IGF 2023 Open Forum #23 A bottom-up approach: IG processes and multistakeholderism

This open forum will explore how multi-stakeholder engagement in discussions about Internet governance has protected users' ability to use the global Internet freely and openly. At the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in 2005, governments agreed that Internet governance should involve all stakeholders and that a multi-stakeholder approach should be adopted, as far as possible, at all levels. At the ten-year review of WSIS in 2015, governments recognised that human rights have been central to the vision of the World Summit on the Information Society. Human rights defenders, other civil society actors and media workers all play a vital role in holding governments to account on the protection of human rights in global digital governance and multi-stakeholder participation in Internet governance processes continues to be critical for the protection of human rights. As we approach the 20 year review of WSIS in 2025, we need to encourage and support inclusive participation by all stakeholders in order to promote the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. In the first 20 minutes, panellists will: -explain how multi-stakeholder engagement plays a critical role in supporting human rights online; -outline opportunities for multi-stakeholder engagement in Internet governance fora and processes; and -explore how the 20 year review of WSIS can be shaped to encourage participation from the multistakeholder community and ensure the process is accessible to all stakeholders. The next 40 minutes will maximise interaction with the audience. The audience will share ideas on how the WSIS+20 review process can be shaped to encourage the private sector, civil society and the technical community to more actively contribute.

The hybrid nature of this open forum will be integral to its success and we plan to utilise the break-out group feature within Zoom to maximise participation. The inclusion of break-out groups in the session design is specifically to ensure online attendees are able to converse with each other, creating a networking/collaboration opportunity which allows them to experience the session not just by listening, but by actively contributing. The interaction between online and in-person break-out groups will then be facilitated by bringing all participants back together for a hybrid discussion to conclude the session.