Zambia IGF 2019 (1st Zambia Internet Governance Forum) — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

The first Zambia IGF met at Cresta Golf View in Lusaka on 7–8 November 2019, drawing more than 87 participants under the theme of Internet governance as a building block for a robust, open, secure and stable Internet, with Bloggers of Zambia helping organise.
Pending cyber legislation and a proposed social media tax took the most fire — 'regulate, but consult widely' and 'a double tax on expression' were the refrains — alongside the cost of .zm domains and the shortage of local-language content.
A police officer as national coordinator and bloggers as co-organisers: the cast itself mirrors Zambia's Internet politics, and the meeting shows how Africa's social-media-tax wave was contested through national dialogue.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on Zambia IGF 2019 (1st Zambia Internet Governance 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	Zambia IGF 2019 (1st Zambia Internet Governance Forum)
Edition	First edition
Dates	7–8 November 2019
Venue	Cresta Golf View, Lusaka, Zambia
Theme	Internet Governance as a building block for a Robust, Open, Secure and Stable Internet in Zambia
Participants	More than 87 participants (official report)
Host	The Zambia IGF organising team, supported by Bloggers of Zambia; national coordinator Michael Ilishebo (Zambia Police Service)

(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. Opening — ZICTA Asks How to Harness Benefits While Limiting Harms

Sessions: Opening session: welcome by national coordinator Michael Ilishebo; guest-of-honour remarks by Elliot Kabalo for the ZICTA Director General

"As we make strides towards achieving a safe digital ecosystem, questions such as how do we harness the benefits of digital technologies while limiting the potential harms to citizens, enterprises, and also governments arise. How do we ensure digital inclusion of all people in this dynamic environment and how to we mitigate the risks associated with bringing large numbers of people online?"
— Elliot Kabalo (ZICTA Manager Standards and Networks, representing the Director General) [1]

National coordinator Michael Ilishebo (Zambia Police Service) stressed the forum's role in surfacing Internet governance issues and feeding resolutions into policymaking — and the need to keep it going [1]
ZICTA framed the national IGF, uniting government, intergovernmental bodies, the private sector, the technical community, civil society and academia, as key to tackling the risks of the digital age amid gradually rising cybercrime [1]

2. Cyber Laws and the Social Media Tax — 'Regulate, But Consult Widely'

Sessions: Panel discussions on Cyber Laws in Zambia and the Social Media Tax, with an open session

Panellists accepted the need for cyber laws but demanded proper consultation — laws that stand the test of time rather than knee-jerk responses — and harmonisation with international frameworks [1]
The proposed social media tax drew sustained fire: it would limit the amplification of voices and access, amount to double taxation on top of airtime levies, and push women further behind in technology; participants also asked where the tax would go and who would benefit [1]
One recorded intervention warned that taxing platforms 'closes the space for young people to express their innovativeness' and called for laws 'that bring positivity rather than the ones that stop people expressing creativity' (speaker unnamed in the report) [1]

3. The .zm Domain — 5,000 Registrations, Yet .com Still Wins

Sessions: Session 'ccTLDs: Having a .ZM domain' by ZICTA engineer Christina Chibesakunda

Zambia has over 5,000 registered .zm domains; ZICTA regulates but does not register, with mandated telecoms — Airtel, Zamtel, ZAMNET, Liquid Telecom, Paratus and others — handling registrations [1]
Challenges cited: .zm costs more than .com, ZICTA has under-marketed the ccTLD, no law lets individuals offer .zm registrations, and sluggish performance pushes companies towards .com [1]

4. Local-Language Content and Digital Inclusion — Publishing in All Seven Local Languages

Sessions: Sessions on Zambian Internet Governance and the Zambian Internet Space

"Of relevant importance also is the development of appropriate Zambian content and applications in all the seven (7) local languages. This, no doubt, will contribute to the enhancement of citizens' digital literacy skills which is critical not only in fostering digital inclusion but promote local participation in content generation"
— Elliot Kabalo (ZICTA Manager Standards and Networks, representing the Director General) [1]

Because most online content is in English, language operates as a barrier to Internet access; participants proposed normalising local-language use starting with social media [1]
Participants were frank that Zambia, an early Internet pioneer, had been overtaken — citing slow development of local solutions and content, and regulation that hinders productive use of the Internet [1]

5. Digital Rights and Internet Health — Expensive Data and a Social-Media-Skewed Internet

Sessions: Sessions on freedom of expression in the digital era and Internet health in Zambia

The forum affirmed that offline rights should apply online, while flagging clauses in the proposed cybersecurity bill — such as gadget confiscation on suspicion — as potential invasions of privacy [1]
High data costs push users onto social-media-only bundles, skewing Zambia's Internet: over 70% of users are reported to use it mainly for social media [1]
The meeting closed with a call to start preparations for the next IGF early enough to enable participation from outside Lusaka [1]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What did the meeting decide?

A. Nothing binding — it was Zambia's first national dialogue on Internet policy. But the message was clear: consult widely on cyber laws, and drop the social media tax, criticised as a double tax that chills expression. Those views were recorded and passed to policymakers.

Q. What was most contentious?

A. The proposed social media tax. Participants asked why users already taxed on airtime should pay again, warned it would push young people and women out of online participation, and questioned where the revenue would go.

Q. Why should I care?

A. Social media taxes were actually enacted in Uganda and elsewhere in Africa, cutting Internet use. This forum shows citizens stress-testing such a policy through open dialogue — a live case study for anyone weighing platform taxation.

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

Zambia 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 2019 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.