DiploFoundation and the Geneva Internet Platform will be actively engaged at the 11th Internet Governance Forum, in Mexico and online. Join us for the following events and sessions, and stay tuned for just-in-time session reports and IGF Daily summaries.
Scroll down for details.
Once again this year, DiploFoundation and the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) will be actively engaged at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), both in situ at Guadalajara, and online.
1. IGF just-in-time reporting
The GIP Digital Watch observatory will provide just-in-time session reports from the IGF, and IGF Daily newsletters, which will be available on the dedicated webpage, dw.giplatform.org/igf2016. A final report, right after the IGF meeting, will summarise the main themes. These will complement the dynamic updates that will be offered through the observatory.
One of the aims of the just-in-time reporting is to address the challenge faced by participants and the wider community in general, both at the IGF and online, to absorb the vast amount of information and data provided in numerous and parallel sessions and other activities.
The initiative is supported by ICANN and the Internet Society.
2. Diplo / GIP booth
Diplo and the GIP will have a dedicated booth at the IGF Village. Visit us throughout the week, for news and updates on major Diplo projects (IGF report, GIP Digital Watch, monthly briefings, capacity development activities, and more). A limited number of Internet governance-related publications – including the latest issue of the Geneva Digital Watch newsletter, and the IG Acronyms book, will be available. The Diplo/GIP booth will also serve as an informal – and traditional – meeting place for alumni and friends.
3. Workshops and other sessions
Join us for the following sessions, dedicated to important digital policy areas:
Geneva Internet Platform: Building IG hubs worldwide (OF21) – Wednesday, 7th December, 17.00 – 18.00, Workshop Room 10 (PALCCO)
The session will provide an update on the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) initiative, and showcase the experience of GIP local hubs that have started operating worldwide, as platforms to discuss local and global aspects of Internet governance. A discussion will be held on how the hubs contribute to creating synergies among different layers of governance and to strenghthening collaboration among stakeholders from the developed and developing world. Learn more. Video and transcript available. Session report also available.
Internet governance processes in South Eastern Europe: challenges and opportunities – Wednesday, 7th December, 13.00 – 14.30, Workshop Room 8 (PALCCO)
This session is intended to gather interested IGF participants for a discussion on the current Internet governance (IG) landscape in South Eastern Europe and the neighbouring area (SEE). The aim of the discussion is to map existing IG processes across the region, to identify the challenges they face in achieving their goals, and to determine possible modalities for addressing such challenges in a collaborative manner. Opportunities for cooperation among these processes will also be discussed. Emphasis will be put on how SEEDIG, as a sub-regional IGF initiative, could contribute to strengthening the IG ecosystem in SEE. Learn more. Video and transcript available. Session report also available.
Fostering dialogue between Internet observatories & maps (OF37) – Thursday, 8th December, 09.00 – 10.00, Workshop Room 2 (PALCCO)
Internet observatories and maps have proliferated in recent years. They range in form and focus. However, they all share a common goal: provide and share timely and accurate information and knowledge for different stakeholders on. Continuing a conversation started at IGF 2015, the open forum will tackle challenges and opportunities for cooperation vis-à-vis capacity-building and education as well as policy-making within the Internet governance ecosystem at large. Particular attention will be given to the assessment of the ‘information seeking environment’ available today and on how to better serve information seeking needs of different users. Learn more. Video and transcript available. Session report also available.
Internet fragmentation: Getting next 4 billion online (WS37) – Thursday, 8th December, 12.00 – 13.30, Workshop Room 4 (PALCCO)
The purpose of the workshop is to gather diverse stakeholder views on the prevailing trends in Internet fragmentation and evaluate what this means for efforts to get the next four billion users online. Participants will look into the challenges that initiatives aimed to connect the un/under connected face in an increasingly fragmenting online environment, and will try to suggest ways to overcome such challenges. Learn more. Video and transcript available. Session report also available.
Civil society experiences from the IANA transition process (WS189) – Thursday, 8th December, 15.00 – 16.30, Workshop Room 7 (PALCCO)
The workshop seeks to explore the contours of the multistakeholder model by examining the role played by civil society actors in the IANA transition process, and throw light on the role, successes, and failures of this stakeholder group in the process. The IANA transition is seen as a prime example of multistakeholderism in practice. An important aspect discussed apart from the diverse viewpoints within the stakeholder group will be regarding participation from marginalised actors and barriers to participation for actors from developing countries and regions. Learn more. Video and transcript available. Session report also available.
NetGov, please meet Cybernorms. Opening the debate (WS132) – Thursday, 8th December, 16.30 – 18.00, Workshop Room 2 (PALCCO)
The UN Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the context of International Security (GGE) is becoming a key forum for elaborating voluntary, non-binding norms for states to improve the security and stability of information and communication technologies. To date, the GGE has almost exclusively involved states, with the Internet community being mostly absent from such discussions. As decisions on Internet governance impact the security and stability of cyberspace, so too can the GGE’s adoption of cybernorms impact Internet governance in significant ways. The purpose of the workshop is to build a bridge between the cybernorms discourse and Internet governance debates. Learn more. Video and transcript available. Session report also available.
Finding ways to build confidence in stakeholder legitimacy (WS149) – Friday, 9th December, 10.45 – 12.15, Workshop Room 7 (PALCCO)
Legitimacy of multistakeholder processes and outcomes are inextricably linked with participants’ legitimacy and accountability. Critics of multistakeholder Internet governance point to lack of clarity over who participates and what entity they represent. They also see the openness of Internet governance processes as potentially enabling ‘bad actors’ and others to ‘capture’ or distort what should be consensus-based decision-making processes. As a result, they have less confidence that Internet governance processes can contribute to achieving inclusive and sustainable growth. The workshop will build on stakeholder legitimacy and accountability work at the IGF and in other sectors to identify and manage such challenges. Learn more. Video and transcript available. Session report available.
Networks & solutions to achieve SDGs agenda – Internet at play (WS82) – Friday, 9th December, 12.00 – 13.30, Workshop Room 9 (PALCCO)
This workshop will focus on the role of the Internet (governaance) community in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs), and how networks and concrete solutions are key to achieve the desired outcomes. Discussions will revolve around the role of Internet solutions in: collecting, surveying, mapping, and analysing data at a large scale; empowering communities to engage in political process, journalism, and science; and enabling the provision of online services, access to information and education, jobs, and markets. Learn more. Video and transcript available. Session report also available.
Open Forum 48: Indonesia – Friday, 9th December, 12:30 – 13:30, Workshop Room 7 (PALCCO)
Social media has been an inseparable aspect of daily life and successfully connected citizen of the world through various emerging applications. It also transforms how people interract, exchange ideas, and share information into a way that has never been possible before. It provides powerful platform to engage people to join in a discourse, and even a collective action. For Indonesia, the largest moderate Muslim democracy in the world with 132,7 million internet users, and surely many other countries in the world, the emergence of social media serves as groundbreaking and essential tools for strengthening participatory of political and civil engagement. The session will discussed the role of social media in strengthening civic engagement around the world and therefore aim to seize the opportunities and manage the challenges that permeates in the rise of social media, particularly in promoting and sustaining democratic governance of a nation. Learn more. Video and transcript available. Session report also available.
4. Book launch and alumni gathering
Diplo is proud to announce the 7th edition of the book An Introduction to Internet Governance, by Dr Jovan Kurbalija. The English and Spanish versions will be launched officially on Thursday, 8th December, at 19:00, at Bilateral Room 1.
Diplo alumni and friends are also invited for an informal get-together and a family photo, right after the book launch.
Note: All times are Guadalajara local time (UTC -6), unless otherwise indicated. The schedule is being constantly updated. For more information, visit the IGF website.
