Varadero, Cuba — 28th July 2025 – From 20th to 22nd August 2025, the picturesque city of Varaderowill welcome policymakers, technologists, academics, youth leaders and civil society actors for the 21st Caribbean Internet Governance Forumand the4th Caribbean Youth Internet Governance Forum (CYIGF). Convened by theCaribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) in partnership with theGovernmentof Cuba, this regional event will bring together a wide cross-section of stakeholders, both in-person and online, to shape the Caribbean’s digital future through inclusive, multistakeholder dialogue.
This marks the first time that Cuba will host the CIGF, reflecting its growing engagement in regional digital policy and governance dialogue. The Forum will be held in a hybrid format, accommodating both in-person and remote participants from across the Caribbean and globally.
Established in 2005 by the CTU and the CARICOM Secretariat, the CIGF is the longest-running Internet Governance Forum in the world. It has served as a unique, multi-stakeholder platform for shaping the Caribbean’s regional approach to Internet governance, catalysing significant achievements such as pioneering the Caribbean Internet Governance Policy Framework, the establishment of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) across the region, the enhancement of stakeholder capacity in Internet Governance principles and best practices, and increased Caribbean influence in global Internet governance fora.
This year’s Forum carries added significance as it celebrates over two decades of regional progress while looking ahead to current and emerging challenges and opportunities. Key issues to be addressed include the United Nations’ Global Digital Compact, the WSIS+20 Review of the World Summit on the Information Society (2005) outcomes; measures to bolster the resilience, reach, affordability and sustainability of digital connectivity in the Caribbean; online safety; strategies to foster secure and inclusive digital economic growth; and the responsible adoption of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Complementing the main Forum, the 4th Caribbean Youth Internet Governance Forum (CYIGF) will be collocated with the CIGF to empower Caribbean youth as active contributors to Internet policy discussions. This dedicated space will support knowledge-building, capacity development and youth-led dialogue on the region’s digital future.
The CIGF continues to focus on identifying and prioritising regional Internet governance policies that will accelerate the Caribbean’s digital transformation. It also aims to build institutional and human capacity, strengthen national IG frameworks and ensure meaningful Caribbean representation in global policy arenas.
The three-day programme includes an official opening ceremony with remarks from CTU, the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the Internet Society (ISOC), and the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (UN IGF). The agenda will feature interactive capacity-building sessions, reports from national and regional IGFs (including Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Haiti, Guyana, and the Latin America and Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (LACIGF), focused panel discussions, policy development workshops, a special Cuba Focus Session, and an evening networking reception.
