The city of Hyderabad is likely to host Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2008 from December 3rd - 6th. IGF is the world's largest internet congregation formed by United Nations Secretary-General in alliance with Department of Information Technology (DIT), National Internet exchange of India (NIXI). About 1400 participants are likely to attend the third meeting of IGF at Hyderabad International Conference Centre (HICC). The participants at this year's IGF are supposed to hold talks on five themes viz. reaching the next billion; promoting cyber-security and trust; managing critical Internet resources; taking stock and the way forward; and emerging issues.

 

The speakers of this year's IGF include representatives of the government, private sector, civil societies, academia, Internet communities and International organisations. Various issues concerning Internet will be addressed at the IGF. The discussions will also find out means to utilise the benefits of internet for socio-economic development. There will be panel discussions and workshops on several internet related issues, such as Internet accessibility for people with disabilities; freedom of expression in cyberspace; online privacy etc.

 

The international forum will also address the issues of cyber crime and child protection. It is expected that the discussions on cyber crime and child protection will help to formulate new rules and regulation to stop them. One of the interesting aspects of this year's forum is remote participation project. By using this facility, participants can get the feel of the IGF and also take part in the meetings and discussions. This facility will be executed with the help of software called DimDim. The 2008 Internet Governance Forum is supported by major corporates like Sify, BSNL, Tata Communications and STPI.