Open for Review & Endorsement – Joint Letter on Operationalising WSIS+20 Modalities
Dear all As the WSIS+20 process advances, an informal group of WSIS stakeholders from civil society, technical community, and the private sector, has developed a 5-point document outlining key recommendations to operationalize WSIS modalities. The aim is to use this in our advocacy to strengthen multistakeholder engagement and ensure that the process is inclusive and impactful. To maximize its reach and influence, we are seeking your review and feedback and inviting you to consider signing on as a supporter. While we welcome input, we intend to retain the current structure and length of the letter to ensure clarity and focus. You can review the draft letter here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH... We kindly ask for your comments and expressions of support by COB Friday, 14 March 2025. After this deadline, we will seek to finalize the letter and share it with relevant audiences, including key decision-makers involved in the WSIS+20 process. Please also feel free to circulate this to other stakeholders who may be interested in endorsing it. A broad and diverse list of signatories will be crucial in reinforcing this message. Please let us know if you have any questions. Best regards, Jordan
*[apologies for cross-posting]* Hi everyone, Following up on Jordan’s message (thank you, Jordan, for sharing this initiative with the community), I want to extend my gratitude to all who have provided valuable feedback and to those who have already endorsed the document. A few of us have worked to consolidate the input received, and you can find the revised version [here <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...>]. Below my signature, you’ll find an overview of the key changes. *Next steps:* - The letter is now open for endorsement until *Monday, 24 March*. - *Publication is planned for Wednesday, 26 March, at noon UTC.* - At this stage, we are seeking *endorsements rather than further edits*. Any support in gathering endorsements by 24 March would be greatly appreciated. - After the endorsement period closes, we will circulate the final version with the full list of endorsers, which can then be shared publicly. The goal of this document remains to provide *concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations* to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. It is intended for key stakeholders responsible for operationalizing the modalities resolution, including the *co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, and staff at UN DESA*, who serve as the acting Secretariat. A tailored cover note will accompany the document to ensure clarity for different audiences. Thank you once again for your contributions—your insights have been invaluable. I believe we now have a strong and practical document that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, and the PGA at this critical stage of WSIS+20. Best wishes, Lea --- *Summary of Key Changes Based on Community Input Received March 12-15* *Level of Detail* - To keep the document concise and practical for the intended audience we did not include some detailed suggestions including explaining the importance of principles of multistakeholderism, proposing pre-review workshops on WSIS, and a list of different forums that stakeholders should be included from. - We did not include the suggestion for stakeholders to be given speaking opportunities at the High-Level Meeting (HLM) as this is already covered in the draft WSIS+20 modalities resolution (expected to be adopted on 25th March). - We opted not to include a suggestion to set up a MS oversight mechanism to implement these modalities (this was suggested both in the doc and separately on a few channels) as it was not feasible to ascertain community support for this proposal in such a short timeframe - *we encourage this is explored further, potentially via this list or the IGF MAG* *Transparency & Accountability* - We renamed the section from “Transparency and Accessibility” to “Transparency and Accountability” to better separate comments about improving accessibility and comments on improving accountability and to allow for more detailed discussion of accessibility in 3 incorporating some of the suggestions made. - Comments including a request to ‘listen’ to intergovernmental negotiations, have reports on discussions, to improve accountability are already reflected in 2. - We reinforced the request for live-streaming intergovernmental negotiations by citing a precedent: the UN Convention on Cybercrime (UNCC), which has done this before. *Consultation Processes* - The aim is to suggest that consultations must happen throughout the process in a manner which supports equal participation virtually and in-person at different forums - there were several suggested edits we tried to address or felt were already reflected. - We clarified that timelines for consultations should be updated in good time to allow for meaningful stakeholder input. - 3a was updated to explicitly state that governments and other stakeholder groups should have equal participation rules, including for submission procedures, to clarify language. - The document now states that co-facilitators and DESA should encourage national-level consultations and leverage existing events for consultations to respond to a couple of comments. *Inclusion & Accessibility* - We moved all accessibility-related recommendations into one section (Section 4) to consolidate points about: - Time zones – ensuring scheduling accounts for non-working days in different regions. - Digital formats – allowing low-bandwidth options for participation. - Languages – making key documents available in UN languages. - We did not include some very specific suggestions on improving accessibility (such as holding pre-review educational workshops) to keep the document practical and focused on the current timeframe. - We aimed to make it clear that this is not a comprehensive list of ways to improve accessibility. *Accreditation* - Instead of listing multiple past forums, we chose to say that the WSIS+20 should build on the WSIS+10 accreditation process, which took into account ECOSOC accredited organisations and participation in previous WSIS events as part of its eligibility criteria. - To further broaden the group of eligible stakeholders, we’ve recommended including participation in the IGF as part of the accreditation criteria, as the most inclusive reference point for accreditation. --- On Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 5:29 PM Jordan Carter via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
Dear all
As the WSIS+20 process advances, an informal group of WSIS stakeholders from civil society, technical community, and the private sector, has developed a 5-point document outlining key recommendations to operationalize WSIS modalities. The aim is to use this in our advocacy to strengthen multistakeholder engagement and ensure that the process is inclusive and impactful.
To maximize its reach and influence, we are seeking your review and feedback and inviting you to consider signing on as a supporter. While we welcome input, we intend to retain the current structure and length of the letter to ensure clarity and focus.
You can review the draft letter here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...
*We kindly ask for your comments and expressions of support by COB Friday, 14 March 2025.*
After this deadline, we will seek to finalize the letter and share it with relevant audiences, including key decision-makers involved in the WSIS+20 process.
*Please also feel free to circulate this to other stakeholders who may be interested in endorsing it.*
A broad and diverse list of signatories will be crucial in reinforcing this message. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Jordan
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
*[apologies for cross-posting]* Hi everyone, Sincerest thanks to all those who have provided valuable feedback and endorsed the joint open letter. The embargo has now been lifted and we have published the open letter on GPD’s website. It is available here <https://www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/> . We are delighted to share that the letter has 147 endorsements in total (101 organisational endorsements and 46 individual endorsements) from across civil society, the technical community, academia and industry. Our effort is perfectly timed as the WSIS+20 modalities resolution <https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/ltd/n25/066/55/pdf/n2506655.pdf> was formally adopted yesterday without a vote at UNGA <https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k19/k19ef2qtd3>. Please find the final version of the letter on GPD’s website <https://www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/> and in the attached PDF document. We warmly encourage you to publish the open letter on your individual websites, social media accounts and to disseminate it widely to relevant actors. We will be circulating the open letter to the WSIS co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, staff at UN DESA, and UN member states with a tailored covering note. We appreciate that some organisations or individuals may still wish to endorse the letter so we will keep this version <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...> of the letter open to further endorsements and will update the version on GPD’s website with any additional endorsements. As earlier noted, the goal of this document is to provide concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. We think our letter achieves this and provides strong and practical guidance that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, the PGA and member states at this critical stage of WSIS+20 stakeholder engagement in the process. Best wishes, Ellie On Tue, 18 Mar 2025 at 22:10, Lea Kaspar via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
*[apologies for cross-posting]*
Hi everyone,
Following up on Jordan’s message (thank you, Jordan, for sharing this initiative with the community), I want to extend my gratitude to all who have provided valuable feedback and to those who have already endorsed the document.
A few of us have worked to consolidate the input received, and you can find the revised version [here <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...>]. Below my signature, you’ll find an overview of the key changes.
*Next steps:*
- The letter is now open for endorsement until *Monday, 24 March*. - *Publication is planned for Wednesday, 26 March, at noon UTC.* - At this stage, we are seeking *endorsements rather than further edits*. Any support in gathering endorsements by 24 March would be greatly appreciated. - After the endorsement period closes, we will circulate the final version with the full list of endorsers, which can then be shared publicly.
The goal of this document remains to provide *concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations* to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. It is intended for key stakeholders responsible for operationalizing the modalities resolution, including the *co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, and staff at UN DESA*, who serve as the acting Secretariat. A tailored cover note will accompany the document to ensure clarity for different audiences.
Thank you once again for your contributions—your insights have been invaluable. I believe we now have a strong and practical document that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, and the PGA at this critical stage of WSIS+20.
Best wishes, Lea ---
*Summary of Key Changes Based on Community Input Received March 12-15*
*Level of Detail*
- To keep the document concise and practical for the intended audience we did not include some detailed suggestions including explaining the importance of principles of multistakeholderism, proposing pre-review workshops on WSIS, and a list of different forums that stakeholders should be included from. - We did not include the suggestion for stakeholders to be given speaking opportunities at the High-Level Meeting (HLM) as this is already covered in the draft WSIS+20 modalities resolution (expected to be adopted on 25th March). - We opted not to include a suggestion to set up a MS oversight mechanism to implement these modalities (this was suggested both in the doc and separately on a few channels) as it was not feasible to ascertain community support for this proposal in such a short timeframe - *we encourage this is explored further, potentially via this list or the IGF MAG*
*Transparency & Accountability*
- We renamed the section from “Transparency and Accessibility” to “Transparency and Accountability” to better separate comments about improving accessibility and comments on improving accountability and to allow for more detailed discussion of accessibility in 3 incorporating some of the suggestions made. - Comments including a request to ‘listen’ to intergovernmental negotiations, have reports on discussions, to improve accountability are already reflected in 2. - We reinforced the request for live-streaming intergovernmental negotiations by citing a precedent: the UN Convention on Cybercrime (UNCC), which has done this before.
*Consultation Processes*
- The aim is to suggest that consultations must happen throughout the process in a manner which supports equal participation virtually and in-person at different forums - there were several suggested edits we tried to address or felt were already reflected. - We clarified that timelines for consultations should be updated in good time to allow for meaningful stakeholder input. - 3a was updated to explicitly state that governments and other stakeholder groups should have equal participation rules, including for submission procedures, to clarify language. - The document now states that co-facilitators and DESA should encourage national-level consultations and leverage existing events for consultations to respond to a couple of comments.
*Inclusion & Accessibility*
- We moved all accessibility-related recommendations into one section (Section 4) to consolidate points about: - Time zones – ensuring scheduling accounts for non-working days in different regions. - Digital formats – allowing low-bandwidth options for participation. - Languages – making key documents available in UN languages. - We did not include some very specific suggestions on improving accessibility (such as holding pre-review educational workshops) to keep the document practical and focused on the current timeframe. - We aimed to make it clear that this is not a comprehensive list of ways to improve accessibility.
*Accreditation*
- Instead of listing multiple past forums, we chose to say that the WSIS+20 should build on the WSIS+10 accreditation process, which took into account ECOSOC accredited organisations and participation in previous WSIS events as part of its eligibility criteria. - To further broaden the group of eligible stakeholders, we’ve recommended including participation in the IGF as part of the accreditation criteria, as the most inclusive reference point for accreditation.
---
On Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 5:29 PM Jordan Carter via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
Dear all
As the WSIS+20 process advances, an informal group of WSIS stakeholders from civil society, technical community, and the private sector, has developed a 5-point document outlining key recommendations to operationalize WSIS modalities. The aim is to use this in our advocacy to strengthen multistakeholder engagement and ensure that the process is inclusive and impactful.
To maximize its reach and influence, we are seeking your review and feedback and inviting you to consider signing on as a supporter. While we welcome input, we intend to retain the current structure and length of the letter to ensure clarity and focus.
You can review the draft letter here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...
*We kindly ask for your comments and expressions of support by COB Friday, 14 March 2025.*
After this deadline, we will seek to finalize the letter and share it with relevant audiences, including key decision-makers involved in the WSIS+20 process.
*Please also feel free to circulate this to other stakeholders who may be interested in endorsing it.*
A broad and diverse list of signatories will be crucial in reinforcing this message. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Jordan
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
Thanks Ellie - is this Joint Letter endorsed by ICANN itself? Anne Anne Aikman-Scalese GNSO Councilor NomCom Non-Voting 2022-2026 anneicanngnso@gmail.com On Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 5:24 AM Ellie McDonald via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
*[apologies for cross-posting]*
Hi everyone,
Sincerest thanks to all those who have provided valuable feedback and endorsed the joint open letter. The embargo has now been lifted and we have published the open letter on GPD’s website. It is available here <https://www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/> .
We are delighted to share that the letter has 147 endorsements in total (101 organisational endorsements and 46 individual endorsements) from across civil society, the technical community, academia and industry. Our effort is perfectly timed as the WSIS+20 modalities resolution <https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/ltd/n25/066/55/pdf/n2506655.pdf> was formally adopted yesterday without a vote at UNGA <https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k19/k19ef2qtd3>.
Please find the final version of the letter on GPD’s website <https://www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/> and in the attached PDF document. We warmly encourage you to publish the open letter on your individual websites, social media accounts and to disseminate it widely to relevant actors. We will be circulating the open letter to the WSIS co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, staff at UN DESA, and UN member states with a tailored covering note.
We appreciate that some organisations or individuals may still wish to endorse the letter so we will keep this version <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...> of the letter open to further endorsements and will update the version on GPD’s website with any additional endorsements.
As earlier noted, the goal of this document is to provide concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. We think our letter achieves this and provides strong and practical guidance that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, the PGA and member states at this critical stage of WSIS+20 stakeholder engagement in the process.
Best wishes,
Ellie
On Tue, 18 Mar 2025 at 22:10, Lea Kaspar via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
*[apologies for cross-posting]*
Hi everyone,
Following up on Jordan’s message (thank you, Jordan, for sharing this initiative with the community), I want to extend my gratitude to all who have provided valuable feedback and to those who have already endorsed the document.
A few of us have worked to consolidate the input received, and you can find the revised version [here <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...>]. Below my signature, you’ll find an overview of the key changes.
*Next steps:*
- The letter is now open for endorsement until *Monday, 24 March*. - *Publication is planned for Wednesday, 26 March, at noon UTC.* - At this stage, we are seeking *endorsements rather than further edits*. Any support in gathering endorsements by 24 March would be greatly appreciated. - After the endorsement period closes, we will circulate the final version with the full list of endorsers, which can then be shared publicly.
The goal of this document remains to provide *concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations* to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. It is intended for key stakeholders responsible for operationalizing the modalities resolution, including the *co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, and staff at UN DESA*, who serve as the acting Secretariat. A tailored cover note will accompany the document to ensure clarity for different audiences.
Thank you once again for your contributions—your insights have been invaluable. I believe we now have a strong and practical document that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, and the PGA at this critical stage of WSIS+20.
Best wishes, Lea ---
*Summary of Key Changes Based on Community Input Received March 12-15*
*Level of Detail*
- To keep the document concise and practical for the intended audience we did not include some detailed suggestions including explaining the importance of principles of multistakeholderism, proposing pre-review workshops on WSIS, and a list of different forums that stakeholders should be included from. - We did not include the suggestion for stakeholders to be given speaking opportunities at the High-Level Meeting (HLM) as this is already covered in the draft WSIS+20 modalities resolution (expected to be adopted on 25th March). - We opted not to include a suggestion to set up a MS oversight mechanism to implement these modalities (this was suggested both in the doc and separately on a few channels) as it was not feasible to ascertain community support for this proposal in such a short timeframe - *we encourage this is explored further, potentially via this list or the IGF MAG*
*Transparency & Accountability*
- We renamed the section from “Transparency and Accessibility” to “Transparency and Accountability” to better separate comments about improving accessibility and comments on improving accountability and to allow for more detailed discussion of accessibility in 3 incorporating some of the suggestions made. - Comments including a request to ‘listen’ to intergovernmental negotiations, have reports on discussions, to improve accountability are already reflected in 2. - We reinforced the request for live-streaming intergovernmental negotiations by citing a precedent: the UN Convention on Cybercrime (UNCC), which has done this before.
*Consultation Processes*
- The aim is to suggest that consultations must happen throughout the process in a manner which supports equal participation virtually and in-person at different forums - there were several suggested edits we tried to address or felt were already reflected. - We clarified that timelines for consultations should be updated in good time to allow for meaningful stakeholder input. - 3a was updated to explicitly state that governments and other stakeholder groups should have equal participation rules, including for submission procedures, to clarify language. - The document now states that co-facilitators and DESA should encourage national-level consultations and leverage existing events for consultations to respond to a couple of comments.
*Inclusion & Accessibility*
- We moved all accessibility-related recommendations into one section (Section 4) to consolidate points about: - Time zones – ensuring scheduling accounts for non-working days in different regions. - Digital formats – allowing low-bandwidth options for participation. - Languages – making key documents available in UN languages. - We did not include some very specific suggestions on improving accessibility (such as holding pre-review educational workshops) to keep the document practical and focused on the current timeframe. - We aimed to make it clear that this is not a comprehensive list of ways to improve accessibility.
*Accreditation*
- Instead of listing multiple past forums, we chose to say that the WSIS+20 should build on the WSIS+10 accreditation process, which took into account ECOSOC accredited organisations and participation in previous WSIS events as part of its eligibility criteria. - To further broaden the group of eligible stakeholders, we’ve recommended including participation in the IGF as part of the accreditation criteria, as the most inclusive reference point for accreditation.
---
On Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 5:29 PM Jordan Carter via wsis20 < wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
Dear all
As the WSIS+20 process advances, an informal group of WSIS stakeholders from civil society, technical community, and the private sector, has developed a 5-point document outlining key recommendations to operationalize WSIS modalities. The aim is to use this in our advocacy to strengthen multistakeholder engagement and ensure that the process is inclusive and impactful.
To maximize its reach and influence, we are seeking your review and feedback and inviting you to consider signing on as a supporter. While we welcome input, we intend to retain the current structure and length of the letter to ensure clarity and focus.
You can review the draft letter here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...
*We kindly ask for your comments and expressions of support by COB Friday, 14 March 2025.*
After this deadline, we will seek to finalize the letter and share it with relevant audiences, including key decision-makers involved in the WSIS+20 process.
*Please also feel free to circulate this to other stakeholders who may be interested in endorsing it.*
A broad and diverse list of signatories will be crucial in reinforcing this message. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Jordan
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
Hi, Anne. To answer your question, no, it is not. Best, v/ From: WSIS20 Outreach Network <wsis20@icann.org> Reply-To: Anne ICANN <anneicanngnso@gmail.com> Date: Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at 09:07 To: Ellie McDonald <ellie@gp-digital.org> Cc: WSIS20 Outreach Network <wsis20@icann.org> Subject: [wsis20] Re: [Published] Joint Letter on Operationalising WSIS+20 Modalities Thanks Ellie - is this Joint Letter endorsed by ICANN itself? Anne Anne Aikman-Scalese GNSO Councilor NomCom Non-Voting 2022-2026 anneicanngnso@gmail.com On Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 5:24 AM Ellie McDonald via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote: [apologies for cross-posting] Hi everyone, Sincerest thanks to all those who have provided valuable feedback and endorsed the joint open letter. The embargo has now been lifted and we have published the open letter on GPD’s website. It is available here [gp-digital.org]. We are delighted to share that the letter has 147 endorsements in total (101 organisational endorsements and 46 individual endorsements) from across civil society, the technical community, academia and industry. Our effort is perfectly timed as the WSIS+20 modalities resolution [documents.un.org] was formally adopted yesterday without a vote at UNGA [webtv.un.org]. Please find the final version of the letter on GPD’s website [gp-digital.org] and in the attached PDF document. We warmly encourage you to publish the open letter on your individual websites, social media accounts and to disseminate it widely to relevant actors. We will be circulating the open letter to the WSIS co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, staff at UN DESA, and UN member states with a tailored covering note. We appreciate that some organisations or individuals may still wish to endorse the letter so we will keep this version [docs.google.com] of the letter open to further endorsements and will update the version on GPD’s website with any additional endorsements. As earlier noted, the goal of this document is to provide concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. We think our letter achieves this and provides strong and practical guidance that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, the PGA and member states at this critical stage of WSIS+20 stakeholder engagement in the process. Best wishes, Ellie On Tue, 18 Mar 2025 at 22:10, Lea Kaspar via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote: [apologies for cross-posting] Hi everyone, Following up on Jordan’s message (thank you, Jordan, for sharing this initiative with the community), I want to extend my gratitude to all who have provided valuable feedback and to those who have already endorsed the document. A few of us have worked to consolidate the input received, and you can find the revised version [here [docs.google.com]]. Below my signature, you’ll find an overview of the key changes. Next steps: The letter is now open for endorsement until Monday, 24 March. Publication is planned for Wednesday, 26 March, at noon UTC. At this stage, we are seeking endorsements rather than further edits. Any support in gathering endorsements by 24 March would be greatly appreciated. After the endorsement period closes, we will circulate the final version with the full list of endorsers, which can then be shared publicly. The goal of this document remains to provide concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. It is intended for key stakeholders responsible for operationalizing the modalities resolution, including the co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, and staff at UN DESA, who serve as the acting Secretariat. A tailored cover note will accompany the document to ensure clarity for different audiences. Thank you once again for your contributions—your insights have been invaluable. I believe we now have a strong and practical document that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, and the PGA at this critical stage of WSIS+20. Best wishes, Lea --- Summary of Key Changes Based on Community Input Received March 12-15 Level of Detail · To keep the document concise and practical for the intended audience we did not include some detailed suggestions including explaining the importance of principles of multistakeholderism, proposing pre-review workshops on WSIS, and a list of different forums that stakeholders should be included from. · We did not include the suggestion for stakeholders to be given speaking opportunities at the High-Level Meeting (HLM) as this is already covered in the draft WSIS+20 modalities resolution (expected to be adopted on 25th March). · We opted not to include a suggestion to set up a MS oversight mechanism to implement these modalities (this was suggested both in the doc and separately on a few channels) as it was not feasible to ascertain community support for this proposal in such a short timeframe - we encourage this is explored further, potentially via this list or the IGF MAG Transparency & Accountability · We renamed the section from “Transparency and Accessibility” to “Transparency and Accountability” to better separate comments about improving accessibility and comments on improving accountability and to allow for more detailed discussion of accessibility in 3 incorporating some of the suggestions made. · Comments including a request to ‘listen’ to intergovernmental negotiations, have reports on discussions, to improve accountability are already reflected in 2. · We reinforced the request for live-streaming intergovernmental negotiations by citing a precedent: the UN Convention on Cybercrime (UNCC), which has done this before. Consultation Processes · The aim is to suggest that consultations must happen throughout the process in a manner which supports equal participation virtually and in-person at different forums - there were several suggested edits we tried to address or felt were already reflected. · We clarified that timelines for consultations should be updated in good time to allow for meaningful stakeholder input. · 3a was updated to explicitly state that governments and other stakeholder groups should have equal participation rules, including for submission procedures, to clarify language. · The document now states that co-facilitators and DESA should encourage national-level consultations and leverage existing events for consultations to respond to a couple of comments. Inclusion & Accessibility · We moved all accessibility-related recommendations into one section (Section 4) to consolidate points about: o Time zones – ensuring scheduling accounts for non-working days in different regions. o Digital formats – allowing low-bandwidth options for participation. o Languages – making key documents available in UN languages. o We did not include some very specific suggestions on improving accessibility (such as holding pre-review educational workshops) to keep the document practical and focused on the current timeframe. o We aimed to make it clear that this is not a comprehensive list of ways to improve accessibility. Accreditation · Instead of listing multiple past forums, we chose to say that the WSIS+20 should build on the WSIS+10 accreditation process, which took into account ECOSOC accredited organisations and participation in previous WSIS events as part of its eligibility criteria. · To further broaden the group of eligible stakeholders, we’ve recommended including participation in the IGF as part of the accreditation criteria, as the most inclusive reference point for accreditation. --- On Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 5:29 PM Jordan Carter via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote: Dear all As the WSIS+20 process advances, an informal group of WSIS stakeholders from civil society, technical community, and the private sector, has developed a 5-point document outlining key recommendations to operationalize WSIS modalities. The aim is to use this in our advocacy to strengthen multistakeholder engagement and ensure that the process is inclusive and impactful. To maximize its reach and influence, we are seeking your review and feedback and inviting you to consider signing on as a supporter. While we welcome input, we intend to retain the current structure and length of the letter to ensure clarity and focus. You can review the draft letter here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH... [docs.google.com] We kindly ask for your comments and expressions of support by COB Friday, 14 March 2025. After this deadline, we will seek to finalize the letter and share it with relevant audiences, including key decision-makers involved in the WSIS+20 process. Please also feel free to circulate this to other stakeholders who may be interested in endorsing it. A broad and diverse list of signatories will be crucial in reinforcing this message. Please let us know if you have any questions. Best regards, Jordan _______________________________________________ Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20 [go.icann.org] Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/ _______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on. _______________________________________________ Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20 [go.icann.org] Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/ _______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on. _______________________________________________ Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20 [go.icann.org] Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/ _______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
Thanks Veni. I wonder whether the open letter might make a good agenda item for the SO/AC Discussion Group to review. There seem to be several good talking points incorporated in the letter which could be helpful to members of that DG without actually requiring ICANN itself to take a formal position on the letter. Anne Anne Aikman-Scalese GNSO Councilor NomCom Non-Voting 2022-2026 anneicanngnso@gmail.com On Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 7:41 AM Veni Markovski <veni.markovski@icann.org> wrote:
Hi, Anne. To answer your question, no, it is not.
Best,
v/
*From: *WSIS20 Outreach Network <wsis20@icann.org> *Reply-To: *Anne ICANN <anneicanngnso@gmail.com> *Date: *Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at 09:07 *To: *Ellie McDonald <ellie@gp-digital.org> *Cc: *WSIS20 Outreach Network <wsis20@icann.org> *Subject: *[wsis20] Re: [Published] Joint Letter on Operationalising WSIS+20 Modalities
Thanks Ellie - is this Joint Letter endorsed by ICANN itself?
Anne
Anne Aikman-Scalese
GNSO Councilor
NomCom Non-Voting 2022-2026
anneicanngnso@gmail.com
On Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 5:24 AM Ellie McDonald via wsis20 < wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
*[apologies for cross-posting]*
Hi everyone,
Sincerest thanks to all those who have provided valuable feedback and endorsed the joint open letter. *The embargo has now been lifted and we have published the open letter on GPD’s website. It is available **here* [gp-digital.org] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an...> *. *
We are delighted to share that the letter has 147 endorsements in total (101 organisational endorsements and 46 individual endorsements) from across civil society, the technical community, academia and industry. Our effort is perfectly timed as the WSIS+20 modalities resolution [documents.un.org] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/documents.un.org/doc/undoc/ltd/n25/066/55...> was formally adopted yesterday without a vote at UNGA [webtv.un.org] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/webtv.un.org/en/asset/k19/k19ef2qtd3__;!!...> .
*Please find the final version of the letter on **GPD’s website* [gp-digital.org] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/__;!!PtGJab4!6cnxhkAa28h1-1nqfPNz2JPPMpAAaOXQnb-HGERCOyWchTdonZR1N26StkZmCgj9eAnPzR75PMq_Ac1uRE8XOn2r$>* and in the attached PDF document.* We warmly encourage you to publish the open letter on your individual websites, social media accounts and to disseminate it widely to relevant actors. We will be circulating the open letter to the WSIS co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, staff at UN DESA, and UN member states with a tailored covering note.
We appreciate that some organisations or individuals may still wish to endorse the letter so *we will keep **this version* [docs.google.com] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRHago/edit?tab=t.0__;!!PtGJab4!6cnxhkAa28h1-1nqfPNz2JPPMpAAaOXQnb-HGERCOyWchTdonZR1N26StkZmCgj9eAnPzR75PMq_Ac1uRG4srVxG$>* of the letter open to further endorsements and will update the version on GPD’s website with any additional endorsements.*
As earlier noted, the goal of this document is to provide concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. We think our letter achieves this and provides strong and practical guidance that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, the PGA and member states at this critical stage of WSIS+20 stakeholder engagement in the process.
Best wishes,
Ellie
On Tue, 18 Mar 2025 at 22:10, Lea Kaspar via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
*[apologies for cross-posting]*
Hi everyone,
Following up on Jordan’s message (thank you, Jordan, for sharing this initiative with the community), I want to extend my gratitude to all who have provided valuable feedback and to those who have already endorsed the document.
A few of us have worked to consolidate the input received, and you can find the revised version [here [docs.google.com] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-...>]. Below my signature, you’ll find an overview of the key changes.
*Next steps:*
- The letter is now open for endorsement until *Monday, 24 March*. - *Publication is planned for Wednesday, 26 March, at noon UTC.* - At this stage, we are seeking *endorsements rather than further edits*. Any support in gathering endorsements by 24 March would be greatly appreciated. - After the endorsement period closes, we will circulate the final version with the full list of endorsers, which can then be shared publicly.
The goal of this document remains to provide *concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations* to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. It is intended for key stakeholders responsible for operationalizing the modalities resolution, including the *co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, and staff at UN DESA*, who serve as the acting Secretariat. A tailored cover note will accompany the document to ensure clarity for different audiences.
Thank you once again for your contributions—your insights have been invaluable. I believe we now have a strong and practical document that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, and the PGA at this critical stage of WSIS+20.
Best wishes, Lea
---
*Summary of Key Changes Based on Community Input Received March 12-15*
*Level of Detail*
· To keep the document concise and practical for the intended audience we did not include some detailed suggestions including explaining the importance of principles of multistakeholderism, proposing pre-review workshops on WSIS, and a list of different forums that stakeholders should be included from.
· We did not include the suggestion for stakeholders to be given speaking opportunities at the High-Level Meeting (HLM) as this is already covered in the draft WSIS+20 modalities resolution (expected to be adopted on 25th March).
· We opted not to include a suggestion to set up a MS oversight mechanism to implement these modalities (this was suggested both in the doc and separately on a few channels) as it was not feasible to ascertain community support for this proposal in such a short timeframe - *we encourage this is explored further, potentially via this list or the IGF MAG*
*Transparency & Accountability*
· We renamed the section from “Transparency and Accessibility” to “Transparency and Accountability” to better separate comments about improving accessibility and comments on improving accountability and to allow for more detailed discussion of accessibility in 3 incorporating some of the suggestions made.
· Comments including a request to ‘listen’ to intergovernmental negotiations, have reports on discussions, to improve accountability are already reflected in 2.
· We reinforced the request for live-streaming intergovernmental negotiations by citing a precedent: the UN Convention on Cybercrime (UNCC), which has done this before.
*Consultation Processes*
· The aim is to suggest that consultations must happen throughout the process in a manner which supports equal participation virtually and in-person at different forums - there were several suggested edits we tried to address or felt were already reflected.
· We clarified that timelines for consultations should be updated in good time to allow for meaningful stakeholder input.
· 3a was updated to explicitly state that governments and other stakeholder groups should have equal participation rules, including for submission procedures, to clarify language.
· The document now states that co-facilitators and DESA should encourage national-level consultations and leverage existing events for consultations to respond to a couple of comments.
*Inclusion & Accessibility*
· We moved all accessibility-related recommendations into one section (Section 4) to consolidate points about:
o Time zones – ensuring scheduling accounts for non-working days in different regions.
o Digital formats – allowing low-bandwidth options for participation.
o Languages – making key documents available in UN languages.
o We did not include some very specific suggestions on improving accessibility (such as holding pre-review educational workshops) to keep the document practical and focused on the current timeframe.
o We aimed to make it clear that this is not a comprehensive list of ways to improve accessibility.
*Accreditation*
· Instead of listing multiple past forums, we chose to say that the WSIS+20 should build on the WSIS+10 accreditation process, which took into account ECOSOC accredited organisations and participation in previous WSIS events as part of its eligibility criteria.
· To further broaden the group of eligible stakeholders, we’ve recommended including participation in the IGF as part of the accreditation criteria, as the most inclusive reference point for accreditation.
---
On Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 5:29 PM Jordan Carter via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
Dear all
As the WSIS+20 process advances, an informal group of WSIS stakeholders from civil society, technical community, and the private sector, has developed a 5-point document outlining key recommendations to operationalize WSIS modalities. The aim is to use this in our advocacy to strengthen multistakeholder engagement and ensure that the process is inclusive and impactful.
To maximize its reach and influence, we are seeking your review and feedback and inviting you to consider signing on as a supporter. While we welcome input, we intend to retain the current structure and length of the letter to ensure clarity and focus.
You can review the draft letter here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH... [docs.google.com] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-...>
*We kindly ask for your comments and expressions of support by COB Friday, 14 March 2025.*
After this deadline, we will seek to finalize the letter and share it with relevant audiences, including key decision-makers involved in the WSIS+20 process.
*Please also feel free to circulate this to other stakeholders who may be interested in endorsing it.*
A broad and diverse list of signatories will be crucial in reinforcing this message. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Jordan
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20 [go.icann.org] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/go.icann.org/wsis20__;!!PtGJab4!6cnxhkAa2...>
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20 [go.icann.org] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/go.icann.org/wsis20__;!!PtGJab4!6cnxhkAa2...>
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20 [go.icann.org] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/go.icann.org/wsis20__;!!PtGJab4!6cnxhkAa2...>
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
Having served as a member of the SO/AC group, I think this is a good suggestion from Anne. In my time, and IMHO, that group was often most engaged and useful when it could come together around externally-focused topics like this one. Paul. On 26 Mar 2025, at 10:48, Anne ICANN via wsis20 wrote:
Thanks Veni. I wonder whether the open letter might make a good agenda item for the SO/AC Discussion Group to review. There seem to be several good talking points incorporated in the letter which could be helpful to members of that DG without actually requiring ICANN itself to take a formal position on the letter.
Anne
Anne Aikman-Scalese GNSO Councilor NomCom Non-Voting 2022-2026 anneicanngnso@gmail.com
On Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 7:41 AM Veni Markovski <veni.markovski@icann.org> wrote:
Hi, Anne. To answer your question, no, it is not.
Best,
v/
*From: *WSIS20 Outreach Network <wsis20@icann.org> *Reply-To: *Anne ICANN <anneicanngnso@gmail.com> *Date: *Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at 09:07 *To: *Ellie McDonald <ellie@gp-digital.org> *Cc: *WSIS20 Outreach Network <wsis20@icann.org> *Subject: *[wsis20] Re: [Published] Joint Letter on Operationalising WSIS+20 Modalities
Thanks Ellie - is this Joint Letter endorsed by ICANN itself?
Anne
Anne Aikman-Scalese
GNSO Councilor
NomCom Non-Voting 2022-2026
anneicanngnso@gmail.com
On Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 5:24 AM Ellie McDonald via wsis20 < wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
*[apologies for cross-posting]*
Hi everyone,
Sincerest thanks to all those who have provided valuable feedback and endorsed the joint open letter. *The embargo has now been lifted and we have published the open letter on GPD’s website. It is available **here* [gp-digital.org] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an...> *. *
We are delighted to share that the letter has 147 endorsements in total (101 organisational endorsements and 46 individual endorsements) from across civil society, the technical community, academia and industry. Our effort is perfectly timed as the WSIS+20 modalities resolution [documents.un.org] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/documents.un.org/doc/undoc/ltd/n25/066/55...> was formally adopted yesterday without a vote at UNGA [webtv.un.org] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/webtv.un.org/en/asset/k19/k19ef2qtd3__;!!...> .
*Please find the final version of the letter on **GPD’s website* [gp-digital.org] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an...> * and in the attached PDF document.* We warmly encourage you to publish the open letter on your individual websites, social media accounts and to disseminate it widely to relevant actors. We will be circulating the open letter to the WSIS co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, staff at UN DESA, and UN member states with a tailored covering note.
We appreciate that some organisations or individuals may still wish to endorse the letter so *we will keep **this version* [docs.google.com] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-...> * of the letter open to further endorsements and will update the version on GPD’s website with any additional endorsements.*
As earlier noted, the goal of this document is to provide concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. We think our letter achieves this and provides strong and practical guidance that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, the PGA and member states at this critical stage of WSIS+20 stakeholder engagement in the process.
Best wishes,
Ellie
On Tue, 18 Mar 2025 at 22:10, Lea Kaspar via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
*[apologies for cross-posting]*
Hi everyone,
Following up on Jordan’s message (thank you, Jordan, for sharing this initiative with the community), I want to extend my gratitude to all who have provided valuable feedback and to those who have already endorsed the document.
A few of us have worked to consolidate the input received, and you can find the revised version [here [docs.google.com] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-...> ]. Below my signature, you’ll find an overview of the key changes.
*Next steps:*
- The letter is now open for endorsement until *Monday, 24 March*. - *Publication is planned for Wednesday, 26 March, at noon UTC.* - At this stage, we are seeking *endorsements rather than further edits*. Any support in gathering endorsements by 24 March would be greatly appreciated. - After the endorsement period closes, we will circulate the final version with the full list of endorsers, which can then be shared publicly.
The goal of this document remains to provide *concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations* to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. It is intended for key stakeholders responsible for operationalizing the modalities resolution, including the *co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, and staff at UN DESA*, who serve as the acting Secretariat. A tailored cover note will accompany the document to ensure clarity for different audiences.
Thank you once again for your contributions—your insights have been invaluable. I believe we now have a strong and practical document that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, and the PGA at this critical stage of WSIS+20.
Best wishes, Lea
---
*Summary of Key Changes Based on Community Input Received March 12-15*
*Level of Detail*
· To keep the document concise and practical for the intended audience we did not include some detailed suggestions including explaining the importance of principles of multistakeholderism, proposing pre-review workshops on WSIS, and a list of different forums that stakeholders should be included from.
· We did not include the suggestion for stakeholders to be given speaking opportunities at the High-Level Meeting (HLM) as this is already covered in the draft WSIS+20 modalities resolution (expected to be adopted on 25th March).
· We opted not to include a suggestion to set up a MS oversight mechanism to implement these modalities (this was suggested both in the doc and separately on a few channels) as it was not feasible to ascertain community support for this proposal in such a short timeframe - *we encourage this is explored further, potentially via this list or the IGF MAG*
*Transparency & Accountability*
· We renamed the section from “Transparency and Accessibility” to “Transparency and Accountability” to better separate comments about improving accessibility and comments on improving accountability and to allow for more detailed discussion of accessibility in 3 incorporating some of the suggestions made.
· Comments including a request to ‘listen’ to intergovernmental negotiations, have reports on discussions, to improve accountability are already reflected in 2.
· We reinforced the request for live-streaming intergovernmental negotiations by citing a precedent: the UN Convention on Cybercrime (UNCC), which has done this before.
*Consultation Processes*
· The aim is to suggest that consultations must happen throughout the process in a manner which supports equal participation virtually and in-person at different forums - there were several suggested edits we tried to address or felt were already reflected.
· We clarified that timelines for consultations should be updated in good time to allow for meaningful stakeholder input.
· 3a was updated to explicitly state that governments and other stakeholder groups should have equal participation rules, including for submission procedures, to clarify language.
· The document now states that co-facilitators and DESA should encourage national-level consultations and leverage existing events for consultations to respond to a couple of comments.
*Inclusion & Accessibility*
· We moved all accessibility-related recommendations into one section (Section 4) to consolidate points about:
o Time zones – ensuring scheduling accounts for non-working days in different regions.
o Digital formats – allowing low-bandwidth options for participation.
o Languages – making key documents available in UN languages.
o We did not include some very specific suggestions on improving accessibility (such as holding pre-review educational workshops) to keep the document practical and focused on the current timeframe.
o We aimed to make it clear that this is not a comprehensive list of ways to improve accessibility.
*Accreditation*
· Instead of listing multiple past forums, we chose to say that the WSIS+20 should build on the WSIS+10 accreditation process, which took into account ECOSOC accredited organisations and participation in previous WSIS events as part of its eligibility criteria.
· To further broaden the group of eligible stakeholders, we’ve recommended including participation in the IGF as part of the accreditation criteria, as the most inclusive reference point for accreditation.
---
On Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 5:29 PM Jordan Carter via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
Dear all
As the WSIS+20 process advances, an informal group of WSIS stakeholders from civil society, technical community, and the private sector, has developed a 5-point document outlining key recommendations to operationalize WSIS modalities. The aim is to use this in our advocacy to strengthen multistakeholder engagement and ensure that the process is inclusive and impactful.
To maximize its reach and influence, we are seeking your review and feedback and inviting you to consider signing on as a supporter. While we welcome input, we intend to retain the current structure and length of the letter to ensure clarity and focus.
You can review the draft letter here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH... [docs.google.com] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-...>
*We kindly ask for your comments and expressions of support by COB Friday, 14 March 2025.*
After this deadline, we will seek to finalize the letter and share it with relevant audiences, including key decision-makers involved in the WSIS+20 process.
*Please also feel free to circulate this to other stakeholders who may be interested in endorsing it.*
A broad and diverse list of signatories will be crucial in reinforcing this message. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Jordan
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20 [go.icann.org] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/go.icann.org/wsis20__;!!PtGJab4!6cnxhkAa2...>
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20 [go.icann.org] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/go.icann.org/wsis20__;!!PtGJab4!6cnxhkAa2...>
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
_______________________________________________
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_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
Dear all, A small update that the Five-Point Plan <https://www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/> has now received 171 endorsements (114 organisational endorsements and 57 individual endorsements) from across stakeholder communities. We've kept this form <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfVlNtV-CfK1saVtzA4ETB54oSTo_KwD10I...> open to add further signatures and will update the version on our website periodically. A huge thank you to this community for the continued support with dissemination. Building on this effort, Lea and I recently published a new blog <https://www.gp-digital.org/a-call-to-action-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/> to unpack and annotate the recommendations in the Five-Point Plan from GPD's perspective. It aims to situate our intervention in the wider context of WSIS and Internet governance, drawing comparisons with the WSIS+10 review process and the GDC process. It also sets out the case for meaningful stakeholder engagement in the Review process. I hope it may be useful and we would welcome any feedback. All the best, Ellie On Wed, 26 Mar 2025 at 12:23, Ellie McDonald <ellie@gp-digital.org> wrote:
*[apologies for cross-posting]*
Hi everyone,
Sincerest thanks to all those who have provided valuable feedback and endorsed the joint open letter. The embargo has now been lifted and we have published the open letter on GPD’s website. It is available here <https://www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/> .
We are delighted to share that the letter has 147 endorsements in total (101 organisational endorsements and 46 individual endorsements) from across civil society, the technical community, academia and industry. Our effort is perfectly timed as the WSIS+20 modalities resolution <https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/ltd/n25/066/55/pdf/n2506655.pdf> was formally adopted yesterday without a vote at UNGA <https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k19/k19ef2qtd3>.
Please find the final version of the letter on GPD’s website <https://www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/> and in the attached PDF document. We warmly encourage you to publish the open letter on your individual websites, social media accounts and to disseminate it widely to relevant actors. We will be circulating the open letter to the WSIS co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, staff at UN DESA, and UN member states with a tailored covering note.
We appreciate that some organisations or individuals may still wish to endorse the letter so we will keep this version <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...> of the letter open to further endorsements and will update the version on GPD’s website with any additional endorsements.
As earlier noted, the goal of this document is to provide concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. We think our letter achieves this and provides strong and practical guidance that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, the PGA and member states at this critical stage of WSIS+20 stakeholder engagement in the process.
Best wishes,
Ellie
On Tue, 18 Mar 2025 at 22:10, Lea Kaspar via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
*[apologies for cross-posting]*
Hi everyone,
Following up on Jordan’s message (thank you, Jordan, for sharing this initiative with the community), I want to extend my gratitude to all who have provided valuable feedback and to those who have already endorsed the document.
A few of us have worked to consolidate the input received, and you can find the revised version [here <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...>]. Below my signature, you’ll find an overview of the key changes.
*Next steps:*
- The letter is now open for endorsement until *Monday, 24 March*. - *Publication is planned for Wednesday, 26 March, at noon UTC.* - At this stage, we are seeking *endorsements rather than further edits*. Any support in gathering endorsements by 24 March would be greatly appreciated. - After the endorsement period closes, we will circulate the final version with the full list of endorsers, which can then be shared publicly.
The goal of this document remains to provide *concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations* to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. It is intended for key stakeholders responsible for operationalizing the modalities resolution, including the *co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, and staff at UN DESA*, who serve as the acting Secretariat. A tailored cover note will accompany the document to ensure clarity for different audiences.
Thank you once again for your contributions—your insights have been invaluable. I believe we now have a strong and practical document that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, and the PGA at this critical stage of WSIS+20.
Best wishes, Lea ---
*Summary of Key Changes Based on Community Input Received March 12-15*
*Level of Detail*
- To keep the document concise and practical for the intended audience we did not include some detailed suggestions including explaining the importance of principles of multistakeholderism, proposing pre-review workshops on WSIS, and a list of different forums that stakeholders should be included from. - We did not include the suggestion for stakeholders to be given speaking opportunities at the High-Level Meeting (HLM) as this is already covered in the draft WSIS+20 modalities resolution (expected to be adopted on 25th March). - We opted not to include a suggestion to set up a MS oversight mechanism to implement these modalities (this was suggested both in the doc and separately on a few channels) as it was not feasible to ascertain community support for this proposal in such a short timeframe - *we encourage this is explored further, potentially via this list or the IGF MAG*
*Transparency & Accountability*
- We renamed the section from “Transparency and Accessibility” to “Transparency and Accountability” to better separate comments about improving accessibility and comments on improving accountability and to allow for more detailed discussion of accessibility in 3 incorporating some of the suggestions made. - Comments including a request to ‘listen’ to intergovernmental negotiations, have reports on discussions, to improve accountability are already reflected in 2. - We reinforced the request for live-streaming intergovernmental negotiations by citing a precedent: the UN Convention on Cybercrime (UNCC), which has done this before.
*Consultation Processes*
- The aim is to suggest that consultations must happen throughout the process in a manner which supports equal participation virtually and in-person at different forums - there were several suggested edits we tried to address or felt were already reflected. - We clarified that timelines for consultations should be updated in good time to allow for meaningful stakeholder input. - 3a was updated to explicitly state that governments and other stakeholder groups should have equal participation rules, including for submission procedures, to clarify language. - The document now states that co-facilitators and DESA should encourage national-level consultations and leverage existing events for consultations to respond to a couple of comments.
*Inclusion & Accessibility*
- We moved all accessibility-related recommendations into one section (Section 4) to consolidate points about: - Time zones – ensuring scheduling accounts for non-working days in different regions. - Digital formats – allowing low-bandwidth options for participation. - Languages – making key documents available in UN languages. - We did not include some very specific suggestions on improving accessibility (such as holding pre-review educational workshops) to keep the document practical and focused on the current timeframe. - We aimed to make it clear that this is not a comprehensive list of ways to improve accessibility.
*Accreditation*
- Instead of listing multiple past forums, we chose to say that the WSIS+20 should build on the WSIS+10 accreditation process, which took into account ECOSOC accredited organisations and participation in previous WSIS events as part of its eligibility criteria. - To further broaden the group of eligible stakeholders, we’ve recommended including participation in the IGF as part of the accreditation criteria, as the most inclusive reference point for accreditation.
---
On Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 5:29 PM Jordan Carter via wsis20 < wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
Dear all
As the WSIS+20 process advances, an informal group of WSIS stakeholders from civil society, technical community, and the private sector, has developed a 5-point document outlining key recommendations to operationalize WSIS modalities. The aim is to use this in our advocacy to strengthen multistakeholder engagement and ensure that the process is inclusive and impactful.
To maximize its reach and influence, we are seeking your review and feedback and inviting you to consider signing on as a supporter. While we welcome input, we intend to retain the current structure and length of the letter to ensure clarity and focus.
You can review the draft letter here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...
*We kindly ask for your comments and expressions of support by COB Friday, 14 March 2025.*
After this deadline, we will seek to finalize the letter and share it with relevant audiences, including key decision-makers involved in the WSIS+20 process.
*Please also feel free to circulate this to other stakeholders who may be interested in endorsing it.*
A broad and diverse list of signatories will be crucial in reinforcing this message. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Jordan
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
Dear all, Thank you again for all the work to develop and disseminate the Five Point Plan. Now that the co-facilitators of the review process have been appointed, we are planning to write to them to congratulate them and share the Five-Point Plan <https://www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/>. While we understand they have already received the Plan from UN DESA, we think it would be beneficial for them to also receive it from us, noting that we and the endorsers of the Plan are ready to assist. We will share any response we receive with the community of endorsers. It would be helpful to know if anyone else has or is planning to reach out so that we do not duplicate existing efforts. Thank you again and best, Ellie On Wed, 26 Mar 2025 at 12:23, Ellie McDonald <ellie@gp-digital.org> wrote:
*[apologies for cross-posting]*
Hi everyone,
Sincerest thanks to all those who have provided valuable feedback and endorsed the joint open letter. The embargo has now been lifted and we have published the open letter on GPD’s website. It is available here <https://www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/> .
We are delighted to share that the letter has 147 endorsements in total (101 organisational endorsements and 46 individual endorsements) from across civil society, the technical community, academia and industry. Our effort is perfectly timed as the WSIS+20 modalities resolution <https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/ltd/n25/066/55/pdf/n2506655.pdf> was formally adopted yesterday without a vote at UNGA <https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k19/k19ef2qtd3>.
Please find the final version of the letter on GPD’s website <https://www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/> and in the attached PDF document. We warmly encourage you to publish the open letter on your individual websites, social media accounts and to disseminate it widely to relevant actors. We will be circulating the open letter to the WSIS co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, staff at UN DESA, and UN member states with a tailored covering note.
We appreciate that some organisations or individuals may still wish to endorse the letter so we will keep this version <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...> of the letter open to further endorsements and will update the version on GPD’s website with any additional endorsements.
As earlier noted, the goal of this document is to provide concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. We think our letter achieves this and provides strong and practical guidance that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, the PGA and member states at this critical stage of WSIS+20 stakeholder engagement in the process.
Best wishes,
Ellie
On Tue, 18 Mar 2025 at 22:10, Lea Kaspar via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
*[apologies for cross-posting]*
Hi everyone,
Following up on Jordan’s message (thank you, Jordan, for sharing this initiative with the community), I want to extend my gratitude to all who have provided valuable feedback and to those who have already endorsed the document.
A few of us have worked to consolidate the input received, and you can find the revised version [here <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...>]. Below my signature, you’ll find an overview of the key changes.
*Next steps:*
- The letter is now open for endorsement until *Monday, 24 March*. - *Publication is planned for Wednesday, 26 March, at noon UTC.* - At this stage, we are seeking *endorsements rather than further edits*. Any support in gathering endorsements by 24 March would be greatly appreciated. - After the endorsement period closes, we will circulate the final version with the full list of endorsers, which can then be shared publicly.
The goal of this document remains to provide *concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations* to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. It is intended for key stakeholders responsible for operationalizing the modalities resolution, including the *co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, and staff at UN DESA*, who serve as the acting Secretariat. A tailored cover note will accompany the document to ensure clarity for different audiences.
Thank you once again for your contributions—your insights have been invaluable. I believe we now have a strong and practical document that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, and the PGA at this critical stage of WSIS+20.
Best wishes, Lea ---
*Summary of Key Changes Based on Community Input Received March 12-15*
*Level of Detail*
- To keep the document concise and practical for the intended audience we did not include some detailed suggestions including explaining the importance of principles of multistakeholderism, proposing pre-review workshops on WSIS, and a list of different forums that stakeholders should be included from. - We did not include the suggestion for stakeholders to be given speaking opportunities at the High-Level Meeting (HLM) as this is already covered in the draft WSIS+20 modalities resolution (expected to be adopted on 25th March). - We opted not to include a suggestion to set up a MS oversight mechanism to implement these modalities (this was suggested both in the doc and separately on a few channels) as it was not feasible to ascertain community support for this proposal in such a short timeframe - *we encourage this is explored further, potentially via this list or the IGF MAG*
*Transparency & Accountability*
- We renamed the section from “Transparency and Accessibility” to “Transparency and Accountability” to better separate comments about improving accessibility and comments on improving accountability and to allow for more detailed discussion of accessibility in 3 incorporating some of the suggestions made. - Comments including a request to ‘listen’ to intergovernmental negotiations, have reports on discussions, to improve accountability are already reflected in 2. - We reinforced the request for live-streaming intergovernmental negotiations by citing a precedent: the UN Convention on Cybercrime (UNCC), which has done this before.
*Consultation Processes*
- The aim is to suggest that consultations must happen throughout the process in a manner which supports equal participation virtually and in-person at different forums - there were several suggested edits we tried to address or felt were already reflected. - We clarified that timelines for consultations should be updated in good time to allow for meaningful stakeholder input. - 3a was updated to explicitly state that governments and other stakeholder groups should have equal participation rules, including for submission procedures, to clarify language. - The document now states that co-facilitators and DESA should encourage national-level consultations and leverage existing events for consultations to respond to a couple of comments.
*Inclusion & Accessibility*
- We moved all accessibility-related recommendations into one section (Section 4) to consolidate points about: - Time zones – ensuring scheduling accounts for non-working days in different regions. - Digital formats – allowing low-bandwidth options for participation. - Languages – making key documents available in UN languages. - We did not include some very specific suggestions on improving accessibility (such as holding pre-review educational workshops) to keep the document practical and focused on the current timeframe. - We aimed to make it clear that this is not a comprehensive list of ways to improve accessibility.
*Accreditation*
- Instead of listing multiple past forums, we chose to say that the WSIS+20 should build on the WSIS+10 accreditation process, which took into account ECOSOC accredited organisations and participation in previous WSIS events as part of its eligibility criteria. - To further broaden the group of eligible stakeholders, we’ve recommended including participation in the IGF as part of the accreditation criteria, as the most inclusive reference point for accreditation.
---
On Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 5:29 PM Jordan Carter via wsis20 < wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
Dear all
As the WSIS+20 process advances, an informal group of WSIS stakeholders from civil society, technical community, and the private sector, has developed a 5-point document outlining key recommendations to operationalize WSIS modalities. The aim is to use this in our advocacy to strengthen multistakeholder engagement and ensure that the process is inclusive and impactful.
To maximize its reach and influence, we are seeking your review and feedback and inviting you to consider signing on as a supporter. While we welcome input, we intend to retain the current structure and length of the letter to ensure clarity and focus.
You can review the draft letter here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...
*We kindly ask for your comments and expressions of support by COB Friday, 14 March 2025.*
After this deadline, we will seek to finalize the letter and share it with relevant audiences, including key decision-makers involved in the WSIS+20 process.
*Please also feel free to circulate this to other stakeholders who may be interested in endorsing it.*
A broad and diverse list of signatories will be crucial in reinforcing this message. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Jordan
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
Hi all and thank you to Jordan for sending out to our AU audience, Ellie, and all the others I would have completely glanced over who contributed to this. Apologies for delays in responding, our local civil society organisations (digital and on-ground) are heavily in pre-election mode here. Would it be too late for our organisations to provide endorsement for whatever that is worth at this late stage? Cheers Kiki On Fri, May 2, 2025 at 2:34 AM Ellie McDonald via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
Dear all,
Thank you again for all the work to develop and disseminate the Five Point Plan.
Now that the co-facilitators of the review process have been appointed, we are planning to write to them to congratulate them and share the Five-Point Plan <https://www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/>. While we understand they have already received the Plan from UN DESA, we think it would be beneficial for them to also receive it from us, noting that we and the endorsers of the Plan are ready to assist. We will share any response we receive with the community of endorsers.
It would be helpful to know if anyone else has or is planning to reach out so that we do not duplicate existing efforts.
Thank you again and best,
Ellie
On Wed, 26 Mar 2025 at 12:23, Ellie McDonald <ellie@gp-digital.org> wrote:
*[apologies for cross-posting]*
Hi everyone,
Sincerest thanks to all those who have provided valuable feedback and endorsed the joint open letter. The embargo has now been lifted and we have published the open letter on GPD’s website. It is available here <https://www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/> .
We are delighted to share that the letter has 147 endorsements in total (101 organisational endorsements and 46 individual endorsements) from across civil society, the technical community, academia and industry. Our effort is perfectly timed as the WSIS+20 modalities resolution <https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/ltd/n25/066/55/pdf/n2506655.pdf> was formally adopted yesterday without a vote at UNGA <https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k19/k19ef2qtd3>.
Please find the final version of the letter on GPD’s website <https://www.gp-digital.org/five-point-plan-for-an-inclusive-wsis20-review/> and in the attached PDF document. We warmly encourage you to publish the open letter on your individual websites, social media accounts and to disseminate it widely to relevant actors. We will be circulating the open letter to the WSIS co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, staff at UN DESA, and UN member states with a tailored covering note.
We appreciate that some organisations or individuals may still wish to endorse the letter so we will keep this version <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...> of the letter open to further endorsements and will update the version on GPD’s website with any additional endorsements.
As earlier noted, the goal of this document is to provide concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. We think our letter achieves this and provides strong and practical guidance that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, the PGA and member states at this critical stage of WSIS+20 stakeholder engagement in the process.
Best wishes,
Ellie
On Tue, 18 Mar 2025 at 22:10, Lea Kaspar via wsis20 <wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
*[apologies for cross-posting]*
Hi everyone,
Following up on Jordan’s message (thank you, Jordan, for sharing this initiative with the community), I want to extend my gratitude to all who have provided valuable feedback and to those who have already endorsed the document.
A few of us have worked to consolidate the input received, and you can find the revised version [here <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...>]. Below my signature, you’ll find an overview of the key changes.
*Next steps:*
- The letter is now open for endorsement until *Monday, 24 March*. - *Publication is planned for Wednesday, 26 March, at noon UTC.* - At this stage, we are seeking *endorsements rather than further edits*. Any support in gathering endorsements by 24 March would be greatly appreciated. - After the endorsement period closes, we will circulate the final version with the full list of endorsers, which can then be shared publicly.
The goal of this document remains to provide *concise, principles-based, and practical recommendations* to support an inclusive WSIS+20 review process. It is intended for key stakeholders responsible for operationalizing the modalities resolution, including the *co-facilitators, the President of the General Assembly, and staff at UN DESA*, who serve as the acting Secretariat. A tailored cover note will accompany the document to ensure clarity for different audiences.
Thank you once again for your contributions—your insights have been invaluable. I believe we now have a strong and practical document that will be useful for the co-facilitators, DESA, and the PGA at this critical stage of WSIS+20.
Best wishes, Lea ---
*Summary of Key Changes Based on Community Input Received March 12-15*
*Level of Detail*
- To keep the document concise and practical for the intended audience we did not include some detailed suggestions including explaining the importance of principles of multistakeholderism, proposing pre-review workshops on WSIS, and a list of different forums that stakeholders should be included from. - We did not include the suggestion for stakeholders to be given speaking opportunities at the High-Level Meeting (HLM) as this is already covered in the draft WSIS+20 modalities resolution (expected to be adopted on 25th March). - We opted not to include a suggestion to set up a MS oversight mechanism to implement these modalities (this was suggested both in the doc and separately on a few channels) as it was not feasible to ascertain community support for this proposal in such a short timeframe - *we encourage this is explored further, potentially via this list or the IGF MAG*
*Transparency & Accountability*
- We renamed the section from “Transparency and Accessibility” to “Transparency and Accountability” to better separate comments about improving accessibility and comments on improving accountability and to allow for more detailed discussion of accessibility in 3 incorporating some of the suggestions made. - Comments including a request to ‘listen’ to intergovernmental negotiations, have reports on discussions, to improve accountability are already reflected in 2. - We reinforced the request for live-streaming intergovernmental negotiations by citing a precedent: the UN Convention on Cybercrime (UNCC), which has done this before.
*Consultation Processes*
- The aim is to suggest that consultations must happen throughout the process in a manner which supports equal participation virtually and in-person at different forums - there were several suggested edits we tried to address or felt were already reflected. - We clarified that timelines for consultations should be updated in good time to allow for meaningful stakeholder input. - 3a was updated to explicitly state that governments and other stakeholder groups should have equal participation rules, including for submission procedures, to clarify language. - The document now states that co-facilitators and DESA should encourage national-level consultations and leverage existing events for consultations to respond to a couple of comments.
*Inclusion & Accessibility*
- We moved all accessibility-related recommendations into one section (Section 4) to consolidate points about: - Time zones – ensuring scheduling accounts for non-working days in different regions. - Digital formats – allowing low-bandwidth options for participation. - Languages – making key documents available in UN languages. - We did not include some very specific suggestions on improving accessibility (such as holding pre-review educational workshops) to keep the document practical and focused on the current timeframe. - We aimed to make it clear that this is not a comprehensive list of ways to improve accessibility.
*Accreditation*
- Instead of listing multiple past forums, we chose to say that the WSIS+20 should build on the WSIS+10 accreditation process, which took into account ECOSOC accredited organisations and participation in previous WSIS events as part of its eligibility criteria. - To further broaden the group of eligible stakeholders, we’ve recommended including participation in the IGF as part of the accreditation criteria, as the most inclusive reference point for accreditation.
---
On Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 5:29 PM Jordan Carter via wsis20 < wsis20@icann.org> wrote:
Dear all
As the WSIS+20 process advances, an informal group of WSIS stakeholders from civil society, technical community, and the private sector, has developed a 5-point document outlining key recommendations to operationalize WSIS modalities. The aim is to use this in our advocacy to strengthen multistakeholder engagement and ensure that the process is inclusive and impactful.
To maximize its reach and influence, we are seeking your review and feedback and inviting you to consider signing on as a supporter. While we welcome input, we intend to retain the current structure and length of the letter to ensure clarity and focus.
You can review the draft letter here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSxPHLqC18M5-u7H_1vNHMU_ls0fKFZ0_upZ1oRH...
*We kindly ask for your comments and expressions of support by COB Friday, 14 March 2025.*
After this deadline, we will seek to finalize the letter and share it with relevant audiences, including key decision-makers involved in the WSIS+20 process.
*Please also feel free to circulate this to other stakeholders who may be interested in endorsing it.*
A broad and diverse list of signatories will be crucial in reinforcing this message. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Jordan
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
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_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
_______________________________________________
Learn more about the WSIS+20 Outreach Network and review relevant resources: https://go.icann.org/wsis20
Read the public archives for this mailing list: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/wsis20/
_______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.
participants (7)
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Anne ICANN -
Ellie McDonald -
Jordan Carter -
Kiki Fong Lim -
Lea Kaspar -
Paul Wilson -
Veni Markovski