{"id":225047,"date":"2025-06-10T18:25:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T18:25:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/?p=225047"},"modified":"2025-10-15T12:37:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T12:37:01","slug":"everyone-at-the-table-shaping-the-internet-through-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/blog\/2025\/06\/everyone-at-the-table-shaping-the-internet-through-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyone at the Table: Shaping the Internet Through Collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Internet is open, interconnected, and doesn\u2019t recognize borders\u2014it\u2019s meant to connect us all, no matter where we live. While it may appear to be a single global network, the Internet is actually made up of over 70,000 smaller networks that work seamlessly together, creating the Internet we know and love. We at the Internet Society believe that the Internet is for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Internet is possible because of the way it is designed and built, but also because of the way it\u2019s managed. Internet governance directly impacts its use, evolution, and people\u2019s daily lives. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Internet fundamentally relies on collaborative, bottom-up processes. This is guided by the\u00a0multistakeholder approach<\/a>\u2014<\/strong>the idea that we get better answers to global questions when a range of experts and interests can meaningfully take part in the discussion. This open, collaborative foundation is key to the Internet’s success, allowing it to grow as a platform for innovation and sharing ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, 2025, we will participate in the Internet Governance Forum\u2019s (IGF\u2019s) mandate, a milestone towards the World Summit on the Information Society 20-year review (WSIS+20) that will take place later this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IGF could not come at a better time, providing us with the opportunity to come together ahead of the WSIS+20 review, address how we can build on digital governance together, and demonstrate how the multistakeholder approach to Internet governance has a positive impact on the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Look at the IGF\u2019s Impact<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There’s been a persistent question about the IGF and its multistakeholder community: do they achieve “real impact,” or are they limited to discussions and presentations? Over the past 20 years, we’ve participated in valuable conversations and information-sharing sessions at global and regional IGFs, and we’ve seen these discussions create real change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grassroots efforts for community networks have brought connectivity to communities long underserved by traditional Internet providers. These efforts have informed regulatory change and national support for enabling the growth of Internet access through community-driven developments. Initiatives like Youth IGFs and the IGF parliamentary Track are shaping national and international policy by bringing fresh perspectives into discussions. Affordable and reliable Internet access in Africa is greatly increasing as a result of sharing of best practices and knowledge about solutions like Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) at IGF events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are only a few examples of\u00a0the\u00a0impact we\u2019ve seen firsthand\u00a0from\u00a0conversations at global and regional IGFs. In our joint paper with ICANN,\u00a0Footprints of 20 Years of the Internet Governance Forum<\/a>, we take a look at the\u00a0concrete daily-life and real-world impact of the dialogues the IGF enabled. We highlight evidence of what coordination has made possible and what could be lost if support for multistakeholder cooperation erodes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2025: A Pivotal Year<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As the United Nations prepares to conduct the WSIS+20 review, there’s a growing opportunity to highlight the best practices that help preserve an open and inclusive model that delivers tangible benefits to people. The IGF ecosystem provides numerous examples of how people can draw inspiration from one another to drive local change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 20th annual Internet Governance Forum will be hosted by the government of Norway in Lillestr\u00f8m from 23 to 27 June 2025. The Internet Society is hosting and participating in a number of panels, sessions, and workshops <\/a>that present an opportunity to leverage our ties with like-minded actors and have open conversations with attendees about opportunities and concerns heading to the WSIS+20 review. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, we will defend the multistakeholder approach, advance a forward-looking vision, backed by evidence-based stories, data (e.g., from Internet Society\u2019s Pulse platform<\/a>), and policy analyses to demonstrate the benefits of collaboration and inform public debate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>
\n

What Is the WSIS+20 Review?<\/span>

The first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) took place in Geneva in 2003,and the second phase took place in Tunis in 2005. The WSIS is a critical event in the history of the Internet. Its outcomes recognized that it is not only governments who have a say in how technology\u2014including the Internet\u2014develops, but everyone<\/strong> who can play a role in its future. It also defined a set of targets, recommendations, and commitments to build an inclusive, people-centric, and development-oriented Information Society.

WSIS+20 is a process driven by the United Nations to determine the effectiveness of the actions taken to use information and communications technologies to advance development since its start in 2005. It\u2019s a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of the WSIS outcomes throughout the last 20 years.

One of the key focus areas will center around Internet governance, the multistakeholder approach, and bolstering the WSIS vision in delivering even more impact. The result will define the UN’s actions in the coming years, including how non-governmental stakeholders will be involved, and, for example, if the IGF\u2019s mandate will be renewed.

Learn more about WSIS<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The past impact we have seen from the IGF, and other Internet governance events and processes, serves as both a record of achievement and an opportunity: coordination works, and together, we can shape the future of the Internet. The Internet\u2019s openness, security, and interoperability depend on it. If that cooperation falters, the conditions that have made the Internet thrive may not hold.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Internet Society is a long-time supporter and funder of the IGF. Because the model where a range of experts and interests can meaningfully take part in the discussion is what brought the Internet and its benefits this far. An Internet that is a lifeline where people meet their soulmate, reconnect with family, find entertainment, create new friendships, an Internet that helped us\u2014humanity\u2014endure a two year long pandemic and enabled us to keep the world running through those difficult times; a space for creation, for innovation, for art, for business, a territory that must be for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We call on people all over the world, wherever you are, from your own position\u2014as a user or a decision maker\u2014to support the multistakeholder model, and to support the IGF as a platform to exercise it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Can You Support and Defend the Multistakeholder Model?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n