The importance of an open, global Internet and human-centred digital transition as drivers of development are well documented. Open Internet connectivity is recognised as a promoter of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the goals of the African Union’s ‘Agenda 2063: The Africa we want.’ The African Union Declaration on Internet Governance and the Declaration for the Future of the Internet also embrace this logic and provide fertile ground for new and strengthened digital partnerships between Europe and Africa.
However, putting enabling policy and regulation into practice is not always straightforward. Competing ideas and closed technical, economic and social approaches to internet policy pose challenges to improving key indicators of development, by reducing affordable access, connectivity, human rights and trust in the digital ecosystem. In order to create an enabling environment for an inclusive and human-centred digital transition, governments and stakeholders will need to work together on common approaches to key challenges, and learn from each other’s best practices.
In the margins of ICANN Public Forum in Kigali, the European Union and the Global Initiative on the Future of the Internet, and the German Ministry for Digital and Transport, invite members of the Governmental Advisory Committee to a discussion on accelerating the inclusive digital transition. As part of the event, the organisers will share and discuss four reports that feature case studies of the Open Internet in Africa:
The conference will facilitate an exchange between governments and stakeholders on approaches to key domains of Internet policy and consider several topics, such as identifying the primary hurdles in executing Open Internet strategies within distinct national and regional settings, and exploring scalable opportunities and exemplary methods to hasten open and inclusive approaches in the digital transformation. In addition, the event will question strategies for governmental collaboration with diverse stakeholders to enhance inclusivity and effectiveness in digital development initiatives and examine the roles of ICANN and GAC in influencing the trajectory of a human-centric internet.
This event is part of the Global initiative on the future of the internet, a project funded by the European Union under the service contract no. NDICI/2023/447-807