*[Under way, Sorry, no real time text today.. Will transcribe]* [image: ISOC LIVE] <https://isoc.live/19401> *LIVESTREAM <https://youtu.be/g6Aip9MUZNo> | PERMALINK <https://isoc.live/19401>* On *Wednesday May 28, 2025*, at *11:00-12:30 EDT* (15:00-16:30 UTC), the *Columbia Institute for Tele-Information <https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/citi/>*, as part of its *Global Digital Governance series <https://business.columbia.edu/citi/events/citi-seminars-global-digital-governance>*, presents a webinar ‘*Understanding Internet Governance: Implications for Digital, Data, and AI Governance*‘. June 2025 is the 20th anniversary of the report by the UN Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG <https://fu8bm8rab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001eViFJfKEoxKq7TGNOhJU9l_PIABYqwVEDu7GXN0zZLw1BQ3HFSqxAFwnEoa8eo8OHRYSOVBNw5yO-XynmDXdZX1V48OB8iED0flnl5fnttGvnbsgRLC3wxQhHgm1nZk-nNL_K-spm3-sZJuWPLXTggRxExNWBouwaVnTl0NotO0E3pTKiwooTg==&c=pQaNfoj7R5GiVyjYeghE_0yM8yvRFB8qHOVGQiQyTzZPUC_P4iZPUQ==&ch=A6DO3WGe0zj1UVDD0I8Q7W3LaZQ2He0ZJ7MRJgmjvRUrZwmxWcVfNw==>). Convened by the UN Secretary General to help resolve key questions that were blocking the World Summit on the Information Society negotiations, the WGIG produced a report that inter alia advanced a broad and holistic “working definition” of Internet governance and proposed the establishment of the Internet Governance Forum with the same character. The definition highlighted that Internet governance involves shared frameworks developed by both states and stakeholders for both the underlying infrastructure and its diverse uses. The WGIG’s recommendations helped to deescalate a divisive battle over intergovernmental vs. multistakeholder governance and were incorporated into the negotiated outcome, and the definition has been invoked as foundational in UN processes and beyond ever since. But while governments and stakeholders signed onto the WGIG’s understanding of Internet governance in 2005, the international debates and politics over the twenty years since suggest that commitment to it has not been uniform or deep. The balance between intergovernmental and multistakeholder approaches has remained contested, and attention to improving the design of institutions has been limited. This has special salience today not only because the UN is reviewing the World Summit’s twenty-year implementation in order to determine the next steps, but also because we are once again in a period where there are pressures to establish new international governance mechanisms. In and outside the UN, there are multiple processes underway concerning the governance of the digital economy, data, and artificial intelligence that are raising challenges akin to those confronted in the Internet governance battles of the past. Among the questions worth exploring in this context are: 1) Has the WGIG’s understanding of Internet governance stood the test of time? What are its strengths and weaknesses, and with the benefit of hindsight would a similar exercise produce the same results today? 2) To what extent is the approach taken in 2005 useful in addressing the contemporary push for governance of the digital economy, data, and artificial intelligence? Are there lessons to be learned that would assist in managing the analytical and political challenges? 3) What are the implications of the new governance debates for the Internet Governance Forum and related institutions? This webinar will explore these questions. A panel of WGIG veterans will lead off the conversation, and then the rest of the session will be devoted to open discussion among all interested attendees. At the June 2026 Internet Governance Forum meeting in Norway, a larger WGIG+20 session <https://fu8bm8rab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001eViFJfKEoxKq7TGNOhJU9l_PIABYqwVEDu7GXN0zZLw1BQ3HFSqxAFwnEoa8eo8O5tACbhZY43rT3zoVlRbD8iFTHd9T1PKeE9m35L1RV-paUFyjFAT5lLxjzsxyrm481uSNPfd_H40ihshiE0fowhtT8fi487xNN3OR3ZgKlW7Ll2KMuByWeWoj7XYihNB6EiYH6yTJHGpIFgxxK0peFztUkam6Z1cokpVOPmUeq-fAUIyynqdj0-FFaQbP8SrV0aK5EoTOxyk=&c=pQaNfoj7R5GiVyjYeghE_0yM8yvRFB8qHOVGQiQyTzZPUC_P4iZPUQ==&ch=A6DO3WGe0zj1UVDD0I8Q7W3LaZQ2He0ZJ7MRJgmjvRUrZwmxWcVfNw==> will build upon this discussion. The session is simulcast live by ISOC LIVE. *PANEL* *Avri Doria* – independent researcher and consultant. *Wolfgang Kleinwächter* – Professor Emeritus of International Communication Policy and Regulation, University of Aarhus *Markus Kummer* – Internet governance and policy expert *Vittorio Bertola* – Head of Policy & Innovation, Open-Xchange *HOST / MODERATOR* *William J. Drake*, Director of International Studies, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information *SIMULCASTS X Live <https://x.com/ISOC_Live> | Twitch <https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive> | Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/InternetSociety/live>* *** ISOC.LIVE is a free webcasting support service for the Internet Society Community - if you would like to become a monthly sponsor, or need support - contact support@isoc.live *** -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -