The Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy (APIGA) is a capacity-development program focused on Internet governance targeted at youths aged 18-35 from the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. APIGA is co-hosted by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA). It is organized in collaboration with regional organizations including the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), DotAsia Organisation, the Internet Society (ISOC), etc. 

Aims

APIGA aims to develop youth leaders’ understanding of the Internet and its ecosystem. It also aims to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to participate in Internet policy making through developing a strong foundation in the following:

• The concept of Internet governance, and the multistakeholder model of policymaking;

• Current global Internet governance issues, and applying these issues at the local and regional levels;

• The confidence to speak up and take up community leadership roles in regional and international fora.

Learning is through immersive, hands-on sessions with dedicated mentoring by regional industry experts. Participants will also build a strong network with peers, APIGA alumni, leading APAC Internet organizations, and key APAC community leaders.

Expected Outcomes

Through the program, participants will build confidence in and appreciation for multistakeholder processes with a strong foundation in Internet governance fundamentals. They will also receive guided pathways to continue participating in the Internet governance space including at ICANN, APNIC, ISOC, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and various other Internet governance fora.

Past data shows that 1 in 4 APIGA alumni continue to participate in Internet governance fora locally, regionally, and globally.

About the 2026 Program

Important Information & Key Dates

APIGA2026 will be held from 20-24 July 2026 (Monday-Friday) at Grand Josun, Busan, South Korea. Individuals interested in Internet governance issues are welcome to apply. Flight and accommodation costs will be covered for selected participants. 

Health & Safety

For up-to-date emergency contacts in Busan, along with useful information on visas, immigration, transportation, and more, please visit the official website here.

Local and Regional APIGA

Starting 2024, the APIGA program has expanded to the local level, held as Local APIGA events. For Cycle 2 (October 2025-April 2026), 9 Local APIGA events are held. These local events have been designed to complement the Regional APIGA2026 program. More information available here. 

Read the ICANN announcement on APIGA2026 here. 

For general enquiries about APIGA, please write to apachub@icann.org.

Participants will be selected through the following three avenues.

(1) Open Application Portal: Written Applications & Group Panel Interview

Application Process

The application process this year has been updated. For APIGA2026, the process will be conducted in 2 phases-- (1) Written applications; (2) For shortlisted candidates, a group panel interview will be held.

(1) Phase 1- Written Applications: Submit a written application through the open application portal. Applications will open from Thursday, 5 March 2026 00:00 till Sunday, 22 March 2026 23:59 in Korean Standard Time (UTC+9).

The application system is provided courtesy of APNIC. Kindly note when applying:

• Applicants MUST register an account in APNIC’s application system to access the APIGA application, submit, and check application status.

• If you have registered an account before or previously applied for any fellowship using the same system (e.g. for APrIGF etc.), there is no need to register again. Please use your existing login details.

To submit an application, please click here.

For any technical questions/issues using the system, please use this webform for help. 

(2) Phase 2- Group Panel Interview: All written applications from Phase 1 will be reviewed by our Fellowship Committee (FC) comprised of representatives from the co-hosts and partner organizations. We will reach out to shortlisted candidates for phase 2 of the application, in which candidates will be split into groups for a panel interview with the FC. Selected candidates will be split into (approximately) 10 participants for each group interview. Format and problem statement(s) will be shared ahead of the panel interview sessions. All group panel interviews will be conducted between 13-17 April 2026 (Monday-Friday).

Application Criteria

• From the Asia Pacific (APAC) region

• Aged 18 to 35 (both ages inclusive)

• Able to use English – both spoken and written

• No prior Internet governance experience required

• Able to participate:

  • In-person in South Korea for the full program in July 2026; and

  • Prerequisite preparation phase in May-June 2026. This includes designated online live sessions as well as self-study online modules

(2) Local APIGA Admissions

With the APIGA program expansion, the top participant selected from each Local APIGA event will be directly eligible for the Regional APIGA2026. Local APIGA hosts may also choose to fund one additional participant from Local APIGA events if they wish to. 

Local APIGA participants who were not selected as top participants may still apply for the Regional APIGA2026 through the open application portal above. 

(3) Funded Participants by Partner Organizations

APAC Internet organizations (e.g. the Asia Pacific Top Level Domain Association (APTLD)) may fund participants selected through their internal processes. There is a maximum of 10 funded participant slots for APIGA2026 (limit for each organization to be confirmed). Please write to apachub@icann.org if your organization is interested to fund a participant. 

**Application criteria above applies to participants selected through all three avenues.