History
The UN wanted to look into the possibility of governing and regulating the use of the internet from an early point. In the 2003-2005 period the UN therefore arranged several world conferences that they called «World Summit on the Information Society» (WSIS), where the various possibilities for governing the internet were discussed.
WSIS decided that they would not attempt any international regulation, because the UN did not see itself as having sufficient competence or mandate to govern the internet. In the final document, called "The Tunis Agenda", that concludes the WSIS process, the UN Secretary General was asked to create a multi stakeholder forum where the global community can continue the dialogue about internet governance. The new forum was named the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
We ask the UN Secretary-General, in an open and inclusive process, to convene, by the second quarter of 2006, a meeting of the new forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue - called the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
The Tunis Agenda, paragraph 72
The first IGF was held in 2006, and has since been an annual event.
What does the IGF do?
The IGF is created for consultations and discussions between the interested parties, meaning anyone that has interests concerning the governing and development of the internet. The IGF does not make any decisions, binding or otherwise, as the forum does not have the mandate to do so. The forum is open to everyone, i.e. private individuals, organisations, public authorities, etc. It is free to participate and the meetings are held in different locations around the world.