Researchers from the Imagining the Internet Center conducted a video survey of Global Internet Governance Forum participants in Mexico in December, 2016, recording interviews with 125 people from nearly 50 nation-states and various stakeholder groups about the ongoing evolution of the Internet. Use the video viewer to see their responses. Click on the first video to begin a player that will cycle through all visible on this page or click on those you wish to view. To see additional videos, click on the numbers at the end of the video column to display additional videos – there are dozens more than you see here. The question on this page:
FUTURE IN A NUTSHELL: In just 1 to 10 words – describe the Internet’s future.
Among the respondents are leaders involved with the Association for Progressive Communications, the Council of Europe, ICC Basis, the IGF Multistakeholder Advisory Group, Internet Engineering Task Force, ICANN and the Internet Society and business and non-governmental organization leaders from dozens of global regions/countries.
Background:
Since 2006 the United Nations has facilitated global Internet Governance Forum meetings to encourage discussion of issues. IGF is one of the World Summit on the Information Society efforts toward sustainable development. The IGF does not exert any overt control over the Internet. Those tasks are taken on by many other global multistakeholder organizations, including the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), all of which consist of people who are continuing to evolve an open network on which more and more people can exchange a widening range of communications.
The Internet of 2016 is complex and becoming more chaotic. It is estimated that about 3.5 billion of the world’s more than 7.4 billion people have access to the Internet. The first billion was reached in 2005. The second billion in 2010. The third billion in 2014. In 1995 only about 1 percent of the world was connected.
As Internet accessibility, quality of service and responsivness becomes more and more vital to day-to-day actions, entrenched institutions and newly rising organizations are challenged to identify and navigate intertwined threats and opportunities.
Global politics and everyone’s social and economic futures are weighing heavily in the balance of the decision-making of the multistakeholder organizations that have influence over the future evolution of the Internet.
Many additional global organizations are continually working to assess how their involvement might move the future forward in concert with the technical organizations for positive change, thus the Global Internet Governance Forum is at a turning point in its own evolution in 2016.
Interview participants in some aspect of the 2016 Global IGF Video Survey include the following:
Vint Cerf, vice president and chief Internet evangelist, Google, United States; Wolfgang Kleinwächter, former ICANN Board Member, Denmark; Mary Uduma, president of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA); Jutta Croll, managing director, Center for Child Protection on the Internet, Germany; Gregory Shannon, chief scientist, Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, United States; Talant Sultanov, vice president of finance, American University of Central Asia, Kyrgyz Republic; Nalaka Gunawardene, media and communications consultant, Sri Lanka; Jeremy Malcolm, senior global policy analyst, Electronic Frontier Foundation, United States;
Arsene Tungali Baguma, CEO Rudi International, Democratic Republic of Congo; Farzaneh Badii, research associate, Internet Governance Project at Georgia Institute of Technology, Iran; Hanzhuo Zhang, representative, The B.I. Group, China; Marie Verdura, Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara; Jane Coffin, director, development strategy for the Internet Society, United States; John Dada, volunteer CEO, Fantsuam Foundation, Nigeria; Finn Petersen, director of international ICT relations, Danish Business Authority, Denmark; Pedro Veiga, chairman, Portuguese Chapter of Internet Society; John Klensin, principal, John C Klensin & Associates, United States;
Rafik Dammak, computer engineer, NTT Communications, Tunisia; Masibulele Jay Siya, department of computer science, University of the Western Cape, South Africa; Xianhong Hu, assistant program specialist, UNESCO, France; Avri Doria, principal researcher, Technicalities, United States; Vinicius Wagner Oliveira Santos, technical adviser, CGI, Brazil; Sumon Ahmed Sabir, chief techonology officer, Fiber at Home, Bangladesh; Juan Jose de Leon Torres, director of innovation technologies, administrator of Red Global Digital, Mexico; Sylvia Saucedo, personal secretary to the ambassador, Embassy of Bangladesh, Mexico;
Tunde Akanni, lecturer, Lagos State University (Nigeria); Ahmad Rimlawi, internal audit director, Republic of Lebanon; Sabrina Abualhaiga, Youth IGF, France; Keene Jensen Romano, student, China; Josiah Rai, student, China; Ashna Kalemara, programmes associate, CIPESCA (Collaboration of International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa), Uganda; Ocean Cutler, student, China; Oliver Cheung, student, China;
Nigel Hickson, vice president for UN and IGO engagement for ICANN in Geneva, United Kingdom; James Ting-Edwards, issues advisor, InternetNZ, New Zealand; Bryan Nunez, technology and human rights program officer, Open Society Foundation, United States; Henri Christin Longendja, executive secretary, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Daniel Sepulveda, ambassador U.S. State Department, international communications and information policy; Romain Laugier, intern, Open Diplomacy Institute, Colombia Center for Sustainable Investment; Miguel Ignacio Estrada, director, 1977 digital, Argentina; Nelson Orduz, developer, Colombia;
Michael R. Nelson, public policy expert, CloudFlare, Inc., United States; Ibrahim M.J. AlDabal, general coordinator, Khalifa Empowerment Program, United Arab Emirates; Soria Souza, professor and researcher, Senac University, Brazil; Margaret Bernard, faculty of science and technology, The University of The West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago; Stefano Trumpy, president, ISOC-Italy chapter; Nicolás Echániz, president, AlterMundi, Argentina; Gabriel Flores Vázquez, secretary of innovation, science and technology, Jalisco state government, Mexico; Bob Frankston, Frankston Innovating, United States;
Thomas Whitehead, director, U.S. Government Affairs for BT; Krishna Kumar Rajamannar, master of public policy candidate, Hertie School of Governance, India; Yuza Setiawan, ISOC/IGF ambassador, Indonesia; Erin Hutchison, content marketing and media specialist, Canadian Internet Registration Authority; Dustin Phillips, co-executive director, ICANN/Wiki, United States; David Giles, Web and social media manager, The Salvation Army, United Kingdom; Cindyneia Cantanhede, Youth at IGF, Federal University of Maranhão, Brazil; Francisco Brito-Cruz, director, Internet Lab, Brazil; Victor Veloso, Youth at IGF, University of São Paolo, Brazil;
Izumi Okutani, policy liaison, Japan Network Information Center (JPNIC); Nomsa Mlambo, Youth at IGF, Zimbabwe; Lebogang Mpofu, Women’s Net, South Africa; Kgopotso Pearl Sekwati, Women’s Net, South Africa; Christopher Painter, cyber issues coordinator, Office of the Secretary, U.S. State Department; Walid Al-Saqaf, member, Board of Trustees of Internet Society, Sweden; Bobby Bedi, producer, Federation of International Film Producers, India; Syed Ismail Shah, chairman, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority;
Kouame Phillipe, technical advisory, Ivory Coast; Efrén Quijano, senior account manager, KIO Networks, Mexico; Megan Richards, directorate-general, Communications Networks, Belgium; Ian Fish, BCS Security Community of Expertise, United Kingdom; Wais Payab, ambassador, ISOC, Afghanistan; Emmanuel Agbenonwossi, IGF ambassador- Ghanaweb, Togo; Maiko Nakagaki, program officer, Center for International Private Enterprise, United States; Ildeu Borges, National Syndicate of Telephone Business and Mobile and Personal Cellular Service, Brazil; Valentina Hvale Pellizzer, president, One World Platform, Bosnia;
Gloria Correa, Youth IGF fellow, Panama; James Wamathai, director, Bloggers Association of Kenya, Kenya; Henrique Faulhaber, board member, Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, Brazil; Frederico Links, representative, ACTION, Nambia; Zhang Yi, engineer, Chinese Government; Veronica Arroyo, youth at IGF, Peru; Bazlur Rahman, CEO, Bangladesh NGO’s Network for Radio and Communications;
Sahaj Man Shrestha, executive board member, Freedom Forum, Nepal; Luigi Gambardella, founder and president, ChinaEU Association for Digital, Italy; Tunde Akanni, lecturer, Lagos State University, Nigeria; Peter Madavhu, .ZADNA, South Africa; Gayatri Khandhadai, Association for Progressive Communications, India; Isadora Hellengren, researcher, McGill University, Canada; Marsali Hancock, commissioner, Global Information Infrastructure Commission, United States; Mignon Clyburn, commissioner, Federal Communications Commission, United States; Jimson Olufuye, CEO, Kontemporary Konsulting, Nigeria; Arda Gerkens, president, International Association of Internet Hotlines, Netherlands; Leon Sanchez, ICANN, Mexico;
Marina Sanchez Calvo, president, Technology Education Institute, Mexico; Mei Lin Fung, co-founder, People-Centered Internet, United States; Garland McCoy, president, Technology Education Institute, United States; Andrew To’imoana, director for information technology and Tonga National CERT, Government of Tonga; Manu Bhardwaj, senior political advisor for technology and Internet policy, Office of the Undersecretary of State, United States; Nilmini Rubin, vice president, Tetra Tech, United States; Toby Mendel, executive director, Center for Law and Democracy, Canada;
Lousewives van der Lean, member of board of directors, ICANN; Michael Oghia, consuntant and editor #NETGOV, Serbia; Rhea Yaw Ching, executive director, Covela, Mexico; Adriana Labardini Inzunza, commissioner, Federal Institute of Telecommunications, India; Latha Reddy, former deputy national security adviser of India; Ephraim Kenyanito, Youth Multistakeholder Advisory Group member for IGF and Sub-Saharan Africa policy analyst for Access Now, Kenya; Joseph Alhadeff, vice president for global public policy and chief policy strategist, Oracle, United States; Adeboye Adegoke, program manager, ICT Policy, Nigeria;
Andrew Sullivan, chair of the Internet Architecture Board, United States; Tae Eun Kim, associate fellow, department of International Cooperation Research, KISDI, South Korea; Kathryn Montgomery, professor, American University, United States; Markus Kummer, member of the board of directors, ICANN, Switzerland; Kenneth Adu-Amanfoh, deputy director of the information technology division, National Communications Authority, Ghana; Jacqueline Park, director of Asia-Pacific Region, International Federation of Journalists, Australia; Cheryl Miller, director, international public policy and regulatory affairs, Verizon, United States;
Benita Izemengia, project manager, Journaliste En Danger, Democratic Republic of Congo; Wahab Sadaat, deputy minister, Ministry of Communications, Afghanistan; Evelyn Namara, Youth Ambassador, Internet Society, Uganda; Abubakar Karsan Msabila, executive director, Union of Tanzania Press Clubs; Shabana Mansoory, president and co-founder, TechWomen Afghanistan; Mohammad Qasim Nasimee, telecom quality of service manager, ATRA, Afghanistan;
Alejandro Pisanty, professor, National University of Mexico and chair of Internet Society of Mexico; Mauricio Hernandez, PDP attorney, Bufete Soni, Mexico; Judith Hellerstein, founder and CEO, Hellerstein & Associates, United States; Christopher Yoo, professor of law, communication and computer and information science, University of Pennsylvania, United States; Kanaan Ngutu, Youth IGF Fellow and ICT officer for Ministry of Information, Communication, Transport and Tourism, Republic of Kiribati.
– Global Internet Governance Forum 2016 video interviews were conducted by Elizabeth Bilka, Ashley Bohle, Melissa Douglas, Maya Eaglin, Alex Hager, Caroline Hartshorn, Paul LeBlanc, Kailey Tracy and Anna Zwingelberg, undergraduate researchers from Elon University’s School of Communications, under the supervision of Vanessa Bravo, Aaron Moger and Janna Anderson of the Imagining the Internet Center.