European Dialogue on Internet Governance to Be Held in Georgia
Georgia’s capital Tbilisi is to host the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) 2018 on June 4-6.
The information was released by Georgia’s Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, which says that the preparatory meeting was held in Technopark, attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Economy, the EuroDIG, the International Internet Community (ISOC) and the International Organization for Domain Names (ICANN).
The meeting participants discussed the agenda of the EuroDIG 2018 and its main issues.
The Ministry reports that following several successfully conducted forums on internet governance (GeoIGF) in Georgia, all of which received positive international feedback, the organizational committee on the European Dialogue on Internet Governance decided to hold the 11th EuroDIG in Georgia.
The Forum is expected to host 300-600 guests, including the European Commissioner for Digital Policy and Society, Mariya Gabriel, who was also rapporteur on Georgia while Georgia’s visa-waiver was being discussed in European structures last year.
This is the first time the Forum is being held in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) country and the second occasion when it takes place in a non-EU country, which makes the event outstanding for the Georgian Internet Community.
Eka Kubusidze, Head of the Communications, Information and Modern Technologies Department of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, said the holding of such an important and large-scale internet forum in Tbilisi was preconditioned by the profound, intensive development of internet governance in Georgia.
She highlighted that international society had given a very high evaluation of the forums on internet governance conducted in Georgia during recent years.
The EuroDIG is an open multi-stakeholder platform to exchange views about the Internet and how it is governed. Created in 2008 by numerous organizations, government representatives and experts, it fosters dialogue and collaboration with the internet community on public policy for the internet.
EuroDIG ‘Messages’ are prepared and presented at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
The main aim of EuroDIG is to promote the engagement of Europeans in multi-stakeholder dialogue in order to share their expertise and best practice and, where possible, identify common ground. This enables EuroDIG to pull together national perspectives and to apply and shape European values and views regarding the internet.
The EuroDIG is held annually in various European countries and is one of Europe’s most vibrant, open and multilateral European platforms for the exchange of opinions and best practices on how to manage the internet. Various stakeholders participate in the forum from governmental and private, academic and non-governmental sectors.
In addition, international organizations and the younger generation are actively engaged in the work of the forums, where they jointly discuss and exchange views on the numerous topical issues of internet development.
Thea Morrison