The IGF was established by the World Summit on the Information Society, with the first edition taking place in 2006. At their annual meeting delegates discuss, exchange information and share good practices with each other.

While there is no negotiated outcome, the IGF informs and inspires those with policy-making power in both the public and private sectors. The IGF facilitates a common understanding of how to maximize Internet opportunities and address risks and challenges that arise.

At this year’s IGF, apart from actively participating in other aspects of the event, the Internet Democracy Project is co-organising the Gender and Internet Governance Roundtable with the Association for Progressive Communications. Shehla Shora will be speaking at the Roundtable on the Internet Democracy Project’s research on gender and online abuse, while Anja Kovacs will address the importance of multistakeholderism in Internet governance from a feminist perspective.

Anja Kovacs is also a panelist in the workshop on Finding Workable Models for Enhanced Cooperation, in addition to co-moderating the focus session on Human Rights, Freedom of Expression and Free Flow of Information on the Internet, together with Johan Hallenborg from the Swedish Government. The focus session is a historic one, in that it is the first time that an IGF main session will be dedicated to the topic of human rights.