General guidance and notes to take into consideration regarding nominations for a position on the MAG
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) was established by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2006 to assist the Secretary-General in convening the annual IGF meeting by advising on the programme and schedule. MAG members serve in their personal capacity, but are expected to have established linkages within stakeholder communities. More information is available in the MAG Terms of References.
The United Nations Secretary-General appoints members, with careful consideration of the recommendations made by stakeholder groups and nominations from the broader community. The overall composition of the MAG should have a regional, stakeholder and gender balance and in this light nominators are requested to review past and returning MAG member affiliations. Further, the Secretary-General launched the gender parity strategy in September 2017 as part of a system-wide campaign to advance this priority at the United Nations.
Members coming from the Government stakeholder group may hold up to 40% of the total number of seats on the MAG, with the remaining percentage shared equally across the three other stakeholder groups, i.e. civil society, private sector and the technical community. Individual appointments are for a one (1)-year term, with a maximum of three (3) consecutive terms. Former IGF Host Countries hold one seat each on the MAG. Treaty-based intergovernmental organizations can also hold observer seats on the MAG. Countries that were not represented or were under-represented in previous MAG compositions will have an advantage over those that have had continuous or frequent representation on the MAG.
At the end of the 2022 IGF cycle, nine (9) MAG members are due to be rotated out.
2023 Membership balance
The 2023 composition will aim at having approximately 40% government’s representation, with other stakeholder groups having equal number of members. The overall 2023 MAG membership composition will balance the number of stakeholder groups across regions by region’s population and number of member states.
In addition to gender parity, the MAG 2023 selection will give due consideration to representation of stakeholders with experience in youth engagement, including through the National, Regional and Youth IGF Initiatives (NRIs), as well as stakeholders with high level profiles and rich experience in Internet governance policies, across all stakeholder and regional groups. This is in line with ongoing efforts to strengthen the IGF.
Countries that were not represented or were underrepresented in previous MAG compositions, will have an advantage over those that have had continuous or frequent representation on the MAG. Below is the historical overview of countries’ representation per the UN regional groups, with indication in parentheses in case of multiyear* representation:
AFRICA
Countries that have been represented on the MAG: Algeria, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Republic of Congo, DR Congo, Egypt (5), Ghana (3), Ivory Coast, Kenya (6), Mauritius (2), Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria (9), Niger, Senegal (4), Somalia, South Africa (3), Sudan (2), The Gambia (2), Togo, Tunisia (2), Uganda (4), Zambia, Zimbabwe (2).
Countries that have not been represented on the MAG: Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Swaziland, UR Tanzania.
ASIA PACIFIC
Countries that have been represented on the MAG: Afghanistan, Bangladesh (3), China (15), Fiji (3), India (9), Indonesia (3), Iran (2), Japan (6), Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia (2), Nepal, Pakistan (5), Philippines (3), Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore (2), Sri Lanka (2), Thailand, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates (2), Vanuatu, Vietnam (2).
Countries that have not been represented on the MAG: Bahrain, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Lao People's Republic, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated, States of), Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen.
EASTERN EUROPE
Countries that have been represented on the MAG: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina (3), Bulgaria (2), Croatia (2), Czech Republic (2), Estonia (2), Georgia, Hungary (2), Latvia, Lithuania (2), Macedonia, Moldova, Poland (3), Romania (2), Russia (7), Serbia (3), Slovakia, Ukraine.
Countries that have not been represented on the MAG: Albania, Montenegro, Slovenia.
GRULAC
Countries that have been represented on the MAG: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina (7), Bahamas, Barbados (2), Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil (9), Chile (3), Colombia (3), Costa Rica (2), Cuba, Ecuador (2), El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico (3), Paraguay, Peru (3), Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago (2), Uruguay (4), Venezuela.
Countries that have not been represented on the MAG: Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
WEOG
Countries that have been represented on the MAG: Australia (8), Austria, Belgium (2), Canada (4), Finland (5), France (6), Germany (6), Greece, Italy (3), Netherlands (3), New Zealand (3), Portugal (2), Spain (3), Sweden (4), Switzerland (2), UK (9), USA (19).
Countries that have not been represented on the MAG: Andorra, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Norway, San Marino.
Former IGF Host Countries hold one permanent seat each on the MAG: Greece, Brazil, India, Egypt, Lithuania, Kenya, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, Switzerland, France, Germany and Poland.
*Please note that the overall composition depends on several considerations including the nominations received, as well as the final decision of the UN Secretary-General.
List of members that are due to be rotated out
The table below indicates the nine (9) MAG members who have served three (3) consecutive terms on the MAG in addition to one (1) no longer being able to continue serving.
| Title | Last Name, First Name | Regional Group | Stakeholder Group | Terms Served |
| Mr. | Sheikh, Liban Abdulkadir | Africa | Government | 3 terms |
| Mr. | Ndoumba, Eric Armel | Africa | Government | 3 terms |
| Mr. | Zhaoyo, JI | Asia Pacific | Government | 3 terms |
| Ms. | Goulden, Anna | WEOG | Government | 1 term |
| Mr. | Karim, Attoumani Mohamed | Africa | Private Sector | 3 terms |
| Mr. | Seturi, Ucha | Eastern Europe | Private Sector | 3 terms |
| Mr. | Espinosa, Amado | GRULAC | Private Sector | 3 terms |
| Mr. | Zambrana, Roberto | GRULAC | Technical Community | 3 terms |
| Ms. | Astbrink, Gunela | WEOG | Technical Community | 3 terms |
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* Corresponds to one tenure of up to three consecutive years.