The 10th edition of the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) took place from 16 to 18 July 2022 and focused on international cybersecurity. It was held as a pre-event to the African Internet Governance Forum held in Lilongwe, Malawi. On 15 June 2022, there was a three-hour virtual consultation prior to the School.
AfriSIG’s goal is to develop a pipeline of leading Africans from diverse sectors, backgrounds and ages with the skills to participate in local and international internet governance structures and shape the future of the internet landscape for Africa's development.
AfriSIG 2022 output document
This document (you can also see an abridged version here) was developed as an input into the Open-Ended Working Group on ICTs during a multistakeholder consultation held in Lilongwe, Malawi from 16 to 18 July 2022 immediately prior to the 11th African Internet Governance Forum. The consultation, linked to the 10th African School on Internet Governance, convened by the Association for Progressive Communications and Global Partners Digital, was attended by a diverse group of individuals from African governments, law enforcement and security agencies, the African Union Commission, civil society organisations, digital rights and media groups, and cybersecurity experts. Participants in the consultation who contributed to this document in their individual capacity are listed in the annex at the end of the document.
About AfriSIG
The African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) is a joint initiative of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), the Information Society division of the African Union Commission (AUC) and Research ICT Africa. Its goal is to develop a pipeline of leading Africans from diverse sectors, backgrounds and ages with the skills to participate in local and international internet governance structures, and shape the future of the internet landscape for Africa's development. You can read more about the School at the AfriSIG website. This year AfriSIG is partnering with Global Partners Digital to gather existing and emerging leaders from all stakeholder groups in the field of international cybersecurity.
About AfriSIG 2022
The 10th annual AfriSIG responded to the opportunity created by the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee’s Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on ICTs. It did so by inviting participants from governments, civil society, business, the technical community, the media and other relevant stakeholder groups who are already participating in international cybersecurity debates from an African perspective. It also focused the School’s content and participation on relevant topics, with a view to feeding into the OEWG directly.
AfriSIG 2022 consisted of a series of linked events:
- A three-hour virtual consultation on 15 June *.
- An in-person three-day learning event on 16-18 July held as a pre-event to the 11th African Internet Governance Forum to be held in Lilongwe, Malawi from 19 to 21 July. The face-to-face event included a practicum component whereby participants identified African regional priorities on capacity development for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, with a view to developing a multistakeholder input for the July 2022 OEWG session. This event offered some opportunity for virtual participation.
- A one-day consultation and capacity-strengthening workshop held as a pre-event to the global Internet Governance Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (26 or 27 November).
(*) A summary of the virtual consultation held on 15 June 2022 is now available here.
Participants
AfriSIG 2022 involved over 40 participants including faculty and resource persons. Participation was by invitation to governments, civil society organisations, business entities and technical and research organisations who have participated in the Open-ended Working Group and in previous Groups of Governmental Experts. As always, AfriSIG strived for gender parity and regional diversity.
See the full list of participants in the three-hour virtual consultation on 15 June here, and the full list of participants in the in-person three-day learning event on 16-18 July here.
Organising partners
AfriSIG 2022 was organised by the Association for Progressive Communications and Global Partners Digital, collaborating closely with the African Union Commission and Research ICT Africa. The organisers also worked closely with the African Internet Governance Forum Multistakeholder Advisory Group and Secretariat.
