The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was launched as a direct result of the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which began under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva in 2003 and continued in Tunis in 2005. The IGF has been a global event convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations since 2006. It is organized as a platform for multi-stakeholder discussions on Internet governance issues in an open and inclusive manner. It welcomes representatives from civil society, government, the private sector, the technical community, academia, and the media.
The IGF is an international arena for discussion and cooperation on topics related to the development of the information society, Internet governance, and Internet-related challenges in general. The IGF is not a decision-making body, but a forum where defined problems and approaches discussed can be shaped into public, international or national policies and forwarded to other bodies – whether within the UN or other international organizations or governments – for consideration.
IGFs, especially at the national and regional levels, tend to generate practical ideas for further action by the participants themselves and result in changes and successes that are then presented at the next annual meeting.
The IGF in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH IGF) was held in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2023. It is part of the network of National and Regional Initiatives (NRI) of the global IGF. It is organized in the multi-stakeholder spirit of the IGF, as a joint initiative of several organizations and institutions.
On November 28, 2024, the BH IGF will be held in Sarajevo (Hotel Swissotel) from 09:30 to 14:00. Participation is free of charge with prior registration via email: aida.mahmutovic@birnnetwork.org.
The Organizing Committee for 2024 consists of BIRN BiH (Detektor), Why Not?, the Center for the Education of Judges and Prosecutors of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Sarajevo, the Coalition for Content Moderation.
The BH IGF was supported by the Internet Society Foundation (ISOC), the US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Internet Governance Forum Support Association, the Hanns Seidel Stiftung in Sarajevo, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
After welcoming and introductory speeches, the plenary session will discuss the progress of a systemic approach to internet governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by sessions on large technology platforms, content moderation, and transitional complexities in the face of foreign malicious disinformation and the circumstances created by artificial intelligence in the context of BiH.
The event will result in messages, as a primary outcome of the BH IGF 2024, consolidating key issues raised to be conveyed at the global UN IGF 2024 in Riyadh as part of an inclusive bottom-up process.
