Category Archives: Events

Event |

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), in partnership with Co-Develop, is implementing the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Journalism Fellowship for Eastern Africa, a regional initiative aimed at strengthening journalists’ capacity to report knowledgeably and critically on DPI and Digital Public Goods (DPGs) in the region.

The fellowship brings together 20 journalists from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, who are receiving both knowledge-and skills-based training as well as financial support to produce in-depth DPI stories.

At the inaugural virtual workshop held from August 5 to 7, 2025, the Fellows examined among others, Digitalisation and digital rights in Eastern Africa; UN and African Union frameworks on DPI; the DPI ecosystem in Eastern Africa; and Media coverage of DPI across nine countries, based on CIPESA’s ongoing research. The workshop also provided practical training in journalism skills, including technology beat reporting, conceptualising story ideas, writing effective pitches, data storytelling, and the use of AI in storytelling.

The upcoming in-person workshop, scheduled for October 13–15, 2025 at the Radisson Blu Hotel & Residence, Arboretum, will build on this foundation to review progress on fellows’ initial stories and new pitches; address emerging issues in DPI and DPG reporting; offer deep-dive practical sessions on advanced skills and knowledge areas; and provide networking opportunities with peers, mentors, and invited experts.

Following the workshop, a regional public event at the Radisson Blu Hotel & Residence, Arboretum on Thursday, 16 October 2025, to launch and showcase findings from CIPESA’s multi-country media monitoring study on DPI coverage, an important milestone for public debate on the role of journalism in shaping Africa’s digital future.

Event Update |

This is a follow-up workshop to the July 28 – 30 Data Governance Workshop, where we conducted a survey and capacity building sessions with the selected participants (folks from the Ministry of Information, Communications, Science, Technology & Innovation, CSOs, Academia, Private sector, and the media).

During the July session, which was primarily a stakeholder engagement on Lesotho’s Draft Data Management  Policy and domesticating the African Union Data Policy Framework (AUDPF 2022), the following topics were covered: situating the African Data Governance framework, analysing the Kingdom of Lesotho’s Data Management Policy & Data Protection Act 2011, and gathering stakeholder opinions on the alignment of the legislative framework.

 On October 13-14, 2025, validate recommendations for a consensus-driven DMP for Lesotho and a Data Management Policy aligned with continental best practices in data governance.

Event Update |

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) will host a Digital Rights Booth under the ENABEL-Business & Human Rights project at the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) Showgrounds from October 8th to 9th, 2025. The booth will showcase CIPESA’s efforts in promoting digital inclusion, online safety, and data governance, and will feature the Digital Rights Toolkit for Businesses, a practical resource designed to help enterprises integrate human rights principles into their digital operations. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the toolkit, engage in interactive discussions, and learn how responsible digital practices can foster innovation, trust, and compliance.  

FIFAfrica25 |

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is pleased to announce that the 2025 edition of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica25) will be co-hosted in partnership with the Namibian Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) and the Namibia Internet Governance Forum (NamIGF). 

Set to take place in Windhoek, Namibia, from September 25–27, 2025, this year’s Forum will serve as yet another notch in FIFAfrica’s 12-year history of assembling digital rights defenders, policymakers, technologists, academics, regulators, journalists, and the donor community, who all have the shared vision of advancing internet freedom in Africa.

With its strong commitments to democratic governance, press freedom, and inclusive digital development, Namibia offers fertile ground for rich dialogues on the future of internet freedom in Africa. The country holds a powerful legacy in the global media and information landscape, being the birthplace of the 1991 Windhoek Declaration on promoting independent and pluralistic media. In a digital age where new challenges are emerging – from information integrity and Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance to connectivity gaps and platform accountability – hosting FIFAfrica in Namibia marks a key moment for the movement toward trusted information as a public good, including in the digital age.

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