APrIGF 2019 Vladivostok, Russia
A report by Anju Mangal
The Asia Pacific Internet Governance is a yearly event that brings together more than 300 like-minded professionals, experts, researchers, funders, and investors, students from the ICT and Internet Governance national, regional and global communities.
The sessions and discussions of the workshops that took place from 16 – 19 June, hosted in Vladivostock, Russia were meaningful and it gave me an opportunity to interact with individuals to highlight the importance of our national and regional Pacific IGFs and how the discussions and processes are aligned to the APRIGF.
APRIGF has been the leading regional think tank in adopting the multistakeholder approach for discussions, exchange and collaboration at a regional level, including aggregating national discussions to advance the Internet Governance development in Asia Pacific region.
The key question is – how will the multistakeholder community respond and adapt to the various discussions taking place at the APRIGF level. How will this translate into action when we are proposing initiatives at the national and global level?
There has been impactful initiatives taking place to achieve common goals but we will need APIRGF to position itself for the next decade. Coming together and establishing good practices whilst collectively working together can be a great a success. We had various sessions exploring innovative techniques and methods to promote the use of technology to advance their work. In addition, we all have our own stories to tell and share.
The APRIGF event provided a platform to leverage the scale, skills and the existing expertise to do a few things for the Pacific IGF. Having a regional perspective on the business practices can help us shape the Pacific IGF work.
As digital change agents and digital nomads, we come from different background and skillsets but we are advocating for the same thing – we need to have the right tools and processes to improve the business change or organisation.
I am quite pleased to be a member of APRIGF. I have been working with my colleagues from the Pacific to connect the dots and working with individuals and organisations including government stakeholders to bring change within the Pacific IGF context. We continue to navigate the cultural
dynamics that drive change throughout APRIGF and the Pacific IGF context.
I facilitated the closing plenary, a roundtable session with key experts to discuss the role of Asia Pacific Internet Governance and Multistakeholder participation in the Global IGF. The roundtable reinforced the magnitude of the challenges and opportunities that need urgent and practical responses at country (national) level. The entire panel emphasised the scale of the challenges and issues that require cross-sectoral and coordinated response – at national, regional and international/global IGF levels.
I am grateful for attending the APRIGF and I would like to commend the APRIGF Steering Committee for developing a comprehensive and productive agenda. I am also thankful to the fellowship committee for giving me a chance to attend and present at the various sessions, including the closing plenary. I am quite pleased that the APRIGF was a great success.
I look forward to playing a major role in shaping the APRIGF to ensure that we continue the multistakeholder approach. For more information, please click here: https://www.aprigf.asia/