Registration opening soon.

BACKGROUND

The Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (CIGF) is a regional, multi-stakeholder forum initiated by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (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 forum has since met annually and has delivered significant and pioneering benefits to the region including formulation of a Caribbean Internet Governance Policy Framework; 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 the longest running Internet Governance Forum in the world.

This year, the 18^th CIGF will feature a Caribbean Youth IGF (CYIGF) and the CIGF will also be held jointly with the inaugural Internet Governance Forum for Small Island Developing States (SIDS IGF). Having been discussed as a goal of the DC-SIDS for quite a few years, the SIDS IGF was catalysed by an intervention and offer of support by the CTU SG in 2021. Support for the idea grew given the realisation that SIDS worldwide share similar development challenges and there existed no collective IG forum that addressed SIDS-specific issues. The CIGF will provide functional input and logistical support to the inaugural SIDS IGF to facilitate its successful launch and ultimate sustainability.

CIGF OBJECTIVES

The 18^th CIGF will address various work streams of Internet governance necessary to seize the waning, COVID-19-related opportunity for accelerated digital transformation. It will also actively foster input on issues relevant to young persons and continue work to update the regionally harmonised policy framework for Internet governance

• Consider Internet governance policies and initiatives for priority attention to facilitate ICT-driven social and economic development
• Foster inputs from young persons on IG issues of relevance to the Caribbean
• Review regional vision, priorities and approaches for sustainably building and/or strengthening consensus and action on IG issues in the Caribbean
• Build national capacity and systems in IG to enable, support, strengthen and sustain effective Caribbean participation and representation at regional and global Internet Governance fora

SIDS IGF OBJECTIVES

• Establish a platform and ongoing process where SIDS can become involved, can collaborate, cooperate, share experiences and have their voices heard re: issues arising from and impacts on their countries by IG, Internet Policy and the Digital Economy without necessarily having to “join” an entity (e.g. the DC-SIDS)
• Create a globally visible, recognized and reputable platform for engagement, discussion, cooperation, and collaboration and consensus-building (and even possible decision making) for SIDS Internet Governance, Internet Policy and Digital Economy issues.
• Highlight and seek solutions for the critical issues facing SIDS from the Caribbean, Pacific and AIMS in the Digital Economy 
• Consider and identify appropriate initial governance, procedural and operational mechanisms for effectively addressing and achieving the desired objectives.

CYIGF OBJECTIVES

The Caribbean Youth Internet Governance Forum (CYIGF) is a regional, multi-stakeholder virtual event, under the Caribbean Telecommunications Union’s (CTU’s) Caribbean Internet Governance Forum, designed by youth, for youth. It draws on inspiration from the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU’s) Generation Connect Global Youth Summit 2022, a three-day hybrid event, for which many of the CYIGF planning committee members attended. The aim of this first ever virtual CYIGF is to:

• Engage and empower youth to join in the regional discussions on internet governance.
• Work together to develop and harmonize regional policies.
• Give youth a chance to voice their ideas and inspire them to become future changemakers in the internet governance sphere.
• Feature multiple presentations, discussions and interactive sessions on topics such as the Metaverse and Caribbean internet resilience.

TARGET AUDIENCE

All the following stakeholder groups of the Caribbean, Pacific and AIMS (Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea) regions:

• Academia
• Civil society
• Government policy makers and IT Managers
• Internet users
• Internet service providers and Telecommunications operators
• International organisations
• ICT Regulators

REGISTER

SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES (SIDS) INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM Day1

SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES (SIDS) INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM Day 2

CARIBBEAN-INTERNET-GOVERNANCE-FORUM-PROVISIONAL-AGENDA-24TH-AUGUST-2022

WEDNESDAY 24TH AUGUST 2022
CARIBBEAN INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM (CIGF)
TIME  A.S.T	TIME U.T.C	TOPIC	SPEAKER
9:00 – 9:15	13:00 – 13:15	Welcome & Introduction to Internet Governance	Rodney Taylor Secretary-General, CTU
9:15 – 9:30	13:15 – 13:30	CIGF @ 18: Reviewing CIGF Vision and Mission	Nigel Cassimire Deputy Secretary-General, CTU
9:30 – 11:00	13:30 – 15:00	National, Regional & Global IG Contexts: Reports from National IGFs Report from LACIGF UN IGF and support for National & Regional Initiatives (NRIs)	Jacqueline Morris – Trinidad and Tobago Roxanne John – St. Vincent and the Grenadines Obed Sandy – Haiti Ignacio Estrada – Chief Strategic Officer, LACNIC Anja Gengo – UN IGF Secretariat, Switzerland
11:00 – 11: 15	15:00 – 15:15	COFFEE BREAK
11:15 – 12:00	15:15 – 16:00	Caribbean Internet Governance: Caribbean IG Policy Framework Policy Priorities for Current and Future Attention	Nigel Cassimire Deputy Secretary-General, CTU
12:00 – 1:00	16:00 – 17:00	LUNCH

INTERACTIVE QUESTION AND ANSWER

WEDNESDAY 24TH AUGUST 2022 (AFTERNOON SESSION)
CARIBBEAN YOUTH INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM (CYIGF)
TIME A.S.T	TIME U.T.C	TOPIC	SPEAKER
1:00 – 1:05	17:00 – 17:05	CYIGF Opening Remarks	Mr. Rodney Taylor – CTU Melissa Muñoz Suro – CYIGF
1:05 – 1:15	17:05 – 17:15	Intro to Internet Governance (for youth)	CYIGF planning committee
1:15 – 2:00	17:15 – 18:00	Measuring Internet Resilience in the Caribbean (MIRC)	Moderator: Nia Nanan, CTU Daniel John – UWI Caribbean ICT Research Programme (CIRP), Trinidad and Tobago Jeremy Baksh – UWI (CIRP), Trinidad and Tobago Sajjid Dan – UWI (CIRP) Tyler Seudath – UWI (CIRP), Trinidad and Tobago
2:00 – 2:50	18:00 – 18:50	Into the Metaverse: Caribbean Youth-Centred Focus	Xavier Jhon-Clair, Barbados Lester Garcia, META, Mexico
2:50 – 3:00	18:50 – 19:00	COFFEE BREAK
3:00 – 3:15	19:00 – 19:15	Careers in Internet Governance: Road map for careers in IG Day in the life of IG Professional Note: 3 speakers in total, speaking for 15 mins each; remaining 10 mins used to engage audience in Q&A	Mr. Albert Daniels Senior Manager, Stakeholder Engagement, ICANN Saint Lucia
3:15 – 4:00	19:15 – 20:00		Moderator: Youth Representative Michele Marius – ICT Pulse, Jamaica Youth Representatives – Trinidad and Tobago Christelle Vaval, Haiti
		INTERACTIVE QUESTION AND ANSWER
3:55 – 4:00	19:55 – 20:00	Closing remarks and Next Steps	Nigel Cassimire Deputy Secretary-General, CTU

THURSDAY 25TH AUGUST 2022
SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES (SIDS) INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM
TIME A.S.T	TIME U.T.C	TOPIC	SPEAKER
9:00 – 9:15	13:00 – 13:15	Review of CIGF Day 1	Nigel Cassimire – Deputy Secretary-General – CTU
9:15 – 10:45	13:15 – 14:45	Panel Discussion:  Cybersecurity / Data Protection / Cybercrime / Digital Justice	Moderator  :   Cherie Lagakali, Fiji Ms. Georgina Kiele – Executive Manager Cybersecurity and Government Digital Standards at PNG Department of Information and Communications Technology, Papua New Guinea Mr. Domingo Kabunare – Information Communication Technology Division, Ministry of Information, Communication, Transport and Tourism Development, Kiribati Peter Rigamoto – Head of Legal, Digicel Pacific, Fiji
		INTERACTIVE QUESTION AND ANSWER SEGMENT
10:45 – 11:00	14:45 – 15:00	COFFEE BREAK
11:00 – 12:30	15:00 – 16:30	Panel Discussion: Regional Digital Strategies and Digital Economy	Moderator – Bevil Wooding – ARIN E Vêlayoudom Marimoutou, Secrétaire général de la COI Indian Ocean Commission, Mauritius Andrea Giacomelli – Geneva – Pacific eCommerce Initiative update
12:30 – 2:30	16:30 – 18:30	LUNCH
2:30 – 4:00	18:30 – 20:00	SIDS IGF Opening Ceremony	Hon. Mia Mottley, Prime Minister, Barbados (Invited) Hon. Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni Prime Minister, Tonga (Invited) Hon. Simon Kofe,  Minister for Justice, Communications and Foreign Affairs, Tuvalu Hon. Minister Deepak Balgobin Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mauritius (Invited) Amandeep Singh Gill, United Nations Envoy on Technology, United States
4:00 – 5:30	20:00 – 21:30	Panel Discussion   – The Internet & the Environment etc.	Moderator : Selu Kauvaka Amandeep Singh Gill, United Nations Envoy on Technology, United States Mr. Riad Meddeb, Director, Global Centre on Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development & Senior Principal Advisor for Small Island Developing States, UNDP, United States Mr. Ashish Narayan, Programme Coordinator, ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Invited), Thailand Sylvia Cadena, Head of Programs and Partnerships, APNIC Foundation (TBC), Australia

FRIDAY 26TH AUGUST 2022
SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES (SIDS) INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM (IGF)
TIME A.S.T	TIME U.T.C	TOPIC	SPEAKER
9:00 – 9:15	13:00 – 13:15	Review of SIDS IGF Day 1	Maureen Hilyard ALAC Chair, ICANN, Cook Islands
9:15 – 10:45	13:15 – 14:45	Roundtable Discussion : SIDS IGF Governance/ Way Forward Outcomes of the Inaugural SIDS IGF The way forward	Maureen Hilyard – Moderator Rodney Taylor, Secretary-General, CTU Pablo Hinojosa, Director, Strategic Engagement, APNIC, Australia Kevon Swift, Head of Strategic Relations and Integration, LACNIC, Trinidad and Tobago Bevil Wooding, Director, Caribbean Affairs, ARIN, Trinidad and Tobago Albert Daniels, Senior Manager, Stakeholder Engagement, ICANN, Saint Lucia
		INTERACTIVE QUESTION AND ANSWER SEGMENT
10:45 – 11:00	14:45 – 15:00	COFFEE BREAK
11:00 – 12:30	15:00 – 16:30	Panel Discussion: Telecoms Regulatory Issues : Is Telecom Regulations in SIDS fit for purpose to support internet development?	Moderator : Dalsie Tolang David Cox, Chairman, CANTO, Trinidad and Tobago Nigel Cassimire, Deputy Secretary-General, CTU John Jack, Deputy Chief Information Officer, Government of Vanuatu (Invited), Vanuatu
12:30 – 2:30	16:30 – 18:30	LUNCH
2:30 – 4:00	18:30 – 20:00	Introductory Keynotes on Access, Connectivity and Inclusion	Moderator:  Mr. Riad Meddeb (Invited), Director  – UNDP Global Centre on Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development & Senior Principal Advisor for Small Island Developing States, (UNDP), United States Stephen Bureaux, The Bahamas Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist, Google, United States of America Alex Sceberras Trigona, Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of Malta, Malta Dr Jovan Kurbalija (Invited, TBC), Executive Director of DiploFoundation, Geneva
4:00 – 5:30	20:00 – 21:30	Panel Discussion: High Interest SIDS-IGF Panel – Access, Connectivity & Inclusion	Moderator : Letitia Masaea Georgina Naigulevu, Project Manager, Digital and Health Information (Invited), Fiji Priscilla Kevin, Papua New Guinea Winifred Kula Amini, Papua New Guinea Tereza Horejsova, Geneva
5:30 – 6:00	21:30 – 22:00	Wrap Up and Closing	Rodney Taylor, CTU Cherie Lagakali, Fiji

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