The Internet and the Future Heather Creech Don MacLean Tony Vetter Maja Andjelkovic

Scenarios for the future of the world United Nations Environment Programme Global Environmental Outlook Scenarios www.unep.org/geo/geo4/media Markets First Faith placed in the market to deliver not only economic, but also social, environmental improvements Policy First National governments and regional / intergovernmental bodies lead efforts to balance economic growth with lessening social, environmental impacts

Scenarios for the future of the world cont. Security First Security overshadows other values; governments dominate, influenced by multinational corporations; IGO authority declines, civil society marginalized Sustainability First All actors at all levels follow through on pledges made to date to address environmental, social concerns. More open and partnership-based approaches result in higher levels of cooperation and compliance.

Impact on the future of the Internet? Markets first: Internet development will increase the gap between the haves and the have-nots Policy first: Governments would attempt to manage the Internet through regulatory tools, reflecting existing public policy (which would vary from country to country)

Impact on the future of the Internet? Security first: There would be serious challenges to the protection of privacy, freedom of expression and access to information Sustainability first: More open and partnership-based approaches result in higher levels of cooperation, to ensure access to knowledge and innovation for sustainable development for all.

The challenge ahead What can we do to leverage the Internet and its related technologies to secure the more positive scenarios for the future?

We Need a Vision for a New Internet That provides affordable access to infrastructure and the knowledge needed to achieve sustainability for people everywhere That aims to overcome the many divides that result from economic, social and geographical differences That allows ideas and knowledge to be freely exchanged to contribute to a better future for our planet and its peoples. That is governed through shared responsibilities of all actors to ensure that the Internet serves the goal of enabling societies to live sustainably.

How do we move to a new Internet? Understand the interrelationships between the Internet and sustainable development Measure their cross-impacts Explore how to integrate the emerging governance frameworks in the two communities Build cross-community governance capacity internationally