NetHui 2020 (New Zealand’s Internet Governance Forum, online) — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

COVID-19 pushed NetHui fully online on 13–14 October 2020 — 'this year it becomes the true net hui', the official site declared, opening the event to participants anywhere.
Participation was rebuilt for the medium: Sched plus Slack, an accessibility guide, and the Tui safety team transplanted from the venue floor to online channels.
A notable touch was an official te reo Māori guide for international attendees. It proved the last national NetHui before the hiatus — the planned 2024 revival was later cancelled.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on NetHui 2020 (New Zealand's Internet Governance Forum, online) draws on official outputs, session records and on-site reporting. In a hurry? The three lines above and the diagrams carry the gist.

Conference at a Glance (from official records)

Item	Detail
Official name	NetHui 2020 (New Zealand's Internet Governance Forum, online)
Dates	13–14 October 2020, held online
Venue	Online (Day 1 10.00am–3.20pm, Day 2 12.00pm–5.30pm NZST)
Theme	Regional governance themes
Host	InternetNZ

(See the source list at the end of this article.)

Discussion Digest — from the Session Records

Key exchanges extracted from session records and transcripts.

1. Becoming 'the True Net Hui' — Going Fully Online Under COVID

Sessions: The fully redesigned format (13–14 October, NZST)

The site announced the change with a pun on the event's own name: hosted online, NetHui would at last become 'the true net hui' [1]
Participation was opened to 'anywhere in Aotearoa or overseas', with a mid-morning start on day one and a midday start on day two to fit around work and family [1]
Keeping the national IGF running online through the 2020 pandemic matched what NRIs worldwide were doing that year [1]

2. Designing Online Participation — Sched, Slack and Accessibility

Sessions: The official 'How to participate' guides: preparation, tech tools, session types, and the Code of Conduct

Official guides walked participants through Sched for scheduling and Slack for discussion, from onboarding steps to equipment setup and session types [1]
An accessibility guide was published, and the Code of Conduct was applied to the online space [1]
Discussion-first session design preserved NetHui's participant-driven core in the new medium [1]

3. The Tui and Te Reo Māori — Porting Safety and Indigenous Culture Online

Sessions: Official posts 'NetHui, the Tui, and how we build a space for everyone' and 'Te reo Māori at NetHui'

The Tui — the safety volunteers named after the New Zealand bird — moved online with the event, keeping the 'space safe for everyone' ethos intact [1][2]
For international attendees, an official guide by licensed translator Ian Cormack explained Māori concepts — pōwhiri, hui, whānau — and the Treaty of Waitangi [1][2]
Even online, protocol such as karakia and mihi whakatau was kept, so the event stayed true to the 'hui' in its name [1][2]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What changed online?

A. The venue vanished and the barrier fell: anyone in New Zealand or overseas could join, with Slack for discussion and Sched for the timetable. As organisers put it, the event finally became 'the true net hui'.

Q. Was the in-person culture lost?

A. No — it was deliberately ported. The Tui safety volunteers moved online, and an official te reo Māori guide taught newcomers the greetings and protocol that make the event a hui.

Q. Why should I care?

A. It is a practical blueprint for moving a discussion-first governance forum online — participation guides, accessibility, safety staffing — that any community event can borrow.

What Is New Zealand IGF? (for first-time readers)

New Zealand IGF is a National or Regional IGF Initiative (NRI), aligning local internet governance discussion with global IGF principles.

Why It Matters to You

What was discussed here becomes the baseline for national digital policy, platform rules and AI regulation worldwide within a few years. The principles confirmed at the 2020 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.