Internet Governance Forum

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a global initiative under the umbrella of the UN aiming to bring together all interested parties to participate in discussions related to internet governance. The initiative was launched in 2006 at the ‘World Summit on Information Society’ (WSIS) in Tunisia by the UN Secretary General as an open platform for discussions related to internet governance issues.

A primary motivation for this decision arose from the growing need to include a wider social community in discussions about internet governance and regulations, as it became evident that internet governance topics extended beyond IP address space, internet protocols, and domains. Additionally, the need to include other stakeholders, such as representatives from civil society, the academic community, industry, and the private sector, in these discussions was identified.

IGF does not have the authority to make decisions or pass binding resolutions. By issuing conclusions and highlighting issues they deem important, IGF can influence decision-makers and thus participate in the formation of official positions or public statements.

IGF is completely open to all those interested in internet sustainability, stability, security, use, and development.

IGF is an important component of a multistakeholder internet management model recognized by top global development organizations such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, where a CEO of a multistakeholder advisory group that coordinates the work of IGF presented this year's main IGF conclusions.

Apart from a global IGF, there are regional initiatives such as EuroDIG – European Dialogue on Internet Governance, SEEDIG – South East European Dialogue on Internet Governance, and national ones such as CRO-IGF, or even age-specific initiatives such as Youth IGF.

More details at Internet Governance Forum website.

IGF initiatives, both national and regional, are important because they promote communication and improve the culture of dialogue among different stakeholders regarding internet-related issues. This ensures articulated positions and includes diverse perspectives and interests.

Principles on which the IGF was founded:

openness and transparency (allowing all interested parties to participate in IGF-u, open to the public)
inclusion (allowing active participation for all interested)
bottom-up approach (public involvement in the development of IGF programs)
Not for sale of goods and services
multistakeholder model (involvement of all interested parties: academic community, business sector and industry, civil society organizations, and state and public administration).

Croatian Internet Governance Forum - CRO-IGF

In addition to the global IGF, which brings together participants from all over the world, a number of regional and national IGF initiatives have been established because it was recognized that some specific issues should be discussed taking into account national, regional, cultural, and other particularities and interests. For an initiative to be recognized by the global IGF in Geneva, it has to fulfill the criteria of openness and accessibility to all interested stakeholders.

The Croatian national IGF was established in 2015 and has been recognized by the global IGF. Croatia was one of the first countries in the region (Austria 2015, Slovenia 2016) to successfully establish a national IGF, clearly aligning itself with countries advocating the aforementioned multistakeholder model of internet governance. Beyond a political statement, a national IGF allows us to initiate discussions on less familiar topics relevant to our country and internet governance.

The goals of CRO-IGF:

Identify opportunities for various stakeholders to engage in internet governance processes based on their business activities, foster discussions, and provide assistance in understanding internet-related topics as needed.;
empower and get all stakeholders in Croatia interested in actively participating in national, and then, directly or indirectly, in regional and international internet governance processes;
Internet governance topics relevant for Croatia.

All individuals and organizations interested in the future of the internet, members of the academic community, industry and business sector, civil society, and state and public administration participate in the Forum on equal terms.

CRO-IGF Organizing Committee

Academic Community

Tihomir Katulić, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb
Marin Vuković, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb

Private Sector / Industry:

Morana Čulo Jovičić, Telemach
Hrvoje Hadžić, Ericsson Nikola Tesla
Branimir Rajtar, NOG.hr
Nataša Glavor, SPAN Inc.

Public Administration:

Tihomir Lulić, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
Marin Ante Pivčević, Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation
Krešo Antonović, Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure
Ivana Jelačić, CARNET
Zdravko Jukić, Mislav Hebel, HAKOM