Elon University

Global Internet Governance Forum, 2017

A survey of participants’ opinions about issues and trends recorded at the 12th Global IGF, at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland

IGF 2017 Geneva UN Assembly Photo The 12th Global Internet Governance Forum was set in Geneva, Switzerland, Dec. 17-21, 2017. IGF is a multistakeholder effort to illuminate issues and cultivate constructive discussions. People from civil society, government, technology, business and academia  share information and create coalitions in an effort to move dialogues forward and share best practices. IGF contributes to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Thousands of people from more than 100 nation-states annually participate in Global IGF.

Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center conducted interviews at Global IGF 2017 to gather opinions about Internet evolution and issues, inform policy and create a historic record. Click on links below to view clips from 180 interviews in which IGF participants from across the globe share their responses to five questions:

1 – The Key Internet Issue Today? What is the most important Internet issue today – what challenge is most important to address for the best future?

2 – Will There Be More Regulation? Yes or no: Will the Internet become much more regulated in the next 10 years? Why? What are the negatives and positives of regulation?

3 – Standards for Security and Ethics? Yes or no: In the next decade, will there be commonly accepted global guidelines for security and ethics for the Internet of Things, big data and artificial intelligence?

4 – Do Multistakeholder Forums Work? Yes or no: Do efforts like IGF have any impact on the processes they are created to positively influence?

5 – What is the Future of the Internet? In just one word or a brief phrase – in just a few seconds – briefly describe the Internet’s future.

The Imagining the Internet Interview Team

Imagining the Internet’s ethnographic documentary work at Global IGF 2017 was conducted by undergraduate researchers Jackie Pascale, Maya Eaglin, Alexandra Roat, Jared Mayerson, Alex Hager, Emmanuel Morgan, Meagan Gitelman and Cammie Behnke of Elon University’s School of Communications, under the supervision of video director Melissa Douglas and Elon faculty David Bockino and Janna Anderson.

IGF 2017 Imagining the Internet Group Photo

You can read the full question set here.