Report for the second meeting of the CSTD Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation

Event report

The second meeting of the CSTD Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation on Public Policy Issues Pertaining to the Internet (WGEC), on 26–27 January, was dedicated to discussions on two broad questions: (1) What are the high-level characteristics of enhanced cooperation? (2) Taking into consideration the work of the previous WGEC and the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, particularly paragraphs 69–71, what kind of recommendations should be considered? Participants focused on the first question and identified a set of high-level characteristics that enhanced cooperation should present, including being transparent, inclusive, result-oriented, and responsive to innovation, and giving consideration to underrepresented groups. There were divergent views on the role of non-governmental stakeholders in the policy process, and on whether new mechanisms are needed. The next meetings are expected to take place in May and October.