The 3-Line Summary
- The 12th German IGF (IGF-D 2020) met on 10 September 2020 in hybrid form: about 40 participants at Berlin's Café Moskau and some 150 more online.
- Parliamentarians from across the Bundestag debated the future of the IGF process, the government reported submitting its "IGF Plus" paper to the UN after hosting IGF 2019, and pandemic-era digital policy ran through the day.
- Keeping in-person debate alive under COVID-19 while streaming it worldwide made this an early template for the hybrid conferences that soon became the norm.
Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on IGF-D 2020 (12th German Internet Governance Forum / XII. Deutsches Internet Governance Forum) draws on official outputs, session records and on-site reporting. In a hurry? The three lines above and the diagrams carry the gist.
📍 The catalogue's "virtual" label is imprecise: speakers and workshop participants met (socially distanced) at Café Moskau in Berlin, from where the full programme was streamed — a hybrid event
Conference at a Glance (from official records)
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Official name | IGF-D 2020 (12th German Internet Governance Forum / XII. Deutsches Internet Governance Forum) |
| Dates | 10 September 2020 |
| Venue | Café Moskau, Berlin, plus online streaming (hybrid) |
| Theme | Regional governance themes |
| Host | IGF-D multistakeholder steering committee, with the German UN Association (DGVN) among the supporting organisers |
| Outcome | Key points fed into the UN IGF process as "Messages from Berlin" |
(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. Hybrid under COVID-19 — Streaming from Café Moskau to the World
Sessions: Overall format (10 September 2020, 09:00–18:30)
- Speakers, panellists and workshop participants gathered (socially distanced) at Café Moskau while the full programme was streamed and moderated online, with remote viewers submitting questions and comments [1][2]
- With about 40 on site and 150 online, the forum kept multistakeholder dialogue running despite pandemic restrictions [1][2]
2. The Parliamentarians' Panel — Where Next for the IGF Process?
Sessions: Panel "Internet and governance — how will the UN IGF process continue?" with digital-policy MPs from the parties in the Bundestag
- Digital-policy MPs from across the Bundestag — Jens Zimmermann, Hansjörg Durz, Manuel Höferlin and Dieter Janecek — called the IGF a good format for broad exchange, urged involving federal and state legislators alike, and pointed to international parliamentary networks on tech policy [2]
- Across party lines, the national IGF was affirmed as the hinge between domestic law-making and global governance debates [2]
3. "IGF Plus" — Germany's Follow-Through after Hosting in 2019
Sessions: Contributions by the Federal Economics Ministry and international guests
- Thomas Jarzombek, the Economics Ministry's digital commissioner, reported that after the positive experience of hosting IGF 2019 Germany had submitted an "IGF Plus" paper to the UN to expand global internet-governance cooperation, affirming the government's commitment to an interoperable, global and free internet [2]
- Swiss ambassador Thomas Schneider argued for putting dialogue and mutual understanding before problem-solving, stressing the value of an informed society [2]
Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered
Q. How did they meet in the COVID year?
A. Only active participants gathered, socially distanced, at Berlin's Café Moskau; the whole programme was streamed. About 40 people on site, 150 online — and remote viewers could send in questions.
Q. What was the main debate?
A. The future of the UN IGF process. Fresh from hosting the 2019 global meeting, Germany had filed an "IGF Plus" proposal at the UN, and MPs from all parties weighed in on the forum's value.
Q. Why should I care?
A. It was an early template for the hybrid conference format that became standard, and Germany's IGF-strengthening push fed the UN digital-cooperation debate that still shapes IGF reform.
What Is Germany IGF? (for first-time readers)
Germany 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.
Sources & References
- XII. Deutsches Internet Governance Forum — Deutsche Gesellschaft für die Vereinten Nationen e.V.（ドイツ国連協会） (accessed 2026-07-11)
- IGF-D: dotBERLIN beim Internet Governance Forum 2020 — dotBERLIN GmbH & Co. KG (accessed 2026-07-11)
- Internet Governance Forum Deutschland — DiploFoundation (accessed 2026-07-11)
- Germany IGF（NRI紹介ページ） — UN IGF Secretariat (accessed 2026-07-11)
Quotes are translated or condensed from the records listed above. Bracketed numbers [n] refer to the source list.
Related links
- IGF official (NRI list): https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/national-and-regional-igf-initiatives
- Japan IGF: https://japanigf.jp/
- Yuki Nakazawa's blog: https://nkzw.jp/category/igf/
Revision History
Rev. 1 — published 8 June 2020, 16:00 (Article published)
Rev. 2 — updated 16 July 2026, 20:09 (Fully revised into the in-depth edition: added the 3-line summary, minutes digest, short talk, source list and diagrams (all quotes verified against the listed sources))
— 中澤祐樹
