I nominate myself for the CSTD WG on enhanced Cooperation

..................................................................................
1. short bio of one paragraph,
I am a Ghanaian , 39 years of age and work with the National Information Technology Agency as engineer and currently the IT Manager with  specialization in e-government and infrastructure, Internet Governance and Open Government Data initiatives policies and platforms.  I also work as the technical lead person for the Ghana Open Data Initiative Project and also lecture part time at the Ghana Telecom University College (Centre for Professional Development Unit). I was the immediate past Vice General Secretary of the Internet Society Ghana Chapter and currently the National Secretariat Manager of the Information Technology Association of Ghana (ITAG) and also serve as the Secretary (ex-officio) to the Executive Management Committee of which Prof Nii Quaynor is the Chair and President. I have being involve in the IT Industry for over 10 years in areas of ICT Policy development, Internet Governance, Open Government Data, Software Design and Development, Databases and Consolidation, Open Source Software Technologies, Data Divide Privacy and Security, Big Data and analytics, Data Management and technologies, and Human Resource Planning and Development and also consult to many local organisations and several ICT projects across Ghana and Abroad.

2. My motivation to be a civil society representative to the WG
With my deep understanding and involvement with civil society both national and at global level couple with my passion for free open Internet, open government data and open source software technologies, I will be honoured to represent civil society on the working group besides, my association with ICANN as Fellow  coach (mentor) and subsequently support staff. It will be my privilege to  represent civil society on the working group because Civil society has been widely recognized as one of the essential ‘third’ sector. Its strength has a positive influence on state or government. CS is an an increasingly important agent for promoting good governance like transparency, effectiveness, openness, responsiveness and accountability. Civil society most often further good governance, first, by policy analysis and advocacy; second, by regulation and monitoring of performance and the action and behavior of institutions; third, by building social capital and enabling citizens to identify and articulate their values, beliefs, civic norms and democratic practices; fourth, by mobilizing particular constituencies, particularly the vulnerable and marginalized sections of masses, to participate more fully in national and global affairs; and fifth, by development work to improve the well-being of societies or communities. I believe with my experience with ICANN, IGF, IETF, World Bank, ITU, ISOC, etc with my deep understanding of the subject matter, I will be privilege to work and contribute to the objectives of the working group by bringing to bear my skills and expertise.


3. Substantive proposals or a vision on “how to further implement enhanced cooperation as envisioned in the Tunis Agenda”
From my perspective three main issues need to be discussed thoroughly:  Internet governance and open government data policies framework and human right:
1. Internet Governance and Open Government Data Initiatives: We need to encourage participation from as many stakeholders to explore the relationship between access to the Internet, and the development of Open Government Data initiatives that is geared towards cetizen empowerment and sustainable job creation. As the number of Open Data initiatives increases worldwide, including in countries where open governance is not common, the Internet governance issues surrounding such release of data have yet to be thoroughly investigated and discussed.  We need to focus on some of the issues that have arisen with the advent of Internet governance and Open Government Data Initiative, particularly in the African region with the view to help focus on Internet governance, such as access, security, the data divide and privacy. There is the need to also examine the need for global ethical standards that can govern the responsible use of the Internet and the release and use of data within an Internet governance framework. In this present days, Open Government data issues are been discussed outside Internet governance domain. I will bring to bear perspectives from multiple internet governance stakeholders about determination of what data is released and how it is used, this will be done to stimulate discussion about the issues by looking at the number of culturally influenced views on the issue of internet governance and open government data initiatives. Internet infrastructure, access and interoperability as well as reliability and management of data are important for successful implementation of Internet governance and Open Government Data policies. The policies that have been developed in Internet governance circles have a direct effect on the use and reuse of  data and must be acknowledged and discussed. Furthermore, inter-cultural and multi-stakeholder dialogue is needed to help shape public interest policy principles for Open Data and Internet governance.
2. Human Right: I believe that realizing human rights is the essential first step to building just societies. When people are empowered to pursue their own destinies and have a voice in shaping solutions to problems they experience, they are better equipped to overcome poverty, live with dignity and transform the lives of others. “Millions of people are suffering enormously at the hands of states, while governments are shamelessly painting the protection of human rights as a threat to security, law and order or national ‘values.'" There is an insidious and creeping trend undermining human rights which has come from governments deliberately attacking, under funding or neglecting institutions that have been set up to help protect our rights. The United Nations’ human rights bodies, the International Criminal Court, and regional mechanisms such as the Council of Europe and the Inter American Human Rights system, are being undermined by governments attempting to evade oversight of their domestic records. Amnesty international has stated in their 2015 – 2016 report that governments are broken international law in their national contexts: more than 98 states tortured or otherwise ill-treated people and 30 or more illegally forced people to do things against their will where they would be in danger. In at least 18 countries, war crimes or other violations of the “laws of war” were committed by governments or armed groups. “Instead of recognizing the crucial role these people play in society, many governments have deliberately set out to strangle criticism in their country. They broken their own laws in their crackdowns against citizens,” My question now is:  Is there any charter of human right and principles for the Internet? If yes to what extent has it influence human right policies on the Internet and if no is there any plans to lead the process.

This are issues that need to be taken into consideration and discussed thoroughly and  deal with it on its merit.


4. My experience or qualifications to represent civil society on the WG.

I have been an active member of the global Internet governance community since 2012 focused on facilitating meaningful civil society engagement at both national and global forum. With my professional, technical and human resource planing and development background and my involvement  with ICANN, ISOC, IETF,  World Bank Open Data team,  Global open data working group,  Diplo Foundation, Open Government partnership (OGP), ITU, Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN), Open Data Institute (ODI), USAID, UNDP activities couple with over 10 years of working experience within the ICT field within the public and private sector, I have gain the needed experience and understanding of the governance related issues. I am more than convinced that I do have the professional capacity to work and adhere and subscribe  to the Tunes Agenda.

5. Name, gender, regional/geographical, as well as any appropriate affiliation information and contact information should be included as well.

Gender: Male
Name: Wisdom Donkor
Nationality: Ghana
Region: Africa
Affiliation: National Information Technology Agency, Ghana/
Ghana Open Data Initiative./ National Information Technology Association of Ghana

Contact: 0243380618
Mobile: 0208128851