*https://www.medianama.com/2026/01/223-us-withdrawal-global-digital-forums/ <https://www.medianama.com/2026/01/223-us-withdrawal-global-digital-forums/>**Which organisations matter for cyber and digital governance* Several of the organisations the US plans to exit operate at the intersection of technology, governance, and security, even if they are not formally labelled as cyber bodies. - *Freedom Online Coalition* Coordinated state positions <https://freedomonlinecoalition.com/aims-and-priorities/>on internet shutdowns, surveillance, freedom of expression online, and digital repression. Governments have used the coalition to advance rights-based approaches to internet governance and push back against restrictive models of online control. - *Global Forum on Cyber Expertise* *(GFCE)* Served as a hub <https://thegfce.org/> for cybersecurity capacity building, aligning training programmes, incident-response frameworks, and cyber resilience efforts across countries, particularly in the Global South. - *Global Counterterrorism Forum* *(GCTF)* Has increasingly addressed <https://www.thegctf.org/Portals/1/Documents/Framework%20Documents/2017/GCTF%20-%20Zurich-London%20Recommendations%20ENG.pdf?ver=2017-09-15-210859-467>how terrorist and extremist groups use online platforms for recruitment, propaganda, and coordination, developing non-binding practices around countering online radicalisation. - *UN Conference on Trade and Development* *(UNCTAD)* Shaped debates on digital trade <https://unctad.org/publication/digital-trade-development>, platform regulation, and cross-border data flows, especially from the perspective of developing economies often excluded from US- or EU-led digital trade frameworks. - *Department of Economic and Social Affairs* Coordinates UN work <https://publicadministration.desa.un.org/projects/cross-border-digital-coope...> on digital government, data governance, and digital public infrastructure, influencing how technology-led development models are designed and adopted across countries. - *UN Institute for Training and Research* *(UNITAR)* and *UN University* Shape how policymakers and researchers understand <https://unu.edu/egov/about/unu-egov-strategy-2025-2029>emerging issues such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence governance, and data policy through training, research, and capacity building. - *UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)* In recent years, UN has focused <https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/faqs/digital-abuse-trolling-stalking-and...> on technology-facilitated violence against women, including online harassment, gendered disinformation, image-based abuse, and digital intimidation, framing these harms as structural digital governance and platform accountability issues rather than isolated moderation failures. Glenn McKnight, MA Virtual School of Internet Governance Chief Information Officer www.virtualsig.org *YOUR SOURCE FOR INTERNET GOVERNANCE EDUCATION * *Mobile 437-237-4655*