United Nations Internet Governance Forum (UNIGF), Sharm El Shiekh, Egypt
I could still clearly remember NetMission’s first meeting with the UNIGF’s secretariat Mr. Markers Kummer last year. Thereafter, Netmission Ambassadors were invited to participate in the fifth Internet Governance Forum in Egypt. The idea of IGF began during the World Summit at the Information Society (WSIS) six years ago. The IGF aims to provide multi-stake holders such as government, business sectors, educational institutions, GOs and even end-users an open forum on which they can discuss the Internet’s development. Although the IGF is not a decision-making body, the open forum allows open discussion among multiple stakeholders possible, and drives people to solve the problems together—an effort of great importance to the virtual Internet world. As Netmission Ambassadors, we were also delighted to find that the youth’s voice was gradually becoming more recognized by the forum. Thus, the idea of bringing the IGF back to Hong Kong as the ‘Youth IGF’ materialized.
依稀記得一年前的這個時候，我們作爲網域使命青年大使與聯合國互聯網管治論壇秘書長Markers Kummer 先生進行了第一次的對話。幸運的是去年的十一月，我們六位網域使命青年大使有機會前往埃及真實地體驗並參與全球第五屆互聯網管治論壇。互聯網管治論壇的概念始於六年前的聯合國資訊社會世界高峰會(WSIS)。 它的重要之處在於其為各方持分者提供了一個平等開放的平臺，使得政府、企業、教育機構、非牟利組織，甚至是用戶能夠聚集在一起，共同商討互聯網的發展問 題。雖然多方參與者在互聯網管治論壇上不會做出任何政策決定，但正是這樣的對話平臺，對互聯網世界的發展起到了至關重要的作用。
作爲网域使命青年大使努力參與其中的同時，我們亦欣喜地看到青年人的聲音越來越被大會所重視。一個把互聯網管治論壇帶到香港年輕人身邊的想法也因此在红海邊應運而生。
