by Dr. Radut

Internet governance processes in Africa

Is the future of the internet in Africa fractured?

At its founding, in the late 80s, the internet promised to democratize information, level uneven grounds, and the destroy barriers associated with distance, space, and time. Through promoting communication, coordination, integration at a pace and scale beyond the ability of any government to halt, the connectivity set a foundation for dichotomies so often aligned with colonialism, imperialism, and globalization.

 

Today the internet is not just about inscrutable abstracts on the potential merits of its ubiquity but rather its impact and probable effects on a global scale.… Read more

Artificial intelligence: Where is Africa in the conversation?

Africa continues to work towards addressing the internet access and use divide. However, we now need to find a seat at the table of emerging data-driven solutions. These technologies offer the potential to make life easier and improve decision-making. Specifically, Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to hold the promise of positively impacting education, enhancing financial services, bettering government service… Read more

Internet governance and net neutrality

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) defines internet governance as the development and application by governments, the private sector and civil society of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the internet.1 The internet is a network of autonomous networks of computing devices, which share the same core protocols enabling them to interoperate regardless of the endpoint applications and devices.2

Governance, most simply defined, is a form of control to ensure organisations, communities or societies… Read more

Social media taxes and their impact on the digital economy

Negative.

That’s the ultimate effect in one word!

Social media taxes are taxes charged for the use of social media platforms. We have seen their implementation in a few African countries, including Uganda ($0.05 per day), Tanzania ($0.05) and, for a brief time, Benin. Similar taxes have also been proposed in Zambia ($0.03). The motivations behind this policy are multiple and layered; some governments are attempting to silence their opposition and those who support them, while others are using this tax as a way to make money.

What does this do… Read more

Mainstreaming economics into ICT policy conversations in Africa

Something historic happened by the Nile earlier this month. From 4-6 November 2018, at Corinthia Hotel Khartoum by the banks of that gargantuan and historic river which traverses the African continent, stakeholders from across the continent and the world gathered to participate in the African Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF).

The setting of the AfIGF by the Nile was perhaps figurative. As a colleague mentioned to me, ‘’Oh, you attended the AfIGF by that very contentious river.” By that, he was referring to plans by several nations upstream the Nile to dam it, for purposes… Read more

Overview of the EuroSIG2018 and AfriSIG2018 Internet Society’s Collaborative internet governance project workshop experience

The Internet Society’s Collaborative Internet Governance Project Workshop, facilitated by Larry Strickling and Fiona Asonga of the Internet Society (ISOC), evaluates different negotiation processes by exploring multiple case studies and scenarios. The purpose of the event is to help fellows from the school of internet governance to build their capacity for effective negotiation in complex, real-life situations.

Having run the event with fellows from the European School of Internet Governance (EuroSIG) and the African School of Internet Governance… Read more

AfriSIG 2018: Reflecting on multistakeholder engagement in Africa

This year’s African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) was preceded by a two-day skills training workshop, facilitated by the Internet Society, aimed to equip fellows with the skills to effectively participate in multistakeholder discussions.

Internet governance processes have adopted multistakeholderism as a model for effective dialogue and decision making at a national, regional and global level. A key principle of multistakeholder engagement is that, in order to reach a consensual decision, all stakeholders must be… Read more

African School on Internet Governance wins 2017 WSIS prize for international and regional cooperation

The African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) was announced this week as the winner of a 2017 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prize, awarded by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in a ceremony at the Geneva International Conference Centre during the annual WSIS Forum 2017.

AfriSIG is a joint initiative of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the NEPAD Agency. The School aims to give Africans from diverse sectors and… Read more

The Experience of Complexities and Dynamics in Public Policy Making

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… Read more

AfriSIG2015: “We Africans need to manage our own resources”

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… Read more

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