{"id":14670,"date":"2016-07-25T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-25T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/2016\/07\/25\/en-srilanka-igf-2016-overview\/"},"modified":"2016-07-25T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-07-25T05:00:00","slug":"en-srilanka-igf-2016-overview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/2016\/07\/25\/en-srilanka-igf-2016-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"IGF Sri Lanka 2016 (1st National IGF) \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-srilanka-igf-2016-overview_thumbnail.svg\" alt=\"Sri Lanka IGF 2016 \u30b3\u30ed\u30f3\u30dc \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-srilanka-igf-2016-overview_s3.svg\" alt=\"Sri Lanka IGF 2016 \u30b3\u30ed\u30f3\u30dc \u2014 3-line summary\"><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Sri Lanka&#39;s first-ever IGF met as a one-day event on 8 March 2016 at the BMICH in Colombo, opened by Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Minister Harin Fernando under the theme of promoting the multistakeholder model.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Three panels \u2014 Next Billionth User, Safer Internet, and Freedom of Expression \u2014 tackled distinctly Sri Lankan issues: trilingual government websites, transparency around the Google Loon project, and news-website registration rules.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Built by ISOC Sri Lanka Chapter volunteers on a USD 2,000 IGFSA seed grant, it is a textbook grassroots national IGF \u2014 and the launchpad for the 2017 second edition with the world&#39;s first Women&#39;s IGF.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Welcome \u2014 this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on <strong>IGF Sri Lanka 2016 (1st National IGF)<\/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-srilanka-igf-2016-overview_h2.svg\" alt=\"Sri Lanka IGF 2016 \u30b3\u30ed\u30f3\u30dc \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>IGF Sri Lanka 2016 (1st National IGF)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dates<\/td>\n<td>8 March 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Venue<\/td>\n<td>BMICH (Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall), Colombo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Theme<\/td>\n<td>Promoting the Multi-stakeholder Model for further Internet Development in Sri Lanka<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Panels<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Opening<\/td>\n<td>Opened by Harin Fernando, Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Host<\/td>\n<td>Volunteer organizing committee of the Internet Society Sri Lanka Chapter (ISOC-LK)<\/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-srilanka-igf-2016-overview_minutes.svg\" alt=\"Sri Lanka IGF 2016 \u30b3\u30ed\u30f3\u30dc \u2014 Discussion map\"><\/p>\n<p>Key exchanges extracted from session records and transcripts.<\/p>\n<h3>1. The Next Billionth User \u2014 Access Gaps and a Trilingual Web<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sessions<\/strong>: Panel 1 &quot;Next Billionth User&quot; (chaired by Prof. Gihan Dias, President, ISOC Sri Lanka)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Panelists called for all government websites to be kept accurate in Sinhala, Tamil and English, and to follow W3C accessibility standards for persons with disabilities [1]<\/li>\n<li>ICTA outlined plans to connect 4,500 government organisations within three years at 20\u2013100 Mbps \u2014 while participants noted rural areas were left out and public Wi-Fi hotspots alone would not close the gap [1]<\/li>\n<li>With the defence ministry and telecom regulator still vetting the Google Loon project, participants argued such projects need public information and open debate \u2014 exactly what an IGF provides [1]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>2. Safer Internet \u2014 Women, Children and the Facebook Problem<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sessions<\/strong>: Panel 2 &quot;Safer Internet&quot; (chaired by Harsha Wijayawardhana, ex-President, ISOC Sri Lanka)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Speakers raised cultural conflicts, privacy violations and harassment of women online; frustration that Facebook does not respond to local cultural concerns was described as common across SAARC countries, calling for a joint regional approach [1]<\/li>\n<li>Home-grown initiatives were showcased, including the &quot;Respect Girls on Internet&quot; privacy handbook and the &quot;Pro Hitawathie&quot; project for recognising and preventing cyber-harassment [1]<\/li>\n<li>Noting that young people constrained by cultural barriers turn to the Internet to express themselves, panelists argued for empowering both children and parents rather than policing them [1]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3. Freedom of Expression \u2014 News-site Registration and Protecting Journalists<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sessions<\/strong>: Panel 3 &quot;Freedom of Expression&quot; (chaired by Thilina Pathirana, University of Kelaniya)<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&quot;Asia needs standardization not just in terms of policy but it needs cooperation in terms of action (from his participation report; translated)&quot;<br \/>\n\u2014 <strong>Shreedeep Rayamajhi (Nepali civil-society activist and IRPC Steering Committee member; panelist)<\/strong> [1][3]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>Recorded talking points included news-media web registration, journalists&#39; responsibility and ethics, technical blocking of news sites, defamation in the Internet age, and protection of online journalists [1][3]<\/li>\n<li>A Nepali civil-society activist joined the panel, giving the inaugural forum a cross-border, regional dimension [1][3]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>4. Starting from USD 2,000 \u2014 How to Build a Grassroots National IGF<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sessions<\/strong>: Organization and outcomes (chair&#39;s message and financial statements in the official report)<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&quot;Creating the first Sri Lankan IGF was a challenge. There were many hurdles. We came across all the challenges and were able to complete the first-ever IGF in Sri Lanka on a very high note (translated)&quot;<br \/>\n\u2014 <strong>Maheeshwara Kirindigoda (Chairman, IGF Sri Lanka 2016 organizing committee; message in the official report)<\/strong> [1][2]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>Seeded by IGFSA&#39;s USD 2,000 grant, the volunteers ran everything through an open online group (starting from 56 people) with decisions by poll, delivering the event for about LKR 332,000 against a LKR 604,000 budget [1][2]<\/li>\n<li>Sri Lanka Telecom (principal sponsor), LEARN (co-organizer) and LankaCom (connectivity) later joined, and the telecom minister pledged ministry backing and a partnership with IGF Sri Lanka [1][2]<\/li>\n<li>The report records calls to make the forum annual, take it to the provinces and set up a local secretariat \u2014 with ISOC-LK deciding to organize it yearly [1][2]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Three-Minute Short Talk \u2014 Your Questions Answered<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q. So what did the meeting actually decide?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A. Nothing binding \u2014 it was Sri Lanka&#39;s first forum where government, business, civil society and technologists talked as equals. But it did produce commitments: make it annual, and the telecom ministry pledged its support.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q. What was the most contentious topic?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A. How government-led connectivity projects \u2014 free Wi-Fi schemes and Google Loon \u2014 were being run. Participants repeatedly demanded transparency and public debate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q. Why should I care?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A. It shows a national IGF can be built with a USD 2,000 grant and volunteers. The playbook for giving citizens a voice in Internet policy works anywhere.<\/p>\n<h2>What Is Sri Lanka IGF? (for first-time readers)<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/en-srilanka-igf-2016-overview_h1.svg\" alt=\"Sri Lanka IGF 2016 \u30b3\u30ed\u30f3\u30dc \u2014 About Sri Lanka IGF\"><\/p>\n<p>Sri Lanka 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 2016 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:\/\/www.intgovforum.org\/en\/filedepot_download\/3568\/530\">IGF Sri Lanka 2016 Report\uff08\u516c\u5f0f\u5831\u544a\u66f8PDF\uff09<\/a> \u2014 IGF Sri Lanka 2016\u7d44\u7e54\u59d4\u54e1\u4f1a \/ \u56fd\u9023IGF\u4e8b\u52d9\u5c40filedepot (accessed 2026-07-11)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intgovforum.org\/en\/content\/sri-lanka-igf-1\">Sri Lanka IGF\uff08NRI\u516c\u5f0f\u8a18\u9332\u30da\u30fc\u30b8\uff09<\/a> \u2014 UN IGF Secretariat (accessed 2026-07-11)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/internetrightsandprinciples.org\/my-experience-at-the-sri-lankan-igf-2016\/\">My experience at the Sri Lankan IGF 2016<\/a> \u2014 Internet Rights and Principles Coalition\uff08Shreedeep Rayamajhi\u53c2\u52a0\u5831\u544a\uff09 (accessed 2026-07-11)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intgovforum.org\/en\/filedepot_download\/79\/28774\">Report on IGF Sri Lanka 2024\uff082016\u5e743\u67088\u65e5\u521d\u958b\u50ac\u3092\u660e\u8a18\uff09<\/a> \u2014 Lanka School on Internet Governance (LKSIG) \/ \u56fd\u9023IGF\u4e8b\u52d9\u5c40filedepot (accessed 2026-07-11)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/igfsrilanka.org\/\">IGF Sri Lanka\uff08\u73fe\u884c\u516c\u5f0f\u30b5\u30a4\u30c8\u30fb\u300cinitiated in 2016\u300d\uff09<\/a> \u2014 IGF Sri Lanka \/ LKSIG (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>\u66f4\u65b0\u5c65\u6b74<\/h2>\n<p>\u7b2c1\u7a3f\u6295\u7a3f 2026\u5e747\u670813\u65e5 11\u664241\u5206\uff08\u8a18\u4e8b\u30b3\u30f3\u30c6\u30f3\u30c4\u30a2\u30c3\u30d7\uff09<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 \u4e2d\u6fa4\u7950\u6a39<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sri Lanka&#8217;s first-ever IGF met as a one-day event on 8 March 2016 at the BMICH in Colombo, opened by Telecommunication and Digital Infrastru<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,3,11,124],"tags":[163,161,160,162,164,2552],"class_list":["post-14670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aprigf","category-igf","category-regional-igf","category-srilanka-igf","tag-3-line-summary","tag-deep-dive","tag-english","tag-minutes-digest","tag-sourced","tag-srilankaigf2016"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14670","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=14670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14670\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}