An Egyptian delegation will participate in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) which will take place on December 6-9 in Jalisco, Mexico under the rubric ‘Enabling Inclusive and Sustainable Growth'. IGF is a multi-stakeholder space for dialogue regarding policies adopted in 2006 by the United Nations General Secretariat. The IGF was first convened in 2005 by the United Nations General Assembly. The delegation, headed by Hossam El-Gamal, Chairman of the Egyptian Cabinet Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC),will shed light on the efforts Egypt and African developing countries exert in the context of Internet and Sustainable Development. It will showcase what has been accomplished so far in the most remote and needy areas in fields of health and distance-learning. El-Gamal will co-organise a workshop on the role the internet can play to achieve the objectives of sustainable development. During his speech at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, El-Gamal highlighted the necessity of using the internet to trigger growth in the developing countries in sectors of health, Education, employment andentrepreneurship. In addition, he said that there should be channels of communication with the west for purposes of exchanging expertise and cooperation in issues of cybersecurity. Each year, the UN convenes the IGF meeting, through the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, to unify various stakeholders and discuss Internet governance issues, as well as opportunities and challenges in an open, inclusive, and transparent forum. This year's theme – Enabling Inclusive and Sustainable Growth – aims to explore the ability of the Internet to foster development in sustainable and inclusive ways. The forum, which runs through Friday, 9 December, will also address a broad range of other issues and topics: Internet and Sustainable Development; Access and Diversity; Youth and Gender Issues; Human Rights and Freedom of Expression Online; Cybersecurity; Multistake holder Cooperation; Critical Internet Resources and Internet Governance Capacity Building and Emerging Issues. The IGF is recognized as the widest-reaching international forum on Internet governance, and is at the forefront of identifying and debating critical issues that shape international agenda. Its mandate was renewed for 10 years at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in December 2015.
