Past Internet Governance Events

The links below are for past events and have generally not been updated since they were published. As a result, some content, specifically links to external pages and other references, may be out-of-date or no longer available.

Past Events

ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018

Dubai, UAE; 29 October - 16 November 2018
More information…

The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-18) took place in Dubai, UAE, from 29 October to 16 November 2018. About 2,300 participants from 180 countries (out of 193) participated in this major Internet governance event. A full report is available on our blog.

World Telecommunication Development Conference 2017

Buenos Aires, Argentina; 9-20 October 2017
More information…

At WTDC we produced a Declaration reinforcing the support for the mission and strategic objectives of ITU-D; created an ITU-D Contribution to the ITU Strategic Plan for 2020-2023, and an ITU-D Action Plan comprising regional initiatives; we revised resolutions and the Questions to be studied by ITU-D study groups.

Regional Preparatory Meeting

Asunción, Paraguay; 22-24 February 2017
More information…

The Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Americas helped prepare for the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2017 (WTDC-17) by identifying issues that need to be addressed to foster the development of telecommunications in the region. We reviewed proposals to revise WTDC Resolutions, worked on the ITU Strategic Plan for 2020-2023 and the ITU-D Action plan for 2018-2021.

IGF USA (2016)

Washington, DC; 14 July 2016
More information…

IGF-US featured panels, keynotes, and plenaries discussing issues vital to the continued growth of the Internet and increasing its benefits for all. Thought leaders from civil society, industry, academia and government discussed topics that included connecting the unconnected, privacy vs. security online, balancing human rights and online content, improving broadband for everyone, and much more.

Tenth Internet Governance Forum (2015)

João Pessoa, Brazil; 10-13 November 2015
More information…

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) brought together varied viewpoints from around the world and from many cross sections of the Internet community; including stakeholders representing development, regulatory, technical, economic, social, and civil society communities. ARIN participated in this forum as part of the Number Resource Organization (NRO).

ITU Plenipotentiary Conference

Busan, Korea; 20 October - 7 November 2014
More information…

Held every four years, the plenipotentiary is the top policy-making conference of the ITU. During this session, Member States set the ITU’s general policies, adopt four-year strategic and financial plans, and elect senior management and other officials. ITU Sector Members, Regional Telecommunication and Intergovernmental Organizations, and the United Nations and its specialized agencies may also attend the Conference as observers.

As noted on the ITU website, “The Plenipotentiary Conference is the key event at which ITU Member States decide on the future role of the organization, thereby determining the organization’s ability to influence and affect the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) worldwide.”
Archive webcasts are available to view, and new this year, ITU members voted to allow public access to all input and output documents as well.

The agenda of an ad hoc working group on Internet related issues included proposed changes to three existing Resolutions:

  1. 101 Internet Protocol-based networks
  2. 102 ITU’s role with regard to international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet and the management of Internet resources, including domain names and addresses
  3. 180 Facilitating the transition from IPv4 to IPv6

The most significant negotiation for the RIR community resulted in the removal of language that suggested the ITU should look into becoming a number registry that allocates IP addresses.

Ninth Internet Governance Forum (2014)

Istanbul, Turkey; 2-5 September 2014
More information …

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) brings together varied viewpoints from around the world and from many cross sections of the Internet community; including stakeholders representing development, regulatory, technical, economic, social, and civil society communities. The 2014 IGF focused on the theme of “Connecting Continents for Enhanced Multistakeholder Internet Governance.”

ARIN board chair, Vint Cerf, gave some opening remarks and RIPE NCC board member, Salam Yamout, gave closing remarks on behalf of the technical community.

ARIN participated in this forum as part of the Number Resource Organization (NRO) by contributing and participating in many workshops and sessions. In particular, there was much discussion around the impact of carrier-grade NAT technology on users and policymakers, the IANA oversight transition process, cybersecurity and capacity building.

For more information on what happened at the forum refer to the IGF Chair’s summary, and the transcripts and videos of many of the sessions.

NETmundial - Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance

São Paulo, Brazil; 23-24 April 2014
More information…

The Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance focused on crafting Internet governance principles and proposing a roadmap for the further evolution of the Internet governance ecosystem following an initiative proposed by CGI.br and /1net. The outcome document, the NETmundial Multistakeholder Statement , set consistent definitions for principles of Internet governance and roadmap for future development of Internet governance.

ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference 2014

Dubai, UAE; 30 March - 10 April 2014
More information…

The 2014 World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC), centered on the theme of Broadband for Sustainable Development, came to a successful conclusion on 10 April in Dubai, UAE.

The general tenor of the conference was one of collaboration and open dialogue amongst attendees. The Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) were fully represented and involved. Speaking for ARIN, we were pleased with the amount of interaction with Member States who sought us out during the meeting and at coffee breaks to ask questions and share information. This was clear evidence of the positive progress interaction and acceptance between the public and private sectors has made since the last WTDC in 2010.

Read more here…

Eighth Internet Governance Forum (2013)

Bali, Indonesia; 22-25 October 2013
More information…

On 22 October, the official opening ceremony began in Bali, Indonesia with all due pomp and circumstance. Leaders from governments, civil society, and the technical sector took turns addressing the audience about the importance of inclusivity and openness, and the future of the multi-stakeholder model of Internet Governance.

For the next three days, delegates and attendees participated in panels and presentations following a number of tracks, focused around the overarching theme “Building Bridges”- Enhancing Multistakeholder Cooperation for Growth and Sustainable Development".

On 25 October, Anne-Rachel Inne, AFRINIC COO delivered the closing remarks from the technical community, addressing the highly discussed Montevideo Statement on the Future of Internet Cooperation as well as other issues and themes from the meeting.

ARIN participated with our fellow RIR colleagues as part of the Number Resource Organization (NRO) presence at the IGF. There were two NRO workshops scheduled as part of the “Enhanced Cooperation” presentation track:

(No.144) Moving to IPv4 Markets and Legacy Space

Thursday, 24 October

The workshop examined the current status of IPv4 transfers, and the possible emergence of an IPv4 market and the relationship between this market the deployment of IPv6. Discussion also included issues related to legacy IPv4 address space and the role of the Regional Internet Registries in its administration. A diverse panel provided ranging opinions on these issues and provided differing regional perspectives on the implications of inter-regional IPv4 transfers.

(No.145) Importance of Regional Coordination in Internet Governance

Thursday, 24 October

The panelist presented examples of existing regional coordination structures from around the globe, examining issues which were successfully addressed, and identifying strategies that may offer best practice models or simply provide inspiration for further development of regional Internet governance.

To get a fuller appreciation of all that transpired, we’d like to call your attention to the following items:

WTDC Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Americas [RPM AMS]

Montevideo, Uruguay; 19-22 August 2013
More information…

Leading up to the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC 2014) , there were six Regional Preparatory Conferences throughout the world. These conferences explored and discussed regional needs and projects of the ITU Development Sector. Participation in the Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Americas (RPM AMS) was open to ITU Member State Administrations, ITU-D Sector Members within the Americas regions, regional and international organizations, and intergovernmental organizations operating satellite systems.

Fifth World Telecommunication Policy Forum (WTPF)

Geneva; 14-16 May 2013
More information…

Event update: From the opening ceremony, it was clear that the 5th World Telecommunication Policy/ICT Forum WTPF would differ from the previous ITU conferences that touched on Internet issues. The image of Secretary-General Toure donning the blue-helmet of the U.N. Peacekeepers while stating that the UN is not here to take over the Internet seemed to set the stage for the a much more collegial approach from the conference participants as work on the Draft Opinions progressed. The resulting Chairman’s Report includes six adopted Opinions regarding Internet development and deployment: http://www.itu.int/md/S13-WTPF13-C-0016/en

While the role of Governments in Internet Governance and related public policy issues still needs substantive discussion, significant agreement was achieved on the need for greater efforts in the deployment of more Internet exchange points, broadband connections, and IPv6. This brings us another step closer to the end of the journey towards a multi-stakeholder climate.

In late April, on behalf of the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), the RIPE NCC submitted a document to the ITU that addresses a range of issues to be discussed at the upcoming WTPF-13. It addresses some of the opinions discussed by the Informal Expert Group (IEG) that was convened in preparation for the WTPF-13 and includes an annex outlining the efforts of the five RIRs to support the deployment of IPv6 and IPv6 capacity building. The document is available on the NRO website at: http://www.nro.net/news/rir-wtpf-13

Organized by the ITU, the WTPF seeks to foster debate and build multi-stakeholder consensus through non-binding opinions that will serve to guide ongoing global ICT policies, regulatory, and standardization efforts worldwide. It will examine international, Internet-related public policy matters.

The specific discussion points will come from the final report of the ITU’s Secretary-General, including input from any conference, assembly or meeting of the Union, and contributions from Member States and Sector Members. An Informal Group of Experts will convene in February to discuss potential themes and to further preparatory discussions in their respective countries. The final report is expected in early March.

The current Secretary-General’s draft report, dated January 2013, is available on the ITU website.

The suggested broad discussion themes in this report are:

  • The multistakeholder model of the governance of the Internet;
  • Global Principles for the governance and use of the Internet;
  • Development and diffusion of ICTs and strategies for developing Internet connectivity globally;
  • How to develop an enabling environment for encouraging growth, interoperability and development of the Internet;
  • How can the Internet contribute to developing an enabling environment for encouraging growth;
  • Strategies for increasing affordable global connectivity: the critical role of IXPs;
  • On the basis of reciprocity, to explore ways and means for greater collaboration and coordination between ITU and relevant organizations - including, but not limited to, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the Internet Society (ISOC) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) - involved in the development of IP-based networks and the future internet, through cooperation agreements, as appropriate, in order to increase the role of ITU in Internet governance so as to ensure maximum benefits to the global community.

Participation in the WTPF is open to Member States, Sector Members and small and medium-sized enterprises with attendance, as observers, by the public.

2013 Canadian Internet Forum (CIF) [Regional Event]

Ottawa; 28 February 2013
More Information…

The Canadian Internet Forum (CIF) is in its third year hosted by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) and is a one-day event for people to discuss the Canada’s Internet development, deployment, and governance. This year’s them is “Digital Literacy, Cyber-security, and Internet governance.” Participation was open to all and there is no cost to attend.

WSIS+10

Paris; 25-27 February 2013
More Information…

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is one of three organizations charged with implementation of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) outcomes from 2003 and 2005 (ITU and UN Development Programme being the other two), sponsored the first official review event. The original WSIS discussions covered the digital divide, human rights, and other important issues, prompting ongoing multi-stakeholder Internet related discussions in many forums, including the Internet Governance Forum, which was created out of WSIS.

Outcomes of the discussions will feed directly into the subsequent review meetings and into the 2015 UN General Assembly overall review. Results will also be reported to the 37th session of the General Conference of UNESCO (November 2013). The final statement on WSIS + 10 renewed the commitment to the multistakeholder model and the importance of education and innovation to promote Internet expansion.

“The Event offered a unique opportunity for all WSIS stakeholders to review progress made and lessons learned. The outcome of this Review Meeting will serve as an input into the discussions during the WSIS Forum 2013 in Geneva in May as well as inform the work of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, the designated system-wide focal point for follow up to the WSIS outcomes, when it meets at its 16th Session.”

World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT)

Dubai, UAE; 3-14 December 2012
More Information…

The first ever World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) made a lot of news headlines as member states of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) reviewed and made modifications to the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs). The outcome of the conference was a new ITR treaty that defines the general principles for the provision and operation of international telecommunications.

55 Member States declined to sign the new treaty largely because of Resolution 3, “To foster an enabling environment for the greater growth of the Internet.” Many saw this as a major and unwelcome leap for the ITU to include the Internet in telecommunication regulations.

World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA)

Dubai, UAE; 20-29 November 2012
More Information…

A thousand attendees from over one hundred countries participated in plenary and working group sessions throughout the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA). Six new resolutions were adopted, 49 resolutions were revised, seven of the A series Recommendations were revised, and six new ITU standards were developed. Of particular interest to the ARIN community are Resolutions 64 and 69.

Resolution 64: IP address allocation and facilitating the transition to and deployment of IPv6 Resolution 69: Non-discriminatory access and use of Internet resources