The 3-Line Summary
- The 9th GeoIGF met on 14 December 2023 at Rooms Hotel Tbilisi and online, opened by a Communications Commission member, the deputy economy minister and a USAID programme head.
- By the regulator's account, the agenda centred on Georgia's digital potential, 5G rollout and building media literacy.
- It proved to be the last annual edition for a while: no forum is recorded for 2024 or 2025, and the 10th did not follow until February 2026 — a reminder of how fragile national IGFs can be.
Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on GeoIGF 2023 (9th 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 2023 (9th Georgian Internet Governance Forum) |
| Dates | 14 December 2023 |
| Venue | Rooms Hotel Tbilisi (14 Merab Kostava Street) and online |
| Theme | Regional governance themes |
| Format | Hybrid (the official IGF NRI page records the meeting as held 'in Tbilisi and online') |
(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. Digital Potential and 5G — The Ninth Edition's Core Agenda
Sessions: Multiple sessions
- ComCom reported that the forum discussed the country's digital potential, 5G and media-literacy development opportunities and challenges (ComCom news item, confirmed via search snippets) [3]
- The opening featured ComCom member Natia Kukuladze, Deputy Economy Minister Guram Guramishvili and USAID private-sector development head David Tsiklauri — a new supporting cast that now included the US development agency [3]
2. A Two-Year Gap Before the 10th — When the Annual Rhythm Broke
Sessions: Multiple sessions
- The official IGF NRI page records the 9th meeting on 14 December 2023 in Tbilisi and online; the official agenda placed it at Rooms Hotel Tbilisi (igf.ge) [1][2][4]
- No 2024 or 2025 edition is recorded anywhere in the organisers' materials; the 10th forum came on 11 February 2026, hosted by ComCom, the Economy Ministry and the telecom operators' association (ComCom announcement) — ending, for a time, an annual run unbroken since 2015 [1][2][4]
Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered
Q. What did this meeting decide?
A. Nothing binding — it was the annual dialogue of government, regulator, business and civil society, this time centred on 5G and media literacy, with USAID newly at the opening.
Q. What stood out most?
A. What came after: no forum in 2024 or 2025, with the 10th edition only in February 2026. Keeping a volunteer-driven national IGF running every year is harder than it looks.
Q. Why should I care?
A. Media literacy against disinformation is urgent everywhere, and the struggle to simply keep a dialogue forum alive is one every national IGF community shares.
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 2023 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.
Sources & References
- Agenda 2023（GeoIGF 2023アジェンダ・12月14日、ルームズ・ホテル・トビリシ） — GeoIGF公式サイト（igf.ge） (accessed 2026-07-11)
- Georgia IGF（NRI登録ページ・第9回は2023年12月14日にトビリシとオンラインで開催と記載） — UN IGF Secretariat (accessed 2026-07-11)
- 第9回ジョージアIGF参加報告（ニュース一覧ページ経由で存在確認・記事単体URL未特定） — ジョージア通信委員会（ComCom） (accessed 2026-07-11)
- ComCom, Ministry of Economy and Association of Telecom Operators Hold the 10th Internet Governance Forum — ジョージア通信委員会（ComCom） (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 5 June 2023, 15:00 (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
