PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — The Caribbean will host the inaugural Small Island Developing States Internet Governance Forum (SIDS IGF) and the first Caribbean Youth IGF (CYIGF) in August, the Trinidad-based Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) has announced.

It said that the 18th CTU Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (CTU CIGF) will take place from August 24-26 under the theme ‘Internet Governance Priorities for ICT-Driven Development’.

“Characterised by our common global challenges, the 18th CIGF provides a platform to host the inaugural SIDS IGF where we can address critical issues facing SIDS. Collaboration is the vehicle through which we can collectively seek solutions and formulate harmonised policies for the achievement of an overall strategic objective,” said CTU Secretary General Rodney Taylor.

The CTU said that the UN IGF has been held since 2006 as an outcome of the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). It said one of the most important outcomes of the global IGF is the Regional IGF initiatives, which includes the Caribbean IGF.

The CIGF is a regional, multi-stakeholder, annual forum initiated by the CTU and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat in 2005 to coordinate a regional approach to Iternet governance (IG) and which initially focused on the proceedings of the UN WSIS.

The CTU said that the importance of hosting a SIDS IGF had been discussed as a goal of the Dynamic Coalition on SIDS (DC-SIDS) for a number of years.

It said the 18th CIGF will address the various work streams of Internet governance that can be used to seize the COVID-19-related opportunity for accelerated digital transformation. It will also actively foster input on issues relevant to young persons and continue work to update the regionally harmonised policy framework for Internet governance. Hence, it was agreed that the inaugural CYIGF would also be hosted with the CTU CIGF.

The SIDS IGF will establish a platform and ongoing process where SIDS can become involved, collaborate, cooperate, share experiences,and have their voices heard regarding issues arising from and impacts on their countries by IG, Internet policy and the digital economy without necessarily having to join an entity to do so.

The CYIGF is a regional, multi-stakeholder event designed by youth, for youth. It draws on inspiration from the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU’s) Generation Connect Global Youth Summit 2022.

The CYIGF will engage and empower youth to join in the regional discussions on Internet governance and give them a chance to voice their ideas and inspire them to become future changemakers in the Internet governance sphere.

“This historic first Caribbean youth Internet Governance Forum lays the foundation for many of our future Caribbean leaders to become change agents, and to build on and further develop the regional Internet landscape,” Taylor said.