Description: Recognizing the vital importance of the internet to engage socially, economically, and politically, 2024 served as a pivotal moment for the international community to come together and articulate the future of internet governance. This can be seen through the key international fora in 2024 and will continue through the WSIS process in 2025. A multistakeholder approach to internet governance is crucial to the future of a free, open, and interoperable internet and Global Majority voices are essential in international events like the IGF since they are underrepresented at the governance table. This roundtable discussion will convene current and former Open Internet Leaders (OILs) from the Open Internet for Democracy Initiative (openinternet.global). OILs are emerging leaders in digital rights and open internet issues from the Global Majority representing civil society, the media, and the local private sector, supported collaboratively by the National Democratic Institute, the Center for International Media Assistance, and the Center for International Private Enterprise. They will discuss the key themes coming out of regional and international fora such as NetMundial+10, the G20, the WSIS+20 High-Level Forum, the UN Civil Society Conference, the Summit of the Future, and regional IGFs and identify how digital rights advocates in the Global Majority can better engage with policymakers at the global, regional, and local levels on a wide range of emerging issues impacting the digital space. The panel will specifically examine areas of collaboration among Global Majority multistakeholder coalitions and ways to engage with multilateral processes like the GDC. The panel will be gender-balanced and convene experts from Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and Eurasia.
Open Zoom
