5ème Forum national sur la gouvernance de l’internet au Sénégal (FGI-SN) 2017 — fifth edition — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

On 18 May 2017 the fifth Senegal national IGF, FGI-SN 2017, met at UCAD II in Dakar, opened under the joint chairmanship of the ministers for posts and telecommunications and for investment promotion, and organised by the ISOC Senegal Chapter.
The theme was the digital ecosystem's contribution to implementing the national strategy 'Sénégal numérique 2025' (SN2025), through two panels: public and private infrastructure for connecting the territory, and making Senegal a regional technology hub for start-ups.
Touching also on emerging issues such as privacy and social-network blocking, the forum showed a practical use of a national IGF: as an implementation review of the national digital strategy.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on 5ème Forum national sur la gouvernance de l'internet au Sénégal (FGI-SN) 2017 — fifth edition 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	5ème Forum national sur la gouvernance de l'internet au Sénégal (FGI-SN) 2017 — fifth edition
Dates	18 May 2017
Venue	UCAD II conference centre, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar
Theme	'Contribution des acteurs de l'écosystème numérique dans la mise en œuvre de la stratégie nationale SN2025' (The digital ecosystem's contribution to implementing the national SN2025 strategy)
Host	The ISOC Senegal Chapter; the opening was presided over by the ministers for posts and telecommunications and for investment promotion

(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. Reviewing SN2025 Implementation — a Working Use of a National IGF

Sessions: FGI-SN 2017 overall (opened 09:00, 18 May 2017)

Le Soleil, reporting the day of the event, framed the forum as an opportunity to share with the public and all Senegalese stakeholders where implementation of the 'Sénégal numérique 2025' strategy stood [1]
Organisers expected three outcomes: concrete proposals on implementation, Senegal's contribution to the West African, African and global IGFs, and greater public awareness of optimal ICT use [1]
Joint chairmanship by two ministers signalled government treating digital strategy and investment promotion as one agenda [1]

2. Infrastructure and Start-ups — the Two Panels

Sessions: Panel 1 on public/private digital infrastructure and territorial development; Panel 2 on a regional tech-hub strategy

Panel 1 asked what public and private digital infrastructure contribute to the digital development of the territory, bringing urban–rural connectivity gaps into the strategy review [1]
Panel 2 took up the strategy for making Senegal a regional technology hub for start-ups [1]
Emerging governance issues — privacy protection and the blocking of social networks — were also tabled, per Le Soleil [1]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What did the meeting decide?

A. Nothing binding — it was a national forum health-checking the SN2025 digital strategy with government, business and citizens, around infrastructure and start-up growth.

Q. Why is it sometimes called the first edition?

A. Because Senegal's national IGF was registered with the UN IGF Secretariat as an NRI in 2017. The series itself dates from 2013 — this was the fifth edition.

Q. Why should I care?

A. Using a multistakeholder forum as a standing review of a national digital strategy is a transferable idea for policy monitoring anywhere.

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

Senegal 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 2017 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.