Today, at 11.00 hours in the morning the Prime Minister Mr. Karamanlis will announce the commencement of works of the first World Internet Governance Forum which is held in Athens. The key subject of the Forum, which is under the auspices of U.N.O., is: “Internet Governance for Development”.

During the opening ceremony of the Forum, the following persons will also take the floor today: the Minister of Transports & Communications, Mr. Michalis Liappis, the Special Consultant of the U.N.O. Secretary General for Internet Governance and Chairman of the Consultation Team for the Forum’s preparation, Mr. Ntin Desai, the Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Mr. Yoshio Utsumi, the Egyptian Minister of Telecommunications Mr. Tarek Kamel, the E.U. Commissioner on Information Society Mrs. Viviane Reding and the so-called internet founders, inventors of the TCP/IP protocol, Messrs. Vint Cerf and Robert Kahn and Guy Sebban, Secretary General of the  International Chamber of Commerce.

In the Forum, which is to be held every year from now on, 1200 approximately participants (government representatives, representatives from the private sector, the society of citizens, and representatives from the academic and technological community) are estimated to attend in order to exchange views concerning the Internet Governance.

It is noted that Greece was a candidate for the organization of the first Internet Governance Forum (IGF) during the International Summit on the Information Society which was organized by U.N.O. in Tunis last November.

The Minister of Transports and Communications, Mr. Michalis Liappis referred to the goals, expectations and benefits to arise from the first World Internet Governance Forum – IGF.

According to his statement, the goal of the forum – to be held annually from now on – is the promotion and facilitation of an open – multilateral dialogues among al involved parties with regard to common policies, and the establishment of an institution to control the internet’s operation, beyond any governmental interventions. Moreover, the formation of common principles and rules on the Internet’s operation is expected so as order and lawful results arise from the Internet use.

When referring to our country’s benefits from the forum’s organization, the Minister of Transports stressed out that this forum is an exquisite chance for Greeks to realize that Internet is not a game for children but a tool for development in all sectors of social and economic activity.

Mr. Liappis also referred to the government’s efforts in the past years for the development and dissemination of broadband services. More specifically, he referred to the big program for the development of broadband services in the region, whose cost amounts to € 210 million, whilst he pointed out that together with the development of the required infrastructures, an awareness and information program has commenced for the people to realize the benefits from broadband services. Mr. Liappis also noted that our country is the first one around the world with respect to the increased rate of broadband connections (for the second quarter of 2006). He announced that the rate of broadband access in our country reached 3.1% in September 2006 compared to 0.47% in late 2004.

The Forum’s works will be broadcasted live through the Internet at the website www.igfgreece2006.gr and live satellite broadcasting worldwide will also be provided via the Greek satellite Hellas Sat.