Internet Governance Dialogue of Costa Rica 2019 (Diálogo de Gobernanza de Internet, DGI CR) — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

The third Internet Governance Dialogue of Costa Rica (DGI CR) met on 25 September 2019 at Universidad Latina's San Pedro campus in San José, with 55 participants.
Working groups — the format inherited from 2018 — tackled three publicly consulted themes: the digital divide, IoT and emerging technologies, and human rights in the virtual world.
Attendance and budget shrank from the previous year, but the tri-sector committee and pre-event consultation held firm. It proved the last in-person edition before the pandemic.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on Internet Governance Dialogue of Costa Rica 2019 (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 2019 (Diálogo de Gobernanza de Internet, DGI CR)
Dates	25 September 2019, 9:00–12:00
Venue	Universidad Latina, San Pedro campus, San José, Costa Rica
Theme	Regional governance themes
Participants	55 (Per the official edicion-2019 page: 55 participants from technical, government, student, academic, private-sector and civil-society backgrounds)
Host	Tri-sector organising committee: NIC Costa Rica (technical), MICITT (government) and the ISOC Costa Rica chapter (civil society)

(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. The Digital Divide — Gaps Even in a Regional Front-Runner

Sessions: Working group 1: Digital divide

A public consultation held 19 July–16 August (15 responses) put the digital divide first among the three themes [1]
Even in Costa Rica, a Central American connectivity leader, rural and low-income access gaps remained a standing concern of the national IGF [1]

2. IoT and Emerging Technologies — Governing the Devices Moving In

Sessions: Working group 2: IoT and emerging technologies

The Internet of Things and emerging technologies joined rights and divide topics on the 2019 agenda, a technical-community priority set alongside social ones [1]
The group weighed benefits and risks of new technologies, including their security and privacy implications, across sectors [1]

3. Human Rights in the Virtual World — Deepening the 2018 Rights Axis

Sessions: Working group 3: Human rights in the virtual world

The human-rights axis that drew strong interest in 2018 was promoted to a stand-alone theme for continued discussion [1]
Combining open discussion with working groups, 55 participants distilled conclusions within a compact three-hour programme [1]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What was discussed?

A. Three themes picked by public consultation — the digital divide, IoT and emerging technologies, and human rights online — debated by 55 participants in working groups.

Q. Why was it smaller?

A. Attendance halved (115 to 55) and the budget fell from USD 6,000 to 2,000. The record gives no reason, but external funders (ICANN, IGFSA) dropped out, leaving the three domestic organisers to self-fund.

Q. Why should I care?

A. It shows the value of keeping the loop intact — crowd-sourced agenda, working groups, annual cadence — even in a lean year. Continuity, not size, builds a national IGF's credibility.

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 2019 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.