2nd East Africa Data Governance Conference 2026

Event |

Location: Nairobi
Dates: 10 – 11 March 2026

CIPESA is participating in the 2nd East Africa Data Governance Conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 10 and 11, 2026, convened under the theme ‘Navigating Duality in Data Governance: Innovation and Accountability in East Africa’. 

Innovation and accountability are often treated as competing imperatives. In reality, they must evolve together. The 2026 theme focuses on the duality that defines East Africa’s digital moment: a region building new systems of data-driven governance while grappling with heightened concerns around privacy, power, surveillance, exclusion, and fragmentation. The conference explores how East Africa can build digital governance ecosystems that enable innovation without sacrificing justice, rights, or public trust.

The conference features sessions on regulatory sandboxes as governance instruments for DPI – a space of active interest to CIPESA as we develop our thinking on rights-centred approaches to digital infrastructure governance in East Africa.

African Media Festival 

Event |

Date: 24-25 February, 2026

Location: Nairobi, Kenya 

The Africa Media Festival is a gathering for journalists, editors, storytellers, creators, and media builders from across the continent and the diaspora.

The festival is a meeting place for those working in reporting, production, technology and creative enterprise who are asking real questions about the future of media and how it is made, funded and sustained.

This year’s edition continues to expand pathways for participation across Africa and beyond. The two days of conversation, learning and collaboration will centre on the ideas, challenges and opportunities shaping media and creative work today.

Africa Editors Congress 2026

Event |

Date: 23 – 24 February, 2026

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

The Africa Editors Congress 2026 is hosted by The African Editors Forum (TAEF) at the Graduate School for Media and Communications, Aga Khan University, bringing together editors, policymakers, and media executives to confront what organisers describe as a “multifaceted crisis” in African journalism. The two-day congress comes as newsrooms battle declining revenues, regulatory pressures, and eroding public trust, fueled by widespread misinformation on social media platforms.

The meeting will focus on three key areas: securing fair compensation for journalists whose work is harvested by tech companies, developing regulatory frameworks to support public-interest journalism, and building sustainable funding models less dependent on foreign capital.

CIPESA will contribute insights on Resolution, ACHPR/Res.620 (LXXXI) 2024: Promoting and Harnessing Data Access as a Tool for Advancing Human Rights and Sustainable Development in the Digital Age (Resolution 620).

Cybersecurity, Data Protection and Privacy Conference

Event |

Date and Time: 18 February, 2026, starting at 8:30 AM.

Location: Kampala, Uganda

The Cybersecurity, Data Protection and Privacy Conference, also known as the #BeeraKuGuard Awareness Conference, is being hosted by the National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U) under the Uganda Digital Acceleration Project (UDAP-GovNet). The event addresses the critical need to promote cybersecurity, data protection, and privacy awareness due to the growing scale and sophistication of cyber threats, which have escalated with the nationwide increase in affordable broadband and e-services. The conference aims to promote cyber hygiene, personal data protection, and privacy best practices across the country.

Health Apps Project International Conference

Event |

Date: 18-19 February, 2026

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

The University of the Witwatersrand’s (Wits) School of Law, in partnership with Warwick
University’s Law School and the University of Nairobi’s business School have jointly organized
this final Health Apps conference in Johannesburg to showcase the project’s major scientific
outputs and explore with stakeholders how harmonization can be achieved across the
Subregion to improve regulations and guidelines for Health Apps.