REPORT ON THE REMOTE HUB SPONSORED BY THE CARIBBEAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS UNION (CTU) IN PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO FOR THE INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM (IGF) 2010, SEPTEMBER 14 – 17
The CTU hosted a remote hub at its Secretariat offices in Port of Spain, Trinidad for local on-line participants of IGF 2010 which took place in Vilnius, Lithuania from September 14 to 17, 2010.
Owing to the seven hour time difference between Vilnius and Port of Spain, it was only practical to convene the remote hub for participation in the post-lunch sessions of IGF 2010. The original intention was for all persons gathered at the hub to follow the same workshop session since only one room and projector were being used. However since the hub audience had diverse interests, and additional laptops, we typically ended up following two simultaneous workshops per session each day. Workshops or sessions observed remotely included:
| Day | Time | Workshop Session |
| Tue Sep 14 | 1500 - 1800 | Opening Ceremony |
| Wed Sep 15 | 1415 - 1615 | 17. Managing the Network |
| 1415 - 1615 | 23. Cybercrime – Common Standards and Joint Action | |
| 1615 - 1800 | Plenary Session – Access and Diversity | |
| 1630 - 1830 | 165. A Development Agenda Approach in Internet Names and Numbers |
|
| Thu Sep 16 | 1415 - 1615 | 40. Intellectual Property Protection in the Internet |
| 1500 - 1800 | Plenary Session - IG4D | |
| 1630 - 1830 | 139. Open Standards: Ensuring Accessibility and Inclusiveness | |
| Fri Sep 17 | 1500 - 1730 | Plenary Session - Taking Stock of Internet Governance and the Way Forward |
| 1730 - 1800 | Closing Ceremony |
Our hub participation was acknowledged and became a part of the written record when a question we submitted on-line was accepted and answered on the floor by the panel of Workshop 17 on Managing the Network. Other questions were also submitted to Workshop 23 on Cybercrime. Attendance at our hub varied daily but peaked at a maximum of seven (7) persons on Tuesday September 17 and, apart from the CTU, included a mix of technical and legal specialists and students from Government agencies, ICT industry players, academia and civil society. The IGF proceedings observed did stimulate interesting discussions among hub participants with the ultimate realisation that mechanisms needed to be greatly improved locally for enabling recognition by the competent local officials of the views and resolutions emanating from the local Internet community.
In addition to the remote hub participation, the CTU was also represented on site at the IGF in Vilnius by its Business Development Manager, Mr. Rodney Taylor, who provided useful on-site intelligence that helped keep us synchronised with events on the ground.
The opportunity to participate in the IGF was greatly appreciated and valuable even on our small scale as it helps to stimulate and sustain input and interest in the local and global issues associated with the growth and use of the Internet. Such issues are impacting on the economic and social development of developing countries who in many cases would gain from helping to shape the debate and solutions being proposed but often are unaware or unable to afford to participate. Cost effective opportunities for remote participation such as provided by the IGF are hence applauded and encouraged as is the current trend for major international Internet related fora.
