The Internet Governance Forum (IGF)

This is the official Web site of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), run by the IGF Secretariat. Its purpose is to support the United Nations Secretary-General in carrying out the mandate from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) with regard to convening a new forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue - the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

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IGF 2008

The third IGF meeting is to be held in Hyderabad, India from 3-6 December 2008. (The Government of India changed the dates originally proposed (8-11 December), as they would have clashed with a major Islamic holiday.)

A presentation given by the host country, showing the venue and giving information about the city can be viewed here. [ odp ] [ pdf ] [ ppt ] [updated 27 February 2008]

[NEW] Renewal of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG)

A press release regarding the renewal of the MAG, issued by the United Nations Department for Public Information in New York on 30 April 2008, is available.

The MAG is expected to renew up to one third of its members.

All relevant stakeholder groups representing governments, private sector and civil society, including the academic and technical communities are invited to make proposals for new members.

Deadline for the submission of names: 21 May 2008.

The composition of the MAG should reflect appropriate regional and gender balance. Stakeholders are therefore encouraged to propose names with the aim to improve the gender balance and strengthen representation from developing countries.

More details on MAG's operating principles and selection criteria are contained in the summary report of its February meeting. [updated 02 May 2008]

The preparatory process

The next round of open consultations will take place on 13 May 2008, as part of the WSIS cluster of events. You may register for the open consultations and other WSIS related events at the ITU Web site.

[NEW] An agenda for the meeting is available here. [updated 08 May 2008]

[NEW] A paper on the programme agenda and format of the Hyderabad meeting is available as an input into the open consultations. [updated 08 May 2008]

The paper reflects all contributions recieved. They can be viewed in full on the IGF Web site. A discussion thread is available in the Forum Section.

The consultations will be followed by a MAG meeting on 14-15 May.

[NEW] A list of the submitted proposals for workshops and open forums can be veiwed here.[updated 08 May 2008].

In response to requests, workshop proposals can now be edited up to 9 May. More details about the workshops are available.

A first preparatory meeting took place on 26 February. The full transcript of the proceedings is available.

The archive of the open consultation Web cast in English and French can be accessed here. (The VLC player is the recommended player). [updated 29 February 2008]

The Multistakholder Advisory Group (MAG) met on 27-28 February 2008 in a closed session. The summary report of its February meeting is available here.

Digests of the discussion held within the MAG are available on the Forum Section on a regular basis.

A paper reflecting a synthesis of all contributions for the February 2008 open consultations, received by the stipulated deadline is available. [updated 20 February 2008] 

IGF Commitments

One of the suggestions made at the Rio meeting was to create a space on this Web site for stakeholders to announce a commitment emerging from IGF related activities. A discussion thread has been created for comments on this suggestion and all stakeholders are invited to post their contributions. Alternatively, you may wish to let us know should you have made any such commitment.

IGF 2007

The second meeting of the IGF was held in Rio de Janeiro on 12-15 November 2007.

The Chairman's summary of the meeting is available.

Transcripts of the following main sessions are available:

The schedule for the Rio de Janeiro meeting is available here. A printable version is also available.

All organizers of workshops, best practice forums, open forums and dynamic coalition meetings are invited to upload reports of their meeting using the web interface they used to provide their session information. (In case of technical difficulties they may contact the IGF Secretariat at igf@unog.ch).  

Submitted event reports can be viewed here.

All the main sessions were video cast and all other sessions were audio cast. All web casts will be made available on the IGF web site in due course.

Some of the statements and interventions that were made during the various sessions can be read here.

A provisional list of registered participants for the meeting can be viewed here.

The breakdown of attendance by region and stakeholder group is available. 

The Host Country Web site provides general information on Brazil and on the logistics of the meeting.

Documentation

The final version of a synthesis paper that summarizes the content of contributions received as well as the discussions of the open consultations is now available in all UN languages:

[عربي] [中文][English] [Français] [Русский] [Español].

Substantive preparations

More information on the substantive preparations of the Rio de Janeiro is available here .

IGF Meetings 2009 - 2010

The Government of Egypt offered to host the 2009 IGF meeting, while the Governments of Lithuania and Azerbaijan have made a bid for the 2010 meeting.