In the opening session at this year’s Gender and Internet Governance eXchange (gigXAfrica), participants highlighted some key questions they had that they hoped would be answered during the exchange. One participant innocently asked: if the internet is free for all, how are women really marginalized in that space? This is my attempt at a calm response to this question that I am slowly realising occupies the minds of many.

Indeed, the internet is now generally widely accessible, seemingly offering countless opportunities and…

I first heard this statement on the first day of the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) in Dr David Souter’s lecture and overview of the Internet governance ecosystem and its key players.

Initially, I silently disagreed and to an extent, did not quite grasp the full meaning of the statement at the time. In my mind, in any discourse that seeks to incorporate the input of several stakeholders, the objective would be to win, leaving such a process after having successfully pushed through one’s stakeholder interests and positions. Otherwise what would be the point of even…

Before I attended the Gender and Internet Governance eXchange (gigX) I did not think there was anything I could say related to gender activism. The last four days have reaffirmed the saying shared on the first day “if you are not at the table you will be on the menu”.

There is often an assumption that gender issues are only women’s rights issues but they operate on a principle of inclusivity for all-marginalised, invisible members of society. Our different intersectionalities may sometimes result in us assuming or not seeing the issues affecting others.

The gigX showed…

Maha Jouini is an Addis Ababa-based Tunisian blogger, and women’s rights and indigenous rights activist, with a special focus on the Amazigh community. She collaborates with the Campaign to End Child Marriage   and is on the executive board of the Regional Coalition of Women Human Rights Defenders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). She is also a translator for Global…

Cameroonian association PROTEGE QV stands for “Promotion of Technologies that Guarantee Environment and a better Quality of Life”. Since 1995, it has worked in promoting rural development, protecting the environment and improving the well-being of communities in Cameroon. In 2007, it joined APC as the first central African member with the following motto: “We believe in the power of ICT to give equal access to information as a strategy to fight against…

Sandra Kambo, from AS&K Digital Communications, is a software and test engineer. She has practiced this role for the past five years in the decade she has been involved in ICT. One of the day to day challenges is managing the developers she works with for purposeful issue resolution.  Exciting bits of her career include self- tutoring on test automation as well as being selected as an emerging leader from Kenya to attend the US State department Techwomen program in 2014 to benefit from a professional mentorship in Silicon Valley. Sandra is interested in the…

Loyce Kabahima works with Isis-WICCE, a feminist organization whose mandate is to strengthen women’s leadership and potential in post conflict settings. She hold a Master’s degree in Development Studies.  She has over six years of managing and communicating women’s rights information and managing ICT4D projects.  She is in charge of managing and communicating organizations information and knowledge using various communication channels and platforms such as website, social media and print. She has also managed ICT4D…

 Zoe Titus is a former print journalist who has branced out into media development work in which she has been engaged with for the last 16 years. She currently works for the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) which is the premium media freedom and freedom of expression advocacy organisation in southern Africa. Moving from mainstream media to media development, and coming to realise that many media development organisations work on an assumption that all journalists/media professionals understand and support press freedom. I have…

Dr. Sami Salih, founder and chair of the Sudanese IPv6 Task Force (SDv6TF) since 2010. During his position at the telecom regulatory authority (NTC Sudan) as head of R&D he participated in many events organized by ICT related organizations such as ITU, AfriNIC, ICANN and other regional and international events since 2006.
Furthermore, he established an authorized training center for IPv6 in Sudan in collaboration with NAV6 Malaysia. He is appointed by ITU to develop national strategic migration plans toward deploying…