The 19. Internet Governance Forum will take place from 15 to 19 December in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) under the motto “Building our Multistakeholder Digital Future”. The conference programme will be designed jointly by the participants. In an initial participation phase, themes and issues were identified. Accordingly, the consultations will focus on
- Harnessing innovation and balancing risks in digital space
- Enhancing the digital contribution to peace, development, and sustainability
- Advancing human rights and inclusion in the digital age
- Improving digital governance for the Internet We Want
Proposals for programme items can now be submitted until 30 April, 23:59 (UTC).
Session proposals should be based on one of the above-mentioned thematic focuses and take into account the diversity of speakers and presenters in terms of gender, regional representation and stakeholder group as well as their participation on site or online. Proposals can be submitted as workshops, open forums, lightning talks, networking sessions and others. These should always provide for meaningful remote participation in order to give as many people as possible the opportunity to take part. In addition to submitting session proposals, it will also be possible to apply for a remote hub. This is attractive, for example, if a group is taking part online together and would like to be actively involved in the discussion of the programme items. Corresponding submissions are possible until 30 July. The call for session proposals can be reached here and the call for remote hubs via this page. All the necessary information and the forms for submitting proposals can be found on these pages.
As a project in the field of children's rights in the digital environment, we would like to encourage the interests and needs of young people to be actively incorporated into the IGF's programme design and to address key issues for the realisation of the protection, provision and participation of young people online. Jutta Croll at jcroll@digitale-chancen.de and Torsten Krause at tkrause@digitale-chancen.de will be happy to answer any questions you may have and assist you in drafting your proposal.
(The article was updated on 20 March 2024 to include the deadlines and information for submissions to the IGF.)