MAG

The Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) was established by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan on May 17, 2006 as the Advisory Group to help him set-up the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), a new avenue for multi-stakeholder dialogue on Internet governance. The IGF was the outcome of the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

Originally, MAG was composed of 47 members from different sectors including government, private, civil society, academic and technical communities around the world. Nitin Desai, Special Adviser to the Sec. General for the WSIS, was appointed Chairman of the Group.

Many prominent members of the ICANN community have also been involved in the MAG.

Mandate

The Multistakeholder Advisory Group's mandate was to help the Office of the Secretary General to prepare the IGF Meeting and to conduct its activities in an open & transparent manner and to maximize the use of electronic communications in its consultations.

Mandate Renewals

The mandate of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group was extended by the United Nations on August 20, 2007 to help prepare the next IGF meeting at Rio de Janeiro on Novemeber 12-15 of that year. It was again renewed on April 30, 2008 to provide advice in preparation for the IGF Meeting in Hyderabad, India, on December 3-6 of the same year. Mr. Nitin Desai was asked to continue his responsibility as Chairman of the Group.

Once again, on May 5, 2010, MAG's mandate was renewed for the IGF Meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania on September 14-17, 2010. The membership of the MAG was increased from 47 to 56.

Meetings of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group are conducted three times a year at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Open consultations are also held after every meeting.

Membership

The list of the members of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group is available here.