The Freedom Online Coalition is pleased to launch the consultation on the Terms of Reference (ToR) for their new mechanism for multistakeholder engagement, the FOC Advisory Network. The contributions of representatives from civil society, private sector, academia, technical groups, and others are critical in shaping this network to be as effective as possible.
All interested stakeholders are encouraged to participate by completing this form [http://bit.ly/2ySgXWW] by COB 5 November. Please feel free to share this link widely.
At the 6th Annual Freedom Online Conference in Costa Rica, the Coalition presented the Outcome Document of the FOC Strategic Review, the San José Statement. The Statement and accompanying Work Plan set forth the Coalition’s aims and priority activities and offered a blueprint for revising the existing Nairobi Terms of Reference to update the FOC structure and operations to support these objectives. In furtherance of this aim, the FOC revised its Terms of Reference in May 2017.
The Coalition identified as a priority the need to create a strong mechanism for ongoing multistakeholder engagement. The FOC Advisory Network (FOC-AN) is being established to play that role through regular engagement with FOC governments.
The objectives of the FOC-AN are:
- To serve as a mechanism for multistakeholder advice on the aims, objectives and activities of the FOC, and pertinent issues related to human rights online;
- To support the FOC’s mission of advancing human rights online through stakeholder engagement;
- To be instrumental in ensuring multistakeholder engagement in the planning and organization of and participate in FOC Conferences, as well as other FOC events and meetings.
To assist the Coalition in setting up the Advisory Network and developing its draft terms of reference, the FOC Friends of the Chair established an ad hoc Advisory Network Chartering Group (CG) comprised of Matthew Shears (former co-chair of FOC working Group 1), Katharine Kendrick (former co-chair of FOC Working Group 3), and the governments of Costa Rica, Finland and Germany.
Over the next month, the CG will be running a public consultation on the draft of the FOC-AN ToR. Informed by consultations with stakeholders at RightsCon 2017 and Stockholm Internet Forum 2017, the CG has developed a draft ToR for the FOC-AN.
You can find the draft Terms of Reference here: http://bit.ly/2ijkGWu
The Chartering Group invites all consultees to review the draft and complete the corresponding survey in order to share their views on relevant sections of the FOC-AN ToR.
The comments received will then be collated and consolidated by the CG, and used to inform the final draft of the Advisory Network ToR. The Advisory Network will be launched at the FOC Open Forum at the Internet Governance Forum, where the final ToR will be presented, and open call for applications will be announced.
If you would like to take part, please ensure you complete this survey by COB 5 November.
