Introduction

The Latin America and Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (LACIGF) is calling for session proposals for the 17th LACIGF 2024, which will be held in Santiago, Chile, on November 7 and 8, 2024.

The LACIGF is a regional initiative for multistakeholder dialogue on relevant Internet governance and digital policy issues. It has been held uninterruptedly since 2008, bringing together participants from across Latin America and the Caribbean.

LACIGF calls on the regional community to submit session proposals considering the criteria indicated in this call.

Dates (Update: August 16, 2024)

Proposal submission deadline	July 17 to August 21, 2024
Evaluation process	August 22 to September 20, 2024
Communication of results via email	September 20, 2024
Deadline for confirmation of panelists and participants	September 27, 2024

About Session Proposals

Proposals must meet the detailed requirements below and be fully submitted through the available form, which must be completed in its entirety.

Proposals should promote multistakeholder debate with the participation of the private sector, technical community, civil society, government, and academia on key Internet governance topics defined by the Latin American community in general and those addressed in national forums in particular. Proposals should promote diversity in their participants and approaches to capture the multiplicity of identities, views, and perspectives present in the region.

The types and times of each session are defined later in this call. 

All physical infrastructure and audiovisual infrastructure necessary for the sessions will be provided by LACIGF, including sound equipment and room support. Only the main auditorium will have translation services; sessions in other auditoriums will be held in Spanish. Sessions will allow remote participation of panelists and facilitators via Zoom. 

Topics

The topics selected in open consultation with the community for 2024 are:

• Artificial Intelligence – AI and Emerging Technologies
• Human Rights
• Cybersecurity
• Universal Access and Meaningful Connectivity
• Governance and Digital Cooperation
• Environment and Sustainability
• Education and Digital Literacy
• Gender and Diversity
• Ethical and Legal Challenges

Type of Sessions

The proposed session types for LACIGF are:

Roundtable: Moderated discussion where experts and participants debate a specific topic, promoting the exchange of opinions and perspectives equitably and collaboratively.

Practical Workshop: Interactive session focused on practical training and learning. Participants actively work on specific tasks or problems, guided by expert facilitators.

Expository Panel: Structured presentations where experts share their views on a specific topic. At the end of the presentations, a Q&A session with the audience follows.

Group Debate: Attendees are divided into groups to discuss and analyze a particular topic. Each group then shares its conclusions with the rest of the participants.

Lightning Session: Brief and dynamic presentations, usually 10 minutes each, on various relevant topics. Designed to convey information quickly and effectively.

Debate: Structured confrontation between two or more parties with opposing views on a topic. Specific rules are followed, and a moderator facilitates the exchange of arguments.

Otro: Unconventional discussion spaces that may include innovative or experimental formats designed to address specific topics creatively and participatively.

For each type of session, a minimum number of participants and a maximum duration are suggested, as indicated in the following table:

Note: For the sake of diversity, it is recommended that participants belong to two or more sectors.

Type of Session	Minimum Number of Expected Participants	Maximum Duration
Roundtable	2 experts, 1 moderator, 1 rapporteur	1:15h
Practical Workshop	1 facilitator, 1 rapporteur	1:15h
Expository Panel	4 speakers, 1 moderator, 1 rapporteur	1:15h
Group Debate	2 facilitators, 1 moderator, 1 rapporteur	1:15h
Lightning Session	1 presenter, 1 rapporteur	10min
Debate	1 moderator, 1 rapporteur	1:15h
Other	1 participant, 1 rapporteur	1:15h

About proponents

• For each session, it is required to specify:
  • 1 mandatory proponent: person who conceives, develops, and is responsible for the session.
  • Up to 1 optional co-proponent: person who collaborates in the conception and development of the session. This is the second contact for the proposal. 
  • If other people or organizations participated in the conception of the proposal, an open field is provided to register their names and organizations. 
• Each main proponent and co-proponent must provide their name, organization, sector (Civil Society, Technical Community, Government, Private Sector, Academia), country, gender, and contact information through the available form.
• Proponents are responsible for submitting the proposal, knowing its content, and making any necessary clarifications.
• They are also responsible for communication with LACIGF through the email and phone number provided in the form. LACIGF may contact these people during and after the evaluation period to request adjustments, clarifications, information, etc.
• They are also responsible for communication with session participants to ensure the proper execution of the session, including managing confirmations and informing the organization of any exceptional changes in session composition.
• They must ensure the presence of session participants/speakers and indicate their names, emails, sectors, organizations, and brief profiles through the form. 
• They must confirm the acceptance of the session’s execution if selected, within the specified timeframes. 
• They must submit the session report to the Secretariat, no later than 5 business days after the event. 
• There are no limits on the number of proposals a person or organization can submit. However, the Workshop Selection Committee (CST) may select up to 2 proposals from the same proponent.

About participants

Participants are understood to be moderators, rapporteurs, speakers, facilitators, and experts participating in the session.

• To maintain multistakeholder conversation, the participation of different sectors in the sessions is encouraged. 
• At the end of the session, a report is required. Proponents must designate someone to produce the session report.
• In roundtable, expository panel, debate, and group debate sessions, a moderator and someone to moderate virtually if necessary are required.
• A maximum of 5 speakers or facilitators is suggested. 
• At least the moderator and one of the speakers or facilitators must be physically present at the event. 
• A participant can be proposed in several sessions but can only be part of 2 selected sessions. The CST may request changes to participants if proposed for more than two selected sessions, considering the score given during the session evaluation.
• Sessions must have a minimum number of confirmed participants. During the evaluation, the Secretariat may request confirmation of proposed participants via email. If none of the participants confirm their participation, the proposal may be discarded. 

A minimum number of participants is defined depending on the session type. For multiple participants, it is recommended that they belong to two or more sectors (Private Sector, Technical Community, Civil Society, Government, Academia).

For the purposes of this call, the following sector descriptions apply:

• Government Sector – Members and/or employees of State or government entities from the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches, as well as intergovernmental organizations, Public Ministry, and Agencies, Public Companies, among other bodies linked to the Public Power, who can contribute to the proposed topic from the governmental sector perspective.
• Private Sector – Entrepreneurs, employees, consultants, or collaborators of companies of any size or field of activity, as well as micro-entrepreneurs, individual entrepreneurs, startups, and members of their respective representative associations and employer unions, who can contribute to the proposed topic from the private sector perspective.
• Civil Society – People linked to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), unions, neighborhood associations, peasant and indigenous communities, human rights defense associations, or other community organizations who can contribute to the proposed topic from the civil society perspective.
• Technical Community: Groups and organizations that play a key role in developing and managing the Internet’s technical infrastructure and the digital ecosystem. This community includes individuals and entities directly involved in building, operating, and standardizing the technical components of the Internet and the digital ecosystem.
• Academia – Members of academia include individuals and/or institutions dedicated to research and/or higher education, scientific organizations, or societies who can contribute to the proposed topic from the academic community’s perspective.

For this call, session proposals must consider the following roles of moderator and rapporteur:

• Moderator: Person who opens the session by welcoming other members and the audience; introduces the session’s composition with a brief profile of each member; guides the discussion of proposed topics, ordering interventions and interactions among sector members according to the proposed session type; promotes audience participation; ensures adherence to start and end times.
• Online Moderator:  Person who supports the in-person moderator by attending to those connected via Zoom to the session.
• Rapporteur: Person responsible for preparing the mandatory session report, summarizing the debates and/or conclusions.

On Reports

Session proposers are responsible for submitting a summarized report of the session within a maximum of 5 days after the event, in a format that will be communicated to the Rapporteurs.

The reports will be published on the LACIGF Portal. Failure to submit the report will prevent the proposer from participating in the next edition’s Session Proposal Call.