Tanzania Internet Governance Forum (TzIGF) 2025 — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

The 12th Tanzania Internet Governance Forum (TzIGF 2025) met on 29 May 2025 at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre in Dar es Salaam under the theme 'Partnership for a Resilient Digital Governance in Tanzania'.
In an extraordinary week that also saw the Africa IGF and Africa Youth IGF convene at the same venue, the national forum debated civic tech, inclusive digital policy, cyber trust, disability rights and women's online safety, adopting seven recommendations and a declaration.
How to build trust in a fast-growing digital market of 92 million SIM cards is the question of a country shifting from quantity to quality in its digital growth — and the week stands as a rare record of national, regional and global IGF processes braided together.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on Tanzania Internet Governance Forum (TzIGF) 2025 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	Tanzania Internet Governance Forum (TzIGF) 2025
Edition	12th edition (both the official report and TMC call it the 12th; the official site's history page says the 12th would come in 2026, but the same site's homepage announces the 2026 meeting as the 13th, consistent with 2025 being the 12th)
Dates	29 May 2025
Venue	Mkomazi Hall, Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC), Dar es Salaam
Theme	Partnership for a Resilient Digital Governance in Tanzania (The phrase 'Cultivating Cyber Trust: Empowering Tanzanians in an Evolving Cyber Landscape', listed as the theme in the catalogue, was actually the title of one session convened by Tech & Media Convergency (TMC); the official report gives the forum theme above)
Keynote	Keynote by Dr. Moses Mwasaga, Director General of the ICT Commission, who officially opened the forum
Outcome	Seven recommendations and a declaration (stronger multistakeholder governance, civic-tech support, inclusive digital policy, cyber trust, protection of women online, mandatory accessibility standards, and thematic working groups)

(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. Resilient Digital Governance — the ICT Commission's Keynote

Sessions: Opening session, 29 May 2025, Mkomazi Hall, JNICC

Dr. Moses Mwasaga, Director General of the ICT Commission, said digital systems now underpin health, education, agriculture, finance and public administration, and that resilient digital governance needs both technological investment and trust — urging every institution to prioritise cybersecurity, data protection and digital literacy [1]
He acknowledged progress in national infrastructure — expanded connectivity and improved e-government — while naming cyber threats, misinformation and limited user capacity as the major remaining challenges [1]
Delivering the welcome on behalf of the TzIGF MAG Chair, Dr. Nazarius Nicholas said the success of digital transformation depends on coordinated action among government, civil society, the private sector, academia, innovators and development partners [1]

2. National, Continental and Youth in One Week — Alongside the Africa IGF

Sessions: Opening session (virtual remarks from the UN IGF Secretariat)

Joining virtually, Anja Gengo of the UN IGF Secretariat commended Tanzania for hosting the national IGF, the Africa Youth IGF and the Africa IGF in the same week, calling it a sign of leadership in digital cooperation [1][3]
She stressed that NRIs are long-term processes connecting local needs to global governance agendas; the Africa IGF 2025 (29-31 May) met at the same JNICC venue, the national forum coinciding with the continental meeting's opening day [1][3]
A newcomers' session run by the secretariat explained how national, sub-regional, regional and global IGF processes intersect [1][3]

3. Cyber Trust — 'Until When Will We Keep Singing Threat, Threat, Threat?'

Sessions: TMC roundtable 'Cultivating Cyber Trust: Empowering Tanzanians in an Evolving Cyber Landscape', moderated by Robert S. Majige

"We must localize this knowledge—translate it into Kiswahili and even indigenous languages. Cyber awareness isn't effective if it can't be understood. Trust grows when people feel seen, heard, and informed"
— Alembe Joseph (Internet Society Tanzania, digital transformation expert) [2]

"We are living the present to lead the future — involve us from the beginning! Young people must be at the table where digital policies are crafted, not just invited to the launch"
— Jenipha Edaphonce (panellist) [2]

"Cyber trust is a journey, not a destination. Let us move beyond dialogue to deliberate, inclusive action because a secure digital Tanzania depends on us all"
— Robert S. Majige (TMC, moderator) [2]

With over 92 million SIM cards and 72% penetration widening the attack surface, panellists discussed the multistakeholder partnerships required by the Government Cyber Security Strategy 2022-2027; TCRA's SITAPELIKI awareness campaign was cited as a trust-building success [2]
Edaphonce challenged fear-driven narratives around new technology: 'Until when will we keep singing Threat, Threat, Threat? Let's talk about opportunity, innovation, and creating smart regulatory frameworks that encourage experimentation and protect users' [2]
To close the urban-rural knowledge gap, Necta Richard proposed community-based telecentres and folding cybersecurity training into vocational and youth-employment programmes [2]

4. Leaving No One Behind — Disability Access and Women's Online Safety

Sessions: Session 4 'Disability Rights & Inclusion' and Session 5 'Women's Online Safety'

Francis Chiwango of MERODI insisted accessibility is a right, not an option, noting many Tanzanian digital services fail accessibility standards; Getrude Jonas shared her own experiences of exclusion — uncaptioned video, poorly structured apps — and argued for universal design [1]
Imani Henrick Luvanga presented evidence of harassment, impersonation and coordinated silencing campaigns targeting women in leadership, journalism and activism, calling for survivor-centred reporting systems and platform accountability [1]
Participants framed online gender-based violence as a barrier to democratic participation, to be addressed through policy, education and community action [1]
In the inclusive-policy session, Kulwa Kapama of the e-Government Authority argued for interoperability frameworks and digital ID, while Judge Wilbard Laltaika grounded digital governance in constitutional protections [1]

5. Seven Recommendations and a Declaration — Working Groups to Carry It Forward

Sessions: Adoption of recommendations and closing ceremony

The seven adopted recommendations: strengthen multistakeholder governance; fund and support civic-tech ecosystems; advance inclusive digital policy and literacy; build cyber trust; protect women online; make disability-access standards mandatory; and establish thematic working groups on cybersecurity, digital rights, digital inclusion and more [1]
The declaration reaffirmed commitment to an inclusive, secure and resilient digital future for Tanzania and support for continental and global IGF processes [1]
Closing the forum, Dr. Nicholas Merinyo Mkapa urged stakeholders to join the newly formed working groups so the recommendations become concrete national action [1]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What kind of meeting was this?

A. The 12th edition of Tanzania's national IGF, held 29 May 2025 at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre in Dar es Salaam under the theme 'Partnership for a Resilient Digital Governance in Tanzania', with five sessions running from civic tech to women's online safety.

Q. What made it special?

A. The Africa IGF and the Africa Youth IGF met at the same venue the same week — the UN IGF Secretariat called hosting all three 'a sign of leadership in digital cooperation'. National debates fed directly into continental and global ones.

Q. Why should I care?

A. A market of 92 million SIM cards asking how to build user trust — with civil society, youth and disability advocates at the table, not just government — is the template national IGFs everywhere aim for. And the reminder that cyber awareness 'isn't effective if it can't be understood' in local languages travels well beyond Tanzania.

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

Tanzania 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 2025 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.