by Dr. Radut

AfriSIG 2016

The human rights paradigm in internet governance: An interview with David Souter

David SouterDavid Souter is a longstanding associate of APC, and has worked for more than 20 years on the relationship between information and communications technologies (ICTs) and public policy, particularly in the areas of development, the environment, governance (including internet governance) and rights. He joined this year’s edition of the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) as a faculty member, focusing on the relationship between internet governance and human rights.

APCNews: What type of role would the internet play in achieving… Read more

A painting of an African feminist internet

The internet remains one of the historical developments transforming human behaviour, greatly impacting on the social, economic, cultural and political spheres of life at an incredible speed. The recently concluded African Internet Governance Forum held from 16 to 18 October 2016 in Durban, South Africa reaffirmed the great opportunities of the internet, demonstrating its capacity to facilitate economic growth and transform society. Increasingly the internet is changing the way we do business, socialise, engage in politics and activism, and acquire and use information. With a 28.7%… Read more

Mon engagement dans des organismes favorisant le développement de l'Afrique

Je vais vous relater l’une des expériences tant personnelle que professionnelle que j’ai vécu cette année.

J’ai eu l’honneur d‘être parmi quelques participants retenus après le test en ligne pour faire partie de la 4e Édition de l’École Africaine de la Gouvernance Internet (en abrégé AfriSIG2016) du 11 au 18 Octobre 2016 ainsi que de la 5e Édition du Forum Africain de la Gouvernance Internet (en abrégé AfIGF), tous deux à Durban, en Afrique du… Read more

Experiencing the African possibilities, through AfriSIG 2016

The African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) 2016 is one of the most impactful programmes I have attended. I am grateful for the training that will definitely enhance my work around advocacy for open and affordable internet access. The School also enabled informal networking of participants for potential collaborations on projects at grassroots level, which is something I intend to follow up. The School created a platform where fellow countries were able to interact with each other and… Read more

The politics of access

The expansion of access to the internet in Africa is a game of political power and control.

I reached this conclusion as we mapped and analysed the main internet governance issues this past week during the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG). It is apparent that Africa’s contribution to the world’s target of connecting yet another billion largely lies on the shoulders of two main stakeholders – the government and the private sector. Unfortunately, the interests of the two in ensuring access to an open and affordable internet, in the majority of cases, are not always… Read more

African governments should harness the internet to engage with citizens

There is a drive to connect one billion persons worldwide by 2020. As more Africans get online, governments have the responsibility to protect the rights and freedoms of their citizens. Yet what we see currently are increased cases of crackdown on dissenting voices. In Kenya, bloggers have been arrested; in Ethiopia, bloggers have been jailed and continue to face serious threats; in Nigeria, the government is using section 24 of the Cybercrime Act 2015 as a tool for clampdown on bloggers.

Many African countries including Ethiopia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Chad, the Republic of… Read more

AfriSIG 2016: Une expérience impressionnante et très intéressante

Carine Momeni, volontaire et militante des TIC pour le développement à PROTEGE QV (Organisation camerounaise membre du réseau APC) ainsi que professeure de langue espagnole, a eu sa première expérience immergée dans une sphère de la gouvernance de l’internet et raconte son expérience…

Mon expérience de l’école Africaine sur la Gouvernance de l’Internet – en abrégé AfriSIG2016 à Durban en Afrique du Sud, était vraiment impressionnante et très intéressante. Il faut noter que c’était ma première fois d’assister à cette école sur la gouvernance de l’internet en… Read more

Inside the Information Society: Internet governance needs African experience of African issues

I spent last week at the annual African School on Internet Governance – AfriSIG for short – which is organised by APC and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). This post’s in two parts – the first about AfriSIG itself, the second some reflections on the issues raised.

What is AfriSIG?
 
First, let’s describe the School. Forty people from across the continent, from different backgrounds – government and business, civil society and media, technical and far from technical. All engaged with the Internet in… Read more

"AfriSIG has been improving every year": Interview with Dr Mawaki Chango

Dr Mawaki Chango is the Founder & Managing Director of DigiLexis Consulting. Being a recurrrent member of faculty of the AfriSIG, we thought it wise to collect his impressions about the AfriSIG 2016, in comparison with the previous edition.

APCNews: What is your general impression about the school?

Mawaki Chango: My general impression is that it has been improving and this year the diverse backgrounds of the attendees have come out complementarily in a very well-integrated manner.

APCNews: How did you… Read more

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