Kenya will host the 21th United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) from 14 to 18 December 2026. For the first time since the United Nations General Assembly made the mandate permanent, participants from stakeholder groups representing government, private sector, technical community, intergovernmental organisations and civil society will gather in Nairobi. Together, they will discuss current issues and challenges relating to the shaping of the digital environment under the overarching theme ‘Governing the Internet in the Age of Intelligence: Our Shared Responsibility'.
The programme of the conference is jointly structured and designed by stakeholders worldwide and under the responsibility of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
It will be possible to submit proposals for sessions in the IGF programme until 31 July 2026, 23:59 (UTC). Possible formats include workshops, lightning talks, networking sessions and open forums. A key requirement for a successful programme proposal is the diversity of presenters and speakers in terms of gender, region and stakeholder group. When submitting proposals, it must also be stated whether the moderators and speakers will take part on site or online and how the involvement and participation of event participants is to be organised.
Digital participation in the Internet Governance Forum is also possible as a group via so-called remote hubs for which applications can also be submitted until 31 July 2026, 23:59 (UTC). This opportunity is open to groups that would like to participate together in the discussion of the programme items and actively contribute their own work results.
As a project in the field of children's rights in the digital environment, we would like to encourage the interests and needs of young people to be actively incorporated into the IGF's programme design and to address key issues for the realisation of the protection, provision and participation of young people online. Jutta Croll at jcroll[at]digitale-chancen.de and Torsten Krause at tkrause[at]digitale-chancen.de will be happy to answer any questions you may have and assist you in drafting your proposal.