Internet governance must be part and parcel of the "global governance that is founded on universal ethics", which UNESCO's new Director-General, Irina Bokova, has heralded in her investiture speech at UNESCO Headquarters on 23 October 2009.

During the four-day Forum UNESCO will provide various spaces for inclusive discussion on the Organization's key contribution to the Internet Governance debate. In particular UNESCO organizes three workshops under the main theme of the Forum, Openness:

• Freedom of Information in the Internet Governance,
• A Legal Survey of Internet Censorship and Filtering,
• Privacy, Literacy and Social Networking

In addition, UNESCO will co-organize a roundtable discussion on Multilingualism in Cyberspace and organize an Open Forum to present the Organization's activities in the field of communication and information.

UNESCO will also contribute to two main sessions, the plenary spaces of the Forum:

• it will stress the importance of freedom of expression and information, along with privacy and personal data protection, at Security, Openness and Privacy session; and
• it will advocate the importance of multilingualism in cyberspace to ensure universal access to the Internet and equal opportunities for all at Access and Diversity session.

The Internet Governance Forum is a UN-sponsored event based on multi-stakeholder and equal footing participation. It is a policy dialogue space originating from the WSIS process to discuss public policy issues related to key elements of Internet governance, in order to foster the openness, accessibility, diversity, security, sustainability and inclusive development of the Internet. Some 1500 participants from all regions are expected to participate in the open and inclusive debates.

All meetings can be accessed through live webcast at: <a target=_blank href="http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/">www.intgovforum.org/cms/</a>.