Around the world, our community works locally, regionally, and globally to keep the Internet a force for good: open, globally connected, secure, and trustworthy. Here is an overview of just some of their activities over the last few weeks.
Celebrate
🇲🇽 Mexico Chapter held a press conference that was featured on a national news broadcast as part of the activities leading up to the chapter’s 30th anniversary celebration on 22 May. This is a great milestone and an important step in promoting the anniversary celebration and increasing the visibility of the chapter’s impact and legacy over the past 30 years.
🎉 Other chapters celebrating chartering anniversaries in May 2026 include: Spain Catalonia (29 years), Venezuela (27 years), Armenia (19 years), Sierra Leone (19 years), Kenya (14 years), Switzerland (14 years), and Burkina Faso (12 years).
Online Trust and Safety
🇦🇲 Armenia Chapter launched a one-month Internet literacy course for older citizens (60+) in Yerevan, with 25 participants. The course, held three days a week, focuses on safe and confident online engagement.
🇧🇷 Brazil Chapter co-hosted a workshop on “Age Verification, Privacy, and VPNs in a Regulated Digital Environment.” The workshop was based on recent threats posed by Brazilian legislators and regulators. The chapter also presented the work it has delivered over the last year, including a study on Meta’s WhatsApp trusted execution environment (TEE), community networks, and intermediary liability work related to policy briefs and Internet Society impact briefs.
Internet impact briefs are short reports that analyze how different policies or new technologies could affect the Internet. Interested in producing your own? Explore our Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit to learn more.
🇨🇴 Colombia Chapter, together with the Internet Society, delivered an International Online Trust and Safety Workshop—Colombia Edition, bringing together 27 instructors to strengthen knowledge and practical skills in digital safety, privacy, misinformation awareness, and responsible Internet use. The workshop combined hands-on exercises, real-world case studies, and peer learning to help participants better identify online threats, protect accounts and devices, and promote safer digital practices.
🇫🇮 Finland Chapter organized a webinar on government proposals to restrict social media access for young people. Featuring experts from academia, government, and the Internet Society, the session helped shape the chapter’s policy response to ongoing legislative discussions.
Read our new policy brief, Solving Crime Without Breaking Encryption, to learn why strong encryption and public safety go hand in hand.
🇮🇹 Italy Chapter published a formal position paper on content blocking regulation, advocating for the right balance between protecting collective interests and preserving network neutrality.
🇰🇪 Kenya Chapter launched a capture the flag cybersecurity competition during the Third Kenya National Community Networks Summit 2026. This offered university students and other young people the chance to compete virtually, prove their talent, and win prizes—all while connecting with Kenya’s growing cybersecurity and digital inclusion community.
🇲🇱 Mali Chapter completed the third phase of its nationwide awareness campaign to promote safer and more responsible Internet use. Over a five-month period, the initiative reached 26,000 young people across 60 high schools and 2 universities.
🇳🇪 Niger Chapter organized two events, one to celebrate the National Day for Nigerian Women and another focused on online safety: How to Protect Yourself Online Every Day.
🇵🇾 Paraguay Chapter delivered a technical workshop on Artificial Intelligence Applied to Cybersecurity. The workshop brought together 35 ICT infrastructure professionals from Itaipu Binacional and focused on the latest practices for training algorithms to identify and respond to online threats. Participants explored how AI can be leveraged to strengthen cybersecurity operations and improve threat detection capabilities.
🇵🇹 Portugal Chapter delivered a statement to the Portuguese Parliament’s First Commission on Constitutional Matters, highlighting how new legislation to protect minors in digital environments could undermine the security of the Internet.
🇷🇼 Rwanda Chapter delivered an Online Trust and Safety Training of Trainers course, targeting women entrepreneurs and refugees in Rwanda. Eleven trainers are now equipped to cascade digital safety knowledge to women traders, refugees, and other groups in their communities.
Connectivity
🇰🇪 Kenya Chapter hosted the Third National Summit for Community Networks under the theme “Innovating for Grassroots Digital Access and Community Connectivity.” The event highlighted the need to move beyond access and toward community-led digital futures, with strong messages on partnership, governance participation, and collaboration across community networks.
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan Chapter took the stage at the UN’s Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation in New York, presenting research on scalable climate monitoring infrastructure using IoT/LoRaWAN and Edge AI for rural community resilience. This work was funded by a grant from the Internet Society Foundation.
🇵🇦 Panama Chapter joined a regional event organized by the Internet Society and Rhizomatica, held ahead of CITEL. The event brought together key stakeholders to advance community connectivity initiatives in the region. Representatives of the Emberá Parará Puru Indigenous community attended, and ongoing work supporting the deployment of Panama’s first community networks and the development of the Emberá Community Training and Innovation Center was highlighted. These efforts are supported by the Internet Society Foundation to strengthen connectivity, capacity building, and local innovation.
🇵🇾 Paraguay Chapter deployed three satellite Internet connections in schools located in Pedro Juan Caballero, approximately 400 km from Asunción. This initiative is already benefiting around 2,000 children by providing access to high-quality, high-bandwidth Internet. The project, Jerovia, is funded by the Internet Society Foundation and aims to expand connectivity to seven additional schools in rural areas, highlighting the chapter’s commitment to improving connectivity and expanding digital opportunities in underserved communities.
🇵🇪 Peru Chapter hosted the webinar “Community-Driven Connectivity Solutions,” bringing together experts to address the persistent digital divide, especially in rural areas where connectivity remains limited. During the session, speakers highlighted the role of community networks as a sustainable and inclusive model, enabling local communities to actively design, build, and manage their own connectivity solutions.
Accessibility
🌐 Internet Society Accessibility Standing Group held an International Conference on Digital Accessibility, Inclusion, and Innovation on Global Accessibility Awareness Day. The conference brought together over 270 global experts, policymakers, technologists, accessibility professionals, researchers, educators, civil society representatives, innovators, industry leaders, and persons with disabilities to deliberate on the future of inclusive digital transformation.
🇳🇵Nepal Chapter conducted a full accessibility audit of Nepal’s government websites, leading to WCAG compliance for the GIWMS system. This work was recognized as part of the Government of Nepal’s 100 Priority Works, embedding accessibility into national policy. The chapter also conducted phases one and two of the planned training sessions, equipping IT officers and information officers with skills to maintain and improve accessibility measures. Over 600 government websites are now accessible via screen readers and keyboards, a major achievement for digital inclusion.
Inclusive digital access is not a privilege. It is a right. See how our chapters are leading accessibility and inclusion work around the world.
Policy and Internet Governance
🇦🇷 Argentina Chapter played a leading role in the South School on Internet Governance (SSIG) 2026, held in Guatemala. SSIG is one of the most recognized Internet governance training programs in the region, bringing together students, professionals, academics, government representatives, and civil society leaders to strengthen their understanding of Internet governance and digital policy issues. The program aims to develop the next generation of Internet governance leaders while increasing Latin American and Caribbean participation in global Internet policy discussions.
🇧🇭 Bahrain Chapter hosted the webinar “AI, Internet Governance, and Bahrain’s Digital Future,” bringing together professionals, technology enthusiasts, and community members to discuss the evolving digital landscape and the growing impact of AI on the future of the Internet.
🇪🇬 Egypt Chapter hosted a webinar titled “The 2026 Countdown—Navigating the Executive Regulations of Egypt’s Data Protection Law (No. 151/2020).” Over 145 people participated and took part in a vibrant discussion.
🇱🇷 Liberia, 🇳🇬 Nigeria, and 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone Chapters presented during the West Africa Internet Governance Forum (WAIGF), highlighting the future of artificial intelligence and data protection in West Africa.
How the Internet Works
🇵🇾 Paraguay Chapter delivered a series of workshops for university students in technology-related programs focused on network security and Internet infrastructure. The chapter conducted training sessions at the Autonomous University of Asunción covering BGP, RPKI, routing security, and DNS security. These workshops aim to strengthen students’ technical knowledge and promote best practices in securing Internet infrastructure, helping build local capacity and prepare the next generation of network operators and Internet professionals.
🇹🇼 Taiwan Taipei Chapter co-organized TaiwanNOG during Taiwan Network Week, welcoming over 300 professionals and 22 speakers. The chapter also organized an Internet governance training course with support from the Internet Society Training and Learning team in the lead-up to Taiwan Network Week.
🇺🇸 US San Francisco Bay Area Chapter held its annual Internet Day. Topics covered included how the Internet works today and where it is headed, through talks and training from people who work on it directly. There were also presentations on the future of agentic Internet, inference at Internet scale, use of IPv6 routing for chip component communication, and the basics of quantum systems.
Chapter Collaboration
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 🇸🇬 Singapore Chapters held an online discussion on data sovereignty to share knowledge and identify opportunities for collaboration.
Get involved! Find your local Internet Society chapter or join a special interest group to take action to make global change.
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