The SS-IGF is a multi-stakeholder forum for public policy dialogue on issues of Internet Governance in South Sudan. It brings together all stakeholders in the Internet governance debate, those representing the government, the private sector, the civil society, the technical community, and the academic community, on an equal basis and through an open and inclusive process.
It is mandated to be a discussion forum for facilitating dialogue between the Forum’s participants. The SSIGF may identify existing and emerging internet-related public policy issues, bring them to the attention of the relevant authorities and the general public, and, where appropriate, make recommendations to the relevant authorities. The SS-IGF does not have any direct decision-making authority.
The SS-IGF is part of the hierarchy of Internet Governance Forums (IGF) where at an International level there is the global IGF that was established by the United Nations in July 2006. At a continental level there is the African Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF), and at a regional level the SSIGF falls under the Rast Africa Internet Governance Forum (EAIGF).
Context
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is an open and inclusive multi-stakeholder forum where public policy issues related to key elements of Internet governance issues, such as the Internet’s sustainability, robustness, security, stability and development are discussed
The United Nations Secretary-General formally announced the establishment of the IGF in July 2006 and the first meeting was convened in October 2006.
Today, the Internet have become an integral part of modern societies and are universal, constantly transforming lifestyles.
The Internet provide real time borderless communication and almost unlimited access to a range of services. Technical developments have improved daily life: online banking, Mobile Data Services and Voice over Internet (VoIP) telephony are few examples. The availability of Internet and network-based services offer a number of advantages for the society in general.
ICT applications, such as e-Government, e Commerce, e-Education, e-Health and e-Environment, are considered as enablers for socio-economic development, particularly due to their ability to deliver a wide range of basic services in remote and rural areas. In this regard, ICT applications can facilitate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries, and in particular in South Sudan. The development of cheaper infrastructure technologies has enabled developing and Least Developed Countries to offer Internet services to more people. The popularity of the Internet and its services is growing fast although with some challenges in using the internet.
Today, we are more interconnected than ever before and overall reliance on the Internet continues to increase. Unfortunately, in this environment cyber-attacks occur rapidly and spread across the globe in minutes without regard to borders, geography, or national jurisdictions. Worldwide, every second, and adults become a victim of cybercrime, resulting in more than one-and-a-half million cybercrime victims each day Cybercrime ranges from the stealing of private identity or child pornography distribution to the damaging and complete disruption of a country’s Internet connectivity. Consequently, it is crucial to prevent cyberspace from turning into a source of danger for users – state, business and citizen – and to build confidence and security Internet’ use: in other words to create a safe cyber environment – to ensure Internet usages.
The objectives of SS-IGF can be summarized as follows:
- To advance Internet Governance issues in South Sudan through a multi-stakeholder framework as well as facilitating partnerships and coalitions that deliver coordinated domestic responses, initiatives, and synergies that best promote and protect the nation’s position on the internet ecosystem.
- To increase awareness and build capacity on Internet Governance issues in South Sudan so as to ensure informed dialogue on policy and related matters between all stakeholders;
- To establish a coordinated and coherent framework for dealing with Internet Governance issues in South Sudan;
- To facilitate the participation of a broad range of stakeholders in Internet Governance issue; and
- To ensure South Sudan’s views are represented in the African Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF), ICANN and Global IGF.
SS-IGF Vision
- A sustainable, secure, stable, open and robust internet in South Sudan
SS-IGF Mission
- To be a South Sudanese world-class platform for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue on prevailing and emerging issues on Internet Governance.
The SS-IGF comprises of the Public Forum, with an Advisory Group (known as the Multi-stakeholder Coordinating Team, or MCT) and a Secretariat as the main institutional bodies of the SS-IGF.
The Multi-stakeholder Coordinating Team (MCT)
The MCT draws its membership from the following stakeholder groups:
- Government
- Private Sector
- Civil Society
- Academia
- Technical Communities