11th Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum Spain (IGF Spain 2021) — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

On 16-17 November 2021, the 11th IGF Spain annual meeting ran as a hybrid at ETSIT-UPM in Madrid and online, with over 50 speakers.
It debated the EU's DSA and DMA then under negotiation, Spain's Charter of Digital Rights, the digital divide, environmental sustainability, and teleworking with the right to disconnect.
A people-centred digital transformation was the through-line, and the meeting's findings were carried to the UN IGF in Katowice.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on 11th Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum Spain (IGF Spain 2021) draws on official outputs, session records and on-site reporting. In a hurry? The three lines above and the diagrams carry the gist.

📍 Resolves the catalogue's TBD: hybrid format at ETSIT-UPM, Madrid, 16-17 November 2021

Conference at a Glance (from official records)

Item	Detail
Official name	11th Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum Spain (IGF Spain 2021)
Edition	11th Annual Meeting
Dates	16–17 November 2021
Venue	Hybrid: ETSIT-UPM (Madrid) and online
Theme	'The Internet that unites us: the network as an engine of transformation, recovery and sustainability'
Sessions	8 (Eight roundtables over two days in hybrid format)
Speakers	Over 50 speakers
Host	Coordinated by Jorge Pérez; opened by State Secretary Carme Artigas and closed by State Secretary Roberto Sánchez

(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. EU Platform Regulation — Inside the DSA and DMA Negotiations

Sessions: Roundtables on European platform regulation, the Digital Markets Act and free expression under the Digital Services Act

Three roundtables dissected the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act then in negotiation, focusing on how to regulate gatekeepers of Internet access [1][2]
How the DSA would reshape the rules for expression and information on social networks was weighed against both removal duties and over-removal risks [1][2]

2. The Charter of Digital Rights — A People-Centred Transformation

Sessions: Opening session (16 November, State Secretary Carme Artigas)

State Secretary Artigas presented the Charter of Digital Rights adopted by the government in July 2021 as the reference framework for an inclusive, safe digital environment, stressing a people-centred transformation [1][2]
Coordinator Jorge Pérez said the meeting would identify Spain-specific issues to share at the UN IGF in Katowice that December [1][2]

3. The Digital Divide and the Right to Disconnect — The Flip Side of Recovery

Sessions: Roundtables 'Eliminating the digital divide' and 'Digitalisation, employment and digital disconnection'

Closing the meeting, State Secretary Roberto Sánchez urged urgent action on digital divides and a stronger European digital environment for an equitable, sustainable transformation [1][2]
A dedicated roundtable treated the right to digital disconnection as a worker's right born of mass teleworking [1][2]
Google, Vodafone, Fundación Telefónica and Orange presented programmes on skills, innovation and divide reduction, with 5G roll-out and digital talent framed as recovery keys [1][2]

4. Environmental Sustainability and Data Strategy — The Twin Green-Digital Transition

Sessions: Roundtables on environmental sustainability and climate change, the European data strategy, and trust in the digital ecosystem

In line with the EU's twin transition, panellists weighed the environmental footprint of networks and data centres against technology's emission-cutting potential [1][2]
Personal data under the European data strategy and building trust in the digital ecosystem — with AI and digital identity as the next frontiers — completed the agenda [1][2]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What did the meeting decide?

A. Nothing binding — but while the EU's DSA and DMA were being negotiated, it distilled Spain's positions and carried them to the UN IGF in Katowice.

Q. What is the Charter of Digital Rights?

A. A non-binding framework adopted by Spain's government in July 2021 to guarantee rights in the digital sphere — a forerunner of the EU's 2022 Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles.

Q. Why does it matter?

A. The DSA and DMA debated here became the global template for platform regulation, referenced from Brussels to Tokyo, and the right to disconnect is now a worldwide labour issue.

What Is Spain IGF? (for first-time readers)

Spain 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 2021 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.