Policymakers

Influencing policymakers globally

The process and results of We, the Internet have been extensively reviewed and evaluated by stakeholders at various levels, ranging from global to local, and representing diverse sectors such as governments, the private sector (Google and Meta), European institutions (European Commission and the Council of Europe), civil society organisations (UNESCO, World Wide Web Foundation, World Economic Forum) and the scientific community.

European Governments applauded
giving voice to global citizens

“Citizens are not only consumers and recipients of technology but also actors and political participants.”

Michael Roth
German Minister of State for Europe at the German
Federal Foreign Office

Picture © Michael Farkas

“We supported the initiative because we’re convinced that the discussions on digital governance can and must be enriched with the opinions of ordinary citizens from all over the world and particularly from the Global South. Decisions are better when they are taken through participation! These results clearly confirm a multistakeholder approach towards governance, I very much agree!”

Livia Walpen
Swiss Federal Office of Communications

Picture © D.R.

High-level stakeholders from the private sector want to engage
more citizens in negociations

“It started from a simplistic concept: if you’re wondering what people are thinking, why don’t you ask them? We, the Internet is not only getting information back from users, but this is also an informing process. People are learning about how things work and what issues are rising and what policies need to be debated. Putting information out into the hands of the general public is as valuable a contribution as the actual consultation.”

Vint Cerf
Chief Internet Evangelist and Google Vice-President

Picture © Duncan Hull

“We, the Internet showed us that people acknowledge the differences between sensitive data and non-sensitive data: citizens want the first to be owned by users and never even be collected by platforms in the first place. Users want these data to be kept in the hands of the users.”

Concettina Cassa
ICT Senior Specialist at Agency for Digital Italy

A process acclaimed by civil society and the technical community

“We often focus on how governments and companies shape the future of the Internet. And while there’s no denying the massive impact that governments and companies have on how the internet is shaped and regulated, we still firmly believe that individuals – citizens from around the world – can and must play a vital role in creating the web we want. That is why we need to focus our efforts on building a digital future that is safe, empowering and inclusive.”

Emily Sharpe
Director of Policy at the World Wide Web Foundation

“This is a remarkable opportunity for Yemenis to celebrate the future. It is our chance to have our say to what happens to us. We have to be visible as Yemenis in the world, we want to be on the world map for something as positive as this one, and we want to be a part of this fantastic endeavor.”

Nadia Al-Sakkaf
Chief editor of the Yemen Times

Photo © TedX

Both the initiative and results were applauded by the IGF – Internet Governance Forum community. This is the beginning of testing, improving and institutionalizing Internet governance with and for citizens.

You can replay the IGF session.

Watch on Youtube

Our national partners oversee the impact at national level

What did citizens from the Fiji Islands say about the future of the Internet? And what about cyber security awareness (the local national session)? Find out in the report.

Download the PDF

You can access the report from the Foundation in Support of Local Democracy Poland by clicking here.