The last decade has seen cyberspace explode from 16 million internet users in 1995 to nearly 2 billion today, more than half in developing countries. This has revolutionised how we live and work. The Internet, with its incredible connective power, is creating vast economic and social opportunities that would have been unimaginable 20 years ago.
Further expanding our networked world is therefore in all our interests. Cyberspace has created a multi-trillion dollar industry, employing millions, and is educating whole generations, giving many a better future by offering rapid access to information and ideas. But we also have a shared responsibility to face the challenges presented by the networked world to ensure that cyberspace remains a safe and trusted environment in which to operate.
The UK is taking the lead on this issue. Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced that the UK will host a London Conference on Cyberspace on 1-2 November bringing together Governments, leading business figures and NGOs from around the world, to build the broadest possible international consensus on how to realise the benefits of cyberspace. The Conference will concentrate on five themes – economic growth and development; social benefits; cyber crime; safe and reliable access; and international security.
But this won’t just be a debate between politicians, NGOs and industry representatives. Anybody with access to or an interest in cyberspace will be able to take part and will have an opportunity to ask questions about the future of the web. These questions will be put to the speakers and chairs of the panels scheduled during the Conference.
You can do this via Twitter or Facebook. Tweet your questions in English in advance of or during the Conference. Include the hashtag #LondonCyber for general questions and add one of the following hashtags, corresponding with the relevant theme, so that we can match your question to the right session: #social, #economic, #crime, #access, #security. You can also go to the Foreign Secretary’s page on Facebook and ask a question in English there. If you see a question that has already been asked, you can “like” it, to help determine the most popular questions.
The ideas and proposals which emerge from the Conference will develop into the ‘London Agenda’, a plan to help us realise the full potential of cyberspace – one of the great challenges of our time. For more details follow #LondonCyber and the dedicated Twitter account @LondonCyber.