The 3-Line Summary
- On 18–19 August 2017, Nepal held its first national IGF at Hotel Yellow Pagoda in Kathmandu: over 150 industry leaders, officials, academics and users debated 'Building Sustainable Internet Ecosystem in Nepal'.
- Across two days the forum covered IoT and smart cities, cybersecurity, IPv6 adoption, management of the .np ccTLD, and digital inclusion and human rights — and floated the launch of a Nepal Youth IGF for the first time.
- Nine years in the making since the first informal discussion in 2008, Nepal IGF 2017 is a textbook case of how a national IGF is born — and of how to get every stakeholder group around one table.
Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on Nepal Internet Governance Forum 2017 (1st Nepal IGF) 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 | Nepal Internet Governance Forum 2017 (1st Nepal IGF) |
| Dates | 18–19 August 2017 |
| Venue | Hotel Yellow Pagoda, Kantipath, Kathmandu, Nepal |
| Theme | Building Sustainable Internet Ecosystem in Nepal |
| Participants | Over 150 industry leaders, government representatives, academics, students and internet users (official summary report) |
| Host | Hosted by the Internet Society Nepal with support from the government and other national and international organisations, under the multistakeholder steering group (MSG) |
(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. Nine Years in the Making — From Declaration to First Forum
Sessions: Inaugural plenary and the session 'Multistakeholder Model of Internet Governance: Opportunities for Developing Countries' (18 August)
- Nepal's IG discourse dates back to 27 November 2008, when ISOC Nepal and partners held the country's first formal discussion just before the Hyderabad IGF [1][3][6]
- After an informal meeting with IGF MAG Chair Lynn St. Amour during ICANN 57 in November 2016, 23 signatories from six stakeholder groups adopted the Nepal IGF Declaration and MSG procedures at the Department of Information Technology on 21 February 2017 [1][3][6]
- The first forum put the multistakeholder model itself on the agenda — 'opportunities for developing countries' — and seated government, business, civil society, the technical community, academia and media as equals [1][3][6]
2. The Breadth of the Agenda — From IoT to the .np Domain
Sessions: Parallel sessions across two halls over two days (from the programme agenda)
- The official report lists the forum's topics as IoT and smart cities, cybersecurity, internet infrastructure and access, IPv6 adoption, digital inclusion and human rights, and management of the .np ccTLD [1][2]
- Sessions grounded in Nepal's own realities included 'Digital Cash, Bitcoin and Online Payment in Nepal', 'ICT in Disaster Risk Reduction: Lessons Learnt' (after the 2015 earthquake) and 'Internet Rights and Freedom of Expression in Nepal' [1][2]
- Inclusion tracks — 'Women and ICT: Nepalese Scenario' and access for persons with disabilities — were built in from the start, with 57 speakers, panellists and moderators taking part [1][2]
3. A Youth Platform Is Born — Seeding the Nepal Youth IGF
Sessions: Session 'Initiating a youth platform for Internet Governance: Nepal Youth IGF' (18 August, Hall 2)
- The very first programme carved out a dedicated session on initiating a youth platform for internet governance — a 'Nepal Youth IGF' [1]
- Youth and student participation was a defining feature, with a young end-user community representative among the MSG signatories [1]
- The idea planted here became the seed of Nepal's later youth-track IGF activities [1]
4. Livestreams and Remote Participation
Sessions: ISOC Live webcast of the plenary sessions (with Adobe Connect remote participation)
- Proceedings were webcast internationally on the Internet Society's livestream channel, with remote participation via Adobe Connect [4]
- With the #nepaligf hashtag in use, even this small first-edition national IGF followed the IGF playbook of open, remotely accessible meetings [4]
Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered
Q. What actually happened here?
A. Nepal's first national IGF: a two-day stocktake where government, business, civil society, technologists and students sat as equals to map Nepal's internet issues — access, security, the .np domain, and inclusion. Nothing was 'decided'; everything was aired.
Q. Why did it take until 2017?
A. The first formal discussion was in 2008. It took nine years of coalition-building before 23 signatories adopted the Nepal IGF Declaration in February 2017, creating the multistakeholder steering group that delivered the first forum six months later.
Q. Why should I care?
A. National IGFs feed the global IGF. Nepal's declaration-then-forum playbook is a model for how smaller countries bootstrap internet governance — and its themes (IPv6, disaster-resilient ICT, digital inclusion) are universal.
What Is Nepal IGF? (for first-time readers)
Nepal 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 2017 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.
Sources & References
- Nepal Internet Governance Forum 2017 — Summary Report (PDF) — Internet Society Nepal（Wayback Machine経由・原本は2018.igf.org.np） (accessed 2026-07-16)
- Nepal IGF（1st Nepal IGF開催告知。テーマ・会場・趣旨） — Internet Exchange Nepal (accessed 2026-07-16)
- Nepal IGF — en (accessed 2026-07-16)
- Nepal — ISOC Live（Nepal IGF 2017中継記録） — Internet Society Livestreaming (accessed 2026-07-16)
- Nepal IGF（NRI会合記録：カトマンズ開催） — intgovforum.org (accessed 2026-07-16)
- NEPAL IGF 2017 — Summary Report（公式サイト掲載ページ・Wayback Machine） — Nepal IGF（2019.igf.org.np） (accessed 2026-07-16)
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 3 July 2017, 16:00 (Article published)
Rev. 2 — updated 17 July 2026, 12:32 (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
