Internet governance
Internet Governance Forum
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) included a mandate to establish the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), where “organizations responsible for essential tasks associated with the Internet contribute to an environment that facilitates the development of public policy principles.”
The IGF does not produce concrete outcomes, but is instead focused on open discussions to help inform policy and decision-making using a multistakeholder model where participation is open to all on equal footing. This model is vital for the effective sharing of ideas and concepts that affect such a broad range of stakeholders.
APNIC participates at global IGF, and has helped build the process into the robust multistakeholder forum it is today. In particular, APNIC has advocated the importance of technical expertise in discussions about managing the global Internet.
Read more about the evolution of the IGF, including an interview with Markus Kummer.
Event Wrap: IGF 2023
APNIC and the APNIC Foundation actively participated in the IGF 2023, held in Kyoto, Japan from 8 to 12 October 2023.
2023 ISIF Asia award winners announced
The 2023 ISIF Asia awards recognize innovative work to support the development of Internet Exchange Points in the Asia Pacific.
Watch this short video about why APNIC supports the IGF
APrIGF
The Asia Pacific regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF) serves as a platform for discussion, exchange and collaboration at a regional level, and also where possible, to aggregate national IGF discussions, to ultimately advance Internet governance development in the Asia Pacific region.
Event Wrap: APSIG 2024, APrIGF 2024, TWIGF 2024, Asia Pacific Youth IGF 2024, and DRAPAC 2024
APNIC and the APNIC Foundation supported and actively participated in APrIGF 2024, which was co-located with TWIGF 2024, APSIG 2024 and the Asia Pacific Youth IGF 2024 in Taipei from 18 to 23 August 2024.
Event Wrap: APrIGF 2023, Net Thing 2023, and PacIGF 2023
APNIC and the APNIC Foundation actively participated in the APrIGF 2023, co-located with NetThing 2023 and PacIGF 2023 in Brisbane, Australia from 28 August to 1 September 2023.
National IGFs and SIGs
There are numerous national level Internet Governance Forums and likeminded events that take place across the Asia Pacific, including Net Thing in Australia, BIGF in Bangladesh, NetHui in New Zealand and others. There are also Schools of Internet Governance, created to build capacity or provide training in Internet governance to enable multistakeholder participation in Internet governance related processes.
Participate in Internet governance
As long as the Internet expands and evolves, it will continue to be the subject of political debate. Everyone must take an active role in running the Internet and addressing Internet governance challenges. Here’s what you can do now:
- Take an interest in domestic Internet governance discussions.
- What challenges does your local community face, and what policies are being introduced to address them?
- Start or contribute to an ongoing dialogue on Internet issues with your relevant government agencies.
- Your expertise could help inform better decision making at a local or national level, which would positively impact everyone.
- Advocate for continued industry participation and leadership on Internet issues.
- Participate in national, regional, or global IGF meetings.
- Share your knowledge and experience.