IISD’s Contributions to the United Nations Internet Governance Forum: Workshop reports, 2008 to 2011

The report documents IISD's contributions to the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) from 2008 to 2011. It details workshops that explored the co-evolution of Internet governance and global challenges, the development of indicators to measure the impact of ICTs on sustainable development, and the use of scenarios planning to anticipate future technological and social shifts. The document emphasizes the need for a broader multistakeholder approach that includes non-technical sectors—such as health, education, and environment—and highlights the importance of regional and national dialogue over purely global processes. It concludes with a toolkit of evidence- and consent-based tools for practitioners to facilitate public policy dialogue.

• There is a reciprocal relationship between Internet governance and sustainable development, where technical and policy decisions regarding the Internet influence the prospects for sustainability and vice versa.
• The document identifies a lack of comprehensive indicators to monitor the impact of Internet policy on sustainability, suggesting a need for environmental indicators such as ICT re-use versus recycling rates and carbon footprint reductions from e-services, as well as economic and social indicators aligned with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
• The Internet's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is growing faster than any other economic sector due to increased access and device use, though ICTs also offer potential for emission reductions through dematerialization and efficient network management.
• The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is characterized by an over-representation of the technical community and the private sector that supplies the Internet, while under-representing developing country governments and sectors that use the Internet, such as health, education, and financial services.
• Scenarios planning is presented as a critical tool for navigating future uncertainties in Internet governance, helping policy-makers think beyond 'the official future' and engage diverse stakeholders in identifying risks and opportunities.
• Regional and national Internet governance forums are often more effective than global events because they allow for bottom-up theme generation, better stakeholder engagement, and a more direct link to national policy implementation.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2012). IISD’s Contributions to the United Nations Internet Governance Forum: Workshop reports, 2008 to 2011. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/igf_workshop_reports.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. IISD’s Contributions to the United Nations Internet Governance Forum: Workshop reports, 2008 to 2011. 2012. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/igf_workshop_reports.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=IISD’s Contributions to the United Nations Internet Governance Forum: Workshop reports, 2008 to 2011 |date=October 2012 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/igf_workshop_reports.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2012iisds, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{IISD’s Contributions to the United Nations Internet Governance Forum: Workshop reports, 2008 to 2011}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2012}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/igf_workshop_reports.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }