The Geneva Internet Conference – Internet Governance at a Crossroads

The Geneva Internet Conference (#IGeneva) will address critical issues, gaps, and future developments in Internet governance (IG) and digital politics. The conference will build on the main developments and events in 2014, including the announcement of the US government on the transition of the IANA oversight, the NETmundial conference and the future development of the UN Internet Governance Forum. The conference will make use of the comparative advantages of Geneva as one of the global hubs for IG with the presence of relevant IG-related institutions and organisations, diplomatic missions, think tanks and academia and other relevant players.

Approach

The Geneva Internet Conference (#IGeneva), which is being organised as a focal event of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP), is a process with a number of preparatory and follow-up activities. Users and communities worldwide are participating in interactive sessions via e-participation and remote hubs. Before the conference, substantive discussions will focus on key themes to inform the design of the conference and to facilitate dialogue between the IG and other policy communities (security, migration, climate change, etc.). Each theme will be introduced in an hour-long webinar with open participation, followed by 3-week long online discussions, whose outcomes will be fed into the conference. 

The objectives are to:

• provide concrete proposals for the future IG arrangements
• promote an evidence-based approach in global Internet policy-making
• articulate the roles and responsibilities of relevant stakeholders, including governments, companies, and civil society
• ensure cross-fertilisation between Internet governance and other policy processes

Main themes, programme and speakers

The conference main themes are:

• How to ensure genuine and robust IG processes?
• How to promote the proper participation of various actors in IG?
• How to overcome policy silos?
• How to make decisions and generate concrete outputs in IG multistakeholder processes?
• How to ensure effective implementation and compliance in IG?

The full programme is available here. Download a printable version of the programme.

View the speaker list and bios online, or download a printable version of the speaker list.

Other resources: Conference brochure | Conference organisers | Briefing note for moderators and contributors | Preparing for the Geneva Internet Conference: major IG events in 2014

Registrations are now closed.

Updates from the Geneva Internet Conference

[  ] Strengthening Internet Governance: the message from the Geneva Internet Conference

[  ] Session recordings, workshop reports and session notes for all workshops and panels are available on the conference’s programme.

[  ] Interview with Mr Fadi Chehadé, President and CEO of ICANN:

[Day Two]

• Overview of social media activities: Storify summary
• Day Two photo gallery
• Day Two summary: Geneva IS a hub for IG: GIC Day Two

[Day One]

• Overview of social media activities: Storify summary
• Day One photo gallery
• Day One summary: The gift that goes on giving – Day One of the GIC

[Day Zero]

• Overview of social media activities: Storify summary
• Day Zero photo gallery
• Day Zero summary : Internet governance experts and novices meet in preparation for the Geneva Internet Conference

[  ] Designing the new IG building

[  ] Summaries of pre-conference discussions are now available. More details are available here.

 Evidence and measurement in IG – what sort of data and numbers are we talking about

 How to overcome IG policy silos on global and national levels

 Whom do I contact if I want to raise my Internet Governance concern

[  ] Media coverage:

• Press release: Geneva Internet Conference’s first edition delivers powerful recommendations and questions for the future of Internet governance, 20 November
• L’importance de Genève pour Internet s’accroît, Le temps, Geneva, 20 Nov
• Genève a toutes les chances de devenir la nouvelle base de l’Icann, Tic & Telecom, Geneva, 18 November
• Le patron de l’Icann plaide à Genève pour garder un internet décentralisé, Notre temps, Geneva, 18 November
• ICANN chief urges wide Internet control, Phys.org, 18 November
• Radio Cité Genève, 18 November – Interview with Diplo’s David Rüfenacht,consultant pour la conférence de Genève sur l’Internet
• Genève se profile en future capitale d’Internet , 20 Minuten, Geneva, 18 November
• Press release: ICANN President and CEO Fadi Chehadé encourages the Geneva Internet Platform to continue addressing key issues for the future of Internet governance, 18 November
• Model Suisse et soft laws pour la gouvernance web, Marjorie Théry, L’agefi, Geneva, 17 November
• Press release: The future of Internet governance at the heart of Geneva this week, 17 November
• Radio Cité Genève, 14 November – Interview about the Geneva Interenet Conference
• Résolution de conflits sur le web, Marjorie Théry, L’agefi, Geneva, 8 November

For more updates from the Geneva Internet Conference, visit the conference webpage. The Geneva Internet Platform is an initiative of the Swiss authorities operated by DiploFoundation.