Iniciativa Portuguesa do FGI 2024 — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

On 19 November 2024 the Portuguese FGI initiative met at Universidade Aberta in Lisbon around four pillars: AI, digital human rights, cybersecurity, and digital trust and cooperation.
'Always a human in the AI loop' and submarine-cable resilience headlined the conclusions, compiled as the Mensagens de Lisboa 2024 and delivered to the global IGF in Riyadh the following month.
With Google, ICANN, UNESCO-linked academics and regulators on stage, it shows a national IGF feeding its messages straight into the UN process.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on Iniciativa Portuguesa do FGI 2024 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	Iniciativa Portuguesa do FGI 2024
Dates	19 November 2024
Venue	Universidade Aberta (Saldanha campus), Lisbon
Theme	AI, human rights in the digital realm, cybersecurity, and digital trust and cooperation (cross-cutting: sustainability, emerging tech, gender equality)
Host	.PT, ANACOM, APDC, APDSI, CNCS, CIS, DECO, FCT, Women in Tech and other partners
Outcome	'Mensagens de Lisboa 2024' (22 pages), presented at the global IGF in Saudi Arabia (15–19 December 2024)

(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. Privacy, Inclusion and Freedom — The Rights Most at Risk

Sessions: Session 1 on privacy, inclusion and freedom (José Magalhães; Paulo Fonseca, DECO; Raquel Brízida Castro, Univ. of Lisbon Law; mod. Luís Vidigal, APDSI)

'Privacy, inclusion and freedom, in their many dimensions, stand out as the fundamental rights most threatened by digitalisation' (Mensagens 2024, translated from Portuguese) [1][2]
The rights-innovation intersection demands adaptive regulation that keeps pace with change [1][2]

2. AI for the Common Good — 'Always a Human in the Loop'

Sessions: Session 2 'AI for the Common Good' (Helena Martins, Google; Joana Gonçalves de Sá; Joaquim Jorge, UNESCO/IST; mod. Sandra Fazenda Almeida, APDC)

'There must always be a human in the AI loop' — to guarantee ethical decision-making and stop biases from being perpetuated (Mensagens 2024, translated from Portuguese) [1][2]
Industry (Google), UNESCO-linked academia and data scientists debated side by side [1][2]

3. Critical-Infrastructure Resilience — Submarine Cables Go Multilateral

Sessions: Session 3 on critical-infrastructure resilience (Felipe Pathé Duarte, NOVA; Frederico Dias, SIBS; João Alves, ANACOM; Rui Pereira, CNCS)

Submarine-cable incidents require coordinated international response, with the International Advisory Group for Submarine Cable Systems Resilience (est. September 2024) cited [1][2]
Payments infrastructure (SIBS), the regulator and the national cybersecurity centre reviewed dependencies at one table [1][2]

4. International Cooperation — Multistakeholderism as the Basis of Trust

Sessions: Session 4 on digital services and international cooperation (Ana Neves, FCT; Andrea Beccalli, ICANN; Joana Duarte, ERC; Manuela Quintano, ANACOM)

'The multistakeholder model is essential for mutual trust to exist' (Mensagens 2024, translated from Portuguese) [1][2]
The messages were delivered to the IGF in Riyadh that December — the national-to-global circuit in action [1][2]

5. Digital Humanism — Balancing Efficiency and Humanity

Sessions: Session 5 on digital humanism (João Cruz, BCSD Portugal; Rui Maia Rego and Sandra Caeiro, Universidade Aberta)

Technology should improve human life, not replace it; efficiency gains must be balanced with sustainability and room for human reflection [1][2]
Faculty of the host distance-learning university led the sustainability strand [1][2]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What was this?

A. The 2024 edition of Portugal's national IGF, held 19 November at Universidade Aberta in Lisbon around AI, digital rights, cybersecurity and trust.

Q. The main message?

A. 'Always a human in the AI loop.' The other headline was submarine-cable resilience, debated just after the new international advisory group was created in September 2024.

Q. Why care?

A. Cable security and human-centric AI are the same debates running through every national digital agenda, and the forum's messages went straight to the UN IGF in Riyadh.

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

Portugal 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 2024 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.