My debut appearance at the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) 2017 was certainly an eye opener in respect of a lot of very important issues related to internet governance, without doubt one of best spaces to start engaging with internet governance issues on continental level.

Distinctively, AfriSIG is a rich melting-pot of professional backgrounds, nationalities, ages, expertise and many other persuasions. This in my view made for very rich ground for networking and getting a multidimensional feel of internet governance issues across Africa under one roof.

But by…

I am a young woman who grew up in the rural areas of Limpopo in South Africa, where there is not much development done, internet is regarded as a luxury, and technology is not exposed. It has therefore been much of a privilege for me to be a participant at the 5th African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG).

In Limpopo, many people have different technological gadgets but use them in a way that is not necessarily beneficial to them. Many people have mobile phones in these rural areas; however, there are times when they do not even have network coverage. And without this network…

Attending the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) is my first experience in any event related to internet governance. This has given me the opportunity to interact with different stakeholders from all walks of life and I enjoyed it.

The school was generally good and constituted a very active and enthusiastic class that inspired participants and resource persons to reason things out together. I liked the diversity of the class, not only from a regional perspective but also from the different professional backgrounds.

Most participants were not new to the internet…

Taking part in the 5th African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) taught me the definition of internet governance, which is defined as the handling of technical coordination required for and policy issues related to the interoperability and smooth functioning of the different components of internet infrastructure and the exchange of information over the internet.

The knowledge I acquired

I was able to understand that:

• There are established cybersecurity policies and laws at the international level, and yet the majority of…

The African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) 2017 has been both an eye opener and learning curve. When coming here I had no idea of the kind of impact and paradigm shift this school would have on me. Initially I had thought that I would come to the school and maybe learn a few things, then go back home and start influencing internet governance.

However, the experience has over-exceeded my expectations. I am originally from Lesotho, which in my opinion, and from the statistics provided by Chenai Chair (on how connected is Africa), is one of the least connected African state. I…

Multistakeholderism… what an alien word to a regulator!

I walked into the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) 2017 with this exact mindset. Working for a regulator gives you false confidence; that you call all the shots, that your decisions are final, that the operators you regulate should either tow the line or change their line of business. We sometimes get so caught up with regulating that we forget the purpose for which we are regulating.

I remember being emphatic during my application for admission to AfriSIG 2017 that I expected to learn how best to regulate…