The 2018 Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF) is fast approaching, with final touches being made to the agenda — this year’s theme is ‘Empowering communities in the Asia Pacific to build an affordable, inclusive, open and secure Internet’.
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The APrIGF serves as a platform for discussion, exchange and collaboration at a regional level and also, where possible, to aggregate national IGF discussions to ultimately advance Internet governance development in the Asia Pacific region.
As a co-host, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and the Telecommunication and Radiocommunications Regulator is looking forward to welcoming over 300 attendees from 20 economies across the Asia Pacific region — including a large number of youth participants who will be attending the Youth IGF, held in conjunction with the APrIGF and Pacific IGF — in Vanuatu, from the 13 to 16 August.
It will be the first time that a Pacific economy has hosted the regional event. We are hopeful it will build on the awareness and involvement of the Pacific community in Internet governance discussions in the Pacific following last year’s Pacific IGF, which was also held in Vanuatu. More so, it provides a really important opportunity for us to share our experiences and challenges, and learn from other attendees from outside the region.
There will be a range of workshops focused on cybersecurity, online privacy and data protection, access and empowerment, the digital economy and emerging Internet technologies, diversity, and the multistakeholder approach to Internet governance.
See the agenda
The multistakeholder approach is a core principle of the APrIGF, with emphasis on the diversity of the participants and openness of the discussion.
Valuing youth as important stakeholders and the future generations of the Internet, the Youth IGF has also become an integral part of the APrIGF. It is held in parallel to the APrIGF and features a simulation of the multistakeholder discussion model among young people on various Internet governance issues.
The APrIGF and Youth IGF 2018 will be held in Port Vila, Vanuatu from 13 to 16 August with support from the co-hosts, Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and the Telecommunication and Radiocommunications Regulator. For more details on the event, including travel and remote participation options, visit the website.
Lukim yu long Vanuatu (See you in Vanuatu)
John Jack is the Deputy Chief Information Officer for the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, Vanuatu Government. He looks after the operations of the government network and assists in policy development.
The views expressed by the authors of this blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of APNIC. Please note a Code of Conduct applies to this blog.