16th annual meeting

INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM

December 6-10

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+

DAYS

300+

SESSIONS

175+

COUNTRIES

1000+

SPEAKERS
IGF 2021 Logo
The 16th Annual IGF Hosted by the Government of Poland

The 16th annual IGF meeting was hosted by the Government of Poland in Katowice under the overarching theme: Internet United.

IGF 2021 Outputs

Glance 2
IGF 2021 Preparatory and Engagement Phase

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

IGF 2021 Outputs

Messages from the Katowice IGF and other substantive outputs

Parliamentary track

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.

capacity development

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.

Theme
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Addressing Advanced Technologies, including AI

Theme
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Avoiding Internet Fragmentation

Theme
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Connecting All People and Safeguarding Human Rights

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Enabling Safety, Security and Accountability

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Governing Data and Protecting Privacy

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.

Youth IGF Summit

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.

VISIT IGF VILLAGE

High-level sessions

In addition to the opening and closing sessions, IGF 2021 featured a high-level leaders tracks and a parliamentary session.

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.

More about the IGF

Read detailed information about IGF

IGF FAQs

See some of the most frequently asked questions(FAQs) about the IGF.

About the MAG

Read about MAG members, MAG working groups and chair activities