The Mandate of the IGF
The mandate of the IGF is set out in Paragraph 72 of the Tunis Agenda:
72. We ask the UN Secretary-General, in an open and inclusive process, to convene, by the second quarter of 2006, a meeting of the new forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue—called the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).The mandate of the Forum is to:
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Discuss public policy issues related to key elements of Internet governance in order to foster the sustainability, robustness, security, stability and development of the Internet;
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Facilitate discourse between bodies dealing with different cross-cutting international public policies regarding the Internet and discuss issues that do not fall within the scope of any existing body;
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Interface with appropriate inter-governmental organizations and other institutions on matters under their purview;
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Facilitate the exchange of information and best practices, and in this regard make full use of the expertise of the academic, scientific and technical communities;
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Advise all stakeholders in proposing ways and means to accelerate the availability and affordability of the Internet in the developing world;
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Strengthen and enhance the engagement of stakeholders in existing and/or future Internet governance mechanisms, particularly those from developing countries;
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Identify emerging issues, bring them to the attention of the relevant bodies and the general public, and, where appropriate, make recommendations;
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Contribute to capacity building for Internet governance in developing countries, drawing fully on local sources of knowledge and expertise;
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Promote and assess, on an ongoing basis, the embodiment of WSIS principles in Internet governance processes;
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Discuss, inter alia, issues relating to critical Internet resources;
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Help to find solutions to the issues arising from the use and misuse of the Internet, of particular concern to everyday users;
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Publish its proceedings.