Internet Governance Forum (IGF) > Making the Most of the Internet Governance Forum

Call for Input: Making the Most of the Internet Governance Forum

Consultation Open from 10 April to 11 May 2026

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF), established in 2005 during the United Nations (UN) World Summit on the Information Society, serves as the world’s primary multistakeholder platform for dialogue on Internet governance. Endorsed by UN Member States, the IGF was created to facilitates open, inclusive, and informed discussions that shape and implement global Internet policy.

In 2025, the IGF’s 20th-anniversary and the year of the WSIS+20 review, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and Internet Society released the joint report Footprints of 20 Years of the Internet Governance Forum. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the IGF’s global impact. It demonstrates that coordination, rather than control, has been instrumental in driving tangible progress in Internet resilience, reach, and trust. The report serves as a practical record of outcomes, drawing from two decades of collaborative work across various domains including infrastructure, access, security, and policy. It presents grounded evidence of the achievements made through coordination and highlights the potential consequences if support for multistakeholder cooperation diminishes.

As an outcome of the WSIS+20 review in December 2025, the IGF was made a permanent forum of the UN, and the elements of the broader IGF ecosystem that have developed organically and, in a bottom-up manner, including national and regional IGFs, youth initiatives, and the variety of intersessional efforts like dynamic coalitions, policy networks, and best practice forums were officially recognized.

The IGF has been tasked with enhancing its processes for multistakeholder participation, and specifically to strengthen governmental engagement and dialogue.

The Internet Society has financially supported the IGF since its inception. The Internet Society Foundation also provides grant support to national and regional IGFs and Internet schools of governance. We support the IGF and the broader Internet ecosystem because we see the impact they have had globally, regionally and locally, through information sharing, capacity building and policy development.

We would like to see the IGF evolve and have even more impact. To help inform our own thinking and to help facilitate discussions across our community, we would like to invite your input on how to make the most of the IGF.

Please fill out the form to provide your input from 10 April 2026 to 11 May 2026. Responses will be published under the Chatham House Rule– that means the input will be published but not attributed to anyone.

Step 1 of 5

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Are you a member of the Internet Society?

Yes

If yes, in what capacity?

Linkages to the WSIS Framework, the Global Digital Compact (GDC), and Other UN Processes

The IGF serves as the primary multistakeholder platform during the preparatory processes for the GDC deliberations and the WSIS+20 Review, with both the GDC and WSIS+20 outcome document calling on the IGF to contribute to the implementation of the GDC and overarching WSIS vision. The WSIS+20 outcome document further calls for more coherence with the WSIS framework, requesting the IGF report the outcomes from its annual and intersessional meetings to inform the work of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), WSIS Forum, and other relevant entities. It specifies that the high-level review of the GDC in 2027 will draw on input from stakeholders, the CSTD, IGF, and WSIS action line facilitators, and encourages further coherence between the WSIS framework and the GDC.

What are some steps that could be taken to ensure coherence of the IGF with the overarching WSIS framework?

How could the IGF be a platform to advance the GDC commitments and contribute to its high-level review in 2027?

How could IGF annual reports to the UN be leveraged as input for the high-level review of the 2030 Agenda?

Subscribe to receive news and updates from the Internet Society. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information on how to unsubscribe, our privacy practices, and how we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy, please review our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Sign me up to receive email communications from the Internet Society.

By submitting this form, you acknowledge that the Internet Society will collect, use and otherwise process your personal data in accordance with its Privacy Notice.

Call for Input: Making the Most of the Internet Governance Forum

Consultation Open from 10 April to 11 May 2026

We would like to see the IGF evolve and have even more impact. To help inform our own thinking and to help facilitate discussions across our community, we would like to invite your input on how to make the most of the IGF.

Funding

Governmental Track

IGF Ecosystem Beyond the Annual Meeting

Linkages to the WSIS Framework, the Global Digital Compact (GDC), and Other UN Processes