The Wikimedia Foundation will be at the Internet Governance Forum — Come talk to us!

Torii path and lantern at Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine, Kyoto, Japan. Image by Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0. via Wikimedia Commons.

Written by the Wikimedia Foundation’s: Franziska Putz, Senior Movement Advocacy Manager.

Members from the Wikimedia Foundation’s (WMF) Global Advocacy team and Human Rights team will be joining the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) that is taking place in Kyoto, Japan, from 8–12 October, 2023. IGF is an important annual gathering of stakeholders from civil society, industry, government, and more, to discuss public policy issues relating to the Internet. For Wikimedia, it is an unparalleled opportunity for us to share Wikimedia’s priorities and perspectives on digital rights with allies and policymakers. We’re looking forward to increasing our engagement at a time when internet governance is a pressing issue on the policy agendas of governments around the world.

Wikimedia will host one session, run a virtual and on-site booth, and participate in numerous additional sessions.

Here’s how you can engage with us at IGF:

1. [Monday] Launch of the Taskforce on Trustworthy Information on Monday, October 9th from 8:00–9:30 am JST/ 23:00–00:30 UTC in Workshop Room 6. The Wikimedia Foundation co-chairs this taskforce of the Freedom Online Coalition with the Government of Denmark.
2. [Wednesday] The Wikimedia Foundation has organized an in-person workshop with a virtual component on “Digital Democracy and Future Realities” on Wednesday, October 11th from 08:45 -10:15 am JST/ 23:45–1:15 UTC. The session will take place in Room B-2 and online. This session will focus on the open, public interest ideals and functions of the internet. Speakers will explore what we can do to promote shared, free, and communally governed spaces that allow participation, deliberation, and collaboration to flourish. Please join us online with this link.
3. [Wednesday] Dr. Cameran Ashraf, Human Rights Lead at the Wikimedia Foundation, will be speaking in the event’s main session on human rights, “Upholding Human Rights in the Digital Age: Fostering a Multistakeholder Approach for Safeguarding Human Dignity and Freedom for All.” The session will take place in the Plenary Room on Wednesday, October 11 from 14:00–15:30 JST/ 5:00–6:30 UTC. You can also join the session online.
4. [All week] Stop by our booth, either in-person or online! We’re booth number 70 and we’ll be around all week. We will be sharing hand-outs that cover how Wikimedia combats disinformation, how our movement interacts with artificial intelligence systems, and more. Come on by to talk to us about anything related to Wikimedia, we’re excited to meet you there! Information for online and onsite attendees here.

We look forward to many important conversations and connections — and to learning more about other organizations’ concerns and agendas around which we might collaborate. If you cannot be there in person, you can register for online participation here.