China IGF

• China
• Lory
• tian.luo@igfcn.org
• igfcn.org

NRI founding stories and development

What is the story of the founding of your NRI? What were its inspiration, its objectives?

China national IGF was established in 2017. The objective of the China IGF is to maximise the opportunity for an open and inclusive dialogue and the exchange of opinions on internet governance and technology trends for all stakeholders. China currently has around 700 million internet users, which is a big portion of the global figure. IGF plays an important role in the global internet governance arena since its beginning, and I think the China IGF will devote our own contribution to the international community, to bring in multistakeholder groups from Chinese community. Meanwhile, we believe that along with the internet technology development, it's not just technology evolving, but also the governance. I think this needs more profound understanding and China IGF would like to share its experiences with other NRIs.

How did it develop and what difficulties did you experience along the way?

We established the China IGF in 2017. Along the way, we faced difficulties, from funding aspects to community establishing, which I think is just the beginning. We will have many other difficulties when the China IGF evolves, but I believe each organisation faces its own difficulties and needs to solve them according to its own condition. Meanwhile, the international NRIs community also provides the stage for communication with colleagues, which is important to share the experiences and learn from each other.

How do you imagine your NRI and its activities in the future?

The China IGF takes the responsibility to communicate between China and the international community. We are composed of multistakeholder members who have a role in the internet field and have non-government backgrounds. We would like to say the China IGF will become the bridge to connect the community and enhance the communication between China and the world.

NRI internal governance and initiatives

Who are the people involved in your NRI and how do they contribute to it?

From the beginning, we have committee members from various backgrounds in the internet arena and we are still working on enlarging these influences and on having more people join our community.

Have you experienced difficulties in ensuring all stakeholder groups participate fully and more or less equally?

Yes. I think it's an evolving progress and we are working on bringing in more participants and diversifying their backgrounds. We encourage people to contribute to the community based on their own advantage and sharing their experiences.

Do you measure gender balance in your NRI? Did you undertake measures to encourage gender balance?

Yes. We consider gender balance quite important, especially in the internet field. We especially encourage women with tech backgrounds to join our community and to contribute not only in the governance issues but also on the tech topics.

How was your last forum organised, what were the topics chosen and the outcomes of discussion? How was it financed?

We will have our first forum next year.

Are there controversial topics that have been difficult in your NRI and if so, why?

We are in the process of collecting topics.

Perspectives on the role of NRIs in internet governance

What is your take about the role of your NRI in internet governance processes, at the level of your country, region and globally?

The China IGF is part of the IGF global community, and the Chinese community is composed of many different stakeholders. Our mission is to link the Chinese society with the international community about internet governance and technology issues and to contribute with Chinese wisdom to the world.

How do you perceive your role and position towards other NRIs, the IGF and the IGF Secretariat?

As the secretariat of the China IGF, my role and responsibility are to communicate between China and the international community. I would like to cooperate with other colleagues to devote our own contribution to the international society.