Forum National sur la Gouvernance de l’Internet 2024 (FGI-SN / IGF-SN) — eleventh edition — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

On 10 July 2024 the eleventh Senegal national IGF, FGI-SN 2024, met at the Hotel Azalaï in Dakar under the theme 'Strengthening digital governance for digital sovereignty and inclusive growth.'
Two panels — with speakers from the regulator ARTP, data-protection commission CDP, Sonatel and academia — took up the pending data framework law, cutting foreign-technology dependence through local solutions, closing the urban–rural divide, and AI-catalysed skills development.
Its signature was the pipeline design: the national forum closed straight into the opening of the 16th West African IGF at the same hotel the next day. And 'digital sovereignty', first floated at the 2015 edition, finally headlined the forum.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on Forum National sur la Gouvernance de l'Internet 2024 (FGI-SN / IGF-SN) — eleventh edition 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	Forum National sur la Gouvernance de l'Internet 2024 (FGI-SN / IGF-SN) — eleventh edition
Dates	10 July 2024
Venue	Hotel Azalaï, Dakar
Theme	'Renforcer la Gouvernance numérique au Sénégal pour une souveraineté digitale et une croissance inclusive' (Strengthening digital governance in Senegal for digital sovereignty and inclusive growth)
Host	The ISOC Senegal Chapter (FGI Senegal focal point: Maimouna Diop)

(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. Governance Frameworks and Strategic Autonomy — the Data Law and Local Content

Sessions: Panel 1 'Governance framework and digital policy: towards Senegal's strategic autonomy' (moderated by Mberry Seck)

Prof. Mamoudou Niane of the data-protection commission (CDP) addressed a governance framework that protects national interests while enabling innovation; ICT director Aissatou Jeanne Ndiaye reported on drafting the data orientation law and updating cybersecurity, data-protection and e-commerce legislation [1]
Strengthening local content, reducing dependence on foreign technologies and promoting local solutions stood as an agenda item in its own right [1]
Prof. Alex Corenthin took the question of strengthening Senegal's active participation in international internet-governance forums — bridging the national forum to the global process [1]

2. Digital Inclusion and Skills — Divides, AI and Start-ups

Sessions: Panel 2 'Digital inclusion and skills development: guaranteeing a digital transformation for all' (moderated by Ndeye Awa Gueye)

Ousmane Ndiaye of ARTP's universal-service department addressed narrowing the urban–rural digital divide; Dr Idrissa Sarr (UCAD) took digital-skills education at every level with AI as a catalyst [1]
Rokhaya Solange Mbengue of Sonatel covered policies for including marginalised groups — women, the elderly, people with disabilities — in the digital economy [1]
Bassirou Ba of Senegal Connect Park presented strategies to boost the role of start-ups and SMEs in job creation and inclusive innovation [1]

3. National Straight into Regional — Back-to-Back with WAIGF 2024

Sessions: From the closing synthesis (Maimouna Diop) into the WAIGF opening ceremony (same venue)

The official programme placed the WAIGF opening ceremony at the same Hotel Azalaï immediately after the FGI's noon closing synthesis by Maimouna Diop — piping national outcomes straight into the regional forum [1][2][3][4]
WAIGF 2024 (11–12 July, Dakar; theme 'Disruptive technologies: assessment and prospects') convened fifteen member states in hybrid format, backed by the ECOWAS Commission, the UN IGF Secretariat, ISOC and ICANN, with Minister Aliou Sall presiding [1][2][3][4]
Its opening drew WAIGF coordinator Mary Uduma, ECOWAS commissioner Sédiko Douka and UN IGF secretariat head Chengetai Masango, while ARTP DG Dahirou Thiam argued for governance fit for the disruptive-technology era [1][2][3][4]

4. Digital Sovereignty, Nine Years On — a Theme Comes Full Circle

Sessions: The theme choice of FGI-SN 2024

'Digital sovereignty' — pioneered as a theme by Prof. Olivier Sagna at the third edition in 2015 — moved to the heart of the forum's title at the eleventh, closing a nine-year loop in the series' agenda [1]
The official site stated the mission as responsible, transparent and participatory digital governance, and the vision of a Senegal where the internet drives sustainable, inclusive development [1]
It also published the edition's scale — 26 international experts, 10 sessions, 12 partner organisations — with technical-community speakers including Dr Idrissa Sarr of NIC Sénégal [1]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What did the meeting decide?

A. Nothing binding — but it worked through concrete sovereignty measures, from the pending data law to home-grown technology, and fed the results straight into the West African IGF that opened at the same hotel the next day.

Q. What was the highlight?

A. The pipeline: the regional forum opened at the same venue within the hour of the national forum's close, making the IGF's national-regional-global architecture visible as one hotel timetable.

Q. Why should I care?

A. Data legislation, technological autonomy and inclusion are every country's current agenda, and the venue-level linkage of national to regional dialogue is a model worth copying.

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

Senegal 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.