CIPESA, MICT, NamIGF partner on FIFAfrica25 - ITREALMS

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The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) has announced that the 2025 edition of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica25) will be co-hosted in partnership with the Namibian Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) and the Namibia Internet Governance Forum (NamIGF), reports ITREALMS.

This year's forum, ITREALMS gathered, marks a significant milestone in FIFAfrica's 12-year history of bringing together digital rights defenders, policymakers, technologists, academics, regulators, journalists, and the donor community to advance internet freedom in Africa.

Digital Rights: CIPESA to unveil 10 African champions - ITREALMS

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All is now set for the Uganda-based Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) to unveil, tomorrow, January 31, 2024, its latest report on 10 digital rights experts across the continent of Africa, reports ITREALMS.

CIPESA also said that the champions topped list of those who have played pivotal role in shaping the continent’s digital and Internet freedom advocacy landscape over the past 10 years.

Titled “A Decade of Internet Freedom in Africa: Reflections and Insights from 10 Change Makers,” the report launch will take place on January 31, 2024, via a webinar structured as a “Town Hall” discussion, where the featured experts will delve into their insights and reflections on the current state of digital rights in Africa. 

The focus will be on key lessons learned and considerations for the next decade in digital rights activities. According to CIPESA, this initiative aims to continue inspiring and informing efforts towards achieving greater internet freedom in Africa.

Dr. Wairagala Wakabi, the Executive Director of CIPESA, describes this report as a special edition commemorating the 10th anniversary of the State of Internet Freedom in Africa (SIFA) report and the annual convening of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica). The goal is to share the reflections, insights, and perspectives of the featured experts, contributing to the ongoing pursuit of enhanced internet freedom in Africa.

ITREALMS gathered that some experts featured in the report include individuals such as Mr. Gbenga Sessan, the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative; Mr. Arthur Gwagwa, a Research Scholar at Utrecht University in The Netherlands; Mr. Edetaen Ojo, the Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA); Ms Emilar Gandhi, the Head of Stakeholder Engagement and Global Strategic Policy Initiatives at Meta (formerly known as Facebook); and Dr. Grace Githaiga, the Chief Executive Officer and Convenor of Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet).

In his foreword to the report, Dr. Wakabi emphasizes the challenges Africa has faced in achieving internet freedom, including state censorship, internet shutdowns, surveillance, and the use of repressive laws. He notes the persistent digital divide, highlighting limited internet access, poor infrastructure, high connectivity costs, and low digital literacy levels as ongoing obstacles.

Dr. Wakabi acknowledged the evolving threats to internet freedom, such as disinformation, information manipulation, and cyber-attacks, potentially fueled by artificial intelligence. 

ITREALMS gathered that the report sought to address these challenges by presenting insights and reflections from the featured experts, providing valuable perspectives for shaping the future of internet freedom in Africa.

Dr. Wakabi called for inclusive advocacy efforts, urging individuals to join the path illuminated by these changemakers. 

He, therefore, called for a more free, secure, and open internet in Africa to ensure that more people connect, no one is left behind, and no voices are silenced.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

CIPESA goes to Accra with FiFAfrica’18 - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) has said that all is now set for the fifth edition of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) in Accra, capital of Ghana, reports ITREALMS.

This year, ITREALMS gathered that the Forum to be hosted in partnership with the Media Foundation West Africa (MFWA) would take place from Wednesday, September 26 through Friday, September 28, 2018.

Also, the forum prides itself as a landmark event that convenes various stakeholders from the internet governance and online rights arenas in Africa and beyond to deliberate on gaps, concerns and opportunities for advancing privacy, access to information, free expression, non-discrimination and the free flow of information online on the continent.

According to Juliet Nanfuka, the Research and Communications Officer at CIPESA, since inception, FIFAfrica has also served as a platform to mark the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI).

Engagements at the Forum, she said, aim to reflect current trends and concerns in access and usage of the internet and related technologies on the continent.

“As such, each year has seen the launch of themed research on the State of Internet Freedom in Africa. Last year, we also launched a key report on Calculating the Economic Cost of Internet Disruptions in Sub-Saharan Africa,” she said.

While the 2014, 2015 and 2016 editions of FIFAfrica were hosted in Uganda, in 2017, the Forum was hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa in partnership with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), an international network and non-profit organisation that works towards a free and open internet.

Indeed, spreading the physical footprint of FIFAfrica across different regions of the continent ensures that the Forum lives up to its goal of unpacking internet freedom challenges and opportunities in sub-regions of Africa and developing responses that are collaborative, and informed by insights from the experience of other sub-regions of the continent.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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