Deadline: 15 April 2020
The Internet Governance Forum (GF) is inviting applicants to submit proposals for its 2020 workshop programme.
Workshops are sessions in the IGF annual meeting on a specific Internet governance-related topic or question. Internet governance is defined as “the development and application by Governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision making procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the Internet.” Workshops should offer expertise or insight on the topic and generate discussion among participants.
The priority areas were based on contributions from 2019 IGF activities, the annual IGF Stocktaking process and integrated Call for Issues and the Call for Validation of Thematic Tracks for the 2020 programme. These processes were open to everyone and more than 200 submissions were received in the Call for Validation of Thematic Tracks alone. Finally, these processes formed the basis of the MAG’s discussions and ensured that the programme topics are those that the global community deemed most critical and timely to Internet governance stakeholders and societies at large.
The final selection of workshops will take place during the IGF 2020 Second Open Consultations and MAG Meeting, scheduled on 16-18 June 2020 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Thematic Tracks
Proposers are invited to make submissions on the four thematic tracks:
- Data: The Data track will provide for discussions on the fundamental challenge of ensuring the benefits of the data revolution to contribute to inclusive economic development while protecting the rights of people.
- Environment: Environmental sustainability and climate action is a fundamental component of the UN 2030 Agenda. At the current pace, however, the world seems to be dangerously off-track of delivering these targets, especially the Paris Agreement commitment to limit climate change to 1.5ºC. Transcending sectors and regions, climate action is an issue that all stakeholders have committed to, but one that calls for truly integrated and innovative solutions.
- Inclusion: Building on the 2019 Digital Inclusion track this new Inclusion track aims to engage the IG community on the issues, challenges, and solutions for the achievement of an equitable and inclusive Internet.
- Trust: Trust in the online world is a prerequisite for the Internet to develop its potential as a tool for empowerment, a channel of free speech and an engine of economic development. In this context, trust relates to the security, stability, and resilience of the infrastructure, systems and devices, and also to the need for people to be safe and secure.
Eligibility Criteria
- Any person, or group of persons, from any stakeholder group – civil society, the technical community, the private sector or government – may submit a workshop proposal.
- Organizing teams who are proposing for the first time, or are from developing countries, are especially encouraged to submit.
- It is also strongly encouraged to list a team that is diverse in terms of gender, region, stakeholder group, age (e.g. youth), and physical ability (e.g. persons with disabilities), as diversity is an important factor during proposal evaluation.
For more information, visit https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/igf-2020-call-for-workshop-proposals