The Internet and the Future

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• The Internet and the Future
• Heather Creech
• Don MacLean
• Tony Vetter
• Maja Andjelkovic

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Scenarios for the future of the world

• United Nations Environment Programme Global
  Environmental Outlook Scenarios
  www.unep.org/geo/geo4/media
• Markets First
• Faith placed in the market to deliver not only
  economic, but also social, environmental
  improvements
• Policy First
• National governments and regional /
  intergovernmental bodies lead efforts to balance
  economic growth with lessening social,
  environmental impacts

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Scenarios for the future of the world cont.

• Security First
• Security overshadows other values governments
  dominate, influenced by multinational
  corporations IGO authority declines, civil
  society marginalized
• Sustainability First
• All actors at all levels follow through on
  pledges made to date to address environmental,
  social concerns. More open and partnership-based
  approaches result in higher levels of cooperation
  and compliance.

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Impact on the future of the Internet?

• Markets first
• Internet development will increase the gap
  between the haves and the have-nots
• Policy first
• Governments would attempt to manage the Internet
  through regulatory tools, reflecting existing
  public policy (which would vary from country to
  country)

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Impact on the future of the Internet?

• Security first
• There would be serious challenges to the
  protection of privacy, freedom of expression and
  access to information
• Sustainability first
• More open and partnership-based approaches result
  in higher levels of cooperation, to ensure access
  to knowledge and innovation for sustainable
  development for all.

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The challenge ahead

• What can we do to leverage the Internet and its
  related technologies to secure the more positive
  scenarios for the future?

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We Need a Vision for a New Internet

• That provides affordable access to infrastructure
  and the knowledge needed to achieve
  sustainability for people everywhere
• That aims to overcome the many divides that
  result from economic, social and geographical
  differences
• That allows ideas and knowledge to be freely
  exchanged to contribute to a better future for
  our planet and its peoples.
• That is governed through shared responsibilities
  of all actors to ensure that the Internet serves
  the goal of enabling societies to live
  sustainably.

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How do we move to a new Internet?

• Understand the interrelationships between the
  Internet and sustainable development
• Measure their cross-impacts
• Explore how to integrate the emerging governance
  frameworks in the two communities
• Build cross-community governance capacity
  internationally