National and Regional IGF initiatives (NRIs) are organic and independent formations that are discussing issues pertaining to Internet Governance from the perspective of their respective communities, while acting in accordance with the main principles of the global IGF. 

The IGF initiatives are expected to follow the principles and practices of being open and transparent, inclusive and non-commercial. They work in accordance with the bottom up consensus process of the IGF and need to have a multistakeholder participation (at least three stakeholder groups initially, and evolve toward inclusion of all stakeholder groups), in both formation of the Initiative and in any other Initiative related events.

These principles are explained in the NRIs Toolkit, available on the IGF website, here.

As of 2023, there are more than 155 initiatives located in all five UN regions and spread around the world. There are several new initiatives now forming and working to hold their first annual event in 2023/2024. To support the recommendations of the NRIs, the IGF is hosting regular (bi)monthly virtual meetings where the NRI Coordinators share updates, and collaborate on the NRIs engagement to the annual IGF meeting, as well as continuously discussing further enhancements to support the NRIs engagement toward the IGF.

If you are new to the NRIs, and would like to organize a national, regional or Youth IGF, or you would like to hear from other coordinators about their experiences and to be updated on the most recent activities, please contact the IGF Secretariat’s Focal Point for the NRIs Engagement, at: [email protected] for further assistance.

The Secretariat coordinates the work of the NRIs through the NRIs’ official mailing list. Please click here to subscribe if you would like to engage with any of the initiatives, or wish to follow the overall work of the NRIs.

All NRIs events are open and inclusive and welcome participants whether in person or virtually, just as does the IGF itself. The Secretariat maintains a calendar of all NRIs events, as shown here.

The IGF initiatives are expected to send written reports of their annual intersessional work activities, including the main annual event. All received reports are shared with the NRIs network and published on the IGF website.

To learn more about the NRIs, consult the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) or contact the IGF Secretariat.

The NRIs network is rapidly growing. Below you can track its growth since 2011 year.