From 6 to 8 September 2015, Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital and headquarters of the African Union, hosted the 4th edition of forumAfrique on Internet governance. This 2015 edition has the participation of 115 known multi actors from the different countries of Africa and the world.
The draft report below gives the quintessence.
Background of AfIGF
The Africa Internet Governance Forum is Africa’s multistakeholder forum of Internet actors. With other Af* (AFRINIC, AFTLD, AFNOG, AFREN, Africa Internet Summit, Africa CERT and Africa Internet Summit), AfIGF carries the voices and efforts of the African continent to the global agenda, while ensuring that the benefits of a viable information society accrue to every African. It was formally launched in Nairobi, during the global Internet Governance Forum in2011.
The Secretariat of the AfIGF is jointly hosted by theAfrica Union Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in AddisAbaba, Ethiopia.
The Forum’s web site is www.afigf.org. It currently runs social media outlet on Twitter and Facebook.
Objectives of AFIGF 2015
AfIGF aims to be a platform for an inclusive multilateral,multi-stakeholder and multilingual discussion on issues pertinent to the Internet in Africain general and Internet Governance issues in particular.
Specific objectives include:
· To increase awareness and build capacity on Internet Governance for African users to ensure that all stakeholders are well prepared for contribution and interaction.
· To ensure that the concerns of Africa are take into account in the IGF process.
· To put in place a coordinated African process for dealing with Internet governance issues on the continent.
· To strengthen the multi-stakeholder dialogue model for Internet Governance in Africa through regional and national forums.
· To ensure a multi-stakeholder representation of all parts of the continent
· To ensure that all the countries are part of the regional processes and launch/strengthen thei rnational processes.
· To facilitate national and regional exchanges and interactions between countries and regions in continent.
· To facilitate the participation of African stakeholders in AfIGF and other appropriate regional and national Internet Governance Forums.
· To promote use of African languages in the cyberspace.
Participation
115 participants drawn from the government, private sector, academia, research institutions, technical community , civil society organizations, media, and other stakeholders from over 41 countries attended the 4rd African Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF) held between6th and 8thSeptember 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia co-organized by the Africa Union Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
The AfIGF 2015 was officially opened by Hon. Prof. HlengiweMkhize, the Deputy Minister Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services in the Republic of South Africa preceded by awelcome statement by Dr. Jimmy Ocitti Director, Public Information and Knowledge Management United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Remote Participation
AFIGF 2015 ran two concurrent remote participation channels:
1. Livestream platform, with the support of Internet Society African Bureau
2. Twitter platform with support from AFIGF volunteers.
3. Three remote hubs, at the University of Jos, The Gambia and ISOC Uganda Sponsored by the NEPAD Agency.
There were 30 remote participants.
Partners
The fourth Africa IGFwasorganized by the Africa Union Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa with supportfrom:
· AfriNIC
· The Nepad Agency
· ZACentral Registry
· Association forProgressiveCommunications
· Internet Society – ISOC
· ICANN
· International Federation of Library Associations – IFLA
· Google
· Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa
Pre-Conference Workshops
Five pre-conference workshops were organized
1. WSIS + 10: APC in cooperation with the Ministry of ICT of Egypt, AUC and KICTANET
2. Access to Information and Knowledge – The African Virtual Library & Information Network (AVLIN): ECA
3. The Internet and Human Rights: Access to the Internet in Africa as a fundamental human right
4. Capacity building needs for IG and Internet public policy dialogues – NEPAD Agency
5. UNESCO’s Internet Study – Relevance to Human Rights online
It is also worth noting that the African School on Internet Governance was organized prior to the Africa IGF. There was a Gender and Internet Governance Exchange programme which ran parallel to the school)
Global Processes, Regional and National IGFs
The Forum received reports and feedback related to on-going Internet Governance processes from
· The Central African IGF
· East AfricanIGF
· West African IGF
· Southern Africa IGF
Summary of Sessions
The AfIGF received expert presentations on:
· The Future of the IGF and the African Union Declaration on IG
· Connecting the next billion(s)
· Addressing cyber security issues, including SPAM
· Public Access to Information & Knowledge in the context of the SDGs
· Human Rights on the Internet
· WSIS+10 Review
· IANA Stewardship Transition
· Net Neutrality and its implications
· Enhancing Multi-stakeholder Cooperation
· Sustainable Development and the Internet Economy
· The African IGF: The Way forward
Discussions
That followed after the presentations allowed participants to arrive at a number of key recommendations.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Connecting the next billion
1. Connecting those who are not yet connected requires cooperation among all stakeholders, both at the national level, and at the level of regional institutions such as the AU.
2. It requires existing policies and plans being implemented, integrating practices and methodologies which have been successful in the past.
3. Continuity is essential, and should not be interrupted when there is a change in government.
4. Data on access and on the use of the internet should be gathered at country level to enable policy-makers and implementers to make informed decisions.
5. The gender digital divide should be taken seriously by governments and other stakeholders and efforts to bridge it included in policies and actions to extend access.
6. Under guidance of the African Union and Regional Economic Communities, develop a definition of minimum standards for (broadband) Internet access, including issues of affordability and working towards a commercial model for the Internet that is suitable for Africa
Addressing cyber security issues, including SPAM
1. Governments, the private sector and non-governmental organizations should work together to raise public awareness about the risks of spam and of cybercrime and of what can be done to combat it.
2. Enhance capacity building in cyber security of , law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, magistrates and judges.
3. Encourage African government to ratify the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection and to transpose their cyber security laws in the framework of the Convention in such a way as to facilitate international cooperation in preventing and combating these illicit activities;
4. Encourage all African government to update their criminal laws as soon as possible, in order to address the particular nature of cybercrime.. In determining the strength of new legislation States should be encouraged to be inspired by the provisions of the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection.
5. Build international cooperation in cyber security to enhance public protection and to promote more effective information sharing to address cyber crimes issues (effective regulation adoption, anti-spam technology development, and education of service users and providers).
6. Recognise and develop responses that empower women, working with all other stakeholders, to address the emerging issue of online violence against women.
Public Access to Information & Knowledge in the context of the SDGs
1. National, regional and continental Internet Governance Forums should include Librarians as key stakeholders in the process.
2. overnments should work together with regulators, network operators (fixed and mobile) and other stakeholders to ensure rural communities are connected and to bring down the cost of access for everywhere.
3. There should be significant investment in public libraries to equip them with relevant ICT tools to ensure that they play a key role in promoting public access to information. Support the development of libraries as drivers of access to knowledge.
4. Promote the creation of local content online, translation into local languages, and, in order to promote inclusive access and in doing so, take into account levels of illiteracy in Africa, using ICTs to translate contents into oral formats.
5. Lobby for the implementation of access to information laws and develop and implement national open data policies.
6. There should be inclusion of the internet in ICT skills training in various institutions.
7. Government should appoint technically competent persons as Ministers or Deputy Ministers of Communication Technology.
8. There should be capacity building on rights related to access to information for citizens so that they can also advocate for them.
9. Include ICT skills in the school curriculum at a very early stage and provide citizen education on ICT literacy, especially in rural areas.
10. Organize ICT centres for training and delivering services in rural areas.
11. Support efforts to promote a reading culture in Africa.
12. Train journalists in order to improve reporting on access to information.
13. Develop capacity of librarians to be able to respond to and benefit from new trends in technology.
14. Monitor progress in access to information.
15. Understand and articulate clear stance on the gender gaps in access to information and undertake specific actions to address it.
Human Rights on the Internet
1. All countries should deal with access to information as a human right, in terms of: UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNUDHR) Article 19 and the Charter of African and Peoples Rights Article 9.
2. Recognise that meaningful access to ICTs including control over ICTs as a key resource, play and important part in catalysing change towards advancing the status of women and girs, and their human rights.
WSIS+10 Review
Participants developed an African response to the WSIS+10 non-paper of 2 September and which will be forwarded these to the do facilitators.
Net Neutrality and its implications
The African Union in collaboration with UNECA and other partners should convene an African Forum on Net Neutrality
1. Research and analysis should be undertaken at national and regional level on the policy, legal and regulatory implications of Net Neutrality
2. Regulatory agencies should take steps to address concerns raised about Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who engage in practices such as Network Address Translation (NAT) which restrict the type and level of service that end users are availed.
3. Civil society in collaboration with other stakeholders should undertake consumer awareness initiatives on Internet access and usage .
Enhancing Multi-stakeholder Cooperation
1. Build mutual trust and willingness to engage amongst different stakeholders.
Sustainable Development and the Internet Economy
1. Invest in research and development to come up with innovative solutions and services that will drive the African continent forward.
2. Build awareness on e-waste and capacity on strategies to encourage use of renewable resources in ICTs.
General Recommendations
1. African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG):
From 2016, AfriSIG should be held back-to-back with the African Internet Governance Forum
Gratitude
Participants at the fourth Africa IGF express their gratitude to the government and the people of Ethiopia, the Africa Union Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, our sponsors and the volunteers who, each, in their various roles, contributed to a successful Africa Internet Governance Forum
Addis Ababa, Tuesday ,September 8th , 2015.
The Africa Internet Governance Forum
The Rapporteuring Team
Towela Nyirenda Jere
Emilar Vushe
Amessinou Kossi
Antonin Benoit Diouf
Mamadou Ndiaye
Mohamed Timoulali
Barrack Otieno – Coordinator