Internet Governance Dialogue of Costa Rica 2018 (Diálogo de Gobernanza de Internet, DGI CR) — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

The second Internet Governance Dialogue of Costa Rica (DGI CR) met on 11 September 2018 at Universidad Latina's San Pedro campus in San José, with 115 participants — nearly double the first year.
Working groups tackled three axes — access, human rights and trust — chosen through a public consultation that drew 63 responses, and a final technical report was published.
The shift from listen-to-panels to working groups, and outreach down to middle-school students, mark a small national IGF deepening its dialogue in year two.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on Internet Governance Dialogue of Costa Rica 2018 (Diálogo de Gobernanza de Internet, DGI CR) 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	Internet Governance Dialogue of Costa Rica 2018 (Diálogo de Gobernanza de Internet, DGI CR)
Edition	Second edition — the official technical report states it was held 'por segundo año consecutivo'; earlier catalogue claims of a 2018 debut are wrong
Dates	11 September 2018, 8:00–13:00
Venue	Universidad Latina, San Pedro campus, San José, Costa Rica
Theme	Regional governance themes
Participants	115 (Per the official technical report: 115 participants across technical, government, student, academic, private-sector and civil-society groups, including 7th–9th graders from Lumen School)
Host	Tri-sector organising committee: NIC Costa Rica (technical community), MICITT (government) and the ISOC Costa Rica chapter (civil society)
Outcome	A final technical report (Reporte Técnico) was published

(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. Switching to Working Groups — Access, Human Rights and Trust

Sessions: Main meeting (8:00–13:00): three working groups with joint opening and shared conclusions

The second edition adopted a working-group format: three topic groups, with only the opening and the presentation of conclusions held in plenary [1][2]
Topics came from a 2–23 July public consultation (63 responses): net neutrality (31.7%) and broadband led the access axis, 'should new human rights be added for the Internet?' (38.1%) led the rights axis, and cybersecurity (34.9%) plus data protection led the trust axis [1][2]
Respondents were 41.3% academia, 20.6% government, 20.6% technical and 12.7% civil society — an unusually strong academic presence [1][2]

2. Broadening Participation — 115 Attendees, Down to Middle Schoolers

Sessions: Main meeting and operations record

Attendance nearly doubled from the first year (about 70) to 115, keeping the multi-sector mix of technical, government, student, academic, private and civil-society participants [1][2]
Local Lumen School helped with logistics and registration, bringing its 7th–9th graders into the room — direct exposure of school-age children to Internet-governance dialogue [1][2]

3. Preparatory Webinars — Learning from Uruguay

Sessions: Pre-events: webinars on 12 May, 7 June and 28 August; a conversation forum on 12 July

The May webinar 'What is an IGF and how can I take part?' featured Alejandra Erramuspe, IGF Uruguay representative and member of the IGF's Multistakeholder Advisory Group, sharing a neighbour's experience [1][2]
In June, Ignacio Trejos Zelaya lectured on net neutrality for non-discriminatory social and economic development; on 12 July a conversation forum was held at the CIEMI training centre in Curridabat with ISOC figures [1][2]
On 28 August, NIC Costa Rica's Susana Chaves Araya ran a webinar on the event's dynamics, preparing participants for the working-group format [1][2]

4. Diversified Funding — ICANN and IGFSA Join in Year Two

Sessions: Operations (from the official technical report)

The USD 6,000 budget roughly doubled year one's; ICANN and the IGF Support Association (IGFSA) joined the ISOC Costa Rica chapter and LACNIC as funders [1][2][3]
Spending covered venue setup, materials, catering, promotion and a new official website; the Internet Society Foundation's project list also records 'IGF Costa Rica 2018' [1][2][3]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What was discussed?

A. Three axes chosen by public consultation — access, human rights and trust: net neutrality, whether the Internet age needs new human rights, cybersecurity and data protection — debated hands-on in working groups.

Q. What changed from year one?

A. Format and scale. Panels gave way to participant-driven working groups, attendance grew from about 70 to 115, middle schoolers helped run the day, and ICANN and IGFSA joined as funders.

Q. Why should I care?

A. It is a template for growing a national IGF in year two: set the agenda by consultation, work in groups, publish a report — a modest, repeatable loop any local dialogue can copy.

What Is Costa Rica IGF? (for first-time readers)

Costa Rica 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 2018 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.