Internet Governance Forum Support Association (IGFSA)
 Annual Report 2016-2017

This report covers the Association’s activities between its third General Assembly, held in Guadalajara, Mexico, on 5 December 2016 and its fourth General Assembly, to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 19 December 2017.  Click here for the full report PDF.

1.         Structures of the Association

a)         The General Assembly

The IGFSA held its third General Assembly during the 12th IGF in Guadalajara, Mexico, on 5 December 2016.  26 IGFSA Members attended the meeting in person and five via remote participation.

The General Assembly approved the 2017 Budget Allocation.

As proposed on the IGFSA Members’ list prior to the General Assembly, the meeting addressed a proposed modification to the Articles of Association in order to streamline the membership application process and make membership is automatic upon payment of dues The changes were approved by the General Assembly as proposed by the Executive Committee and the amended Article 3 now reads as follows: “Thereafter, new members are admitted upon payment of their membership dues. The Executive Committee informs the General Assembly annually regarding the admission of new members.”..

Four seats on the IGFSA Executive Committee were open for renewal.  Seven IGFSA members put their names forward to seek election to the IGFSA Executive Committee.

The following four candidates were elected to the IGFSA Executive Committee

  • Ms. Avri Doria, Independent Researcher, IGFSA Executive Committee Member
  • Mr. Markus Kummer, IGFSA Secretary
  • Ms. Karen McCabe, IEEE
  • Mr. Eduardo Santoyo, .co

The full 2017 IGFSA Executive Committee is constituted as follows:

  • Markus Kummer, (Chair)
  • Marilyn Cade, mCADE LLC
  • Avri Doria, Independent Researcher
  • Karen McCabe, IEEE
  • Edmon Chung, DotAsia Organisation
  • Tarek Kamel, ICANN
  • Jimson Olufuye, AfiCTA
  • Eduardo Santoyo, .co

b)         The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee held five meetings over the course of the year. Some meetings were held in person, or in conjunction with an ICANN meeting. All physical meetings had remote participation available via a communication application.

In carrying out its tasks, the Executive Committee is supported by a Secretariat responsible for day-to-day activities, carrying out the Association’s operational tasks, preparing for meetings and other regular office requirements. Mark Buell and Jennifer Chung are the Association’s Co-Secretaries while Kyle Shulman is seconded by Internet Society to perform the operational Secretariat tasks.

c)         Membership

The two categories of membership agreed upon at the inaugural General Assembly continued in 2017: individual membership with annual membership dues of USD 25 and organizational membership with annual membership dues of USD 100.  Following the amendment of Article 3 with simplified admission procedures the Executive  Committee informs the General Assembly that the following new members were admitted in 2017:

Individual members:

Organizational Members

2. Activities of the Association

a)         Fundraising

Below is a breakdown of all the contributions received as of 1 December 2017:

Amount in USD

Organization

654.14

Membership dues

50,000.00

ICANN

50,000.00

.NRO

2,500.00

Amazon

TOTAL:

 

103.154.13  

 

Since its inception at the 2014 IGF in Istanbul, IGFSA has raised USD 635,412.94.

b)         Allocation of Funds

The 2017 General Assembly adjusted the formula for the allocation of funds that had been agreed on in 2016 as follows.

Contributing to the UN-IGF Trust Fund:         35 % of all funds received;

Supporting NRIs:                                            40% of all funds received.

The remaining 25% were reserved to outreach/communications activities (7%), support of the IGF Secretariat (10%), and IGFSA contingencies (8%).

While the main objective of the new formula was to take into account the growing demand for supporting National/Regional IGF Initiatives (NRIs), the dynamics of their growth went beyond expectations. The Executive Committee decided to apply the formula in a flexible manner and to give priority to the NRIs:
The actual expenses were as follows:

UN  IGF Trust Fund:               USD 60’000.00
                                                NRIs:                                       USD 99,00.00
                                                IGF Secretariat                       NIL
                                                Coms/outreach                       USD     2,248.00
                                                                                                _____________
Total expenses:                                                                      USD 121,248.00

Disposable reserves as per December 2017:                        USD   47,303.00

 (i)         Contribution to the UN-IGF Trust Fund 

The UN recognized  IGFSA as an official contributor to the IGF Trust Fund. A first exchange of letters was concluded in October 2016. IGFSA in 2017 transferred USD 60,000 to the UN account, bringing up the total of its contributions to the IGF Trust Fund to USD 260,000.

(iii)       Regional/National IGF Initiatives (NRIs)

The Executive Committee attached a high priority to strengthen, seek and promote exchange and collaboration with National and Regional IGF Initiatives (NRIs), with a focus on NRIs from developing countries and economies in transition. This is one of the purposes of the IGFSA, according to Article 3 of the Articles of Association. A pre-condition for being considered as a recipient of IGFSA funding is to be recognized by the IGFSA Secretariat and listed on the IGF website

As part of this priority, ten Regional and Sub-Regional IGF Initiatives were approved to receive 3500 USD funding:

  1. African IGF
  2. Caribbean IGF
  3. Central Africa IGF
  4. Central Asia IGF
  5. EuroDIG
  6. LAC IGF
  7. North African IGF
  8. Pacific IGF
  9. SEEDIG
  10. West Africa IGF

31 National IGFs were approved to receive 2000 USD funding:

  1. Afghanistan IGF
  2. Argentina Internet Dialogues
  3. Armenia IGF
  4. Barbados IGF
  5. Belarus IGF
  6. Benin IGF
  7. Bolivia IGF
  8. Bosnia and Herzegovina IGF
  9. Chad IGF
  10. Colombia IGF
  11. Croatia IGF
  12. Dominican Republic IGF
  13. Ecuador IGF 
  14. Georgia IGF
  15. Guatemala IGF
  16. Indonesia IGF
  17. Kenya IGF Week
  18. Macedonia IGF
  19. Malawi IGF
  20. Mauritius IGF
  21. Namibia IGF
  22. Nepal IGF
  23. Nigeria IGF
  24. Panama IGF
  25. Paraguay IGF
  26. Rwanda IGF
  27. Senegal IGF
  28. Slovenia IGF
  29. Sri Lanka IGF
  30. Trinidad & Tobago IGF
  31. Tunisia IGF
  32. Ukraine IGF

A total of USD 99,000 was spent in support of NRIs.

(v)       Outreach/Communications

The IGFSA Executive Committee and the Secretariat made use of various events to promote the Association, raise awareness and recruit new members, such as NRI and MAG meetings, the WSIS+10 High-Level event, the AfICTA Summit, the WSIS forum and ICANN meetings.

IGFSA held an informational luncheon/outreach session during ICANN 58 Copenhagen on 14 March 2017. Many coordinators and representatives from NRIs shared how IGFSA funding helped with their initiatives, and over 100 people participated in this informational session.

Similar events were also held during the WSIS Forum on 15 June 2017 and at ICANN 60 Abu Dhabi on 2 November 2017.

Funds were used for the printing of IGFSA Brochures and other promotional materials, which were distributed at all these events, a few of the NRIs as well as events at the ITU and the CSTD.

The consolidated financial statement for 2017 will be made available in early 2018.