Forum Francophonie
International forum for francophone stakeholders of the governance of Internet
ISOC Québec initiated the organization of the first international meeting of francophone associations of the Internet Society (ISOC) held in June 2002 in Montreal, which brought together some fifty experts and delegates mostly from African and French-speaking countries around the theme “Internet for Everyone: Languages, Cultures and Citizenship”. The meeting, which was organized in collaboration with theInstitut des nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la formation (INTIF), a subsidiary organ of the Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie (now the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie), aimed at developing a common position of francophone actors of the governance of Internet, while contributing to the debate on cultural diversity before the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2003 in Geneva and in 2005 in Tunis.
Today, 15 years after this first meeting, ISOC Québec wishes to renew this initiative through the Forum Francophonie project, but this time with a view to structuring, facilitating and sustaining a place that promotes dialogue and exchange of good practices between francophone actors involved in the governance of Internet, and in particular the national chapters of ISOC which share common visions and values, and which face similar issues related to the representation and expression of cultural and linguistic diversity along with the positioning of francophone actors within the global ecosystem of the governance of Internet.
Through this project, ISOC Québec aims to act as a non-partisan and trustworthy facilitator, able to bring together different stakeholders (governments, private and industrial actors, civil society) in order to draw up an inventory, to anticipate emerging opportunities, and to resolve complex challenges and problems related to the governance of Internet within the French-speaking space.
A 4-Point Project
1
Organize a biennial international Forum on Governance of francophone Internet (FGI), bringing together all ISOC francophone chapters for constructive dialogue and collaborative intelligence around the challenges related to the evolution, development and governance of the Internet within francophone countries.
2
Raise awareness of francophone stakeholders to the new challenges of Internet governance while facilitating the exchange of information and good practices with a view to strengthening and increasing the involvement of ISOC’s francophone chapters, in particular those of developing countries, in existing and/or future Internet governance mechanisms.
3
Mobilize and pool the resources and skills of the various stakeholders of the francophone network in order to work to reduce the digital gap through joint projects of digital solidarity, aimed at widening access to the Internet and to strengthen the technical capacities of the actors of the South with regard to Internet governance.
4
Make recommendations to ISOC, ICANN and other international organizations involved in the development of basic Internet infrastructure and resources to increase their attention and address specific issues related to the access, free use and evolution of an Internet open, neutral and decentralized at the level of francophone countries.