, which are just so great to see! Thank you.
>> CHAIR: Can we come back to the annual plan for 2025. If no one has any objections, can we approve it. Can we see the sheet.
I don't see any objection, though it is not up on the screen, at this point in time. We can consider it adopted. Thank you so much.
And the next agenda item would be fundraising. So this year fundraising, as was already mentioned by Nigel is something that is crucial for us. Especially to get more funding. And we have at the ICANN meetings, we have been meeting the various [?] DNSO and other places for funding. But, at this point of time, it has not increased our membership.
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Perhaps we'll be able to look at it in a different way or go to the CCTLEs. Others who are financially stronger or believe in the multistakeholder model and want to help the IGF sustain. If you have seen even this year, IGF has not been able to support many of the NRIs. It was the IGF Support Association, which did it more. So in case you know people we can reach out to in terms of membership, in terms of who can fund, you know, even provide some amount of funds. That would be helpful.
And another thing, I think we need to look at is the members who have not ‑‑ who are not active. Meaning who have not paid their annual membership. Perhaps we need to relook and re get in touch with them to at least pay the membership. It may not be something significant, but I think that's something we need to work on. I hope I'm audible in Zoom room. If anyone has any ideas who we can reach out to. It's volunteer‑based organization. That would be helpful. And I think Vint has his hand up. Can we have him on the screen?
>> VINT CERF: I'm just noticing that the membership dues for organizations, I wonder if we shouldn't increase it to $1,000 or even $5,000 in order to generate more significant revenue from organizations that can afford it.
>> CHAIR: That's a great idea. That we can have categories of membership. If they're smaller, like, for example, idea to reach out to Civil Society Organizations and ask them to be members. We have a member from Digital Empowerment Foundation and Leah GDP who have pledged to be members. And thank you for both of you to come. And we want more Civil Society members also coming in. And we can have larger companies who can... who have bigger, deeper pockets to invest more. That's a good idea.
Anyone else has ideas with, feel free to share. Over to you.
>> AUDIENCE: Just to add to that one one category‑based contribution.
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Category‑based contribution. Even up to the level of associate and individual members, Civil Society, corporate, corporate of different sizes, also. And the other thing is that there can be a campaign by the members themselves. I have become a member and invite some friends to become members. You know, it's not too much that the basic membership. But I also feel that make it more citizens‑oriented, also. So invite individuals to become members.
>> CHAIR: So you want to share some ideas.
>> AUDIENCE: Hi, everyone. Andrea. I think one of the issues to explore, and I would like your feedback on this.
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Very close. Is that better? I have to hold it. Oh, it's a mechanical issue!
I like mechanical problems. And we discussed within the executive ‑‑ if any executive committee asking recipient NRIs to become members. And I'd like your feedback on that. Whether you think it would be inappropriate or is that a legitimate request that we invite those NRIs and youth initiatives that receive grants from IGFSA to also become a member. There might be a challenge because not all of them have a legal identity, but I would like your feedback on that suggestion.
>> AUDIENCE: Might be one interesting proposal. Local, for example, from Nepal, any wish to contribute. If that contribution goes to the participants from Nepal, then that could be an encouraging factor for local organizing. From Nepal, I contribute. And if that was to some other participant from other countries that might be a good interest. Or if we develop... that would be interesting. Thank you.
>> CHAIR: Thank you.
>> AUDIENCE: Okay. Thank you so much.
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I think when I look at what the IGF is saying, I think it makes sense for it to be a membership‑based organization. And there should be, perhaps, different tiers of memberships. Some members are able to afford to pay more than other members. I think $100 adequate. And some organizations have greater capacity. I think everyone needs to be [?]
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If you're receiving something in kind from IGFSA you should be a part of the network. I also would... I was on the steering committee of the foundation initiative that was trying to build the network of Public Interest Technologies. And we were thinking through
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So just maybe doing the activity another time, as well. Thinking through other ways of supporting this work, which may include seeking grants from different organizations. It may include dues. There could be other business models that are out there that may be able to raise additional funds. I agree, it's important work. We need to find a way to greatly grow the budget.
>> CHAIR: Thank you. I'll pass it to Adam. I see a five‑minute alert given. We started late.
>> AUDIENCE: Thank you. I must go to another workshop. You've seen how the workshops have been. I wanted to say we have staff who are responsible for most countries and regions in the world. So please use [?] if you need to. If people are starting IGFs or have IGFs who would like extra resources. I don't mean money necessarily. But I mean people who have been involved in outreach and engagement and know all the issues. Then I'm sure that global stakeholder engagement staff would be very helpful to help in any way we can. And Mister Mondin is a point of contact. And I could be, as well. Thank you for all of your support, Jennifer.
>> CHAIR: You have to be here for the group photo. You can run. We ask you to put in your idea. Think about it and share it with us. We need your support, without it we would not be able to do.
I think the next section is where I cannot speak. Over to you, Jennifer.
>> JENNIFER CHUN: Thank you. Just to really quick reminder, because I want to save more time for the open discussion. Perfect. One last day for all the active members to use their ballots. The last report I got from our webmaster is we only have 68% of the ballots returned. You know who you are, if you're not sure, come to me after. Ask me. And user ballots, definitely participate in the vote!
We want to return our executive committee members to the council. Sorry, not council. The committee. And to the next slide, please.
And this I will hand back to Amrita.
>> CHAIR: So as a mandate of the Swiss government, we ask you to release the Executive Committee members of obligations. Seeing no objections, I think it's taken. We had a discussion that perhaps we should do a quarterly or at least a meeting of the members. Because it is so disconnected, most of the time. In case that works with you all. That would be good. If there is a thumbs up, that would also help in the Zoom room. That you would support a quarterly call of the IGF Support Association community.
Seeing none. I guess it is something we can work with. Is there any other thing anyone wants to share? If not, thank you so much. And can we have all the Zoom participants online. We'll take a group photograph. We'll take a group photograph. Thank you so much! Thank you!