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In this Newsletter |
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Message from New MAG Chair |
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I am looking forward to working with all of you to prepare an IGF 2022 that will further enable people to realize the benefits of innovation while staying true to the founding values that have made it so crucial to businesses, governments, and users alike. As I noted in my initial email to the MAG members, the past 2 years have forced adaptation on a broad scale. We will continue that adaptation as our first “in-person” meeting will be held online at the end of this month instead of in Geneva as we had hoped. Our group literally spans the globe and that means that several of us will be participating at local times that are not ideal. While inconvenient, I am confident that we can have a productive and successful meeting together and I thank you in advance for your collaboration. The call for issues remains open until February 14th, but already a substantial number of inputs have been submitted. This is good news! However, we will have a challenge to synthesize all of the inputs and secure agreement on the focus issues that we are going to concentrate on for IGF 2022. Our work is but one part of the larger picture of work being done on digital issues across the UN organizations. Please keep this in mind as you make your own evaluation of inputs and relative priorities. This is especially important given the MAG’s advisory role to the Secretary-General. To help us in our deliberations the Secretariat will be providing a summary of the inputs received in the call for issues as well as in the stock-taking process, but I encourage you to read as many of the inputs as you can. I am anticipating a productive and useful discussion. You can find the inputs at this link: https://www.intgovforum.org/en/igf-2022-proposed-issues
Paul Mitchell
Chair, Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG)
United Nations Internet Governance Forum (UN-IGF)
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Looking Back at IGF 2021 |
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The 16th edition of the IGF successfully took place in Katowice, Poland, from 6-10 December 2021. This IGF was memorable in many ways, but first and foremost, for breaking ground with a hybrid participation model that maximised inclusivity and addressed head-on the challenges of organizing in an ongoing pandemic. Our participation numbers reached record-shattering heights: 10,371 total attendees, 2,734 of whom were onsite. With more than 300 sessions within a programme focused on big issues that matter to the global community - from Emerging Regulation to Digital Impacts on the Environment - the meeting was both well-attended and substantively dynamic. Whether you were at the IGF online or in-person, or were unable to join, there are multiple resources to explore its outputs, discussions, impacts, and all the social and cultural gatherings in between. Main Outcomes Other Resources |
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What Digital Issues Should the IGF Address in 2022? |
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Your ideas are critical for guiding the IGF’s policy work this year, including determining the thematic focus of the annual meeting. It only takes a minute to fill out our Issues form - tell us what you want to see on the IGF agenda this year! Contributions for shaping the programme are accepted until 14 February. |
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IGF 2021 Stocktaking & Suggesting Improvements for 2022 |
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A call was launched for feedback on what worked well from an organizational standpoint during this past IGF, and what worked less well. The traditional stocktaking process was open to all stakeholders from 15 December 2021 until 20 January 2022, and will look for concrete ideas for improving the ever-evolving IGF this year. 95 submissions were received, including more than 30 on behalf of organizations. All can be browsed on the submissions page. |
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Intersessional Activities |
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Thematic intersessional work streams chartered in 2021 - Policy Networks (PNs) and Best Practice Forums (BPFs) - issued reports or draft reports at the end of the last cycle and held sessions at the 16th IGF to present their findings. A continuation of this work, or establishment of new work streams, will be discussed by the MAG at its first face-to-face meeting in 2022. The below links give an overview of BPF and PN activity in 2021, including main outputs.
Dynamic Coalitions held a vibrant joint main session at the 2021 IGF, the result of their coordination activities over the last year. A first-ever comprehensive report was also issued at the end of the cycle, documenting their history, providing insight into their work and processes, and analysing their further potential. This can be accessed here: Full report | Abridged version DCs continue to welcome contributors. Discover the wide range of issues they cover, and join their work! All DC mailing lists are open. A coordination meeting gathering representatives from each DC is planned for early February 2022. National, Regional and Youth IGF initiatives (NRIs) Following on a year of cooperation throughout 2021, the network of national, regional and youth IGF initiatives successfully hosted a joint main session, coordination session, and five collaborative sessions at the 16th IGF. An overview was also presented of the digital policy areas discussed across 89 NRIs. The NRIs met in early January to start shaping their 2022 work agenda, which they expect to release in early February. More information on the NRIs page. |
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IGF Capacity Development |
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The IGF continues to strengthen capacity in Internet governance! This year will build on the significant results achieved in 2021, including: capacity development workshops, grants to NRIs, support to remote hubs, support to IGF participants, and cooperation with schools on Internet governance. A specific focus of this year's plan is creating engagement opportunities between the current and next generation of experts and leaders through the IGF's Youth Track and its traditional Global Youth Summit. More information on the Capacity Development page. |
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Kicking off the IGF 2022 Cycle: First Open Consultations & MAG Meeting |
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The first Open Consultations and Multistakeholder Advisory Meeting (MAG) of the IGF 2022 cycle will be held virtually on 23-25 February. All are invited to participate, particularly on the first ‘open consultations’ day, reserved for dialogue with the IGF community.
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For Your Action! |
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Key dates and deadlines
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14 February, 23:59 UTC 23-25 February |
Submission Deadline for IGF 2022 Thematic Inputs IGF 2022 First Open Consultations & MAG Meeting |
See also: Full IGF calendar
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