History

In 2005, the final report of the UN Working Group of Internet Governance (WGIG) recognized the important contribution of academics, in addition to other communities, to discussions of Internet governance. Specifically,

33. ...the WGIG recognized that the contribution to the Internet of the academic community is very valuable and constitutes one of its main sources of inspiration, innovation and creativity...[and makes] a permanent and valuable contribution to the stability, security, functioning and evolution of the Internet...[interacting] extensively with and within all stakeholder groups.
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47. The forum should develop partnerships with academic and research institutions to access knowledge resources and expertise on a regular basis. These partnerships should seek to reflect geographic balance and cultural diversity and promote cooperation among all regions.

Responding to this, the Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) was initiated in spring 2006 in conjunction with the initial UN Internet Governance Forum. Its four principal objectives are to:

• support the establishment of a global network of scholars specializing in Internet governance issues;
• promote the development of Internet governance as a recognized, interdisciplinary field of study;
• advance theoretical and applied research on Internet governance, broadly defined, and;
• facilitate informed dialogue on policy issues and related matters between scholars and Internet governance stakeholders (governments, international organizations, the private sector, and civil society).