You too can be part of the Dialogue! In this section you will find the conditions, principles and privacy rules to participate:

Terms of Participation

By submitting a contribution or material for consideration in the Dialogue of the Americas or participating in any of the other spaces enabled by this Dialogue, the actor submitting its contribution agrees to observe, follow, and comply with the following participation conditions:

Specifically, the acceptance – and when is the case, the publication – of contributions and materials is not automatic but is subject to compliance with the Conditions of Participation and the Values ​​of the Dialogue:

1. The contributions and materials sent must be concerning or relevant to the topics of this consultation.
2. The contributions and materials sent must be the property of or of authorized use by the sender.
3. Contributions and materials can be submitted in Spanish, English, Portuguese or French –  official languages ​​of the OAS.
4. For some submission of contributions or materials in some of the foreseen Dialogue activities, specific activities forms are made available. The forms require, as a minimum, the name of the sender, observing rule 4.a and 5, and an active and real email address, with the reservation that additional mandatory information may be requested for the proper operation of each activity.
   1. The use of the person’s full name is preferred and recommended. However, anonymity will be allowed through a pseudonym.
   2. The Dialogue recognizes that anonymity is a fundamental tool to ensure that those who are at risk of retaliation can express themselves.
   3. The email provided must be active and real especially for the mechanism provided in rule 12
   4. If the form of an activity does not request it, the participants are optionally invited to identify the institution whose interests they represent in the body of the text sent as contribution or material.
5. Actors can opt to make submissions of contributions or materials directly or, if they prefer, indirectly, through an organization they trust.
   1. For the purposes of this “indirect mode of submission”, the sending organization will be the one identified in the name (observing rule 4), email address and other requested data corresponding to the sender.
   2. In addition, the organization sending the material or contribution in the name of a third party(ies) must identify that the contribution or material is being sent in the name of a third party(ies), who choose to participate indirectly in the Dialogue of the Americas and contacted the organization for that purpose.
6. Contributions and materials must be sent within the indicated times as well as respect the formats and means of submission designated for each activity.
7. In the specific case of the Knowledge Center, the organization of the Dialogue, in addition to the above conditions, will only publish academic content (e.g studies,   learning multimedia, manuals, standards and recommendations) as well as international regulations or course curricula.
8. All contributions and materials that are published – regardless of their format – will contain the identity of the organization and the sector that originated it, observing rule 4 and 5, and the Privacy Policy
9. In those cases in which a submitting part prefers that his/hers contribution or material is not made public, he/she must clearly note and justify that preference when making the submission.
10. No contributions or materials that glorifies illegal or prohibited activities according to international human rights standards will be published. Additionally, the Dialogue’s team wont publish or make available any contributions or materials or other kind of submissions that:
    1. Represent a threat or risk to any other participant or members of the organizing team of the Dialogue of the Americas.
    2. Being involved in illegal, unethical, or violent activities
    3. Misuse the personal information of other participants, harass others or present any other conduct contrary to the Values and Principles ​​of the Dialogue of the Americas.
11. No content or opinion that does not agree with these Participation Terms, as well as the Principles and Values for the Dialogue or Privacy Policy.
12. The decision of non-publication or exclusion of a contribution, as well as the revocation of access or participation credentials on Dialogue events, will be adopted in the first instance by RELE personnel previously designated for this function and within a maximum period of 5 business days, counted from the sending of the contribution or identification of the causes established these Conditions.
    1. In the event of a decision not to publish or revoke access or participation credentials, the person will be notified by the email provided in the submission forms.
    2. If desired, within a maximum period of 5 days, the affected person or organization may appeal the decision, informing the reasons that would motivate its change by email, replying to the message received.
    3. The appeal will be evaluated by an independent and hierarchically superior body, made up of personnel previously designated for the function, within a maximum period of 5 working days. The decision of this instance will be the final one in the internal procedures of the Dialogue of the Americas and the interested person will be notified by email.

Values and Principles of the MS Consultation

In the world of Internet governance, the multistakeholder process, involving multiple stakeholders, is characterized by openness, inclusiveness, speed, flexibility, and decentralized problem-solving.

Different processes adopt different principles to enable a given goal and also decide the level of commitment to results that stakeholders should have (from guidance, resolutions, regulations, more legally binding contracts to contracts, and more).

Therefore, the guiding principles that the Americas Dialogue on Freedom of Expression Online takes into consideration include, without being exhaustive, and without being listed in priority order:

• Fair opportunity for public participation at all levels of the multisectoral process.
• Participants, but not necessarily observers, must specifically identify their employer and / or the group, industry, or organization whose interests they represent.
• No multisectoral process can be successful unless representation of the affected population (eg consumers and users) exists.
• The process should seek to solve problems through an open discussion, with balance, mutual respect for different interests and, whenever possible, consensus.
• By default, the multisectoral process should occur with public opportunities to participate (online or offline, synchronous or asynchronous) and public documents.
• Therefore, all substantial events and achievements of the process must be housed in an open space and process. All documents necessary to support those moments should be shared in advance and managed properly and transparently. Any substantial disagreement that must be expressed and presented in writing will be recorded and made available to the public.
• The formal publication of any consensus document or any consensus reached must include dissenting opinions and statements.
• The understanding must prevail that although the roles of each stakeholder are different, they all share the responsibility for developing sound policies.

Privacy Policy

One of the main priorities of the Americas Dialogue on Freedom of Expression Online is that the participants consider it a safe and open space, particularly protecting those populations that are in vulnerable situations. 

In response to this objective, there is a strict policy of respect for privacy, use of personal images and collection of personal data.

Here are some considerations and guidelines to ensure the space is safe and inclusive:

1. The only personal information that will be published for the purpose of identifying a participant in front of the other participants is:
   • The name of the submitting party, observed exceptions allowed for in the Terms of Participation.
   • When requested, the identification of the organization/company / State the submitting party represents
   • When requested, the position the submitting party holds in said organization/company / State.
2. In all activities, whenever the participant’s email address is requested, this information will not be for public use, but exclusively for any necessary direct follow-ups by RELE,  for the platform to send updates of the discussion to which the submitting party provided a comment, as well as to allow for sharing new comments; to allow the participant to delete (or request deletion) or modify the initial comment of it; and to allow, if applicable, for rule 12 of the Terms of Participation.
3. Subscription to the Newsletter for alerts is voluntary. The data provided will be used exclusively by RELE, without publication, to send updates on the Dialogue, opportunities for participation and key dates and events.
4. Regarding other data that are required for participation in other Stages or activities of the Dialogue, RELE will only use them for Dialogue follow-up purposes.
5. For the purposes of documenting the consultations of the Americas Dialogue, recordings will be made of said discussions when they are carried out via videoconference. The actors who participate in these video sessions authorize the use of their image, and the presentation of their opinions through various means of dissemination, including social media platforms.
6. Access to the Dialogue of the Americas platform www.americasdialogue.org and its contents is of a public nature, therefore, registration will not be required.