The U.S. Internet Governance Forum is convening in Washington DC July 21 (Wednesday) to discuss the challenges of Internet governance. It will cover key areas such as privacy, openness, security, critical internet resources and child online safety. Launched in 2009, the IGF USA’s purpose is to engage US-based civil society, government, technologists, research scientists, industry and academia, to cultivate partnerships, build coalitions and facilitate dialogues that demonstrate best practices and facilitate participation of all stakeholders at a national and global level.

The one-day event will focus on the changing Internet and the way forward for the international Internet Governance Forum, an initiative facilitated by the United Nations. Key speakers will include Markus Kummer of the UN Secretariat for IGF, Larry Strickling, administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Agency, Andrew McLaughlin, White House Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Internet Policy, Ambassador Phil Verveer, U.S. State Department and key leaders from the technical, business and civil society sectors. Workshops and special sessions cover topics such as cyber security, critical internet resources, cloud computing, global governance of the Internet; the role of users in defining a future for Internet governance, e-crime and malicious conduct in the domain name system, and a best practice forum on child safety challenges in the always-on world that youth and children experience today. For more information, see: http://www.igf-usa.us