ZIGF 2015 (1st Zimbabwe Internet Governance Forum: Launch and First Public Forum) — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

On 17 June 2015, 159 delegates from government, business, civil society, academia and the technical community met at Harare's Rainbow Towers Hotel and resolved to establish the Zimbabwe Internet Governance Forum (ZIGF); the first Public Forum followed at Cresta Lodge on 19 October.
The launch meeting made regulator POTRAZ the secretariat and set up an interim Multi-stakeholder Coordinating Team; in October the founding Terms of Reference were debated in public and adopted.
It is a textbook regulator-backed national IGF launch — a useful contrast with community-driven national initiatives elsewhere, and the starting point of Zimbabwe's short-lived but well-documented forum.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on ZIGF 2015 (1st Zimbabwe Internet Governance Forum: Launch and First Public Forum) draws on official outputs, session records and on-site reporting. In a hurry? The three lines above and the diagrams carry the gist.

Conference at a Glance (from official records)

Item	Detail
Official name	ZIGF 2015 (1st Zimbabwe Internet Governance Forum: Launch and First Public Forum)
Edition	Founding year: the June launch resolution and the first Public Forum in October
Dates	Launch workshop: 17 June 2015; first Public Forum: 19 October 2015
Venue	Launch: Rainbow Towers Hotel; first Public Forum: Cresta Lodge (both in Harare, Zimbabwe)
Theme	Regional governance themes
Participants	159 participants at the launch workshop (former official site); attendance at the October Public Forum unconfirmed
Host	Launched by the Secretary of the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services; secretariat: POTRAZ (Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe)
Outcome	Resolution establishing the ZIGF (17 June) and adoption of the founding Terms of Reference at the first Public Forum (19 October)

(See the source list at the end of this article.)

Discussion Digest — from the Session Records

Key exchanges extracted from session records and transcripts.

1. Resolving to Establish the ZIGF — A 159-Strong Multistakeholder Workshop

Sessions: Launch workshop, 17 June 2015, Rainbow Towers Hotel, Harare

Dr. Eng. S. Kundishora, Secretary for ICT, Postal and Courier Services, launched the ZIGF before 159 participants drawn from government, the private sector, civil society, academia and the technical community [1][2]
The workshop resolved to establish the ZIGF effective 17 June 2015, to set up an interim Multi-stakeholder Coordinating Team (MCT) to finalise the founding documents, and to make POTRAZ the secretariat and enabler [1][2]
The interim MCT received four mandates: finalise the founding documents, publicise the ZIGF, invite a broad base of stakeholders, and build an independent website [1][2]

2. Adopting the Founding Terms of Reference — The First Public Forum

Sessions: 2015 ZIGF Public Forum, 19 October 2015, Cresta Lodge, Harare

The draft Terms of Reference prepared by the interim MCT were subjected to public scrutiny and adopted as the ZIGF's founding document [2]
The ToR set out the forum's objectives and its three institutional bodies — the Public Forum, the MCT and the Secretariat — including how each stakeholder group would be represented [2]
The adopted ToR was later turned into a pamphlet distributed at trade fairs and agricultural shows via POTRAZ stands, per the official 2017 report [2]

3. Hosting SAIGF 2015 and the ZIGF's Objectives — Credibility as a Country IGF

Sessions: Related event: SAIGF 2015, Cresta Lodge Msasa, Harare

In its founding year Zimbabwe also hosted SAIGF 2015 in Harare, with the ZIGF's MCT and participants involved as both stakeholders and resource persons — an event the official 2017 report credits with getting the ZIGF 'taken seriously as a country IGF' [2][3]
The forum's stated objectives include representing Zimbabwe's views in the SAIGF, the African IGF, ICANN and the global IGF, alongside multistakeholder dialogue at home [2][3]
The subregional SAIGF and the national ZIGF are distinct bodies; both meeting in Harare in 2015 is a known source of later confusion [2][3]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. How did it start?

A. The ICT ministry convened 159 stakeholders on 17 June 2015, who resolved to establish the ZIGF. Regulator POTRAZ took on the secretariat, and the founding Terms of Reference were adopted at the first Public Forum on 19 October.

Q. Who runs it?

A. A Multi-stakeholder Coordinating Team (MCT) drawing on five groups: government, business, civil society, academia and the technical community. It started as an interim team; the first proper elections came at the 2017 meeting.

Q. Why should I care?

A. It is a model of the regulator-backed national IGF, where the state telecom authority provides the secretariat and funding — a striking contrast with community-driven national IGFs, and a useful case study in how such forums get off the ground.

What Is Zimbabwe IGF? (for first-time readers)

Zimbabwe IGF is a National or Regional IGF Initiative (NRI), aligning local internet governance discussion with global IGF principles.

Why It Matters to You

What was discussed here becomes the baseline for national digital policy, platform rules and AI regulation worldwide within a few years. The principles confirmed at the 2015 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.