As part of the 14th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which took place in Berlin from 25 to 29 November 2019, we were contracted to invite parliamentarians from around the world and to design a suitable programme for this target group.
Parliamentarians had previously been underrepresented at this forum, which was problematic for the relevance of the event, as the results were not taken into account at the legislative level and the result-open discussion culture was not well known.
In addition to the opportunity to learn about technical, legal, ethical and economic aspects of the development of the internet, parliamentarians were encouraged to exchange ideas on how they could incorporate the information into their respective national legislation.
As a result, approximately 180 parliamentarians from around the world participated in the IGF, which generated positive attention in many ways, even beyond the IGF itself.
In preparation for the IGF, we organised a workshop on ‘Shaping the Future of the Internet’ in the German Bundestag, together with the Secretariat of the Digital Agenda Committee and the office of its chairman, Member of Parliament Jimmy Schulz.
The aim was to draw attention to the opportunities offered by the IGF through a specific topic and to encourage participants to take part.