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Virtual Routes at the 2024 Internet Governance Forum

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In December 2024, Virtual Routes co-organised two sessions at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Virtual Routes Co-Director James Shires moderated both sessions, with remarks from two of the 2024-2025 cohort of Virtual Routes European Cybersecurity Fellows: Yasmine Idrissi Azzouzi and Erik Kursetjgerde. Erik and Yasmine’s participation was generously funded by the Maltese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose Deputy Director for Global Affairs, Corinne Casha, also spoke at the sessions. 

The first of the two sessions was a networking event to connect cyber policy research and practitioner communities. Titled “Cyberpolicy Dialogues: Connecting Research/Policy Communities”, the session provided a dynamic platform for civil society, academia, technical experts, and intergovernmental institutions, such as NATO and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), to engage in cross-regional and multi-stakeholder exchanges.

The discussion addressed challenges in fostering inclusive and comprehensive engagement with international institutions and reflected on the role of the IGF in facilitating dialogue across sectors. Participants emphasised the importance of mid- and early-career professionals in promoting diverse perspectives and fostering connections within the cyber policy ecosystem.

In providing opening remarks for the session, Corinne Casha said: “Cyber policy should not be restricted solely to governments. It is important to have different ideas; and to also factor in research and academic perspectives coupled with other partners.” RUSI Research Fellow Louise Marie Hurel took this call further, noting that: “we will only develop a critical mass and critical thinking if we are able to identify those researchers that are based in different regions.”

The second session, hosted under the IGF’s sub-theme “Improving Digital Governance for the Internet We Want”, tackled the complexities of inclusion in global internet governance. Titled "The Paradox of Inclusion in Internet Governance", the session explored potential areas of overlap and duplication in internet governance institutions, as well as gaps such as digital inequality along gender and intersectional lines. Participants discussed how silos at the national level are replicated internationally, with inter-agency divisions of responsibility and lack of skills and knowledge filtering into multilateral internet governance processes.

Reflecting on the session, Dr Shires noted: “Inclusion matters, and that there are genuine and very well-developed efforts to make internet governance inclusive. But sometimes these efforts actually bring up barriers to participation, through requiring such a thin spread of attention and resources across the internet governance portfolio.”

In addition to Virtual Routes’ sessions, Co-Director James Shires also gave a live interview for the European Union Institute of Security Studies (EUISS) at the IGF, addressing key cyber issues such as stability, resilience, international collaboration, and the OEWG process. Finally, Dr Shires also gave a keynote lecture at the Duke University program on Digitalization, AI, and Ethics in Public Policy, held at the KAPSARC School of Public Policy. Dr Shires’ lecture examined the transformative impact of digital and emerging technologies on global affairs, from conflict to inequality. 

This post is expanded from one originally written by Louise Marie Hurel on the RUSI website.

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