Next week, 15-19 June, the IGF 2020 Second Open Consultations and MAG Meetings will be held entirely online
The IGF has always offered online participation in addition to its physical meetings, and regularly hosts virtual meetings for the MAG, Best Practice Forums, the National, Regional and Youth IGFs (NRIs) as well as the Dynamic Coalition Coordination Group, but next week will be the first time that a set of preparatory meetings will be held in a fully virtual environment.
At the Open Consultations, stakeholders have the opportunity to provide input on the IGF 2020 program, including issues to be discussed in main sessions. During the MAG meeting, the MAG members will approve the final list of workshops to be included in the program, as well as discuss the topics for main sessions and the high-level track.
To ensure that the preparatory meetings are as open and inclusive as all previous preparatory meetings, the following changes have been made to the schedule and working processes:
- The meetings are spread out over five days, in different time slots, to enable as many participants around the world to participate in their waking hours.
View the agenda here.
- Speakers and presenters were encouraged to send in videos of their presentations in advance of the meeting to overcome the possibility of connectivity problems in real-time, as well as to enable IGF participants to view the presentations at a time that suits them, and submit questions or comments related to the presentations in advance of the session the videos will be presented in.
Watch the pre-recorded videos of presentations at a time that suits you, then send your comments or questions to questions [at] intgovforum [dot] org to be read out in real time during the meeting.
- Interpretation will be available in English and French for the Open Consultations on Monday 15 June and Tuesday 16 June 2020.
- To streamline and reduce the workload during the meetings, the MAG has conducted as much of its work as possible via email and calls in the week leading up to the Open Consultations and MAG Meetings.
- The MAG will use online breakout rooms during its meeting, 17-19 June, to replicate, as much as possible, its successful use of physical breakout sessions during previous MAG meetings.
More information about the meetings, including how to register, are available here.