Since their inception, Dynamic Coalitions (DCs) have played a vital role within the IGF process, serving as engines of innovation, dialogue, and community-driven research on some of the most pressing issues in Internet governance. Their intersessional work, from accessibility to cybersecurity, online safety, and digital financial inclusion, reflects the spirit of the IGF’s bottom-up, multistakeholder model. This session celebrates the achievements of DCs while asking: what’s next?
The session invites a forward-looking conversation on how the broader Internet governance community can benefit from the outreach and visibility, relevance, influence, and outcomes of DCs in alignment with the priorities of the Global Digital Compact. As “living labs” for multistakeholder collaboration, DCs are uniquely positioned to show how open, bottom-up governance can translate values into action.
Although DCs enjoy their independence, their respective work has relevance and meaning for their community and beyond in the whole IGF ecosystem. This is evidenced by four webinars held by the DCs’ community, each with a high number of participants from the IGF community (between 50 - 100 each), which have resulted in four workshops to be held at the IGF 2025 in Norway. The session will demonstrate the interrelatedness of the diverse Dynamic Coalitions’ work and their engagement with and contributions to the GDC, the WSIS Action lines, and the SDGs.
Artificial intelligence (AI) applications offer a range of benefits but also challenges and risks and lead to significant transformations in many sectors including the military sector. Since more than a decade we see the development of AI-based weapon systems which have the potential to undermine both international peace and security as well as the functioning of the Internet.
The Session will discuss recent developments and new perspectives of the need for regulation of Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS). The 79th UN General Assembly in October discussed the AWS Report of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres published in July 2024 pursuant to the UN Resolution 78/241 on “Lethal autonomous weapons systems” (LAWS), introduced by Austria in 2023, and supported by the overwhelming majority of UN member states. The UN General Assembly adopted two resolutions in 2024:
- UN Resolution 79/62 on LAWS sponsored by Austria and a cross-regional group of co-sponsors, which is aimed to intensify the AWS discussion and address those aspects of the UN SG report, that have not yet been discussed comprehensively, including from a human rights, ethical and security perspective,
- UN-Resolution 79/239 on AI in the military domain and its implications for peace and security, sponsored by the Netherlands and the Republic of Korea together with a cross-regional group of co-sponsors.
The work in the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) in the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) has continued to work on a rolling text and hopes to finalize it until the end of 2025. Further, the UN will organize a two-day multi-stakeholder informal consultation on AWS pursuant to UN-Resolution 79/62 on May, 12 – 13, 2025 in New York. The call of the UN Secretary General and the ICRC President, supported by many states, to conclude negotiations on a legally binding instrument on AWS by 2026 is still on the table.
The Open Forum will contribute to build more public awareness of the challenges around AWS in a world of new political turbulences and risks. Stakeholders from different communities will discuss the various aspects – political, legal, ethical, humanitarian, technological etc. – of the development and use of AWS and consider ideas, how to contribute to the development of a regulatory framework for autonomous weapon systems as a contribution to peace and security and the achievement of the development goals.
Onsite and online participation
Advancing Digital Inclusion through Segmented Monitoring and Measurement for More Targeted Policy Interventions. Digital inclusion is not simply about increasing internet penetration rates—it is about ensuring that marginalized individuals and communities have equitable access to meaningful connectivity, digital content, and services in a way that fosters economic opportunity, social empowerment, and the realization of human rights. Yet, one-third of the world remains offline due to barriers like access, affordability, web-accessibility, literacy (traditional and digital), and systemic inequalities such as geography, gender, ability, and income disparities. Existing measurement frameworks rely on broad national data, missing crucial local insights needed for effective interventions. A segmented, demand-driven approach is essential, shifting focus from supply-side metrics to user needs and socio-economic realities. Without detailed data on who is excluded and why, digital inclusion strategies risk being misaligned with the realities of marginalized communities. This Open Forum and report will present actionable recommendations for a global, standardized framework to enable precise, evidence-based policies that truly address digital exclusion.
To ensure an interactive and inclusive session (in-room and online), the moderator will: • Open the session, welcome panelists and participants (in-room and online). • Icebreaker. • Q&A to panelists to ensure an engaging discussion. • Encourage panelists to respond to chat questions in real time. • Prompt audience to directed questions, provide suggestions and observation to online and in-room participants. This will be complimented by the online moderator who will: • Monitoring online chat, summarize key questions and insights from online participants and together with moderator invite panelists to respond. • Encourage reactions by e.g. prompting emojis, hand raises, and comments. This proposal is aligned with IGF 2025 Priorities. Specifically the proposal directly supports the Universal Access and Digital Rights theme by advancing more inclusive measurement methodologies, leading to better-targeted digital policies and interventions. It also aligns with IGF's broader commitment to bridging the digital divide while upholding digital rights and freedoms.
Living in an increasingly digitised world requires deep knowledge of and active engagement with the digital environment. To participate freely, equally, and meaningfully in society, individuals must develop the capacities and skills necessary to navigate and shape this environment. The human rights to non-discrimination, freedom of speech and access to information, right to privacy, and right to peaceful assembly and association oblige us to enable everybody to take part in the digital age, building their capacities by providing them with skills and competencies necessary for responsibly and safely navigating the digital environment. Digital literacy is key for seizing opportunities and managing challenges. Importantly, there is a near-universal recognition of the need for capacity building in every new digital governance framework. Each of the DCs within the IGF ecosystem produces output that helps build capacity within the IGF ecosystem as well as within their own communities. In some cases, this is a direct goal, and in others, it is a valuable by-product of their work. These contributions, while sometimes under-recognized, play a significant role in shaping inclusive governance and digital empowerment, also counteracting potential discrimination that results from a lack of digital literacy. Recognising these contributions is central to fulfilling the principles outlined in the Global Digital Compact, particularly in advancing human-centric digital cooperation.
In counteracting the global digital divide, it is necessary to recognize that we are facing a digital literacy divide now that is even widening in the course of fast innovation cycles of new technologies and services. Due to these developments, the lessons we are teaching today to address the literacy divide will be outdated tomorrow. But an agile concept like the Dynamic Coalitions fits perfectly into such a dynamic field.
This workshop will spotlight the crucial role of DCs in supporting and delivering capacity-building initiatives. It will explore options to better structure and improve these contributions and bring them into sharper focus within both the individual communities of DCs and the broader IGF ecosystem.
The session consists of a panel that focuses on three elements: (1) current priorities; (2) emerging priorities; (3) global alignment (as it concerns global technologies, developed around the globe, deployed around the globe, and with data/access across borders and jurisdictions)
Key focus areas include:
- Current priorities:
- Implementing zero trust architecture, robust encryption (e.g. TLS 1.3, DNSSEC, RPKI), and secure-by-design principles, striking a balance between benefits and pitfalls of security increased by encryption.
- Leveraging AI for real-time monitoring, anomaly detection, and predictive maintenance—while ensuring ethical use and transparency.
- Addressing the expanding role of data governance, balancing privacy with functionality, especially as AI aggregates personal data from diverse IoT sources.
- Ensuring robustness and resilience towards connectivity failures
- Encouraging interoperability and secure lifecycle management through adherence to global standards.
- Emerging priorities:
- Preparing for quantum computing’s impact on encryption by supporting adoption of post-quantum cryptography now—even before commercial quantum systems arrive.
- Scaling AI safety and accountability frameworks to manage risks posed by general-purpose AI models in critical IoT environments.
- Strengthening resilience by embedding redundancy, OTA updates, and DDoS mitigation, and ensuring disaster response readiness.
- Increasing dependence on smart healthcare devices, AI-driven education tools, etc., reaping the benefits while tackling potential risks
- Global alignment:
- Responding to the rapid development of digital device labeling and certification schemes, and encouraging mutual recognition frameworks between national and regional efforts (see for instance the EU Cyber Resilience Act, the NIST Framework, etc).
- Monitoring international standardization activities to support secure and ethical deployment of digital devices and services at scale.
- What is the role of the IGF in bringing these messages across to the various stakeholder communities?
- Procurement as a tool to align cybersecurity at the global level.
This panel will focus on exploring the evolving landscape of multistakeholder governance in this digital age, with a focus on the outcomes of WSIS+20 and ensuring that all communities, including marginalized communities, persons with disabilities, and young adults and children, as active participants in shaping the future of IGF. It also considers the application of multistakeholder governance principles to different networks for instance, the delay and fault-tolerant networks like the Interplanetary networks. With the speed at which the digital transformation advances and the IGF serving as a global platform for inclusive dialogue, the session will examine how current multistakeholder models can adapt to better reflect the perspectives and rights of younger generations.
The Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability (DCAD) emphasizes that the future of multistakeholder governance must be genuinely inclusive—not only in principle, but also in practice. As technologies evolve, ensuring the active participation of persons with disabilities at every stage of policy development, decision-making, and implementation is critical to the legitimacy and sustainability of governance processes.
DCAD’s ongoing initiatives, such as the DCAD Fellowship Program for Persons with Disabilities, provide a tangible model for promoting inclusive participation. By supporting fellows to engage meaningfully in the IGF process, DCAD demonstrates that providing targeted capacity-building opportunities leads to stronger, more diverse multistakeholder dialogues.
Looking ahead, DCAD advocates for embedding accessibility and disability inclusion systematically into the IGF and broader Internet governance ecosystem. Future governance models must move beyond tokenism to ensure that persons with disabilities are recognized as active contributors in decision-making processes, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN-CRPD) and the vision of a people-centered, inclusive, and sustainable information society outlined in the WSIS and Global Digital Compact frameworks.
By institutionalizing accessibility standards and ensuring that persons with disabilities participate not just as observers but as decision-makers, the IGF can set a global benchmark for inclusive, equitable, and effective multistakeholder governance.
Those taking part will discuss practical strategies for ensuring that children are not only made to be represented at the table but are meaningfully engaged at the decision-making, in line with the WSIS vision of a people-centered, inclusive, and sustainable information society. Referring to General Comment # 25, para 16 - 18, multistakeholder governance should adhere to respect for the views of the child, i.e. young people under the age of 18 (UN-CRC).
The DC on Core Internet Values will remind all participants of the values on which the Internet was built on, introducing a parallel that the points made in this session are themselves core internet governance values - with multistakeholder governance being pivotal to the past, the present and the future of Internet governance.
The Dynamic Coalition on the Interplanetary Internet (DC-Interplanetary) will present the case for using the Multi-Stakeholder Internet Governance model, with specific reference to the NETmundial+10 Multi-Stakeholder Statement “Strengthening Internet governance and digital policy processes”, for the development of an Internet Governance model for interplanetary communication.The Interplanetary Internet is based on Delay- and Fault-Tolerant Networking protocols, and while there are existing multinational mechanisms building on the Outer Space Treaty to govern space activities, the importance of a multistakeholder approach will be discussed to ensure the long-term sustainability of critical infrastructure.
The DC on Schools of Internet Governance will discuss the contribution made to furthering the variations of the model and educating less active participants in how to become active participants and leaders in multistakeholder situations. In addition to the coursework done on the varieties of multistakeholder model and the elements that make up the models, e.g. the SPMG, many also run live exercises, practica, to enable the participants/students to gain experience in a safe, fun, and exploratory environment.
IS3C focuses on the future role of the IGF. If the IGF is to become more influential and output driven, it needs to become better at a) agenda and discussion setting and b) communication presenting the multistakeholder processes’ outcomes. IS3C sees a more influential role in internet security and safety and post-quantum cryptography. A discussion also should be organised to agree on a balance between top down and bottom up topics.
- Welcoming and opening remarks by the moderator (5 minutes)
- Dialogue with DCs on Evolving Technologies and Emerging Challenges (25 minutes)
- Overview of generative artificial intelligence (AI), the Metaverse, Web 4.0, and related technologies
- Human rights implications and early risks for vulnerable groups (children, teens, young adults, journalists)
- Signals indicating a growing “digital and metaverse divide” impacting access and participation across age, region, and socio-economic status (e.g.,social media bans and restrictions against teens)
- Optional: Q&A and Participant Interventions (10 minutes)
- Dialogue with DCs on Governance, Accountability, and Policy Pathways (20 minutes)
- Strategies for platform accountability, safety-by-design, and transparency in digital infrastructures
- Approach to representative standards through inclusive, lifelong multistakeholder frameworks grounded in rights-based governance (e.g., DTC: Framework for a Modernized IGF)
- Q&A and Participant Interventions (20/10 minutes)
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Closing remarks by the moderator (5 minutes)
As data-driven technologies such as AI rapidly become general purpose technologies and data driven solutions such as Digital Public Infrastructures (DPI) infuse contemporary economies, public services, and civic spaces. Global cooperation is required to mitigate heightened risk and amplification of existing inequalities.
Despite growing attention from multilateral fora such as the G7 and G20, AI policies often exclude meaningful participation from the Global Majority—countries most impacted by AI-driven change are least represented in decision-making, as highlighted in the UN Global Digital Compact. On the other hand, but also cited in the GDC and arising directly from the Indian G20 Presidency, Digital Public Infrastructure has emerged, as an integrated data infrastructure, to deal with post pandemic economic and social reconstruction and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
This session brings together representatives from civil society, government, the private sector, and technical communities to explore how the G7 and G20 can collaboratively support data driven technologies and systems that are rights-respecting, equitably accessible, and globally inclusive. Drawing on case studies and lived experiences from Africa, Latin America and Asia, participants will examine how the uneven distribution of not only harms, but also economic opportunity can be redressed through global governance, enabling a trusted environment and effective regulation to ensure better development and distribution of infrastructure and tools.
Through participatory dialogue, the session will identify actionable pathways to embed human rights, transparency, equitable economic opportunities, and community agency in AI design, governance and outcomes—ensuring the benefits of AI are equitably shared and shaped by those historically excluded from global decision-making.
The session will follow a hybrid roundtable format with structured thematic segments focused on:
- Rights-respecting AI development, including enabling economic participation
- Digital public infrastructure and equitable access and use
- Inclusive governance in the G7/G20 digital cooperation agendas
Speakers will address guiding questions followed by reactions from stakeholder representatives and an interactive Q&A with online and in-person participants.
Outcomes will contribute to ongoing G7 and G20 deliberations and generate policy recommendations for inclusion in the IGF synthesis document, research briefs, and advocacy strategies.
What is the IGF’s impact in the global dialogue and governance of AI? What is IGF’s role now and what could it be in the future?
This session, organized by the Policy Network on AI (PNAI) will explore these questions and contribute directly to PNAI’s ongoing work in preparing a report and suggesting an action plan on how the IGF can maximize its impact as the central platform for inclusive and bottom up multistakeholder discussions on AI governance. The session will examine the role the IGF can play in the broader context of WSIS+20 review and implementation of the Global Digital Compact AI-related work, with a forward-looking perspective from 2026 and beyond.
SPEAKERS
- Ivana Bartoletti, Vice-President, Global Chief Privacy and AI Governance Officer, Wipro (WEOG)
- Mario Nobile, Director General, AgID Agency for Digital Italy (WEOG)William Bird, Director, Media Monitoring Africa (Africa)
- Shuyan Wu, Deputy Director of User and Market Research Department, China Mobile Research Institute (APAC)
- Paloma Lara-Castro, Policy Director, Derechos Digitales (GRULAC)
- Moderator - Elizabeth Orembo, Research Fellow, Research ICT Africa (Africa)
- Online Moderator - Germán López Ardila - Vice President, Colombian Chamber of IT and Telecoms (GRULAC)
- Presenting PNAI’s work - Shamira Ahmed, Founder & Executive Director, Data Economy Policy Hub (Africa)
POLICY QUESTIONS
PNAI invites expert speakers and session participants to answer the following policy questions:
- What unique value can the IGF and PNAI bring to global AI governance? Are there specific AI topics or areas that the IGF should focus on, especially in the context of ongoing global AI governance dialogues, such as the GDC and WSIS+20, beyond 2026?
- How can the IGF help ensure that global AI dialogues and decision-making on AI governance are truly participatory, inclusive, open and multistakeholder, ensuring equitable voice of marginalized groups and the Global South? Which indicators could be used to measure if AI dialogues are truly inclusive?
- How can the IGF help support capacity building of communities to engage effectively in AI governance discussions, for example, by building up an information repository on AI governance topics ?
- How can PNAI facilitate a more inclusive multistakeholder approach to global AI governance and promote a multilateral, bottom-up approach (policymaking or standard setting processes)?
You are also welcome to share your views and suggestions on the topics through PNAI's Survey (open until 30.6.2025).
SESSION OBJECTIVES
The objectives of PNAI’s session are:
- To foster an inclusive, multi-stakeholder dialogue on IGF’s role in AI governance;
- To gather views, input, reflections and opinions from both onsite and online participants;
- To generate actionable insights and concrete suggestions that will feed into the PNAI’s work and report that will be published in November 2025.
SESSION FLOW
The session starts with a welcome and short overview of PNAI and its goals in 2025. Speakers will share their views on the policy questions that frame the Session, building on their experience and expertise.
The second part of the session is reserved for interaction between the audience and the panelists. The moderator will open the floor and take questions and comments from attendees in the Plenary Hall, and an online facilitator curates questions from the virtual chat for the panelists to address. The session wraps up with a summary of key takeaways.
ORGANIZER
IGF Policy Network on AI (PNAI)
Rapporteurs: Sana Nisar (Lead), Yasir Zunair, Murillo Romano Salvador, Patrick Bell, Umut Pajaro Velasquez
LINK TO PNAI SESSION IN THE CONFERENCE AGENDA
With the rapid advancement of technology, rising public expectations for efficient services, and an ever-expanding pool of data, governments around the world are pressured to tackle complex societal issues with innovative solutions. Traditional methods often lack the speed and effectiveness needed to keep up with modern demands. To bridge this gap, governments are increasingly focusing on strategies to accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies within the public sector, aiming to improve service delivery and address complex challenges more efficiently.
The workshop dwells on the experience of GovTech Lab Lithuania and Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management (DFQ) as well as and welcomes representatives from public, private and academic sectors who are interested in practically testing new ways of finding innovative solutions to address the challenges faced by the society. Participants will be able to deeply engage with a variety of public sector problems and consider them critically. By exploring the junctions between these challenges and emerging technologies, attendees will gain hands-on experience on creating and refining the variety of potential solutions. The participants will create early-stage prototypes of innovative products by matching public sector problems (such as digital inclusion, bureaucratic inefficiencies, environmental sustainability, etc.) with emerging technologies (such as artificial intelligence, big data, IoT, blockchain and others).
