The EBU is this week hosting a preparatory meeting ahead of the United Nations-led Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2013, at its Geneva headquarters from 21 - 23 May.

Day one includes an Open Consultation for discussion of the main issues for the IGF 2013, which is scheduled to be held from 22 to 25 October 2013, in Indonesia.

The issues include net neutrality, freedom of expression on the internet, journalist safety in the on- and off-line world and others that are of pivotal interest to the world broadcasting community.

As host, EBU President Jean Paul Philippot is due to wrap up the first day by delivering a formal address.

On 22 and 23 May the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) will meet. The MAG, of which the EBU is a member on behalf of the World Broadcasting Unions (WBU), advises the UN Secretary General on internet governance matters.

All meetings over the three days are to be chaired by Markus Kummer, interim chair of the IGF, and attended by the Indonesian government, the UN Department of Economic & Social Affairs and by Chengetai Masango, the IGF’s Programme and Technology Manager.

The EBU has close links to the IGF, having hosted the equivalent meeting in September 2008 and the 2009 European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG).

And at the 2012 IGF, in Baku, the EBU together with the Council of Europe and the OSCE held a Joint Open Forum on the safety of online media actors.