Our session seeks to explore the contours of the multistakeholder model by examining the role played by civil society actors in the IANA Transition Process. ‘Roles and responsibilities’ of stakeholders to enable inclusive and sustainable growth as envisioned by the WSIS process continues to be at the heart of internet governance discussions. Civil Society as a stakeholder group encompasses incredible diversity within itself. By examining the experiences of civil society stakeholders in the IANA transition, the session will throw light on the role, successes and failures of this stakeholder group in the process. The IANA Transition is seen as a prime example of multistakeholderism in practice. An important aspect discussed apart from the diverse viewpoints within the stakeholder group will be regarding participation from marginalized actors and barriers to participation for actors from developing countries and regions. The IANA transition is an ideal case study because, it will have participants look to future multistakeholder engagements such as the continuing work stream 2 of ICANN accountability enhancements among others. This will enable new participants to get involved and old participants to refine the multistakeholder model to make it more inclusive. The discussion will be steered by the diverse and vibrant non-commercial stakeholder group composed of members of civil society, along with members from technical and academic communities. The session will feed into the goals of more inclusive governance models and the diversity within this stakeholder group fits into the larger theme of the IGF 2016 of enabling inclusive and sustainable development.

Speakers provisionally confirmed:

Bhavana, Aarti 
Doria, Avri
Gross, Robin 
Mueller, Milton
Peake, Adam 
Scholte, Jan-Aart
Shears, Matthew
Stoll, Klaus 
Ten Oever, Niels