Canadian IGF Talks: What’s going on in global internet governance and where does Canada fit?
The Canadian Internet Governance Forum (CIGF) is a national initiative of the larger, global Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The global IGF is a platform for multistakeholder dialogue convened by the United Nations Secretary-General. As such, the national and regional IGFs, including Canadian IGF, feed into a larger global dialogue about macro issues in internet governance.
This session covered each of the macro global themes, below, as observed at the last meeting of the global IGF, and relate them back to what we’re experiencing in the Canadian context.
- Connecting All People and Safeguarding Human Rights
- Avoiding Internet Fragmentation
- Governing Data and Protecting Privacy
- Enabling Safety, Security and Accountability
- Addressing Advanced Technologies, including AI
The global IGF last met in Ethiopia from November 28th to December 2nd, 2022 under the overarching theme: Resilient Internet for a Shared Sustainable and Common Future. The global IGF will convene next in Japan from October 8th to 12th, 2023, theme TBD.
Speakers
• Paul Mitchell (introductory remarks), United Nations Internet Governance Forum Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group
• Claire Wardle, Brown University
• Natalie Campbell, Internet Society
• Elizabeth Thomas-Raynaud, Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence
• Alyssa Quinn (moderator), Canadian IGF
Paul Mitchell (introductory remarks), Chair, United Nations Internet Governance Forum Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group
Paul Mitchell is the current Chair of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group. In nearly 30 years at Microsoft Paul held diverse roles spanning numerous products and technologies: digital programing tools including Microsoft’s first C++ development system, the launch of MSN, Microsoft’s digital television platforms including Mediaroom, numerous media standards, digital rights management systems for content protection, and wireless technologies.
Paul previously led Microsoft’s work on Internet Governance, including working with the International Telecommunication Union, the Internet Governance Forum, the Internet and Jurisdiction Project, and ICANN on Internet policy issues since 2012, participating in numerous international conferences and associated preparatory work across all three sectors, and he served as a Commissioner on the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development for many years.
Dr. Claire Wardle, co-founder and co-director of the Information Futures Lab, Professor of the Practice at the Brown School of Public Health
Claire Wardle is co-founder and co-director of the Information Futures Lab, and Professor of the Practice at the Brown School of Public Health. She is considered a leader in the field of misinformation, verification and user generated content, co-authoring the foundational report, Information Disorder: An interdisciplinary Framework for Research and Policy for the Council of Europe. In 2015, Claire co-founded the non-profit First Draft, a pioneer in innovation, research and practice in the field of misinformation. Over the past decade she has developed an organization-wide training program for the BBC on eyewitness media, verification and misinformation, led social media policy at UNHCR, been a Fellow at the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and been the Research Director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Pennsylvania.
Natalie Campbell, Senior Director, North American Government and Regulatory Affairs, Internet Society
Natalie is the Senior Director, North American Government and Regulatory Affairs for the Internet Society. She is passionate about analyzing how government actions could impact the Internet and drive advocacy efforts to grow, protect, and defend an Internet for everyone.
Prior to joining the Internet Society, Natalie was founder and lead consultant of Campbell Communications, a strategic communications agency specializing in policy advocacy, political campaigns, and working with Indigenous communities to promote community-led Internet access solutions. She has also worked at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, where she helped establish the first Canadian Internet Governance Forum.
Elizabeth Thomas-Raynaud, Head of Secretariat, Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI)
As Head of Secretariat, Elizabeth leads the team that supports the GPAI Ministerial and Executive Council and Steering Committee and liaises with the two Expert Support Centres in Montreal and Paris to implement GPAI governance. With more than two decades of experience spanning global policy, international relations, and public affairs, Elizabeth was previously the Executive responsible for digital economy policy at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and served as the Director of the Business Action to Support the Information Society initiative (ICC BASIS). During this time, Elizabeth led policy development and consensus building among members on issues from Internet and telecoms, privacy, data and consumer protection, as well as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and digital trade. She represented members and negotiated on their behalf in international processes with the UN and its agencies, G20, OECD and APEC as well as the Internet Governance Forum, ICANN and other multistakeholder entities.
Elizabeth served two years on the Multistakeholder Advisory Group for the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), on the appointment of the UN Secretary General as a private sector representative.
Alyssa Quinn (moderator), Canadian IGF
Alyssa has been involved with the Canadian IGF since 2018. She has worked in the realm of technology policy and internet governance since 2014. She started her career as a policy analyst at Cybera in Calgary, AB (2014-2018). Next, she worked as a Policy Advisor, then Policy Program Manager at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) in Ottawa, ON (2018-2023.) Here, she was responsible for the development of policy positions and engagement in the international internet governance ecosystem, including ICANN and the IGF. Alyssa has also served six years on the policy Advisory Council for the American Registry of Internet Numbers (ARIN), and 3 years on the Board of Directors for the Montreal Internet Exchange. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Carleton University.
She now resides in Washington state with her family of 5 (soon to be 6) where she is training their Weimaraner puppy to hunt for truffles.