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For the French version of the below draft statement, please click here.

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ALAC Statement on the eG8 Forum -- VERSION 2

Not anonymous, from Christopher and Cintra:

Introduction

The At Large is the ICANN community representing end users, other than the commercial or technical communities. ICANN works on the basis of a multi-stakeholder environment and a bottom-up decision making process.

The At Large community elects the At Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) which has been an essential driving force, maintaining openness, ensuring accountability and transparency in ICANN's role in the naming and addressing of the Internet.

The eG8 Forum

The At Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) takes note of the objectives of the Presidency of the Group of Eight (G8, French presidency) regarding the development of the Internet through the eG8 Forum, Paris, 23-24 May 2011

We support some aspects of this initiative and wish to record our strong reservations regarding other aspects, notably the partial and biassed participation in this event.

ALAC supports the G8 objectives to:

- Improve everyone's access to the Internet;

- Enable everyone to participate in global networks and promote respect for freedom of expression and opinion;

- Improve security of the Internet and protection of individuals;

- Recommend examination of the Internet's economic and technical challenges.

We also recognise that several Internet organisations including ICANN, W3C, IAB and the Internet Society have been invited to be present in the eG8 Forum and that the outcome of the eG8 Forum may be submitted to the G8 Summit.

However, we are surprised and concerned that G8 governments, who have already committed themselves, in the WSIS and elsewhere, to the development of Internet policy placing all Internet stakeholders on an equal footing, omitted to ensure that all stakeholders, including representatives of end users and civil society, such as the ICANN At Large community, among others, would be invited. On the contrary, we understand that participation has been in practice biassed strongly towards commercial interests through sponsorship requirements.

The G8 will only be able to comprehend and include the perspectives of all Internet stakeholders if Internet end users and consumers are effectively represented and able to participate in discussions such as the eG8 meeting next week.

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ALAC Statement on the eG8 Forum -- VERSION 1

At-Large is the component of end-users, not business nor technical community within ICANN’s multi-stakeholder environment. At-Large is represented by the ALAC, which has been essential in driving development of the Internet by maintaining openness and ensuring accountability and transparency.

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