Session
Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet)
Sophie Hoogenboom, UNU-CRIS and VUB, Acedemic, WEOG. Yug Desai, South Asian University, Academic, Asia-Pacific. Dr. Berna Akcali Gur, CCLS, Queen Mary University Law School, WEOG. Dr. Trisha Meyer, Brussels School of Governance,Vrije Universiteit Brussel, WEOG. Dr. Milton Mueller, Georgia Institute of Technology, WEOG. Dr. Serhat Tutkal, College of Mexico (Colmex), Latin American and Caribbean States. Dr. Jamal Shahin, Brussels School of Governance, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, WEOG. Dr. Mauro Santaniello, University of Salerno, WEOG.
The speakers for this academic conference will come from all regional groups - we engage a diverse group of rising and established researchers that are selected through to careful consideration by the GigaNet Steering Committee. The roundtables will also include experts from different stakeholder groups for fruitful engagement between the academic community and the wider IGF multistakeholder community.
4.4
9.1
9.5
16.10
16.6
16.8
Targets: Our proposed symposium will develop links across academics from different parts of the world, who will be discussing issues pertinent to all the SDGs mentioned above. The symposium will also provide academic participants with the opportunity to share their research findings with members of other stakeholder groups present at the IGF, as well as provide a space for learning in the other direction. In relation to SDG 4.4, the symposium helps disseminate academic knowledge on the topic of internet governance, and supports training of younger scholars in this field. In relation to SDG 9.1, 9.5, the research presented at the GigaNet Annual symposium aims to strengthen research and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for equitable access for all. In-depth research related to infrastructure, case studies highlighting technology and policy choices in developed and developing countries, as well as innovative technology governance solutions can contribute to achieving the SDGs at a time when digital technologies have become a key platform for their realisation. In relation to SDG 16.6, 16.8 and 16.10, evidence from robust research can enhance accountability and transparency of Internet governance-related institutions at all level, ensuring a diversity of voices from both developed and developing countries can be heard. Importantly, such research contributions also enhance access to information for the general public and protection of fundamental rights in areas for which regulation, legislation and case law is nascent.
Classroom
The GigaNet Academic Symposium is an annual event held as part of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), serving as a premier venue for scholars and researchers focused on internet governance. Organised by the Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet), the symposium fosters interdisciplinary discussions on key policy, technical, and social issues shaping the digital world. The symposium brings together experts from fields such as law, political science, communication studies, and computer science, and explicitly links them to policymakers in the field of Internet Governance. In our special 2025 edition, the GigaNet Academic Annual Symposium will feature peer-reviewed research presentations, keynote speeches, and panel discussions. Topics typically include, among others, internet regulation, digital rights, cybersecurity, data governance, artificial intelligence, and platform governance, reflecting the evolving landscape of internet policy. By providing a dedicated space for rigorous academic exchange, the symposium hopes to strengthen connections between researchers, policymakers, and civil society, ensuring that evidence-based scholarship informs global internet governance debates.
The symposium may be organised in a hybrid format, to ensure inclusiveness from as many parts of the world as possible. The GigaNet Annual Symposium has carried out this exercise in previous years and has experience in this field. GigaNet will ensure that online participants are able to interact with onsite participants in a constructive manner. We may use sli.do or mentimeter as tools to further engage with participants both onsite and online, in order to ensure that we can successfully balance the interactions between online and onsite participation.
2025 Giganet Annual Symposium Program
8:50: Welcoming remarks, Sophie Hoogenboom, Chair Programme Committee Giganet
9.00 – 10:10: From the Tunis Agenda to WSIS+20: Pioneering Sustainable Development with LEO Satellites as Critical Internet Infrastructure
Building on insights from the Summer School on Internet Governance and International Law and its WSIS+20 recommendations, this panel explores the evolving concept of digital sovereignty and its implications for the governance of critical internet infrastructures, with a focus on Low Earth Orbit satellites (LEOs). By examining the interplay between sovereignty claims, transboundary data flows, and emerging regulatory frameworks, the panel will evaluate how digital sovereignty debates shape global connectivity, infrastructure resilience, and the pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in promoting inclusive and sustainable digital development.
Moderator: Jamal Shahin
- Jonathan Liebenau, London School of Economics, “The Evolution of Low Earth Orbit Satellites: Historical and Economic Perspectives”
- Joanna Kulesza, University of Lodz, “International Law and LEO Satellites: Jurisdiction, Sovereignty, and Human Rights”
- Roxana Radu, University of Oxford, “Governance Challenges in LEO Infrastructure: Equity, Access, and the Future of Global Connectivity”
10.15 - 11:30: Mapping the Politics of Global Technology Governance: From Domestic Coalitions to Global Norms
The papers on this panel discuss the state of multilateralism and Internet governance from a long-term perspective. The research is part of a EU-funded Horizon Europe research project on multilateralism and technology governance, "REMIT" (grant agreement No 101094228).
Chair: Trisha Meyer
Discussant: TBC
- Roberta Haar*, Maastricht University, ‘’The United States, China and Strategic Technologies: Domestic Coalitions, Foreign Policy and Multilateral Cooperation’’
- Apolline Rolland* and James Shires, Virtual Routes, ‘’Tomorrow never dies: how "emerging technologies" shape cybersecurity futures’’
- Dennis Redeker*, Mariëlle Wijermars* and Nicola Palladino, "Digital Constitutionalism in Global Digital Governance: Identifying Actor-Principle Networks between 321 Digital Bills of Rights"
*presenting
11:30 - 12:15: Giganet frontier papers
Moderator: Sophie Hoogenboom
- Chelsea Horne, American University, American University, USA: “Growing Up Governed: Parental Controls, Child Online Safety, and the Politics of Internet Regulation”
- Vagisha Srivastava, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA: “Cashless India: A Paradox of Inclusion, Surveillance, and CBDC innovation”
12.15 - 13:30: Lunch
13.30 - 14:40: Panel Discussion: Should WSIS End?
Five scholars discuss and debate the role and impacts of intergovernmental institutions in Internet governance, focusing on the future of the IGF, the renewal of the WSIS process, and the possible decoupling of IGF from the WSIS process.
Moderator: Jyoti Panday, Internet Governance Project, India.
- Avri Doria, IETF and former ICANN Board member,
- William Drake, Columbia University CITI, USA
- Pari Esfandiari, Global TechnoPolitics Forum, UK
- Alex Klimburg, The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, NL
- Milton Mueller, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
14.40 - 15:00: GigaNet frontier paper
Moderator: Nadia Tjahja (TBC)
- Mark W. Datysgeld, Jaqueline Trevisan Pigatto*, Laura Gabrieli Pereira da Silva: “Reframing Internet Governance: The Struggle of Multistakeholderism in the Face of Multilateralism”.
*presenting
15.00 - 15:30 Open mic session with GigaNet Steering Committee