Ghana Internet Governance Forum 2023 — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

Ghana IGF 2023 met on 6-7 July at the Accra International Conference Centre, organised by the GDNR and ISOC Ghana under the theme 'Building a Secure and Sustainable Digital Future' — announced as a hybrid event expecting over 600 participants.
Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful's keynote pledged to close the digital divide through GIFEC's rural connectivity programmes; the three-tier structure (IGF School, Youth IGF, main forum) framed debates aligned with the UN Global Digital Compact.
The forum was explicitly positioned as Ghana's preparation for the 18th global IGF in Kyoto, Japan, three months later — with the Japanese ambassador announced beforehand as guest speaker, making this an edition directly tied to Japan.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on Ghana Internet Governance Forum 2023 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	Ghana Internet Governance Forum 2023
Dates	6-7 July 2023
Venue	Accra International Conference Centre (AICC), Accra
Theme	Building a Secure and Sustainable Digital Future
Format	Hybrid; organisers announced beforehand that over 600 participants were expected onsite and remotely (no post-event source confirming the actual attendance was found)
Keynote	Keynote delivered by Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications and Digitalisation (confirmed by state broadcaster GBC's post-event report). Pre-event announcements named Japanese Ambassador Hisanobu Mochizuki as guest speaker (his actual appearance is not confirmed by a post-event source)
Host	Organised by the Ghana Domain Name Registry (GDNR) and the Internet Society Ghana Chapter, under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation

(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. The Minister's Keynote — Government Building the Right Environment for Internet Use

Sessions: Keynote address, main forum

"The Ministry is working to bridge the digital divide and promote digital inclusion through the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC)"
— Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications and Digitalisation [1]

The minister said government was working to provide the correct environment for proper internet use and asked the internet community to support it — highlighting GIFEC's community information centres, digital inclusion programmes and capacity building extending services to rural and remote areas [1]
She also cited the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence (AITI-KACE) as the engine for globally competitive ICT research and skills, stressing that implementing the digital agenda requires collaboration with civil society, business, ISPs, academia and the public [1]

2. The Theme — Security and Sustainability Aligned with the Global Digital Compact

Sessions: Forum theme, as presented by the organisers at the launch event

"As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, it is crucial to address the challenges and opportunities that arise in the realm of cybersecurity, digital innovation, and sustainable development"
— Nana Kofi Asafu-Aidoo, Chair of the Ghana IGF Steering Committee [2]

Steering Committee Chair Asafu-Aidoo said the theme reflected the urgency of navigating Ghana's rapidly evolving digital landscape and aligned with the UN Global Digital Compact's vision of an open, free and secure digital future [2]
The main forum combined plenary sessions and parallel workshops on governance frameworks, data protection, and access and affordability, with a recommendations document of principles, commitments and actions announced as the intended outcome [2]
Barbara Antwi of GIFEC's Research and Innovation Unit said the forum aimed to advance universal access in underserved communities and raise Ghanaians' literacy on internet governance issues [2]

3. The Road to Kyoto — National Preparation for the Global IGF in Japan

Sessions: The forum's framing

State broadcaster GBC reported the forum as preparing Ghana to take part in the 18th annual IGF, hosted by the Government of Japan in Kyoto on 8-12 October 2023 under the theme 'The Internet We Want – Empowering All People' [1][2]
Pre-event announcements named Hisanobu Mochizuki, Japan's ambassador to Ghana, as guest speaker — a symbolic link between the global host and a West African national IGF (no post-event source confirms his appearance) [1][2]
Feeding national debate into the global IGF was the pattern across NRIs that year, and Ghana was among the West African countries that made the connection most explicit [1][2]

4. Three Tiers — School, Youth and Main Forum Growing the Next Generation

Sessions: Ghana IGF School / Ghana Youth IGF / main forum

The 2023 edition ran on three tiers: the multistakeholder Ghana IGF School (GIGS) teaching governance fundamentals, the Ghana Youth IGF bringing principles, policies and practice to young people, and the main forum [2][3]
GIGS ran its third annual fellowship call that May, selecting 33 fellows (announced 30 May) with an emphasis on stakeholder diversity [2][3]
The hybrid format, announced as expecting over 600 onsite and remote participants, was designed to open the debate beyond the venue [2][3]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What kind of meeting was this?

A. Ghana's national IGF for 2023, held 6-7 July at the Accra International Conference Centre under the theme 'Building a Secure and Sustainable Digital Future', with a keynote by the communications minister and workshops on data protection, access and affordability.

Q. What stood out?

A. Its framing as Ghana's run-up to the global IGF in Kyoto three months later — Japan's ambassador was announced as guest speaker — plus the established three-tier design: an IGF School, a Youth IGF, then the main forum.

Q. Why should I care?

A. This is what the global IGF looks like from a national vantage point: a West African forum spending two days preparing what to say in Kyoto. It shows how hosting the IGF ripples far beyond the host city.

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

Ghana 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.