{"id":12786,"date":"2020-10-03T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/2020\/10\/03\/en-uk-igf-2020-overview\/"},"modified":"2020-10-03T01:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T16:00:00","slug":"en-uk-igf-2020-overview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/2020\/10\/03\/en-uk-igf-2020-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"UK IGF 2020 \u2014 In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest &#038; 3-Line Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/en-uk-igf-2020-overview_thumbnail-2.svg\" alt=\"UK IGF 2020 \u30aa\u30f3\u30e9\u30a4\u30f3 \u2014 Thumbnail\"><\/p>\n<h2>The 3-Line Summary<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/en-uk-igf-2020-overview_s3-1.svg\" alt=\"UK IGF 2020 \u30aa\u30f3\u30e9\u30a4\u30f3 \u2014 3-line summary\"><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>The UK&#39;s national IGF went fully virtual for the first time on 15\u201317 September 2020, splitting into three days and drawing a record 286 delegates streamed from 29 countries.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Under the theme &#39;The Role of the Internet in Shaping Society&#39;, sessions tackled trust in digital identity, digital equality, algorithmic transparency and \u2014 for the first time as a main theme \u2014 the environment, feeding UK messages into the UN IGF.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The digital divide exposed by the pandemic and the privacy stakes of contact-tracing apps made this a case study in keeping governance dialogue alive through a crisis.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Welcome \u2014 this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on <strong>UK IGF 2020<\/strong> draws on official outputs, session records and on-site reporting. In a hurry? The three lines above and the diagrams carry the gist.<\/p>\n<h2>Conference at a Glance (from official records)<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/en-uk-igf-2020-overview_h2-1.svg\" alt=\"UK IGF 2020 \u30aa\u30f3\u30e9\u30a4\u30f3 \u2014 Conference at a glance\"><\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Item<\/th>\n<th>Detail<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Official name<\/td>\n<td>UK IGF 2020<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dates<\/td>\n<td>15\u201317 September 2020<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Venue<\/td>\n<td>Online (first fully virtual UK IGF due to Covid-19, split across three days instead of the usual one)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Theme<\/td>\n<td>The Role of the Internet in Shaping Society<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Participants<\/td>\n<td>286 (286 delegates from government, parliament, civil society, industry, the technical community and academia \u2014 a record attendance, streamed from 29 countries)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sub-themes<\/td>\n<td>Five themes: Trust, Inclusion, Data, Environment and Covid-19<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Host<\/td>\n<td>UK IGF Steering Committee; secretariat provided by Nominet, the UK&#39;s national domain-name registry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Outcome<\/td>\n<td>UK IGF Report 2020, carrying UK messages into the (virtual) UN IGF in November 2020<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>(See the source list at the end of this article.)<\/p>\n<h2>Discussion Digest \u2014 from the Session Records<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/en-uk-igf-2020-overview_minutes-1.svg\" alt=\"UK IGF 2020 \u30aa\u30f3\u30e9\u30a4\u30f3 \u2014 Discussion map\"><\/p>\n<p>Key exchanges extracted from session records and transcripts.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Trust in Digital Identity \u2014 Reshaped by the Pandemic<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sessions<\/strong>: Panel &#39;Building Trust in Digital Identity&#39; (15 September, 11:00\u201312:30, chaired by Sue Daley)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Panellists welcomed the Government&#39;s response to its digital identity call for evidence as a first step, while demanding more detail and a clearer timeline [1][3]<\/li>\n<li>Dr Michael Veale (UCL) noted smartphone operating systems had become an unintentional basis for the identity-verification ecosystem, requiring extra checks on intermediaries and scrutiny of where power sits [1][3]<\/li>\n<li>Genuine public buy-in to transformative technologies needs public education in plain, accessible language on a clear ethical basis [1][3]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>2. Digital Rights in a Pandemic \u2014 Contact-Tracing Apps Must Stay Voluntary<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sessions<\/strong>: Keynote &#39;Protecting digital rights during a pandemic&#39; (15 September, Professor Lilian Edwards)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Edwards argued that installing any state-developed contact-tracing app should be voluntary by law and never a basis for discrimination against vulnerable citizens without smartphones [1][3]<\/li>\n<li>Workplaces and university campuses were becoming unintended testbeds for new surveillance technologies and wearables, risking people leaving devices at home to protect their privacy [1][3]<\/li>\n<li>Rather than rejecting tracing, the onus is on those responsible to choose less privacy-invasive measures \u2014 a lesson for immunity passports and any future digital health identity [1][3]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3. Digital Equality \u2014 Don&#39;t Rebrand Poverty as a Skills Gap<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sessions<\/strong>: Panel &#39;Digital Equality&#39; (15 September, 15:30\u201317:00, chaired by Helen Milner)<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&quot;The biggest asset in the room isn&#39;t the technology it&#39;s the real experiences.&quot;<br \/>\n\u2014 <strong>Atif Choudhury (CEO, Diversity and Ability)<\/strong> [1][3]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&quot;Let&#39;s move away from seeing it as a technical problem to a social problem &amp; realise we have a collective responsibility.&quot;<br \/>\n\u2014 <strong>Ellen Helsper (Professor of Digital Inequalities, LSE)<\/strong> [1][3]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>The panel agreed poverty, socio-economics and a sense of belonging drive digital inequality \u2014 &#39;digital inclusion&#39; is often just a more comfortable word for poverty [1][3]<\/li>\n<li>They called for a renewed focus on outcomes rather than the delivery of learning and skills training alone [1][3]<\/li>\n<li>Professor Helsper dispelled the myth that all young people are &#39;digital natives&#39;, noting shame about asking questions exists across generations [1][3]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>4. Algorithmic Transparency \u2014 Right After the Exam-Grading Fiasco<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sessions<\/strong>: Panel &#39;Examining algorithmic transparency and how to achieve it&#39; (16 September, 11:00\u201312:30, chaired by Carly Kind)<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&quot;When there is more transparency, there becomes more opportunities to innovate.&quot;<br \/>\n\u2014 <strong>Natalia Domagala (Head of Data Ethics, Cabinet Office)<\/strong> [1][3]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>After the UK&#39;s 2020 exam-grading algorithm controversy, Carly Kind (Ada Lovelace Institute) noted the paradox of public bodies retreating from algorithms just when they could help solve hard problems [1][3]<\/li>\n<li>Milly Zimeta (Open Data Institute): data always carries gaps and biases, and even perfect data never guarantees the &#39;perfect&#39; outcome \u2014 humans must define the society we want [1][3]<\/li>\n<li>The panel proposed Citizen Assemblies focused on technology and transparency as new models of public deliberation [1][3]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>5. The Internet and the Environment \u2014 A UK IGF First<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sessions<\/strong>: Keynote by Professor Myles Allen + panel &#39;The Internet and environment&#39; (16 September, 14:00\u201316:30, chaired by David Souter)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Professor Myles Allen (Oxford) argued the tech sector should use its market power not just to decarbonise its own energy supplies but to demand decarbonised fossil fuels generally [1][3]<\/li>\n<li>Ugo Vallauri (Restart Project): the problem is not only infrastructure but disposable access devices \u2014 components must become replaceable, repairable and longer-lasting [1][3]<\/li>\n<li>Chair David Souter noted the global IGF also discussed the environment as a main theme for the first time that year; the panel agreed the digital sector was the fastest-growing contributor to emissions [1][3]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Three-Minute Short Talk \u2014 Your Questions Answered<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q. What kind of event was this?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A. The UK&#39;s national internet governance forum \u2014 forced fully online by Covid-19 for the first time, yet drawing a record 286 participants. Three days covered trust, inclusion, data, the environment and Covid-19, with conclusions passed to the UN IGF.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q. What was the biggest debate?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A. The digital divide the pandemic deepened. Panellists insisted the root cause is poverty, not a &#39;skills gap&#39; \u2014 and one keynote argued contact-tracing apps must be voluntary by law.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q. Why does it still matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A. Contact-tracing privacy, algorithmic transparency in government and the right to repair all became mainstream policy fights later \u2014 this forum debated them in real time in 2020.<\/p>\n<h2>What Is UK IGF? (for first-time readers)<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/en-uk-igf-2020-overview_h1-1.svg\" alt=\"UK IGF 2020 \u30aa\u30f3\u30e9\u30a4\u30f3 \u2014 About UK IGF\"><\/p>\n<p>UK IGF is a National or Regional IGF Initiative (NRI), aligning local internet governance discussion with global IGF principles.<\/p>\n<h2>Why It Matters to You<\/h2>\n<p>What was discussed here becomes <strong>the baseline for national digital policy, platform rules and AI regulation worldwide within a few years<\/strong>. The principles confirmed at the 2020 meeting are the foundation of the &quot;next rules&quot; for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.<\/p>\n<h2>Sources &amp; References<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ukigf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/UK-IGF-Report-2020.pdf\">UK Internet Governance Forum Report 2020 (PDF)<\/a> \u2014 UK IGF\uff08\u4e8b\u52d9\u5c40: Nominet\uff09 (accessed 2026-07-11)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ukigf.org.uk\/events\/uk-igf-2020\/\">UK IGF 2020\uff08\u516c\u5f0f\u30a4\u30d9\u30f3\u30c8\u30da\u30fc\u30b8\uff09<\/a> \u2014 UK IGF (accessed 2026-07-11)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ukigf.org.uk\/2020-agenda\/\">2020 Agenda<\/a> \u2014 UK IGF (accessed 2026-07-11)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/isoc-e.org\/uk_igf20\/\">UK IGF 2020 \u2014 online event 15\u201317 September<\/a> \u2014 Internet Society England Chapter (accessed 2026-07-11)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em>Quotes are translated or condensed from the records listed above. Bracketed numbers [n] refer to the source list.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>Related links<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>IGF official (NRI list): <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intgovforum.org\/en\/content\/national-and-regional-igf-initiatives\">https:\/\/www.intgovforum.org\/en\/content\/national-and-regional-igf-initiatives<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Japan IGF: <a href=\"https:\/\/japanigf.jp\/\">https:\/\/japanigf.jp\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Yuki Nakazawa&#39;s blog: <a href=\"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/category\/igf\/\">https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/category\/igf\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Revision History<\/h2>\n<p>Rev. 1 \u2014 published 2 October 2020, 16:00 (Article published)<\/p>\n<p>Rev. 2 \u2014 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))<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 \u4e2d\u6fa4\u7950\u6a39<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UK&#8217;s national IGF went fully virtual for the first time on 15\u201317 September 2020, splitting into three days and drawing a record 286 dele<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11,38],"tags":[163,161,160,162,164,2409],"class_list":["post-12786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-igf","category-regional-igf","category-uk-igf","tag-3-line-summary","tag-deep-dive","tag-english","tag-minutes-digest","tag-sourced","tag-ukigf2020"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12786\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}