The Sixteenth Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was hosted by the Government of Poland under the overarching theme: ‘’Internet United’’.
The programme was built around the six issue areas: (1) Economic and Social Inclusion and Human Rights, (2) Universal Access and Meaningful Connectivity, (3) Emerging Regulation: Market Structure, Content, Data and Consumer Rights and Protection, (4) Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change, (5) Inclusive Internet Governance Ecosystems and Digital Cooperation and (6) Trust, Security and Stability.
5+
DAYS300+
SESSIONS175+
COUNTRIES1000+
SPEAKERSIGF 2021 Programme
Participation at IGF 2021
The 16th annual IGF meeting was hosted by the Government of Poland in Katowice under the overarching theme: Internet United.
The Preparatory and Engagement Phase was more than an introduction to this year’s IGF. It aimed to engage people in IGF discussions and identify synergies between different activities to facilitate cooperation.
The pre-programme contained several session types, depending on facilitators and modes of organization. Read more on this Preparatory and Engagement Phase at its dedicated page.
IGF 2021 Outputs
Messages from the Katowice IGF and other substantive outputs
IGF 2021 Parliamentary Track
In recent years, the IGF has sought to strengthen the parliamentary dimension of the forum by facilitating the participation of parliamentarians in discussions on some of the most pressing issues related to the use, evolution and governance of the Internet and related digital technologies.
IGF Capacity Development
The IGF Secretariat, supported by generous contributions from its donors, supports community-centred processes in developing Internet governance capacity.
IGF thematic tracks
IGF 2021 will feature live discussions on some of today’s most pressing Internet governance and digital policy issues, from digital inclusion and data governance, to online trust and environmental sustainability. The programme will included around sessions grouped into 2 main focus areas and 4 main emerging and cross-cutting issue areas.
Session formats
Intersessional activities & NRIs
Youth at IGF 2021
IGF 2021 was committed to a meaningful engagement of youth in Internet governance. Several-months of online consultations with youth resulted in several youth engagement opportunities being organised during the IGF. The meeting featured a global IGF Youth Summit and ten networking lightning talks between senior Internet governance experts and youth.
IGF 2021 Outputs
This section takes you to various types of outputs resulting from IGF2021.
IGF Village
During the 16th annual IGF, interested stakeholders can display or distribute relevant information about their Internet governance-related activities at the IGF Village. The IGF Village consists of physical and virtual display booths, located in the meeting's area and online in accordance with the hybrid nature of the meeting.
High-level sessions
In addition to the opening and closing sessions, IGF 2021 featured a high-level leaders tracks and a parliamentary session.
High-level speakers
Engaging with some of the world leading experts
IGF 2021 brought together experts and leaders from all stakeholder groups, including governments, civil society, private sector, technical communities, intergovernmental and international organisations and from all parts of the world, to engage in discussions on some of the most pertinent issues on Internet governance. The high-level leaders track featured a number of prominent speakers, such as the ones presented here.
About IGF
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a global multistakeholder platform that facilitates discussions on public policy issues pertaining to Internet governance. The IGF was one of the most important outcomes of the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) that mandated the United Nations Secretary-General to formally convene the Forum.
Institutionally, the IGF is supported by the IGF Secretariat, administered by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), while the programme of the annual IGF meeting is developed by the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG).
Within IGF’s framework of intersessional work and annual meetings, stakeholders coming from all disciplines (e.g. governments, private sector, civil society and technical communities) and from all parts of the world are discussing public digital policy, networking and exchanging best practices for an open, safer and accessible Internet for all.