Session
Organizer 1: Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 1: Francesca Bria, Intergovernmental Organization, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: Konstantinos Komaitis, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: Camacho Cristina, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Roundtable
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: A roundtable format is the most effective setup for this session as it facilitates interactive, inclusive, and dynamic discussions between multilateral and multistakeholder participants. Given the session’s focus on aligning diverse diplomatic processes in cyber governance, this format fosters open dialogue, collaboration, and direct engagement among policymakers, diplomats, industry representatives, civil society, and the technical community. The 60-minute duration allows panellists to assess governance gaps, explore mechanisms for greater policy coherence, and discuss practical solutions for integrating multilateral and multistakeholder efforts in cyber diplomacy. It also provides sufficient time for audience participation, ensuring that both onsite and online attendees can contribute meaningfully to the discussion. This setup ensures a balanced, inclusive, and interactive debate, allowing for a comprehensive exploration of the challenges and opportunities in cyber diplomacy while fostering engagement across diverse stakeholder groups.
1. How can cyber diplomacy effectively bridge multilateral (e.g., UNOEWG, WSIS, Global Digital Compact) and multistakeholder approaches to ensure coherence in global digital governance? 2. What mechanisms can strengthen cross-regional cooperation, cybersecurity norm-building, and digital capacity development across diplomatic processes? 3. How can diplomatic efforts be made more inclusive, ensuring underrepresented regions, stakeholders, and marginalised communities actively shape digital governance discussions?
What will participants gain from attending this session? Participants will gain a deeper understanding of cyber diplomacy’s multidimensional aspects, including how different diplomatic processes interact and influence global digital governance. They will also explore practical approaches to bridge multilateral negotiations with multistakeholder discussions, ensuring stronger policy coherence and inclusivity. Through an interactive and inclusive discussion, attendees will hear from diplomats, policymakers, civil society, and technical experts about key trends in cyber diplomacy and their real-world impact. This session will also provide insights into regional and cross-sector cooperation strategies, offering concrete takeaways for participants engaged in digital governance efforts at national, regional, or global levels. Moreover, the session will highlight challenges and opportunities in the evolving cyber diplomacy landscape, equipping attendees with knowledge, tools, and strategies to actively engage in shaping digital governance frameworks.
Description:
The steady acceleration of digital transformation continuously challenges international negotiations on digital governance, demanding adaptive, inclusive, and cooperative diplomatic frameworks. While international cooperation efforts often operate in silos, effective digital governance requires structured dialogue fostering a transdisciplinary and multistakeholder approach, reflecting the multidimensional nature of digital technologies and their governance. As multiple negotiation tracks shape the future of cyber and tech diplomacy, this session explores how integration between international cooperation processes, alongside stronger multistakeholder engagement, can ensure a more coherent and effective approach to digital governance. This roundtable, organized under the EU Cyber Diplomacy Initiative, will examine how diplomacy in the digital domain is evolving across various platforms, including the UN Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on the security of and in the use of information and communications technologies (2021-2025), the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the Global Digital Compact, and negotiations led by the technical community, such as the IETF and ICANN. These discussions often remain disconnected, leading to a fragmented discourse on how to align efforts across multiple diplomatic processes to ensure safe, open, and inclusive connectivity. This session will assess how policy coherence, accountability, and inclusivity can be enhanced by deepening multistakeholder involvement in decision-making and fostering greater coordination between technical and diplomatic communities. Bringing together policymakers, diplomats, industry representatives, civil society, and the technical community from diverse geographical perspectives, this discussion explores mechanisms for cross-regional cooperation, cybersecurity norm-building, and cyber capacity development. The interactive roundtable format will encourage meaningful dialogue between onsite and online participants, ensuring a balanced exchange of perspectives, particularly from underrepresented regions and communities. Aligning with the IGF 2025 subthemes of Digital Cooperation and Digital Trust & Resilience, this session critically assesses governance gaps and explore how diplomatic engagement, supported by stronger multistakeholder participation, can bridge policy silos and strengthen global cooperation.
This session aims to generate concrete insights on how cyber diplomacy can better align multilateral and multistakeholder approaches to address digital governance challenges. Expected outcomes include: • A synthesis report outlining key takeaways and recommendations for strengthening policy coherence across digital diplomacy forums. • Follow-up discussions within key diplomatic processes (e.g., UNOEWG, WSIS, and the Global Digital Compact). • Actionable strategies for enhancing multistakeholder engagement in global cyber negotiations. • Identification of pathways for cross-regional collaboration to prevent policy fragmentation. By fostering a forward-looking, inclusive, and solutions-oriented dialogue, this session will contribute to strengthening cyber diplomacy frameworks and ensuring that digital governance processes remain adaptive, resilient, and inclusive.
Hybrid Format: To ensure seamless engagement between onsite and online participants, the session will adopt an interactive, hybrid-friendly format: • Live Interaction: A dual-screen setup (where possible) will display online speakers and real-time comments, allowing in-person participants to directly engage with remote attendees. • Moderated Engagement: Dedicated onsite and online moderators will manage and balance contributions, ensuring online voices are equally represented. • Structured Q&A: The session will alternate between onsite and online attendees, fostering inclusive participation. • Prioritising Online Voices: The discussion will start with questions from the online audience to enhance virtual engagement. • Post-Session Accessibility: The session will be livestreamed and recorded for broader access via the EU Cyber Diplomacy Initiative website. These measures will create a fully hybrid, participatory, and dynamic discussion, ensuring meaningful engagement between onsite and online audiences.