Key takeaways from the Internet Governance Forum 2023 

Here are our key takeaways from the event: 

Representation at the highest levels of international policy 

More than a year into her appointment to the IGF Leadership Panel, ICC Chair Maria Fernanda Garza joined the Minister of Digital Affairs of Japan Taro Kono, ITU Secretary General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the UN Technology Envoy Amandeep Singh Gill, UN principals, and global leaders for a series of internal and public-facing engagements. 

Alongside fellow IGF Leadership Panel members, Ms Garza presented “The Internet We Want’’ paper, a vision towards a human-centric and multistakeholder-driven Internet. 

“We need to reinforce the multistakeholder model and make it the rule, not the exception, in how we address the policy, regulatory and legal space around the Internet, and digital technologies more broadly.’’ 

Maria Fernanda Garza, ICC Chair and member of the IGF Leadership Panel 

Business input to the international policy agenda 

ICC BASIS organised four public-facing sessions on aligning priorities for a shared vision on digital policy, evolving AI governance, operationalising data free flow with trust and connecting the next billions. The sessions called for action to: 

• uphold the multistakeholder model of cooperation to enable appropriate policy, legal and regulatory environments, and responsible practices. 
• prioritise international cooperation, common principles, and inclusive discussions to operationalise data free flow with trust and preserve the open, unfragmented nature of the Internet. 
• set comprehensive, inclusive and interoperable AI policies by meaningfully involving all stakeholders across all levels of the AI policy ecosystem. 
• invest in infrastructure that accommodates the rising demand for connectivity and prioritises skills development.  
• address barriers and bridge the digital divide through a partnership-driven approach. 

Forging partnerships  

ICC BASIS members connected with key government delegations, international organisations, civil society and technical community partners to discuss rapid tech advances, including AI, and look ahead to the deliberations on the Global Digital Compact to be agreed at the Summit of the Future in 2024, and the forthcoming 20-years review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and its outcomes in 2025. 

Gearing up to the Internet Governance Forum 2024 

As the only forum allowing for an open and inclusive multistakeholder discussion on Internet governance and digital policy matters, the 2023 edition of the IGF brought together a record of 11,145 registered participants from 178 countries who engaged in 355 sessions, making it the largest and most geographically diverse forum to date. 

The 19th edition of IGF is scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the last quarter of 2024.  

Learn more about ICC’s work on Internet governance.