Dear Internet Governance Stakeholder,

The Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) is pleased to announce the staging of the 20^thCaribbean Internet Governance Forum (CIGF) and the 3^rd Caribbean Youth Internet Governance Forum (CYIGF) at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown, Guyana from the 21^st to 23^rd August 2024. The 20^th CIGF and 3^rd CYIGF will be conducted in hybrid mode, i.e., simultaneously in-person and online, and all interested stakeholders are invited to register via the embedded links (above) to the CTU web site.

The CIGF is a regional, non-hierarchical, multi-stakeholder forum initiated by the CTU and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat in 2005 to coordinate a regional approach to Internet Governance (IG), initially focussed on the proceedings of the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).  The CIGF has since met annually and has delivered significant and pioneering benefits to the region including formulation of a Caribbean Internet Governance Policy Framework; the development of national IGFs; the proliferation of Internet exchange points (IXPs); capacity building in IG Principles and best practices; and growth in Caribbean influence in international IG fora. The CIGF is recognised as the longest running Internet Governance Forum in the world.

The CYIGF is a more recent initiative that is independently organised and run by a team of Caribbean youth but conducted for the time being under the auspices of the CIGF. Being designed by youth for youth, the CYIGF gives youth the opportunity to make their voices heard and inspire them to embed themselves within the internet governance community, becoming the changemakers of tomorrow.

This year the 20th CIGF will return to Guyana, where it was launched in 2005. It will be hosted by the Government of Guyana in collaboration with the CTU and address the theme “Reflections, Priorities and Projections re Caribbean Internet and Digital Governance”. In addition to reviewing achievements over the years, the Forum will address various facets of Internet Governance of current import to the Caribbean including UN initiatives to adopt a Global Digital Compact in September 2024 and undertake a 20-year review of WSIS-initiated activities in 2025 (WSIS+20 Review); enhancing the reach, resiliency and sustainability of critical digital infrastructure in the Caribbean; fostering adoption and growth of our digital economies in a trusted and secure manner; and harnessing the benefits of emergent technologies (e.g. AI) while minimising attendant risks. The 3rd CYIGF will address similar and other themes from a youth perspective, both fora aiming to identify consensus measures to inform Caribbean ICT development policy.

So visit the CTU web site for more details and progressively updated information about the overall programmes and event arrangements. We invite and urge you to join us in Guyana or online to make your voice heard.