(This statement was initiated on the Best Bits platform, and it has received consultative feedback from members of Best Bits and the Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus.)

We, the undersigned organizations and individuals from around the world, recognize that we are in a critical moment for the Internet Governance regime, in which the increasing use of surveillance mechanisms poses a challenge for the whole community to tackle. Proactive action is required to restore trust and to ensure human rights are respected and upheld. We remain committed to the development of an open Internet and its use for advancing human rights, express our hope and expectation that the Internet governance summit in Brazil in 2014 incorporate a multistakeholder model of agenda setting, participation and decision making from its inception. This requires:

• The event should discuss what Internet governance architecture is required to support an inclusive, people-centric, development-oriented information society. We believe that this requires at the very minimum that such a structure is democratic, in that it should be inclusive of all countries and all stakeholders, and that it protects and promotes human rights.
• The full participation of civil society stakeholders in planning and in the meeting should be guaranteed and resourced.
• A strengthened Internet Governance Forum could play a role in the future Internet governance arrangements to be discussed at the event, and it should be linked with the CSTD WGEC process as appropriate.
• The event should extend beyond good will speeches or presentations of good intentions and seek to produce actionable outputs. Modalities should be developed to allow all stakeholders, including remote participants, to participate on an equal footing from the preparatory process to final outputs.

We stress that opening doors for more stakeholders to attend meetings is not sufficient. Multistakeholderism has been used with a variety of meanings, sometimes only referring to a very limited kind of openness and consultation. If the goal is to achieve an open, inclusive and participatory debate, it is crucial that civil society is centrally involved at every step of the decision-making process.

If you wish to endorse this statement, please send email to <coordinators@igcaucus.org> indicating the name of the individual or organization expressing endorsement and, where appropriate, the person’s or organization’s country.

So far the following endorsements from organizations have been received:

1. Consumers International
2. The World Wide Web Foundation
3. Pasifika Nexus
4. GodlyGlobal.org
5. Internet Democracy Project, India
6. Electronic Frontier Finland
7. Korean Progressive Network Jinbonet
8. Opennet Korea
9. Sorge Magazine, Indonesia
10. DIGILEXIS, headquartered in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire
11. ITU-APT Foundation of India
12. Data And Investment Consult Lebanon
13. Gambia YMCA
14. Asociación Colombiana de Usuarios de Internet
15. GIVEN LIFE ORGANIZATION (GLO)
16. Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA), Philippines
17. Intlnet
18. New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute
19. FUNREDES
20. Connecting.nyc Inc.
21. Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC)
22. Medienstadt Leipzig e.V.
23. IT for Change, India
24. South Pacific Computer Society
25. Internauta Brasil
26. Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
27. Instituto Nupef, Rio, Brazil
28. European Media Platform
29. Bytes for All, Pakistan
30. Global Partners Digital
31. Bolo Bhi, Pakistan
32. CCOAI, India
33. Bangladesh Dignity Forum
34. Software Freedom Law Centre SFLC.in, India

In addition, the following persons have endorsed the statement in their personal capacity:

1. Lee W. McKnight, Kauffman Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Syracuse University iSchool, USA
2. Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro, Fiji
3. Norbert Bollow, Switzerland
4. Sonigitu Ekpe, Nigeria
5. Y.J. Park, SUNY Korea
6. Professor Chris Marsden, School of Law, University of Sussex
7. Walid Al-Saqaf
8. Karim ATTOUMANI MOHAMED from Comoros
9. Izumi Aizu, Japan
10. Imran Ahmed Shah
11. Evang. (Dr.) Michael O. A. Idubor
12. Hago Dafalla, Sudan
13. Carolina Aguerre, Argentina
14. Carlton Samuels, Jamaica
15. Jeremy Hunsinger, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University and Co-Director Center for Digital Discourse and Culture, Virginia Tech
16. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Benedek, Institute of International Law and International Relations, University of Graz, Austria
17. Dave Kissoondoyal
18. Cheryl Langdon-Orr
19. Fouad Bajwa, Pakistan
20. Norbert Klein, Cambodia
21. David Solomonoff
22. Prof. Wolfgang Kleinwächter, University of Aarhus
23. Qusai AlShatti
24. Suresh Ramasubramanian, India
25. Sylvia Herlein Leite, Brazil
26. Ian Peter, Australia
27. Prof. Dr. Nuno Garcia, Portugal
28. Dr John Selby, Macquarie University, Australia
29. Paulina Ravouvou, Auckland, New Zealand
30. Jodie Nanuman, Vanuatu
31. Oksana Prykhodko, Ukraine
32. Suluo Daunivalu, Pacific Art Gallery Director, Riga, Latvia
33. Ing. Petr Hornát, Prague, Czech Republic
34. Mwendwa Kivuva, Kenya
35. Tevita Tamanikaiwaimaro, Lami, Fiji
36. Marc Perkel, founder of Church of Reality
37. Ian Thomson, New Zealand
38. Lai Tora, Fiji
39. Bayezid Dawla, Executive Director, Civic Bangladesh
40. Gorka Orueta Estibariz, Spain
41. Aboudem Bavou Clément Martial, Cameroon