The annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is hosted by a Government of a UN Member State. All UN Member States can express interest to host the IGF. Between the initial expression of interest and receiving status of the IGF Host Country, there are several procedural steps for the assessment of the received offer. These steps are listed below.
- A government authority of the Member State expresses interest in hosting the IGF through a letter sent by email to the IGF Secretariat.
- Member State invites the IGF Secretariat and UN DESA to the first assessment mission in the proposed location of the meeting's venue to understand if the conditions on the ground correspond to the requirements outlined in the Host Country Agreement. Among others, these conditions relate to:
- Level of political will;
- A sound strategy for the organization of the meeting including plans for stakeholder engagement;
- The capacity of the venue to accommodate the hybrid nature of the meeting;
- The infrastructure of the proposed meeting location which includes accommodation and transport capacity including airport connections and its proximity to the venue, quality of local transport etc.;
- As the Host Country is expected to engage a local multistakeholder organizing committee into the planning process and is required to delegate a high-level Host Country Co-Chair, the assessment extends to this section as well.
- After the first assessment mission, a formal report is submitted to the Office of the Under-Secretary-General (OUSG).
- The OUSG issues an offer of acceptance. After this stage, the Government receives a status of a Prospective IGF Host Country.
- The second assessment mission is conducted to confirm the technical and security conditions by the UN officers in charge.
- The Government and the UN enter the process of signing the Host Country Agreement. Only after the Agreement is signed, the Government is confirmed as the Host Country of the IGF annual meeting.
The IGF annual meeting is traditionally hosted in the last quarter of the year. Most of the annual meeting costs related to organizational and conference aspects are covered by the Government of the Host Country. The costs vary from country to country, depending on the internal costs and available capacity.
With thanks to the generous support of IGF host governments, below is an overview of IGF host countries, meeting locations and dates by year.
