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IGF 2025 opens in Lillestrøm with calls to ‘build digital governance together’
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Summary
Government, United Nations and multi‑stakeholder leaders opened the 20th Internet Governance Forum in Lillestrøm, Norway, calling for renewed global cooperation on internet policy during the WSIS+20 review and implementation of the Global Digital Compact.
Leaders from governments, the United Nations and civil society opened the twentieth Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Lillestrøm, Norway, on a pledge to "build digital governance together" and to use the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) plus‑20 review and the Global Digital Compact to guide global internet policy.
United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres, in a recorded message played at the opening, said the IGF has proved that "dialogue across sectors, regions, and generations can help shape an Internet that is rooted in dignity, opportunity, and human rights," and noted that the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact recognized the IGF as "the primary multi‑stakeholder platform for Internet governance issues." He urged participants to work on universal connectivity, skills, information integrity, and more transparent digital decision‑making.
Norway’s minister for digitalisation and public governance, Karianne Tung, welcomed delegates and said the forum’s multi‑stakeholder model remains essential as nations confront trust, openness and digital freedom challenges. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, in a video address, framed the internet as a "global public good" that should remain open, free and accessible and called for safeguarding both the infrastructure and the spirit of the internet.
Speakers across regional and technical institutions underscored continuity with IGF’s two decades of work: the forum’s convening role during the WSIS+20 review, its capacity‑building efforts, and its role as a space for multi‑stakeholder exchange rather than treaty negotiation. ICANN emphasized coordination over centralization, and the EU and other delegations reiterated support for sustaining and resourcing the IGF beyond 2025.
The opening also set out practical priorities that will recur in plenaries and workshops this week: closing the digital divide, strengthening cyber‑resilience, improving information integrity, and deepening participation from developing countries. Organizers reminded delegates about the program, the Open Village and the IGF app for session updates.
The forum runs multiple parallel sessions this week; the opening ceremony framed the next days as a mix of technical, policy and rights‑oriented discussions aimed at feeding the WSIS+20 process and implementation of the Global Digital Compact.
