As the countdown beings to IGF 2009 in Sharm el-Sheikh, it may be worth reflecting on the words written in advance of last year’s IGF in Hyderabad. How much has changed, and how much for the better?

“Dear members of the Internet Governance Community,

We are a small group of interested IGF participants, who has joined together with the common concern to foster the possibility of more complete remote attendance at the upcoming IGF in Hyderabad, 2008. Our idea is to help to provide a service that will benefit the people who are unable to attend the IGF, which means that our work is based on a very practical approach.

Our desire is to join forces with the initiatives from the Secretariat and from the Civil Society, especially, with the Online Collaboration Dynamic Coalition, seeking the convergence of similar ideas and helping to take them further. We look for ways to:

1) Combine the webcast of the IGF with a platform for interaction, which would be available before, during and after the meeting. For that, we have been exploring the possibilities of different programs.

2) To develop partnerships with regional organizations and communities with the aim to create local IGF hubs. These hubs would be local meetings, which would exhibit the webcast of the IGF as well as hold panels and roundtables, to discuss the themes of the IGF from a local perspective.

We would like to invite all the IG Community to give us their opinion and to participate on this effort. We are developing our website and will let you know when it is ready for visits. We look forward to hearing from you.

IGF Remote Participation Project”

One year later, and we find ourselves in a situation that is, perhaps significantly, not very different. Some may even argue that we have less of the momentum and motivation that flowed in advance of IGF Hyderabad 2008. The technical aspect is much improved, the message has reached more people, and yet the discussion is (as yet) quiet compared to this time last year. Are we assured of more complete attendance at Sharm el-Sheikh?