By Brian Huseman, Senior Policy Counsel for Intel
This week, Intel is participating in the Sixth Annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF), held in Nairobi, Kenya. Since its inauguration in 2006, IGF has provided a unique opportunity to exchange views and best practices on a wide variety of important policy issues that affect the continued development of the Internet. The strength of the multistakeholder IGF model is that it brings together governments, business, the Internet technical community, civil society, and international and intergovernmental representatives with all participants on an equal footing. This is a unique global policy forum and opportunity for multistakeholder dialogue.
This year’s IGF covers a broad array of topics – from how best to protect privacy and provide for security to how policy should deal with the growth of cloud computing to how the growth of the mobile Internet can help developing economies. We also have heard from officials such as Larry Strickling, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the U.S. Department of Commerce and Neelie Kroes, Digital Agenda Commissioner for the European Commission, among many others. Intel is a global company whose business depends upon adoption and use of new forms of technology along the computing continuum. Internet governance is an importance part of furthering the growth of the computing continuum, and we are pleased that there is such a broad spectrum of participation and a rich substantive discussion at IGF. For more information on the latest developments and panels at this IGF, you can search for the Twitter hashtags #IGF or #IGF2011.