Hi everyone, This time of year is busy when it comes to policy discussions. As a movement, we’ve been advocating for free and open knowledge at important conferences <https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/join-the-wikimedia-foundation-to-discuss-ai-open-source-for-the-public-good-and-global-internet-93e368cce381> from Brazil to Nigeria and some spots in between.
This email contains a recap of your experiences. Thank you to everyone who shared their reflections. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 🤓 Background context This year it is extra important for Wikimedia to participate in policy discussions about internet governance. That’s because in December 2025 a decision will be made <https://www.gp-digital.org/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-wsis20-review/> whether or not internet governance will continue to be a multistakeholder matter. In other words, if civil society groups like Wikimedia as well as the private sector and technical groups can continue to have a say, or if governments will be the only actors who will decide how the internet works. That’s why engaging in policy forums from UN events to regional conferences was a top priority. Shared themes from these reflections - National discussions highlighted the need to strengthen regional technical capacity - Multistakeholder governance needs to be championed - Coordinating civil society voices and working through coalitions is essential for impact -------------------------------------------------------------------------- UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and regional IGFs 🌐 What: IGF <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Governance_Forum> is the annual UN conference where internet policy is discussed and decided. It brings together all relevant members of the conversation: governments, private sector, civil society, as well as the technical and academic community. 🇧🇷 IGF Brazil (Fórum da Internet no Brasil / FIB) Reflections courtesy of Marília Rocha, Wikimedia Brasil We use this opportunity to raise awareness about important initiatives. - We launched a public statement <https://diff.wikimedia.org/pt/2025/05/28/wikimedia-defende-o-modelo-de-governanca-da-internet-do-brasil/>, signed by João Alexandre Peschanski (Executive Director of Wikimedia Brasil) and Amalia Toledo (Lead Public Policy Specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean at WMF) defending the multistakeholder internet governance model currently practiced in Brazil. - The “Legal Internet” campaign <https://direitosnarede.org.br/2025/03/18/organizacoes-lancam-campanha-por-regulacao-de-plataformas-e-soberania-digital-apos-encontro-em-sao-paulo/> was announced by a group of organizations working in the digital rights field and social movements, which includes the Coalizão Direitos na Rede, of which WM Brasil is a member. The campaign advocates for democratic regulation of digital platforms, digital sovereignty, and the promotion of alternative technologies —ones not centered on profit or on the massive extraction of user data. Participation in IGF Brazil was a learning opportunity. - It allowed two members of our team to better understand the structure of internet governance in Brazil as well as the importance of strengthening the technical training of Brazilian professionals for the installation, maintenance, and use of digital infrastructures. This is crucial to address the major challenge of not becoming dependent on large platforms or reliant on the expertise of external professionals. - We will share these learnings with the Wikimedia community at WikiCon Brasil 2025 <https://br.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiCon_Brasil_2025>, which will take place in the same city as IGF Brazil—Salvador (Bahia)—on July 19th and 20th. We will debate Digital Public Goods and connect the discussion with the insights gathered at the IGF Brazil. 🇳🇬 IGF Nigeria (West Africa Internet Governance Forum) Reflections courtesy of Olushola Olaniyan, Wikimedia User Group Nigeria Core themes that stood out during this conference were: 1. The Nigerian government’s commitment to supporting regional digital infrastructure, including expanding broadband, supporting subsea cable resilience, and rolling out AI and digital literacy strategies. These initiatives are meant to help democratise internet access by also protecting user rights and promoting innovation that uplifts communities across West Africa. There was a call to drive regional capacity and coordination on these topics, including future sessions that Rapporteurs planned on digital rights, emerging technologies, cybersecurity, and internet shutdowns. 2. Protecting Journalists & Digital Rights: Extensive dialogue highlighted cybersecurity risks for journalists, tracking over 1,200 attacks in Nigeria between 1986 and 2024, and emphasised the misuse of cybercrime laws. These panels underlined the need for policies that safeguard freedom of expression and limit state surveillance. 3. Data protection was a consistent focus. A parliamentary communique called for harmonised data protection, standardised digital legislation across the region, and greater capacity for lawmakers. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) led recommendations that included enhancing data governance and forming a regional AI ethics task force. 4. AI in the context of education. Discussions about AI in education centred on equity, bias, data privacy, and fostering AI literacy among students and educators. 💡These are areas where Wikimedians have relevant expertise. 5. Support for multistakeholder collaboration was reflected in the diversity of participants from governments, civil society, the tech sector, academia, and members of the Youth IGF. Participants were encouraged to elevate regional voices in global policy spaces, such as UN-led discussions on AI and data governance talks. 🇬🇭 IGF Ghana Reflections courtesy of Justice Okai-Allotey, Wikimedia Ghana User Group The Ghana IGF was hosted in Accra, Ghana, on the theme “Building an Inclusive Digital Future Together.” There were three panel discussions on the following topics; - Driving Digital Inclusion and Transformation in Ghana. - Addressing disinformation and misinformation while upholding human rights in Ghana. - Cybersecurity and Data Protection in Ghana. The Ghana Youth IGF and Ghana Children IGF were happening concurrently alongside the main IGF. A critical takeaway from this event was a communiqué that was to be drafted after the forum and shared with all participants for input before being made public. 🇺🇳 UN IGF 2025 Reflections courtesy of WMF Global Advocacy team The WMF team's presence and activities at IGF <https://www.igf2025.no/> are part of our overall engagement strategy to create awareness for Wikipedia and the Foundation, create a deeper understanding of Wikipedia’s model and value among stakeholders, and turn influential voices into champions for our mission who will advocate for us when Wikipedia and Wikipedians come under pressure. We used this opportunity to: - Build strong support for Wikimedia among stakeholders focused on child safety, a major topic that is shaping platform regulation. - Build alliances and foster a collective vision for a public-interest internet across Latin America that supports Wikipedia. As part of this, we deepened ties with civil society partners in Brazil and Colombia around child online safety advocacy and discussed organizing learning sessions with policymakers to explore the development of privacy-respecting public policies for child protection online. - Drive awareness of Wikipedia’s value, including by highlighting Wikipedia is a critical multilingual source of data for AI and that it needs to be protected as a digital public good. - Nurture relationships with UN stakeholders and expand our network in the UN system and other international organizations. We engaged member countries of the Freedom Online Coalition on priority topics such information integrity, privacy, digital public goods, and the larger question of how digital governance processes can remain open to civil society participation. These relationships allow us to position Wikipedia as a critical source of knowledge for marginalized communities, especially in conflict areas. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- UNESCO Conference on Capacity Building on AI and Digital Transformation in the Public Sector Reflections courtesy of Adélaïde Calais, Wikimedia France 🌐 What: This UNESCO conference <https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-conference-capacity-building-ai-and-digital-transformation-public-sector> took place in Paris in early June. The focus was on addressing capacity-building needs for public sector officials related to AI, digital technologies, and data governance. This event was on our radar because there was a session that was dedicated to the WSIS+20 meeting <https://www.gp-digital.org/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-wsis20-review/> taking place this July, which is an essential step in the process that will decide the future of multistakeholderism in the context of internet governance. The UNESCO event in Paris was another opportunity to shape that conversation. Wikimedia France attended and represented our movement. Conference observations: - Participants seem unclear as to what a common digital good is. There was only one person who talked about the open space, and they referred to a MOOC created by UNESCO as a common digital good. - Next steps until WSIS+20: The 2nd round of consultations is in June, then the zero draft in December. After it is presented there will still be possibilities for stakeholders, if they see the need to make room. Stakeholders should be as coordinated as possible, channel a single voice from a category of stakeholders. - UNESCO shared their toolkit for data governance in the digital age, <https://www.unesco.org/en/data-governance-digital-age> and are currently open to feedback. Recommendations - 💡This lack of representation of the open movement and awareness of what counts as a digital public good highlights the importance of information campaigns aimed at government officials and UN / UNESCO heads of departments on the topic of common digital goods and shared governance. Examples include our edit-a-thon with WM NYC at UN Open Source Week <https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/06/18/inside-the-first-big-un-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-expanding-tech-policy-knowledge/>and our campaign on the Global Digital Compact <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global_Digital_Compact_Wikimedia_Advocacy_Collaboration_2024> . - 💡Core argument to make: The best part of the internet is made by those who create digital common goods and that it is priceless to foster them alongside the regulation of big for profit platforms. - 💡Platforms in service of the common good need to keep working as a coalition. That means collaborating closely with actors like Open Street Map, Common Voice, fact checkers and journalists, but also GLAMs. All of these actors have similar interests in open content, freedom to share knowledge and protecting the rights of contributors and their datasets. The goal is to bring a common voice, as coordinated as possible, channel a single voice from a category of stakeholders. This will have much more impact on WSIS since they are already listening to 120 different countries. WMF alone stands no chance. - 💡Rely on chapters and their own already formed coalitions of open internet, common good actors and on their GLAM network. Wikimedia France has been working with its ecosystem for example and could leverage their voices in this conversation with WSIS. Other chapters in Europe could do the same. Franziska Putz (she/her) Senior Movement Advocacy Manager Global Advocacy, Wikimedia Foundation [email protected] UTC Timezone
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