India will for the first time play host to deliberations of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in October this year, reflecting the country’s growing influence on international policy formulation around internet.
The three-day event — India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) — will start from October 30 and go with the theme — ‘Inclusive Internet for Digital India’.
Discussing public policy
The IGF, which is an UN-based forum, is an Internet Governance policy discussion platform to bring representatives together from various groups, considering all at par to discuss public policy issues related to the Internet.
This mode of engagement is referred to as the multi-stakeholder model of Internet Governance, which has been the key feature for the Internet’s success. Multi-stakeholder concept is well adopted by IGF under the UN and by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN, an American multi-stakeholder group).
“India is the second-largest broadband subscription country in the world and also has the highest data consumption per user per month. Therefore, the aspirations of the Indians should be reflected in international policy formation and stakeholder discussion. India Internet Governance Forum is the correct initiative for the country to ensure that the growth of broadband adheres to the lifestyle and requirements of the Indian community,” Anil Kumar Jain, the Chairman of Coordination Committee, India Internet Governance Forum 2021 (IIGF) said.
The coordination committee of the IIGF will include representation from civil society, government, industry, industrial association, trust, and other stakeholders, he said.
Pre-IIGF engagement
Starting from August, multiple pre-IIGF engagement events will be held at several colleges and universities, as a precursor to the IIGF inaugural event. The idea behind this is to engage the youth and students for their participation in the October event and prepare the next generation to be part of policy formulation, he added.