Dear Colleagues
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a United Nations multi-stakeholder platform for dialogue between governments, business, civil society and the technical community on public policy issues related to the way the Internet works and is regulated.
This year the 18th annual meeting of the IGF will take place in Kyoto from the 8 to the 12 of October. The forum will be hosted by the Japanese government, and the overarching theme will be “The Internet we want – Empowering all people”.
As in previous years, IFLA will participate in this forum as many of the discussions that take place in it are relevant for anyone in the library field (e.g. public Internet access, universal connectivity, digital inclusion, digital literacy, freedom of responsible expression, and other urgent issues).
This year IFLA will be organising or involved in at least three sessions, including one on 8 October (Day zero) focused on a library vision of the internet, one on 10 October on how libraries can create informed and empowered internet citizens, and one on 11 October looking at evolutions in public access.
Therefore IFLA highly encourages and welcomes participation from library professionals and stakeholders in the Asia-Oceania region at the forum and at these sessions in particular, to ensure that all voices are heard, exchange ideas, build partnerships and obtain support and inspiration. This is an opportunity to highlight the importance of libraries and information services in the digital era, to emphasise the opportunities and social challenges presented by current technological developments and to advocate for a stronger role for decision-making and policy delivery for the library field.
We invite you to take a look at our website for more information:
Internet Governance Forum 2023 – IFLA
Best wishes,
IFLA Regional Office for Asia and Oceania
