BHIGF 2024 (Bosnia and Herzegovina Internet Governance Forum / BH IGF) — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

The fifth Bosnia and Herzegovina IGF met at the Swissotel Sarajevo on 28 November 2024 under the theme 'Shaping Responsible Internet Governance – Connecting Local Challenges with Global Solutions'.
Three panels — the lag in systemic governance, big-platform content moderation in small countries, and disinformation and AI — were flanked by a keynote from rights expert Dunja Mijatović and speakers from the UN IGF Secretariat and EFF; recommendations went on to IGF 2024 in Riyadh.
One finding ran through the day: BiH is the only country in the region without a national digital-security strategy. And its complaint — that platforms ignore small markets — echoes for every small country online.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on BHIGF 2024 (Bosnia and Herzegovina Internet Governance Forum / BH IGF) 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	BHIGF 2024 (Bosnia and Herzegovina Internet Governance Forum / BH IGF)
Edition	Fifth edition
Dates	28 November 2024, 09:00–14:00
Venue	Swissotel Sarajevo, Vrbanja 1, Sarajevo
Theme	'Shaping Responsible Internet Governance – Connecting Local Challenges with Global Solutions' (Oblikovanje odgovornog upravljanja internetom – Povezivanje lokalnih izazova s globalnim rješenjima)
Supporters	Hanns Seidel Stiftung, the Internet Society, the Internet Society Foundation, the U.S. Embassy in BiH, IGFSA and Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency)
Host	Organising committee: BIRN BiH, the citizens' association 'Zašto ne?' (Why Not), the FBiH Centre for the Education of Judges and Prosecutors, the Coalition for Freedom of Expression and Content Moderation in BiH, and the University of Sarajevo Faculty of Political Sciences
Outcome	Recommendations were submitted to the global IGF 2024 in Riyadh that December

(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. Toward Systemic Governance — Homework for a Country Without a Digital Strategy

Sessions: Session 1 on BiH's challenges in a systemic Internet-governance approach, 10:15–11:15, with Minister of Communications and Transport Edin Forto, Anja Gengo (UN IGF Secretariat), Arben Murtezić (CEST FBiH) and Feđa Kulenović (University of Sarajevo)

"We could have one serious cyberattack that freezes all processes in our society"
— Edin Forto, BiH Minister of Communications and Transport [3][2]

Speakers noted BiH is the region's only country without a national digital-security strategy, and Minister Forto pressed for a new electronic-communications law aligned with EU legislation [3][2]
Anja Gengo of the UN IGF Secretariat flagged capacity development and AI as the pressing topics, pointing to Estonia's digital transformation, while Murtezić argued governance depends as much on a society's culture as on its laws [3][2]

2. Big Platforms, Small Country — Content Moderation Ignored

Sessions: Session 2 on large platforms' content moderation in small countries, 11:30–12:30, with Jillian C. York (EFF), Maida Ćulahović (Zašto ne?), Maja Ćalović (Content Moderation Coalition) and Edin Ikanović (Srebrenica Memorial Centre)

EFF's Jillian C. York described how platforms neglect the local languages, dialects and cultural contexts of small markets [2][4]
Because major platforms rarely answer to a small, unregulated market like BiH, the Content Moderation Coalition argued for building up civil society's collective leverage [2][4]
The Srebrenica Memorial Centre's presence underscored the country's defining moderation problem: genocide-denial content [2][4]

3. Disinformation and AI — Deepening Divides or Bridging Them

Sessions: Session 3 on transitional challenges against foreign disinformation and AI, 12:45–13:45, with Senka Krivić (University of Sarajevo), Lamija Silajdžić (Faculty of Political Sciences) and Irvin Pekmez (Detektor)

Silajdžić warned that disinformation risks deepening BiH's existing social divides, with media losing public trust as they are seen as tools of political structures [2][4]
The poor finances of traditional media — and the resulting near-absence of training for journalists on AI-generated content — were named as a structural weakness [2][4]
The forum's conclusions listed the key gaps: under-investment in media literacy, missing government cyber protocols, and no inclusive dialogue between authorities and civil society [2][4]

4. Three Roles for the Media — Mijatović's Keynote and the Road to Riyadh

Sessions: Keynote and closing, with Dunja Mijatović, expert on human rights and new technologies and a Sarajevo native

"The media has three key roles: to promote responsibility, media literacy, and to clarify local and global perspectives"
— Dunja Mijatović, expert on human rights and new technologies [2][3]

Mijatović noted BiH's lack of a national digital-security strategy and its regional lag, calling for a joint effort by citizens, institutions and the private sector [2][3]
UN Resident Coordinator Ingrid MacDonald stressed the danger of disinformation combined with hate speech and the need for child-protection mechanisms [2][3]
BIRN BiH's Denis Džidić insisted the whole community be drawn into the debate and announced the forum's recommendations would go to the UN IGF in Riyadh in December [2][3]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What kind of meeting was this?

A. Bosnia and Herzegovina's fifth national IGF — the second year after its revival, now with a settled committee and an international cast: a government minister, the UN IGF Secretariat and the EFF, debating governance gaps, platforms, disinformation and AI.

Q. What was the most contentious point?

A. That big platforms barely engage with BiH, a small and unregulated market. Local languages and context get ignored, so the country's most toxic content — like genocide denial — slips through moderation.

Q. Why should I care?

A. The 'small language, thin moderation' problem applies to most of the world's markets. And the forum's pipeline into the UN's IGF in Riyadh shows exactly how national dialogues reach the global stage.

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

Bosnia 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.