Between 3 and 9 September, 60 participants from 26 countries gathered in N’Djamena, Chad, for the seventh African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG), a week of peer learning-based sessions that included hands-on experience which fellows had the opportunity to apply at the African Internet Governance Forum, which took place right after.

How does the internet work? What is an internet protocol? What types of disruptions do we face and what causes them? These were some of the questions addressed at the School, which focused on…

I have always been of the opinion that POLICY IS BORING, I say this every time I have the opportunity to be at gatherings where policy discussions, especially tech/internet  policies are held and I also ask myself all of these times, what can I do to make these conversations more interesting to the people who the outcomes of these conversations will benefit the most?  Getting accepted into the 7th African School on Internet Governance held from the 4th to 9th…

Historically, human beings have fought battles on many fronts and in the 21st Century, competition, rather than cooperation, strife, rather than negotiation, have advanced as the fastest means of achieving a desired outcome. The 7th edition of the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG), during the 9am- 6pm class sessions, beside tables filled with pastry during tea and coffee breaks, and over dinner plates persistently laden with rice, swiftly altered this mindset and exposed me to a time-worn practice; the art of patience latent in time-pressed negotiation.

I was really excited about my selection to participate in the 7th edition of the African School of Internet Governance which took place in the city of N’Djamena, Chad. The school hosted a diverse group of people from the African continent and outside the continent. The five-day training introduced fellows to a wide range of topics and discussions in the internet governance space. Not forgetting the Practicum, which is a practical adaption of multistakeholder discussion and dialogue on a salient issue. This year, fellows worked with the report of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel…

How can accessibility in rural areas of Africa be improved? What are the challenges for women and girls in terms of internet access? How are internet shutdowns affecting African users? These are some of the issues that Josephine Militza, Sophie Ngassa and Amanda Manyame focus on, as African experts on internet access with a strong gender perspective. The three of them share a passion for improving meaningful internet access in the continent and recently attended this year’s African School on Internet Governance…

The African School on Internet Governance (AFRISIG) 2019 ran for six days in  N’Djamena, Chad. It is a yearly event that brings together people from across the continent to promote and strengthen active multistakeholder participation in internet governance in the African continent.

As a technical person, I found the week-long school essential to having a good understanding of the governance side of the internet, which is different from running networks or conducting research on them. Topics related to digital rights, affordable internet access, internet history in Africa,…

When you think of internet governance, you think emerging technologies, Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), young, evolving, borderless. You imagine a room, filled with a plethora of ideas, industry leaders, government representatives, youth, civil society and academics. You, in essence, envisage the 8th African Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF). This year themed “Shared Responsibilities of Stakeholders for a Robust Ecosystem of Internet Governance”, the AfIGF commenced with the inauguration of the African Youth Internet Governance Forum (AYIGF), which is basically a personification of the…

Participar en la Escuela de Gobernanza de Internet de Africa (AfriSIG, por su sigla en inglés) significó para mí varios descubrimientos: que existiera una institución que durante siete años estuviera enseñando de manera organizada este tema complejo, fue la primera lección.

Lo que conocía de gobernanza de internet se debía a la asistencia a varios foros globales, regionales y nacionales sobre el tema. Contar con la posibilidad de aprender los muchos temas de una manera ordenada y coherente le da mucho más sentido a aprovechar aún más estos foros en los que las…

The seventh edition of the African School of Internet Governance has come and gone. I am grateful to the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Deutsche Welle for the joint support that made my participation at this year’s edition of the School possible.

During the five-day event, various faculty members discussed the internet through different lenses, leading to a more holistic understanding of internet governance. 

The one theme that stuck with me, however, was the role that African governments play in the shaping of global internet governance standards,…

To say I was excited when I received the good news of my acceptance to the seventh edition of the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) would be an understatement. I was really over the moon, as I had tried and had not been so lucky the previous year. Having interacted with colleagues who had attended the school in the previous years and who had gone on to do great and inspiring work within the internet governance sphere, I was determined to give it a second shot when the call came out again this year. 

AfriSIG19 has been such an empowering and cutting-edge capacity…

The seventh African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG 2019) took place on 3-9 September 2019. With a track record of producing unique cohorts of internet governance specialists for the continent and beyond, it sets itself apart by building synergies and interpersonal professional relationships that transcend beyond borders and limitations.

As is a tradition for the School, it comes up with a post-event recommendation or solution to a nagging challenge, particularly towards solving internet governance challenges, through a rigorous practicum. This year’s practicum was based on…