IGF 2025 Day 0 Event #28 Sustaining Schools of Internet Governance - 'Hackathon'

Ensuring the long-term viability and effectiveness of Schools of Internet Governance (SIGs). This Hackathon will work to further develop and update documents and materials to ensure the sustainability of SIGs through strengthening the continuous improvement of their curricula, material, and processes, both for online and onsite instruction. The key themes and focus areas revolve around sustainability strategies for Schools of Internet Governance (SIGs), a collaborative documentation effort, an interactive hackathon approach, and strengthening the Dynamic Coalition on SIGs (DC SIG). Sustainability strategies include exploring financial models such as grants, sponsorships, participant fees, and partnerships, alongside establishing governance structures that ensure long-term stability while drawing insights from best practices of successful SIGs. The collaborative documentation effort aims to refine and structure "recipes" for SIG sustainability into a clear and actionable guide for both new and existing SIGs, addressing challenges such as funding, participation, and curriculum updates. An interactive hackathon approach seeks to actively engage stakeholders—including academics, practitioners, and policymakers—to develop practical frameworks, checklists, and sustainability guidelines, promoting knowledge-sharing through real-time collaboration. Lastly, strengthening the DC SIG involves aligning the sustainability document with broader Internet governance goals, creating a dynamic, evolving resource shaped by community input, and identifying actionable steps for effective implementation. The DC has already produced such documents, namely the taxonomy and the toolkit, in collaboration. The preparation of this new document is intended to be a continuation of these efforts, which is then of value for all schools and available on the wiki. (See: on wiki page: https://www.igschools.net/mw-sig/wiki/Main_Page the Taxonomy of Schools on Internet Governance and the Operations Guide )

Q1: Each table should have its own version of the Drive doc and use the communications features provided to communicate with users who are solely online. - Key Success Factors -- Strict time management to keep discussions focused. -- Structured templates to guide groups in producing actionable insights. -- Facilitators and documenters to ensure outputs are well-documented for follow-up. --Action-oriented wrap-up with assigned champions and clear next steps. - Draft/Optimized Hackathon Plan (120 Minutes) --Theme: Sustaining Schools of Internet Governance - Developing & Documenting Sustainability Models -- Goal: Develop concrete strategies for SIG sustainability, contributing to a documented framework. Session Breakdown (2 Hours) 0-10 min Opening & Objectives - Welcome by facilitators. - Overview of SIG sustainability challenges & document goals. - Explanation of hackathon structure and the inclusion of online participants as part of each table. 10-15 min Participant Grouping & Roles - Assign participants to one of four key themes. - Quick icebreaker for collaboration. Find volunteer reporters per table. 15-45 min Thematic Group Work – Round 1 - Groups work on core SIG sustainability strategies. - Use structured templates to ensure focus, with specific call outs to online participants. 45-50 min Checkpoint 1: Quick Progress Update - Each group gives a one-minute summary of their work. - Facilitators provide rapid feedback. 50-80 min Thematic Group Work – Round 2 - Groups refine and finalize their sustainability strategies. - Ensure documentation is clear and practical. 80-90 min Checkpoint 2: Key Takeaways & Final Adjustments - Groups share two-minute presentations on outcomes. - Peer and facilitator feedback for final refinements. 90-110 min Final Documentation & Integration - Teams ensure outputs are structured and actionable. - Consolidate findings into the SIG Sustainability Guide. 110-120 min Wrap-up & Next Steps - Summary of key insights. - Explain how the document will be finalized and shared. - Assign champions for follow-up. Depending on number of online participants and the degree to which communications are working as they should, flexibility may be employed to make it work as well as possible. ----- Q2: The online participation will have a designated volunteer to monitor questions and their remarks to be shared with the onsite participants Depending on the number of participants, each table will discuss one of the issues from the list of issues outlined in the working document. Each table will support both online and onsite participation using a Drive environment, and will pick a facilitator and a notetaker from among those at the table. -------- Thematic Groups & Focus Areas 1. Financial Sustainability & Funding Models Define viable funding strategies, including grants, sponsorships, partnerships, and participant fees. Ideal participants: SIG organizers, funders, business representatives. 2. Governance & Institutional Resilience Develop governance structures that ensure long-term sustainability, including advisory boards, leadership succession, and accountability mechanisms. Ideal participants: Internet governance experts, academics, policymakers. 3. Curriculum & Community Engagement Ensure that SIG programs remain relevant and high-quality while building strong alumni and mentorship networks. Ideal participants: Educators, past SIG alumni, IG trainers. 4. Regional & Policy Integration Establish connections between SIGs and regional/national policy frameworks to enhance legitimacy and long-term impact. Ideal participants: Policymakers, international organizations, telecom regulators. Q3: Cooperative document editing with communication (Google Drive) and the use of communication at each table