The Council of Europe at the Internet Governance Forum Rio de Janeiro, 12 - 15 November 2007 - HIGHLIGHTS - Monday 12 November 2007 * The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) officially opened on 12 November in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) More than 1,700 participants are meeting to discuss security, access, diversity, openness and critical Internet resources. Representatives from government, the private sector, civil society and the Internet community will share information, experiences and best practices to explore ways on how the Internet can be used to its full potential for the benefit of all people. * In her message to the Forum, Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio said "We in Europe, adults and children alike, we have a dream and an ambition. The dream is to make democratic citizenship a reality for all on the world wide web; our ambition is to show the world the way to achieve this ". * Addressing one of the main focuses of this year's IGF meeting concerning the protection of children, the Deputy Secretary General encouraged all states - including non-European countries - to sign up to the new Council of Europe Convention for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse(CETS <http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=201&CM=8&DF=&; CL=ENG> n° 201). * States should pursue a multi-stakeholder approach to empowering children in the new IT environment. In particular, the private sector, as well as civil society actors, should be encouraged to actively monitor, evaluate and promote children's skills, well-being and related information literacy and training initiatives. The media should be encouraged to be attentive to their role as a vital source of information and reference for children and their educators. * At the ITU Open Forum on cybersecurity, Ms de Boer-Buquicchio also promoted the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention (CETS <http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=185&CM=8&DF=&; CL=ENG> n° 185)which provides a unique platform for global co-operation. "The criminals are already too often ahead of us and we should not provide them with new opportunities to get even further," she said. * Intergovernmental and civil society organisations have appealed for a self-regulatory mechanism to foster participation, access to information and transparency in Internet governance. The Council of Europe and the Association for Progressive Communications proposed a code for public participation in Internet governance. Transparency, information and knowledge, and control, are key words in this debate. The Council of Europe is preparing a set of e-democracy tools based on existing applications in member states (see <http://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1210975&Site=DC&BackColorInternet=F5CA75&; BackColorIntranet=F5CA75&BackColorLogged=A9BACE> press release). For more information on the Council of Europe's contribution to the Internet Governance Forum, see our special file www.coe.int/internetgovernance. Council of Europe contacts: Estelle Steiner, Press Officer, Mobile +33 (0)6 08 46 01 57, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sophie Lobey, Communications Officer, Mobile +33 (0)6 64 09 93 40, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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