What are the key public policy issues discussed at IGF?
The IGF covers a broad range of digital governance issues, from Cybersecurity and Meaningful Access to Data Privacy and Artificial Intelligence. Focus issues change yearly based on submissions received during the IGF’s public call for thematic inputs, ensuring that the emphasis remains on what stakeholders, including governments and their constituencies, wish to discuss.
The main topics in 2023 are “AI & Emerging Technologies”; “Avoiding Internet Fragmentation”; “Cybersecurity, Cybercrime & Online Safety”; “Data Governance & Trust”; “Digital Divides & Inclusion”; “Global Digital Governance & Cooperation”; “Human Rights & Freedoms”; and “Sustainability & Environment”.
What are the benefits of holding the IGF in Saudi Arabia?
The meeting in Riyadh would represent a unique opportunity to engage regional and national stakeholders, including Saudi Arabia’s high proportion of young people.
Saudi Arabia is also a leading regional hub for digital development and entrepreneurship and would engage the valuable perspective of the startup community, which so far has been under-represented in IGF discussions.
What have been the overarching themes of the annual IGF meetings?
2006 – “Internet Governance for Development”
2007 – “Internet Governance for Development – IGF the First Two Years”
2008 – “Internet for All”2009 – “Internet Governance – Creating Opportunities for All”
2010 – “IGF 2010 – Developing the Future Together”
2011 – “Internet as a catalyst for change: access, development, freedoms and innovation”
2012 – “Internet Governance for Sustainable Human, Economic and Social Development”
2013 – “Building Bridges – Enhancing Multistakeholder Cooperation for Growth and Sustainable Development”
2014 – “Connecting Continents for Enhanced Multistakeholder Internet Governance”
2015 – “Evolution of Internet Governance: Empowering Sustainable Development”
2016 – “Enabling Inclusive and Sustainable Growth”
2017 – “Shape Your Digital Future!”
2018 – “Internet of Trust”
2019 – “One World. One Net. One Vision”
2020 – “Internet for human resilience and solidarity”
2021 – “Internet United”
2022 – “Resilient Internet for a Shared Sustainable and Common Future”
2023 – “The Internet We Want – Empowering All People”
Who participates in the IGF?
The IGF’s multistakeholder format attracts strong participation from governments, the private sector, civil society, including academic experts, and the technical community. Dedicated tracks at the annual IGF meeting and related preparatory activities facilitate the engagement of government ministers (‘High-Level Track’, for government and senior-most officials from other stakeholder groups, such as industry executives); international legislators (‘Parliamentary Track’); and young people (‘Youth Track’).
Current and former heads of state or government have participated in the IGF’s ceremonial segments or as panellists.
Several UN agencies – ITU, OHCHR, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNFCCC, and WIPO among them – and other intergovernmental organisations, such as the OECD, are active in both the work between and during IGF annual meetings.
The 2023 IGF in Kyoto drew over 9,000 participants from 178 countries, more than 6,000 of whom were onsite – including 105 different government delegations – representing the highest-ever number of physical IGF participants.
What are the global, regional and national impacts of IGF?
Globally, the IGF facilitates understanding and agreement on digital public policy, governance mechanisms and new technologies; enhances cooperation among key organisations and stakeholders dealing with different digital domains; fosters maximal inclusion of stakeholders in the broader policy discourse, especially those from under-represented countries and groups; strengthens capacities for participation in digital policymaking at all levels of expertise and backgrounds; contributes to the continued sustainability, security and development of the Internet, including critical efforts at multilingualism and multistakeholderism.
Annual IGF Messages, as well as outputs from IGF-guided intersessional workstreams, such as Policy Networks and Best Practice Forums, and from independent Dynamic Coalitions, are for global audiences and widely distributed.
The IGF has been and continues to be an active contributor to the G7, the WSIS process, and preparations for a proposed UN Global Digital Compact.
More than 165 countries and regions have established their own IGF National, Regional and Youth initiatives (NRIs) after the global IGF model – for processes that are multistakeholder, open, inclusive and bottom-up. The exponential growth of NRIs over the past decade testifies to the success and influence of the IGF approach. As digital technologies have taken on increasing importance in societies across the world, so has the need to discuss their impacts in people-centred, transparent fora. By supporting the development of the NRIs network, through organisational coordination and guidance from the IGF Secretariat, the global IGF has benefitted from vital local, national and regional-level perspectives on digital policy and the effects of digital transformation.
