Digitalisation in the African Continent

Africa Strategy, 28 June 2022, 10:00-11:30 CEST

90 minutes discussion on digitalisation in the African Continent  

Organised by RNW Media and its affiliating partners  

On Tuesday 28 June 2022, we are organising an online debate in the Africa Strategy series to talk about digitalisation in the African continent. Register HERE to join us.

Africa has the youngest population in the world. 70% of its Sub-Saharan population is under the age of 30. In the digital age, young people turn to online spaces to find reliable information and plurality of narratives, to participate in political discussions and to engage in important conversations. The average daily time spent using the internet by each internet user in the world is six hours and 58 minutes. These numbers provide valuable context for digital adoption and growth in the world. Most importantly, they underline the role of digitalisation in maximising the impact of any developmental work across all sectors.   

At RNW Media we work with digital media communities to create social change. For us it is important to advance the rights of young people online and offline. This is why we are organising a debate in the Africa Strategy series to talk about digitalisation in the African continent. We find it important to shed light on the significant digital challenges and opportunities of the African context and to make sure that these are given their due importance in global discussions about digitalisation. Therefore, we have invited our partners from Mali, Egypt and Nigeria to look at central themes such as internet infrastructure, equal access to safe and inclusive online spaces and the role of women in advancing digitalisation.  

Mali has the third youngest population in Africa. Our partner in Mali will talk about inclusive technologies in the Sahel region, the influence of colonisation on internet, and solutions that can work locally. Egypt with 71.9% of its population being internet users in 2021, faces completely different challenges. Our Egyptian colleagues will focus on young people’s access to safe online spaces and lay out a roadmap to using these spaces to amplify young voices. Lastly, our partner in Nigeria will share their experience in creating gender-inclusive online communities in which women can engage with topics that are important to them.  

RNW Media, will share a number of its best practices in these regions and will facilitate a lively discussion on a digital Africa: What are the young Africans telling us and how can they play a meaningful role in advancing digitalisation in their countries? How can the international community make sure that their voices are included in global discussions about digitalisation? And how do we ensure that we embed a human rights frameworks in digital spaces?  

Background  

An Africa Strategy is currently being developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Publication is expected in the third quarter of 2022. Partos, together with members and other relevant stakeholders, has organised a number of thematic input sessions in June. The aim of these sessions is to arrive at recommendations for the Africa Strategy. The start of this process will take place on the Africa Day on May 28.   

For each session, a panel of subject matter experts will be assembled (NGOs, African representatives, academics) who will discuss the topic at hand and try to come up with recommendations, led by a moderator. The conversation will be streamed and participants will also be able to provide input. Recommendations will be formulated, which will be published in a bundled form at the end of the track – that is, before the summer break begins – and presented to Minister Schreinemacher. During the workshop on Africa Strategy (organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), some time will be made to announce the trajectory mentioned here and to try to get the Ministry’s commitment to it?