The 3-Line Summary
- Serbia's second national IGF met on 16 May 2023 at Dorćol Platz in Belgrade, packing geopolitics, cybersecurity, digital rights and AI into a single day of digital-policy debate.
- Four panels — geopolitics and digital spaces, digital surveillance, 'AI between the technologies of rights and freedoms' and IT business — ran alongside a National CERT cybersecurity workshop for journalists.
- The forum shows how a small country's national IGF debated keeping the Internet whole in a time of war and fragmentation; its ransomware simulation for reporters is a model newsroom exercise.
Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on IGF Serbia 2023 (Serbian 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 | IGF Serbia 2023 (Serbian Internet Governance Forum) |
| Edition | Second edition |
| Dates | 16 May 2023 |
| Venue | Dorćol Platz, Belgrade, Serbia |
| Theme | Regional governance themes |
| Format | In-person, 10:00–16:00 CEST, live-streamed on RNIDS's YouTube channel |
| Host | Hosted by RNIDS; co-organised with the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, DiploFoundation, the Internet Society of Serbia (Belgrade chapter) and Gransy, with support from USAID/Internews, RIPE NCC, ICANN and the Office of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality |
(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. Geopolitics and Digital Spaces — Keeping the Internet Whole in an Age of Conflict
Sessions: Panel 'Geopolitics and Digital Spaces', 10:30 (after opening remarks by Chengetai Masango of the UN IGF Secretariat, ICANN's Andrea Beccalli and SEEDIG's Olga Kyryliuk)
- Vladimir Radunović (DiploFoundation), Desiree Željka Milošević (ISOC Serbia Belgrade) and ICANN board member Danko Jevtović spoke, moderated by Slobodan Marković (UNDP) [1][3][5]
- The panel asked how Internet coordination and its future can be protected amid geopolitical tension; the running theme was that neutral stewardship keeps the Internet global [1][3][5]
2. Artificial Intelligence — Between the Technologies of Rights and Freedoms
Sessions: Panel 'Artificial Intelligence Between the Technologies of Rights and Freedoms' (afternoon block)
- Dr Sanja Savčić (University of Novi Sad law faculty), Maja Zarić (Ministry of Information and Telecommunications) and Branimir Todorović (University of Niš) spoke, moderated by RNIDS director Dejan Đukić — pairing legal, governmental and engineering views [1][3]
- The panel examined the state of algorithm development, international organisations' approaches to AI, and the legal implications for rights and freedoms [1][3]
3. Digital Rights and Digital Surveillance — Who Owns Your Footprint?
Sessions: Panel 'Digital Rights and Digital Surveillance', 11:30 (moderator: Bojan Elek, Belgrade Centre for Security Policy)
- Bogdan Banjac (Office of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality), Ana Toskić Cvetinović (Partneri Srbija) and Duško Gudurić (senior adviser to the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance) took part [1][3]
- Discussion centred on digital footprints, expanding surveillance and how individuals' rights can be protected online [1][3]
4. Cyber-Defence Workshop for Journalists — A Ransomware Attack, Simulated
Sessions: Parallel workshop, 10:30, in the 'Koska' space, co-organised by the National CERT and RNIDS (led by Jovan Milosavljević, National CERT)
- The workshop covered common attack types, attackers' motives and self-help precautions; a simulation of a ransomware attack on a media house put journalists in the decision-maker's seat from the victim's perspective [4]
- It also covered protecting newsroom IT infrastructure, including domain locking and defences against DNS attacks [4]
5. IT Business — Serbian Companies and Startups Take Stock
Sessions: IT business panel (afternoon block)
- Filip Karaičić (Quantox Technology), Đorđe Vukotić (startup Joberty), Sanja Kekić (Women4Cyber Serbia) and Dušan Stojičević (Gransy) discussed the sector [1][3]
- The panel weighed business conditions, talent and market challenges and opportunities for Serbia's IT industry amid rapid technological change [1][3]
Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered
Q. So what did the meeting decide?
A. Nothing binding — this was the second annual forum where Serbia's stakeholders debate Internet policy as equals, from geopolitics to AI in one day, feeding the national digital-policy conversation.
Q. What stood out most?
A. The cybersecurity workshop for journalists run with the National CERT: a simulated ransomware attack on a media house put reporters in the shoes of decision-makers at a victim organisation.
Q. Why should I care?
A. Cyberattacks on newsrooms are a global reality, and the journalist-drill format travels well. The forum also shows how a post-Yugoslav country debated Internet fragmentation after the invasion of Ukraine.
What Is Serbia IGF? (for first-time readers)
Serbia 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 2023 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.
Sources & References
- IGF Srbija 2023（大会アーカイブサイト・プログラム） — IGF Serbia（公式） (accessed 2026-07-11)
- Registration is open for IGF Serbia 2023 — RNIDS (accessed 2026-07-11)
- IGF Srbija 2023: geopolitika i internet, digitalna prava, veštačka inteligencija i IT biznis — Ogledalo（セルビア語メディア） (accessed 2026-07-11)
- Održan srpski forum o upravljanju internetom – IGF Srbija 2023（セルビアIGF 2023開催報告） — セルビア国家CERT（Nacionalni CERT Republike Srbije） (accessed 2026-07-11)
- Serbia IGF on 16 May Open to All! — 国連IGF事務局 (accessed 2026-07-11)
Quotes are translated or condensed from the records listed above. Bracketed numbers [n] refer to the source list.
Related links
- IGF official (NRI list): https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/national-and-regional-igf-initiatives
- Japan IGF: https://japanigf.jp/
- Yuki Nakazawa's blog: https://nkzw.jp/category/igf/
Revision History
Rev. 1 — published 20 June 2023, 16:00 (Article published)
Rev. 2 — updated 17 July 2026, 12:32 (Fully revised into the in-depth edition: added the 3-line summary, minutes digest, short talk, source list and diagrams (all quotes verified against the listed sources))
— 中澤祐樹
