Internet Governance in Costa Rica

29/07/2016

During the final week of July, Costa Rica welcomed the ninth edition of the Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Internet Governance Forum.

Dozens of civil society, academia, technical community, business organizations and government representatives met in San Jose, Costa Rica, to analyze and discuss Internet Governance issues that are relevant to Latin America and the Caribbean.

César Díaz, Head of Strategic Relations and Telecommunications at LACNIC, noted that organizing the LACIGF meeting in Costa Rica had helped engage the Central American region in relevant discussions on the global governance agenda. “Costa Rica is one of the leaders in Internet Governance dialogue and tries to bring more Central American voices to these discussions,” said Díaz.

Various relevant regional Internet Governance topics were addressed during the forum, among them freedom of expression, human rights, and gender equality in ICTs. The agenda not only focused on the region’s needs, but also looked to the future and discussed the major challenges for sustainable and inclusive development based on respect, fairness and equality,“ added Díaz.

In his opinion, these regional meetings help lay the groundwork for multistakeholder discussions. “These meetings are essential for bringing the multistakeholder approach to Internet Governance discussions,” said the LACNIC representative.

The ninth edition of LACIGF sought to encourage dialogue so that multiple stakeholders would be able to contribute to the debate, sharing their ideas and proposals on relevant and pressing issues for the benefit of the various countries and regional Internet development.

More information: http://www.lacigf.org/en/lacigf9/