Africa’s quest to counter fake news, which could also be described as a “fear of criticism”, has become increasingly problematic in light of the recent creation of vague laws to address this challenge. The big men of Africa are absolutely terrified of criticism and now, more than ever, they are being hit with the epiphany of how powerful a weapon the internet is. Citizens no longer have to march through the streets to strike against what they deem unfair; they have a collective voice through the internet. With the current revolution taking place on Twitter, through hashtags and the like,… Read more
Afrisig news
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
The sixth African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG), organised by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the African Union Commission (AUC), was attended by 35 fellows and 26 faculty members from different countries who came together for five days to brainstorm, teach, learn, network, dialogue and exchange ideas about issues related to internet governance on a global, regional and local level.
When I got the mail from the AfriSIG organisers confirming that my application was successful, I was super excited. I started packing my bag a week prior to the school.… Read more
My interest in internet governance issues was sparked when I coordinated a project on internet access for women in northern Nigeria in 2016 with the ultimate goal of bridging gender digital exclusion and promoting greater access to the use and benefits of internet to women.
Following this experience, I began to apply to participate in internet governance forum events. Initially, I had little success, but my dream eventually came to fruition in August 2018 when I received an invitation to the 2018 African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG). When I first heard about AfriSIG, I was… Read more
No matter how many times I sit in a space that is reflecting on, learning from or critiquing issues around gender, I am always both pleased and flummoxed by the range of perspectives in the room, with some people gasping at the idea that gender is and always has been a spectrum and other people strongly affirming the importance of LGBTIQA inclusion in all spaces including, in this case, on the internet.
APC invited me to participate in this year’s African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG), which took place in Zanzibar, less than 100 metres from the warm waters of the Indian… Read more
I have wanted to attend the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) ever since I participated in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) as an ISOCYouth@IGF fellow last year. It was through this formative experience that I first developed a passion for internet governance. Even with my limited background in the field, I decided to organise the Arusha Women School of Internet Governance (AruWSIG) and the Tanzania School of Internet Governance (TzSIG) with the hopes of sharing my newfound knowledge with my community.
When I received confirmation of my acceptance to AfriSIG, I… Read more
Sur l’art de la négociation par Larry Strickling. Lary S. est un négociateur fin, ayant travaillé sous l’administration de Barack Obama. Cette année, l’école sur la gouvernance de l’internet en Afrique a eu l’honneur les 10 et 11 octobre 2018 de voir la participation de Larry Strickling en tant que formateur.
“Connais-toi toi-même et tu connaîtras l’univers et les dieux” disait Socrate. Cette citation illustre très bien l’une des grandes leçons exposées par Larry lorsqu’il parle du profil de négociateur. En effet, d’après Larry, chaque être humain, dispose d’un… Read more
When I was first accepted to join the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG), I thought that it would be a dense, academic course, with tech experts and policy makers coming together to discuss issues around internet governance. Coming from a non-tech, civil society background (my work is on curbing hate speech in Nigeria through online reporting and countering), I arrived at AfriSIG as a novice to the internet governance table. My perception was that internet governance is all about monitoring and governing content online with a focus on data… Read more
La 6e École africaine sur la Gouvernance de l’Internet (AfriSIG) qui se tient à Zanzibar en Tanzanie du 11 au 16 octobre 2018, réunit trente-cinq apprenants et une vingtaine d’encadreurs, experts et personnes ressources. L’AfriSIG est un cours intensif annuel d’apprentissage et de partage des connaissances de cinq jours, organisé par l’Association pour le Progrès des Communications (APC) et la… Read more
Life is a series of relationships, whether business or personal, and each of these relationships must be based on trust. The aim of the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) is to give Africans from diverse sectors and stakeholder groups the opportunity to gain knowledge and confidence to participate effectively in internet governance processes and debates nationally, regionally and globally. For us to achieve that, we must be trustworthy and trusting. Our first exercise during the AfriSIG class of 2018 was the oil pricing exercise, from which I… Read more