The 3-Line Summary
- On 14–15 December 2015, the Council of Europe and the Georgian National Communications Commission convened the forum 'Human Rights in the Internet Space' at the Hotel Radisson in Tbilisi — the meeting later counted as the first GeoIGF.
- Over two days, participants discussed internet governance actors and institutions, standards of free expression online, information security and data protection, and online journalism in Georgia.
- Born under Council of Europe patronage with human rights as its starting point, this first edition set the agenda-shaping pattern for every GeoIGF that followed — a post-Soviet state planting a standing multistakeholder dialogue.
Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on GeoIGF 2015 (1st Georgian 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 | GeoIGF 2015 (1st Georgian Internet Governance Forum) |
| Dates | 14–15 December 2015 |
| Venue | Hotel Radisson, Tbilisi |
| Theme | Human Rights in the Internet Space |
| Host | Council of Europe in partnership with the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) |
(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. Human Rights in the Internet Space — A Council of Europe Starting Point
Sessions: Opening session (14 December, 9:30)
- The forum was opened by Christian Urse (head of the Council of Europe representation), GNCC Chairman Vakhtang Abashidze and Carlo Natale, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Georgia (GNCC press release) [1]
- Standards of freedom of expression online and human rights protection anchored the two-day programme, importing Council of Europe norms into the Georgian context [1]
2. Actors and Institutions — Georgia's First Multistakeholder Dialogue
Sessions: Multiple sessions
- A survey of internet governance actors and institutions gave Georgia its first national-IGF-style dialogue among government, regulator, civil society and international organisations (GNCC press release) [1][3]
- The official IGF NRI record describes GeoIGF as an annual conference established in 2015 with Council of Europe support — making this meeting the origin of the series [1][3]
3. Information Security and Online Journalism — Georgia's Ground-Level Issues
Sessions: Multiple sessions
- Information security and protection, online journalism in Georgia and the regulatory norms governing the internet were all on the agenda (GNCC press release) [1][2]
- Media freedom support was a pillar of the Council of Europe's Georgia projects, under which GeoIGF continued to receive backing year after year [1][2]
Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered
Q. What did this meeting decide?
A. Nothing binding — it was a dialogue forum where government, regulator, civil society and international bodies met as equals. What it created was the framework itself: an annual Georgian IGF.
Q. Why was the Council of Europe involved?
A. Georgia is a Council of Europe member and was pushing towards the EU at the time. The forum was co-organised under a CoE project bringing European human-rights and free-expression standards into internet policy.
Q. Why should I care?
A. It is a textbook case of how a national IGF gets started — proof that even a country of under four million can build a standing, rights-based forum for internet policy.
What Is Georgia IGF? (for first-time readers)
Georgia 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 2015 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.
Sources & References
- Internet Governance Forum – Human Rights in the Internet Space — ジョージア国家通信委員会（GNCC / Communications Commission） (accessed 2026-07-11)
- Supporting Freedom of Media and Internet in Georgia — 欧州評議会ジョージア事務所（Council of Europe Office in Georgia） (accessed 2026-07-11)
- Georgia IGF（NRI登録ページ） — UN IGF Secretariat (accessed 2026-07-11)
- 第5回GeoIGF開幕発表（2015年以来毎年開催と記載） — ジョージア経済持続開発省 (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 9 June 2015, 10:00 (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
