Germany supports the Multistakeholder approach to Internet Governance. The German government has supported this concept at the 2016 summit meetings of the G 7 (May in Japan) and G 20 (September in China), at the WSIS 10+ and the OECD Ministerial Meeting (June 2016 in Cancun). Germany chairs the G 20 in 2017 and will host a G 20 ministerial meeting on the digital economy. A German diplomat chairs the 2016/2017 Group of Government Experts on Information and Communication Technology in the Field of International Security. Likewise, it was a German-Brazilian initiative which led to the renewed adoption of a UN resolution on the Right to Privacy in the Digital Age in the 3rd Committee in November 2016.
The German national IGF (IGF-D) takes place since 2008. In February 2016, a new Multistakeholder Steering Committee was established to professionalize the IGF-D. The Steering Committee has 26 members. It includes four representatives each from government, national parliament, business sector, technical and academic community as well as civil society, plus two representatives from a youth stakeholder group. The Steering Committee prepares the annual IGF-D but is also a platform for discussion of Internet Governance issues in Germany.
There is a number of non-governmental initiatives which were initiated or promoted by the German Internet Governance community, and which have contributed to the global Multistakeholder discussion on Internet Governance. A Multistakeholder joint paper on the IANA stewardship transition was co-authored by German experts and played a significant role in discussions at ICANN. Germany hosted EuroDIG in 2013. Since 2008, the European Summer School on Internet Governance (EURO-SSIG) takes place in Germany. Just recently experts drafted a "Charter for Fundamental Rights in the Digital Age" and sent it to the European Parliament to launch a discussion.
The Open Forum Germany will give an overview about the various activities of German stakeholders in their respective fields of expertise and competence and present best practices. There will be an opportunity for interactive discussion.
Speakers:
Introduction & Moderation: Prof. Wolfgang Kleinwächter, Member of the Steering Committee
The German IGF and its Multistakeholder Steering Committee Lorena Jaume-Palasì, Secretary of the Steering Committee
Business Community: Prof. Michael Rotert, Chair of Eco Thomas Grob, Deutsche Telekom
Technical Community: Jörg Schweiger, CEO of DENIC
Academic Community: Prof. Jeanette Hofmann, Humboldt Institut Internet & Society
Civil Society: Matthias Spielkamp, iRights
Youth: Isabel Skierka, Digital Society Institute
EURO-SSIG: Sandra Hoferichter, EURODIG
Government: Constanze Bürger, Federal Ministry of the Interior, Peter Stentzler, Federal Foreign Office
