Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) said on the 27th that, together with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), it formed a dedicated task force (TF) to discuss the mid- to long-term development direction of the Asia-Pacific Internet Governance Academy (APIGA). The task force inauguration ceremony was held immediately after the closing ceremony of APIGA 2026 in Busan.
APIGA is a program to train internet governance experts in the Asia-Pacific region that KISA and ICANN have jointly run since 2016. A total of 397 young people from 32 countries have completed the program to date. More than half are active in various fields, including employment and internships at internet governance-related organizations and participation in internet governance forums.
Recently, as country-level APIGA (Local APIGA) events have spread, opportunities to participate at the national and regional levels have also increased. A structure is also taking hold in which existing graduates participate as mentors of follow-up programs or as regional community leaders.
Marking the 10th anniversary of APIGA's launch, KISA and ICANN formed this dedicated task force, judging that it is necessary to comprehensively discuss the sustainability and international scalability of the training system, a stable operating framework, and management of the alumni network.
Along with KISA and ICANN, major partner organizations such as the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), DotAsia, and the Internet Society (ISOC) will join the dedicated task force. The participating organizations plan to develop APIGA's mid- to long-term vision and detailed action tasks based on each organization's experience and expertise.
The dedicated task force will operate from July to December. It plans to prepare the "APIGA vision book," which will set out APIGA's future development direction and action tasks, and the "plan to establish a dedicated APIGA secretariat" for stable and sustainable operations.
Lee Sang-jung, president of Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), said, "APIGA has served over the past 10 years as a key capacity-building program that opened a pathway for young people in the Asia-Pacific region to enter the field of internet governance," adding, "Through this task force, we will flesh out a mid- to long-term vision and action tasks to lead the next 10 years, and we will join forces with partner organizations so APIGA can grow into a sustainable global talent development platform."