- Reset + PDFPrint

President Ilves headed the meeting of a global expert panel on internet co-ordination

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves presided over an expert panel that convened on 4 and 5 May in Dubai to discuss internet-related global challenges and to preserve cyber space as the space for the transnational, free movement of information. The assembly was called by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

The assembly focused on discussing the final report on its work during the last six months, with an emphasis on future-orientated activities. Administering the internet goes beyond the activities of ICANN and the experts feel that clear and recognised rules should be set – not necessarily institutions or organisations – that can be used to solve various issues and problems arising from using the internet. At the same time, it was noted that several different parties are involved in the administration of the internet at state, regional and global levels, and there are no ready-made solutions that would fit all. The final report of the expert panel contributes to the on-going discussion over the development and freedom of the internet.

The experts stressed that administering the internet should be guided by principles endorsed by an extensive community that attended the NETmundial conference, which was held in Brazil in late April and focused on the future of the internet. The administration of the internet should be based on principles such as decentralisation, respect for human rights, transparency, consensus, and open and inclusive management.

The panel of experts includes 19 representatives of governments, civil society, private sector, international organisations and the IT community from across the globe who work separately from their organisations. They include Fadi Chehade, CEO and president of ICANN, Vint Cerf, the Vice President of Google, Mitchell Baker, the Executive Chairwoman of the Mozilla Foundation, Jimmy Wales, one of the founders of Wikipedia, and Mohamed al Ghanem, Founder of UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. The experts convened for the first time in London last December.


Global Panel Announces New Approach to Managing Future of the Internet (.doc-file)
Report by the Panel on Global Internet Cooperation and Governance Mechanisms (PDF-file)


Office of the President
Public Relations Department
Phone +372 631 6229