The 2026 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) call for session proposals closed on August 2, with 728 submissions received from every regional group of the United Nations (UN), including intergovernmental organizations, with the African region accounting for the highest number of proposals submitted from any region.
The IGF Secretariat issued a call in June 2026, inviting interested stakeholders to apply to organize different types of sessions at the 21st annual meeting of the IGF, which is scheduled to take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from December 14 to 18, 2026, under the overarching theme: “Governing the Internet in the Age of Intelligence: Our Shared Responsibility”.
According to the Secretariat, the overarching theme was decided during the IGF 2026 First Open Consultations and the Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) Meeting, taking into consideration public inputs from the IGF 2026 thematic and stocktaking calls.
An infographic published by the IGF Secretariat on its website this August after the deadline for the submission of session proposals lapsed provides a snapshot of participation in the 2026 IGF Call for Proposals, highlighting the level of global engagement, the geographical distribution of submissions, the types of sessions proposed, and the composition of stakeholders seeking to shape the programme, with several significant trends emerging from the data.
The call for proposals attracted 728 completed submissions from six UN regional groups, demonstrating strong global interest in contributing to the IGF programme. However, the most striking finding is that the African Group accounted for 30 percent of all submissions, making it the single largest regional contributor, possibly in part because the Forum will be taking place on the continent.
The regional breakdown is African Group, 30 percent; Western European and Others Group (WEOG), 24 percent; Asia-Pacific, 23 percent; Latin America and the Caribbean, 11 percent; intergovernmental organizations, 7 percent; and the Eastern European Group, 5 percent.
Africa’s leading position is notable because, historically, discussions on Internet governance have often been dominated by Europe and North America. The figures suggest a growing institutional capacity within African Internet governance communities; increasing engagement by African civil society organisations; stronger participation by African governments, technical experts, and academic institutions; and expanding interest in influencing global digital policy.
Among the different categories of submissions, workshop proposals accounted for the largest share, with nearly half of all submissions, standing at 365 out of 728, being workshop proposals.
While workshop proposals were 365, session submissions were 197, open forums were 78, IGF village booths were 68, and remote hubs were 20.
Perhaps the clearest message from the infographic concerns stakeholder participation. Civil society submitted 60 percent of the workshop proposals; the private sector submitted 14 percent; the technical community submitted 13 percent; intergovernmental organisations submitted 8 percent, while governments submitted the least number with 4 percent.
The data paints a picture of a more inclusive and geographically balanced IGF, with Africa’s emergence as the largest source of submissions underscoring the continent’s growing engagement with global digital policy.
However, the overwhelming contribution of civil society reaffirms the IGF’s distinctive multistakeholder character, where non-governmental actors continue to take advantage of its inclusive nature to play a leading role in shaping discussions on the future of the Internet.
