The following are the outputs of the captioning taken during an IGF intervention. Although it is largely accurate, in some cases it may be incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. It is posted as an aid, but should not be treated as an authoritative record.
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>> ANDY RICHARDSON: So, good morning, everybody, and welcome to the Parliamentary Track at IGF 2025. My name is Andy Richardson from the Inter-Parliamentary Union. And for this opening welcome, we have Mr. Sigbjorn Gjelsvik, Member of Parliament of Norway, Chair of the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications, and Mr. Chengetai Masango, Head of Office of the IGF Secretariat. So, I'd like to invite Mr. Gjelsvik to give some words of welcome to this Parliamentary Track.
>> SIGBJORN GJELSVIK: Well, thank you so much. And distinguished colleagues, Members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen. It's a great pleasure to welcome you to the 7th Edition of the Parliamentarian Track at the Internet Governance Forum 2025, here in beautiful Lillestrom in Norway, which also happens to be my hometown. This year marks a significant milestone, the 20th anniversary of the IGF, and we are honoured to gather under the timely and ambitious theme: Building Digital Governance Together.
As parliamentarians, we stand at the intersection of policy, technology, and society. The digital age presents us with both unprecedented opportunities and complex challenges. From safeguarding democratic institutions against online disinformation, to protecting vulnerable communities in the digital space, our role in shaping inclusive, rights‑based digital policies has never been more vital.
I have myself participated in the IGF two times before, one as a Minister for Digitalisation, and last time at the Parliamentarian Track as Chair of the Norwegian Parliament Standing Committee on Transport and Communications. From my experience, this kind of forum, where we meet colleagues, but also a lot of other stakeholders, is very useful indeed.
Today and tomorrow, this parliamentarian track will serve as the dynamic platform for dialogue. Learning and collaborating together, we will, among other things, explore how to counter online mis‑ and disinformation while upholding freedom of expression; how to strike the right balance between cybersecurity and human rights; how to protect children and marginalized groups from online harms; and how to foster meaningful digital cooperation across regions and sectors.
This year's programme is rich and diverse, featuring voices from across the globe: Parliamentarians, civil society, the private sector, the technical community, and international organizations. It is designed to be interactive, inclusive, and action‑oriented.
The outcomes of our discussions will feed into a formal output document, one that will inform parliaments worldwide and contribute to the broader IGF legacy. We are especially grateful to our co‑organizers, the IGF Secretariat and the Inter-Parliamentary Union for their leadership and commitment to this important initiative. It has been a pleasure for us in the Norwegian Parliament to work with them.
Speaking of the Norwegian Parliament, I look forward to seeing you at our reception this afternoon and to be able to show you our beautiful Parliament building. Let us use this opportunity not only to exchange ideas but to forge partnership and inspire action. Once again, welcome to the IGF 2025. Let us build digital governance together with purpose, with courage, and with unity. Thank you so much.
>> ANDY RICHARDSON: Mr. Masango, please go ahead.
>> CHENGETAI MASANGO: Excellencies, distinguished members of Parliament, colleagues, friends, it is a pleasure to welcome you to the Parliamentary Track of the 20th Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum here in Lillestrom. Before I start, I would like to sincerely thank the Inter-Parliamentary Union for their fantastic collaboration in the past six years, the Norwegian Parliament, for your dedication in shaping such a strong programme, but also to all Members of Parliament present here in Lillestrom and online. We highly value your commitment in being part of the IGF and helping shape a digital future that we all aspire to.
This marks the 6th Edition of the Parliamentary Track, and with each year, the conversation grows more richer, more diverse, and more connected to national and regional digital policy issues. It is particularly exciting to welcome new parliamentarians joining us this year from all continents and countries, such as Lithuania, Nepal, the United States, Zimbabwe, Montenegro, Spain, and Uruguay. Your voices bring renewed energy and perspectives to the global dialogue, and we are truly glad to have you here with us.
Freedom of expression is a deeply rooted value in Norway, one that forms a cornerstone of its society. Upholding freedom of expression also shapes how we approach digital governance. As Members of Parliament, you are in a unique position to shape the policies and laws that guide a proper balance. Since you navigate the delicate balance between ensuring security, safety, and upholding fundamental human rights, your participation at the IGF also helps bridge the gap between global dialogue and national action. It has been encouraging to see the momentum growing. More parliamentarians are engaging through the national and regional IGFs, from West Africa, to the Asia‑Pacific and Latin Americas, and this is exactly the kind of local leadership that brings principles discussed at this forum to life.
Let us keep building on this progress. Let us work together, learning from each other, to make digital governance more responsive, more inclusive, and more grounded in the values we all share, which will result into the IGF 2025 Parliamentary Track output document. On behalf of the IGF Secretariat, I am wishing you all meaningful conversations, new partnerships, and concrete outcomes. Your voices matter here and beyond. Thank you.
>> ANDY RICHARDSON: Thank you very much. And on behalf of the IPU, its President and Secretary‑General, I wish to extend the welcome to all of the Members of Parliament who are here, and also our thanks to our hosts in the Parliament of Norway and our partners in the IGF Secretariat, with whom we've worked very closely on this event. As Mr. Masango has noted, this is the 6th edition of the Parliamentary Track, and every year, the integration grows deeper between what is happening in parliaments and the multistakeholder community at IGF. And this is really a reflection of how significant digital policy issues are for parliaments themselves, as the place where the legislative framework is set and where oversight is carried out.
Significance of the Internet, significance of data and the emerging world of artificial intelligence, with all of the potential benefits, but also the potential risks and threats to public trust, to electoral processes and others, and it's your role to try to manage these risks on one hand and to try to ensure that the benefits of the emerging technologies are shared by everyone.
At the IPU, this is a subject that we're taking very seriously. In October 2024, the member parliaments of the IPU adopted a resolution on the impact of AI on democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, and we are now creating, implementing a new programme of work around AI and democracy.
One of the things we try to do is to track what actions are taking place in parliaments around the world on AI policy and to update this every month. Currently, we are reporting on 37 parliaments that are taking actions on AI policy, whether introducing legislation, carrying out committee inquiries, producing reports or other forms of action, and I'm sure there are many others. So, we are going to be listening very closely to you this week to learn what you are doing in your parliaments.
And in addition to listening to the discussions, myself and my IPU colleague, Addy Irwin, will be trying to have as many conversations with you as possible to find out what you are doing, both individually and in your parliaments. Could I ask Addy to stand up? She's at the back of the room. So, please, if we come and ask you some questions, we ask for a minute of your time just to share information about your work in parliaments.
With that, we'll close the opening session here, to wish you a warm welcome. A couple of housekeeping remarks. We do have interpretation in English, French, and Spanish, if anyone wants to listen in those languages and speak in those languages. There are a number of sessions taking place this morning in this room, in the Parliamentary Track, and then in the afternoon, we will move to the Plenary Room. We will explain that as we go. So, with that, thank you, welcome, and I would like to invite the moderator and the panelists of the next ‑‑ of the first session, which is titled "Digital deceit: The Societal Impact of Online Misinformation and Disinformation" to come up to the podium, and we will go straight into the discussions. Thank you.
