Secretary-General of the United Nations
Stakeholders have until June 3, 2022 to submit session proposals for workshops at the forthcoming 17th Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) through the workshop online application portal.
The IGF 2022 programme will be organized according to the following five themes:
- Connecting All People and Safeguarding Human Rights
- Avoiding Internet Fragmentation
- Governing Data and Protecting Privacy
- Enabling Safety, Security and Accountability
- Addressing Advanced Technologies, including AI
The themes above were decided on during the IGF 2022 first Open Consultations and Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) Meeting after reviewing inputs from the IGF 2022 call for themes and issues, and following feedback in both the annual thematic and stocktaking calls urging the IGF play a greater role in ongoing and upcoming global digital policy processes.
In their content and wording, the themes align closely with the focus areas of the Global Digital Compact (GDC) envisioned by the UN Secretary-General in the Our Common Agenda report. The GDC is intended to “outline shared principles for an open, free and secure digital future for all” and will come under discussion during the UN’s 2023 Summit on the Future.
The IGF’s thematic inputs and stocktaking processes were opened to everyone, with a combined 286 submissions received this year and they formed the basis of the MAG’s discussions and ensure programme topics are those deemed most critical and timely to Internet governance stakeholders and societies at large.
It is important that those making proposals for workshops prepare their proposals clearly aligned to one of the five themes above. However, it is even more important that the description of the sessions show a specific and completely focused approach to the chosen theme, considering that for this year, this characteristic will be considered as one of the main evaluation criteria when choosing the proposals that will be included in the IGF 2022 programme.
The overarching theme of IGF 2022 being hosted by the Government of Ethiopia, is “Resilient Internet for a Shared Sustainable and Common Future”.
IGF 2022 will hold in a hybrid format allowing for equitable online and onsite participation. Proposals should therefore be designed to take this hybrid meeting approach into account; the guidelines to onsite and online sessions are available here.
There are five major criteria in the evaluation process will centre around:
- Proposed Topic, which must be relevant to Internet Governance and properly aligned with one of the five themes
- Workshop Content, which must include its clear focus on one of the five selected themes
- Policy Question(s), including whether they relate closely to the proposed topic
- Hybrid Organization Strategy, which should address whether the proposal lays out an effective strategy for hybrid and interactive engagement and takes the hybrid nature of the meeting into account in all planning aspects, and
- Diversity, along different vectors of diversity
Those proposing workshops are strongly advised to pay attention to diversity of perspective, supported by experience, gender, region, stakeholder group, and inclusion of youth, persons with disabilities and persons from other under-represented or marginalised groups, within their organizing teams as well as listed speakers, as these will be reviewed against the key diversity measure.
Proposers should also list a minimum of three provisionally confirmed speakers and limit their number of speakers to a maximum of five wherever possible. While the latter is not a disqualifying criterion, excessive numbers of speakers will result in lower support for the proposal. Proposers should provide the name of moderators/facilitators who will guide the discussions between the speakers and the on-site and online discussions (please see the guidelines for more information).
Interested stakeholders are to submit their proposals for workshops through the workshop application e-form.
For further information about the procedures, criteria, methods etc. for submitting proposals, please visit the IGF 2022 Call for Workshop Proposals page.
