I was asked by the Dutch gov to co chair a working group for their next Freedom Online Coalition meeting in 2015. We have now put out our call for expressions of interest. This is an opportunity to have civil society input into cyber security discussions. I’ll do my best to make sure the case is made loud and clear.
Here is the call below
https://www.freedomonlinecoalition.com/how-we-work/working-groups/working-group-1/
Feel free to circulate widely.
Working Group 1 – An Internet Free and Secure
As cybersecurity becomes a critical issue on the international agenda, there is a growing need for an informed debate on the relationship between governance, security, and fundamental rights and freedoms online, involving all stakeholders. In this context, the working group “Internet free and secure” seeks to bring a human rights framing to ongoing debates on cybersecurity and aims to develop, through multistakeholder dialogue, meaningful outputs that feed into existing processes.
Framing
Within the above framing and building on the Tallinn Agenda, while drawing on the outcomes from NetMundial and acknowledging the ongoing discussions on roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders in internet policy debates, the preliminary framing for this WG is to explore and develop recommendations on how the multistakeholder approach could apply in the field of cybersecurity.
The proposed framing and exact output of the Group will be further refined by its members.
Structure and Membership
The work of the WG will be carried out by its members. The Group will consist of up to 15 selected individuals who will join the WG Co-chairs – the Dutch Government and Ron Deibert of Citizen Lab – and other FOC country members who have expressed interest in participating in the WG. Non-members of the WG will be able to input into the WG at various points in the process through physical meetings and online. Activities of the WG will be supported by the FOC Support Unit.
In an effort to bring a variety of perspectives to the table, the WG Co-chairs are now seeking expressions of interest from individuals and organisations to join the Working Group, help shape its framing, and carry out its work. To submit an expression of interest, please send a short motivation outlining how your experience and expertise could contribute to shaping the Group’s work and outcomes to info@freedomonlinecoalition.com with a subject line “FOC – WG1 expression of interest_name surname”. The deadline for submissions is Friday, May 30th 2014. Please also indicate if you’re planning to attend the upcoming Stockholm Internet Forum and would be available for a short informal brainstorm to develop the framing of the working group.
Expressions of interest will be evaluated by the FOC Support Unit and WG1 Co-chairs, based on the following criteria:
- Quality of submission
- Relevance of experience and expertise
- Regional, gender, and stakeholder balance
Please note that participation in the Working Group is voluntary. Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.
Working methods and timeline
The bulk of the WG’s work will be done remotely via email, with potential physical meetings on the margins of existing international events like the Internet Governance Forum. A detailed plan of work will be developed by WG members.
Group decisions and approval of final outcomes will be made by consensus among Group members.
The tentative end-date for the WG is the Global Conference on Cyberspace in spring 2015.