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Relations with IGFs

Global IGF | EuroDIG | National IGFs in SEE+

Fostering sinergies

SEEDIG has been inspired by the United Nations-led Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG), and is maintaining close connections with them. In doing so, SEEDIG is acting in line with its objective of creating synergies between local Internet governance realities (concerns, challenges, etc.) and the pan-European and global processes.

In addition to benefiting from support from both the IGF and EuroDIG, SEEDIG also feeds into these two processes.

Within South Eastern Europe and the neighbouring area, SEEDIG has created a channel of communication with national IGF initiatives, and is seeking to support these initiatives to the extent possible.

SEEDIG’s relations with the global IGF

There are several ways in which SEEDIG contributes to the global IGF process.

  • Submission of annual meeting reports

Including messages from SEEDIG sessions, as contributions from the Internet community in South Eastern Europe and the neighbouring area.

  • Participation in annual IGF meetings

SEEDIG has been actively participating in annual IGF meetings. It usually contributes to the preparation of main sessions dedicated to national and regional IGF initiatives (NRIs), and, occassionaly, to NRIs collaborative sessions. In 2017, for example, SEEDIG co-organised a collaborative session on Internationalised Domain Names. IGF annual meetings also offer a framework for SEEDIG community gatherings: a space for community members to meet and discuss ongoing and upcoming SEEDIG activities. 

  • Contribution to IGF intersessional activities

To the extent possible, SEEDIG responds to calls for contributions to IGF intersessional activities. In 2016, for example, it provided input into phase II of the intersessional project ‘Policy options for connecting and enabling the next billion(s)’. SEEDIG also participates in regular NRIs online meetings, facilitated by the IGF Secretariat.

SEEDIG’s relations with EuroDIG

In 2015, the first SEEDIG meeting was held as a pre-event to EuroDIG. Ever since, SEEDIG has been working together with EuroDIG on building and strengthening synergies between the two initiatives. These synergies have materialised in several ways.

  • Joint call for issues & other joint initiatives

Until 2020, SEEDIG and EuroDIG ran joint calls for issues to mark the start of the preparatory processes for their annual meetings. This joint milestone has created the framework for better understanding what Internet governance issues are seen as relevant both in South Eastern Europe and the neighbouring area and in the wider Europe.

In 2019, EuroDIG and SEEDIG produced a joint paper sumarising the Internet governance priorities of their European and international partners. The aim is to use this paper as input into SEEDIG’s and EuroDIG’s efforts to better anchor our annual debates in the European realities.

  • Participation in annual EuroDIG meetings

Messages from SEEDIG annual meeting are presented at EuroDIG, in the framework of flash sessions. EuroDIG meetings also offer the SEEDIG community an opportunity to get together and discuss how SEEDIG could improve moving forward.

In addition, members of the SEEDIG community actively participated in the planning and running of EuroDIG sessions. Several SEEDIG fellows and participants in the Youth School are often selected for the YOUthDIG programme, further contributing to strengthening the connections between the two initiatives.

SEEDIG’s relations with NRIs from SEE+

Many countries in South Eastern Europe and the neighbouring area have developed national IGF initiatives over the past years. There are also several countries which are on the way of launching such initiatives. SEEDIG has been working on fostering communication with and between these initiatives, and has offered to support them in their activities. It is worth mentioning that some of these initiatives have been inspired by SEEDIG.

  • National IGFs in SEE+

List of national IGFs, as recognised by the global Internet Governance Forum:

  • Joint online and in situ meetings

Starting December 2015, SEEDIG has facilitated meetings (online and in situ) with interested IGF initiatives from the region. These meetings represent an opportunity to discuss and exchange information on issues such as challenges and success stories from national IGFs, modalities in which SEEDIG could assist in building or strengthening national IGFs, and ways in which national IGFs could contribute to the SEEDIG process.

National IGF initiatives have been active contributors to the SEEDIG process. Starting 2016, a slot is reserved in the SEEDIG programme for a meeting with national IGFs (usually also attended by EuroDIG and the IGF Secretariat).

Past in situ meetings 

  • May 2019, Bucharest (on the margins of SEEDIG 5)
  • May 2018, Ljibljana (on the margins of SEEDIG 2018)
  • May 2017, Ohrid (on the margins of SEEDIG 2017)
  • April 2016, Belgrade (on the margins of SEEDIG 2016)

Past online meetings

  • Contribution of national IGFs to SEEDIG intersessional activities
Members of national IGF initiatives have been active contributors to SEEDIG intersessional activities, such as the monthly SEEsummary and the surveys runs by SEEDIG.
  • SEEDIG at national IGF meetings

SEEDIG strives, to the extent possible, to participate in annual meetings of national IGF initiatives, as part of its outreach and communication efforts. Examples of  initiatives SEEDIG contributed to and/or supported over the years include Armenia IGF, Bosnia and Herzegovina IGF, Georgia IGF, Moldova IGF,  and Youth IGF Turkey.