Q2/2019 - Internet Governance Forum (IGF)

Preparations for the 14th Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) are proceeding according to plan and at a rapid pace. All essential questions regarding the program have already been clarified during the two open consultations of the MAG (Multistakeholder Advisory Group) in April 2019 in Geneva and in June 2019 in Berlin. The MAG has now selected a list of about 80 events from the 350 proposals for workshops, open fora, day zero events and other forms of presentation^[1]. This means that the content framework for an IGF has been established earlier than ever before in recent years, which gives the organisers of the individual workshops considerable planning security. MAG Chair Lynn St. Amour emphasised the exemplary commitment of the German government in the preparation of the IGF. At the MAG meeting in Berlin in June 2019, Thomas Jarzombek of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy welcomed the MAG members and assured them that the German government was going to do everything in its power to make the 14th IGF a success. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is being considered for delivering the opening speech. A fourth meeting of the MAG is scheduled for September 2019 in Geneva. At that meeting it will be decided how to design the plenary sessions. The 15th Annual Meeting of the IGF will take place in Poland in 2020.