Open Forum at Vilnius 2010

Commonwealth Internet Governance Forum Open Session: Commonwealth Proposals on Child Safety on the Internet

Room 7, Lithuanian Exhibition and Convention Centre LITEXPO, Thursday 16 September 2010, 09:00 – 11:00

The Commonwealth Internet Governance Forum seeks to encourage greater participation from Commonwealth member states on public policy issues and discussions relating to Internet Governance, with a view to enabling informed decisions in their national jurisdictions as well as the pooling of good practice to address their needs more effectively.

The programme for the open session this year takes a closer look at the issue of Child Safety on the Internet, was identified as one of the primary concerns for developing Commonwealth countries.

The reports from the different regions will be followed by the presentation of a Toolkit for the Commonwealth on Child Safety on the Internet which draws on best practice and provides the basis for the implementation of national programmes in Commonwealth countries.

Programme

Welcome and a Brief outline of Commonwealth IGF activities
Joseph V. Tabone, Chairman of the Commonwealth Internet Governance Forum, &
Mark Carvell, UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)

Reports on Child Safety from National/Regional IGFs within the Commonwealth

–    East African IGF РAlice Munyua, Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet)
–    West African IGF РFreda Ruth Murray-Bruce, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
–    Caribbean IGF РBernadette Lewis, Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU)
–    Asia Pacific Regional IGF РProf. Ang Peng Hwa, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Commonwealth Initiative in Online Child Safety
Session Chair
Rt Hon Alun Michael, MP, Chair, UK Parliamentary IT Committee (PITCOM) and Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA)
Online Child Protection Report by John Carr, Secretary Children’s Charities’ Coalition on Internet Safety and  European NGO Alliance for Child Safety Online in association with ICMEC (International Center for Missing and Exploited Children)

Model Legislation
–    South Africa –Malusi Gigaba, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs of South Africa
–    Australia – Brenton Thomas, Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

Open Discussion
Workplan for the Commonwealth IGF in 2011
Joseph V. Tabone, Chairman of the Commonwealth Internet Governance Forum