Countdown to The Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2021 (#FIFAfrica21) – Here Is What You Can Expect! – Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

FIFAfrica21 |

The five-day countdown to the eighth edition of the annual Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2021 (FIFAfrica21) is on!

While revolving around three primary themes of Access to Information, Digital Inclusion, and Key Trends shaping digital rights in Africa, the Forum will serve as a platform to dissect and deliberate on topics shaping the digital rights agenda in the continent and other parts of the world.

Setting the stage for FIFAfrica, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) will host a keynote panel featuring journalist and writer Samira Sawlani, Cameroonian lawyer and activist Michelle Ndoki, the Chief Executive Officer of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), Donald Deya, and Ambassador Tadej Rupel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, Presidency of the Council of European Union 2021. The diversity of backgrounds and expertise of the panel is reflective of the nature of deliberations, participants and content that will form the backbone of the Forum.

Overview of FIFAfrica21

2 Pre-event trainings
6 Remote hubs across five countries – Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe
25 virtual sessions (lightning talks, report launches, strategy sessions, panels and learning calls)
115 speakers

See the current agenda and speaker lineup.

Supported by the Ford Foundation, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Omidyar Network, Small Media, Internews, the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EU ISS), and the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, FIFAfrica21 will serve as a platform for deliberation on gaps, concerns and opportunities for advancing privacy, free expression, non-discrimination and the free ﬂow of information online.

The virtual sessions, remote hubs and pre-event trainings have been organised in partnership withData4Change, the International Centre for Non-for-Profit Law (ICNL), Paradigm Initiative, Zaina Foundation, Africa Kiburi, Jonction Senegal, International Training Programme (ITP), Zimbabwe Centre for Media and Information Literacy (ZCMIL), Centre for Media Literacy and Community Development (CEMCOD), and Rudi International.

Registration for FIFAfrica21 remains open and includes access to the online event space wherein participants are already engaging with each other. Registered attendees can also lookout for the following at the Forum:

- Build networks of practice: The Forum provides an opportunity for like-minded individuals to get to know and engage with each other. Be sure to look out and diarise sessions that resonate with you.
- Access to the Digital Security and Virtual Support Desk: We have a wonderful team of digital security experts who will be on hand to provide personalised support and advice to attendees on any digital security issues and concerns.
- Visit Exhibitors: There is a plethora of very interesting work being done by the digital rights community across the world. You can visit the exhibitors’ centre to see some of this work and directly engage with the entities and people behind the various initiatives.
- Launch of the State of Internet Freedom in Africa 2021 report: This year we look forward to launching the latest edition of the State of Internet Freedom in Africa report. This adds to our repository of tracking the trends shaping digital over the years since 2014.