Register for the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (#FIFAfrica23)!

By FIFAfrica |

Are you passionate about internet freedom and digital rights in Africa? Do you want to engage with and join the community advancing digital rights in Africa? Register to attend the upcoming 2023 edition of the  Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica23) and join a diverse community of stakeholders from across the continent and beyond to deliberate on the most pressing issues and opportunities for advancing online freedom. Registration is open for both in-person and remote attendance! 

FIFAfrica23 will take place in Dar es Salam, Tanzania on September 26-27 (pre-events by invitation only) and September 28-29 (main conference), 2023, hosted by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) in partnership with the Tanzanian Ministry of Information, Communications and Information Technology. The event will take place at the Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam.

The Forum will mark a decade of bringing together policy makers, regulators, human rights defenders, academia, law enforcement representatives, media, and other actors to deliberate on gaps, concerns and opportunities for promoting privacy, free expression, non-discrimination, free flow of information and innovation online.

The FIFAfrica23 agenda will feature 10 tracks on a diversity of topics emerging from successful submissions to a recent open call for sessions.  The tracks include carefully curated panels, presentations, lightning talks, keynote addresses and workshops, through which participants at the Forum will have the opportunity to delve into the deeper layers of the digital rights and internet freedom landscape in Africa and collaborative interventions to address the challenges and harness the opportunities of a more open and inclusive internet in Africa.

You can register here and also take note of the event Code of Conduct and Travel note which includes logistical information.

Don’t miss this chance to be part of this landmark event and contribute to advancing internet freedom in Africa!

Be sure to follow @cipesaug on social media and join the online conversation using the hashtags #FIFAfrica23 #InternetFreedomAfrica.

Le Ministère Tanzanien de l’Information, de la Communication et des Technologies de l’Information Co-Organisera le Forum 2023 sur la Liberté d’Internet en Afrique (FIFAfrica23)

Annonce |

Le Ministère de l’Information, de la Communication et des Technologies de l’Information de la République Unie de Tanzanie a annoncé qu’il co-organisera l’édition 2023 du Forum 2023 sur la Liberté d’Internet en Afrique (FIFAfrica23). Cette initiative s’inscrit dans le cadre de la transformation numérique et des efforts de numérisation du pays au sens large.

“Nous sommes heureux de soutenir un événement si important en Afrique. Dans les années précédentes, nous avons assidûment travaillé à l’amélioration de notre transformation numérique par le biais du Cadre de l’Economie Numérique de la Tanzanie, afin de renforcer nos capacités au sein du gouvernement et de permettre aux citoyens tanzaniens de bénéficier de services numériques. Nous apprécions cette opportunité de montrer notre engagement à promouvoir l’accès à l’internet dans le pays et la région. En tant que ministère, nous avons fait des progrès considérables pour accroître l’accès à internet et nous sommes déterminés à faire de l’internet un espace sûr et favorable pour tous les utilisateurs, en particulier les femmes, les jeunes et les groupes marginalisés”, a déclaré M. Nape Nnauye, ministre de l’Information, de la Communication et des Technologies de l’Information.

Initiative de la Collaboration sur la politique internationale des TIC pour l’Afrique de l’Est et australe (CIPESA), FIFAfrica est le plus grand et le plus influent rassemblement sur le rôle de la technologie dans le développement socio-économique et politique de l’Afrique. Il réunit les décideurs politiques, les régulateurs, les défenseurs des droits de l’homme, les universitaires, les représentants de la loi, les médias et d’autres parties prenantes d’Afrique et d’ailleurs pour discuter des plus urgentes préoccupations et possibilités de faire progresser la vie privée, la liberté d’expression, l’inclusion, la libre circulation de l’information, la participation civique et l’innovation en ligne.

Le gouvernement tanzanien rejoint ceux de l’Ethiopie (2019) et de la Zambie (2022), de même que la présidence de la Slovénie à l’Union Européenne (2021), en s’associant à CIPESA pour co-organiser FIFAfrica. Prévu pour se tenir à Dar es Salaam, en Tanzanie, du 27 au 29 septembre 2023, le Forum, qui en est à sa dixième édition, fera intervenir diverses voix et perspectives à travers des sessions soigneusement sélectionnées (ateliers de formation, réunions de partenariats, débats d’experts, expositions et conférences éclair) qui ont émergé à la suite d’un appel public.

“Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir FIFAfrica23 aux côtés du ministère tanzanien de l’Information, de la Communication et des Technologies de l’Information. Ce partenariat témoigne de la vision commune et de l’engagement de CIPESA et du gouvernement tanzanien à promouvoir un internet ouvert et inclusif en Afrique”, a déclaré le Dr Wairagala Wakabi, directeur exécutif CIPESA.

CIPESA a annoncé que sa décision d’organiser FIFAfrica en Tanzanie était une reconnaissance du changement progressif opéré par le pays pour promouvoir la digitalisation au service du développement durable. Sous la direction de sa première femme présidente, Samia Suluhu Hassan, une partisane des droits civils et les droits des femmes, le pays a entrepris des réformes politiques et juridiques visant à renforcer l’espace civique et l’agenda de la digitalisation. Notamment, une loi sur la protection des données a été promulguée, la loi régissant les activités des médias est en cours de révision, et la réglementation sur le contenu en ligne de 2020 a été révisée afin de la rendre plus favorable au discours en ligne, à la vie privée et à l’accès à l’information.

Le Forum s’est déjà tenu en Ouganda, au Ghana, en Éthiopie, en Zambie et en Afrique du Sud. En tant que plateforme permettant d’analyser les défis et d’élaborer des réponses communes, l’organisation de FIFAfrica dans différents pays ouvre la voie au partage d’expériences, à l’apprentissage et à l’échange, mais ravive également l’engagement de CIPESA à assurer une représentation régionale plus large et approfondir le dialogue à travers le continent.

FIFAfrica23 se tiendra au Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam, The Kilimanjaro, et devrait rassembler au moins 400 participants venus de tout le continent et d’ailleurs. Suivez @cipesaug sur les médias sociaux pour les mises à jour. Utilisez les hashtags #FIFAfrica23 et #InternetFreedomAfrica pour partager votre vision des droits numériques en Afrique.

Call for Consultant: Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation Specialist

Announcement |

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is a leading centre for research and analysis that works to defend and expand the digital civic space to enable the protection and promotion of human rights and to enhance innovation and sustainable development.

CIPESA is  searching for a Monitoring and Evaluation specialist to develop an institutional Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) system for the implementation of the organisation’s new Strategic Plan (2023-2027). The MEL system will enable CIPESA to monitor and track progress to inform learning, reflection, and decision-making at both operational and strategic levels. 

Furthermore, this MEL system will support CIPESA to increase knowledge, confidence, and success in Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning. It will strengthen our organisational MEL practices, enhance our capacity to become more effective, and maximise our impact through review and learning with partners and the communities that CIPESA works with.

Applications for this consultancy will be accepted until August 2, 2023. 

For details on the consultant’s tasks, deliverables and how to apply, please refer to these Terms of Reference.

Call for Consultant: Informational Guide on Digital Security of Financial Transactions for CSOs in Uganda

Announcement |

The USAID/Uganda Civil Society Strengthening Activity (CSSA) is a five-year USAID-funded Activity implemented by East-West Management Institute (EWMI) in partnership with the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL). The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) supported by EWMI seeks to develop and implement a CSO Compliance Index for the Regulatory Framework and Digital Security.

In this year CIPESA identified the need to develop and produce an informational guide on digital security of financial transactions for CSOs. The information Guide will feed into the overall goal which is to protect and expand civic space throughout Uganda by improving the enabling environment for civil society and fostering state-civil society engagement. And specifically, as a means to provide technical assistance towards strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) and other stakeholders to address restrictions on civic space in Uganda.

Find the full details here.

New Reports Examine Internet Freedom Challenges in Francophone Africa

By Simone Toussi |

The situation of internet freedom in French-speaking countries in Africa is not regularly and adequately captured in research. However, two reports released in recent months move towards addressing this, as they provide a picture of the key issues affecting digital rights in up to 26 Francophone countries. The reports show that more than ever, Francophone African countries are facing pivotal choices in building a cyberspace that respects citizens’ rights and meets their needs.

Released in May 2023, the Digital freedoms in French-speaking African countries research by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) states that internet rights are at risk in most of the 26 Francophone African countries covered. The report scored and ranked the countries on the respect for digital freedoms based on barriers to access, content limitations, and violations of users’ rights.

A second study conducted by PROTEGE QV and JONCTION, with the support of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), sheds light on the main internet freedom concerns in Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal. The countries were assessed using the African Internet Rights and Freedoms Index (AIRFI) 2022 which contains 67 variables based on the 13 principles of the 2016 African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (ADIRF)

The findings of the assessment were launched at a workshop on June 20, 2023. Speaking at the workshop, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) Francophone Officer, Simone Toussi, stated that the AIRFI is “a timely tool” given the prevailing context  where the internet, despite its multiple advantages, was fostering social inequities while also sometimes serving as a tool for repression by autocratic governments.

Out of 26 countries assessed by AFD, only Mauritius and Seychelles fell in the “Free” category – meaning digital freedoms were fully respected. The worst performers were Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, and Rwanda, which were ranked as “Non-free”, indicating that digital freedoms are “in serious trouble”. Seven countries were found to be “Partially Free” and 10 countries ranked “Partially Non-Free”, meaning digital freedoms are “Partially respected” and “Partially in trouble” respectively. 

Among the major regional trends, the AFD report cites internet shutdowns; deployment of mass or targeted surveillance solutions; online censorship, such as the blocking of local and international media websites; instrumentalisation of cybersecurity and disinformation laws; and a recurrent lack of data protection laws. Meanwhile, the AIRFI assessment highlighted the exclusion of marginalised and at-risk groups; barriers in accessing affordable internet; online surveillance and censorship; intimidation, arrest and prosecution of internet users; internet disruptions; and weak privacy and data protection systems. 

The AFD report notes that 21 of the 26 Francophone African countries have shut down the internet or limited online content at least once since 2017, with Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, CAR, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Mali, Senegal and Togo being repeat offenders. In 2022, Chad, Burkina Faso and Algeria shut down the internet. Furthermore, the governments of Algeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Equatorial Guinea and Mali reportedly applied targeted filtering to websites or blocked social media groups belonging to opposition parties or dissident groups. 

Both reports cite the weaponisation of cybersecurity and anti-disinformation laws against journalists, human rights defenders, and citizens critical of governments. The AIRFI assessment shows how cybersecurity laws of Cameroon and Burundi are weak in ensuring digital safety of citizens, journalists and human rights defenders in conflict zones. Such a situation is transposable to other Francophone African countries that do not have either a cybersecurity law – CAR, Republic of Congo, DR Congo, Djibouti and Gabon – or a diligent monitoring system dedicated to cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime, or both. As a result, some Francophone African countries have suffered an increase in targeted cyberattacks, data breaches within government institutions and banking institutions, and ransomware attacks, as well as multiple cases of online harassment and abuse.

The lack of legislation for the protection of personal data is another concern in the region. The AIRFI assessment notes that rapid mobile penetration and social media use has led to increased data protection and privacy concerns. Many users are not aware of their rights and governments and companies continue to collect massive amounts of data without comprehensive data protection laws or oversight authorities, leaving citizens vulnerable to data theft and privacy breaches. 

The AIRF assessment also showed prevalence of surveillance, including through interception of communications and monitoring of people’s movements aided by massive data collection, and the search and seizure of people’s devices. According to the AFD report, the use of Pegasus spyware was documented in Rwanda, Togo, Morocco and Djibouti. Among the 26 countries studied, only 14 have signed or ratified the Malabo Convention, most have outdated, ambiguous or unenforced data protection laws while others, including Burundi, Cameroon, CAR, Comoros, DR Congo and Djibouti, are dragging their feet on adopting a data protection law.

The digital divide is still a challenge, with many marginalised groups left out of the digital society. The reports stress how the high costs of internet access and low internet speeds limit affordable and universal access, especially in rural areas where internet infrastructure is in short supply. Infrastructure roll out and maintenance were particularly a challenge in countries like the CAR and Mali which are faced with political instability and a security crisis linked to internal conflicts or terrorist attacks.   

Indeed, digital inclusion of marginalised and at-risk groups scored zero in most countries assessed under the AIRF index. Country reports outlined that persons with disabilities as well as refugees and displaced persons remain offline due to barriers such as language, usability challenges and mandatory SIM card registration tagged to possession of an identity card. 

According to the AIRFI assessment, countries such as Chad, Congo and Senegal are yet to take appropriate actions to ensure the right to development and access to knowledge, which are an essential catalyst of digital access, literacy and access to information. Others like Cameroon and Burundi have not taken any measures towards fostering cultural and linguistic diversity in the digital sphere.

The findings of both reports provide a comprehensive overview of the state of digital rights in Francophone Africa, and give visibility to contexts that are largely missing in existing reports on the situation of digital rights in Africa. The reports underscore that digital space in Francophone Africa will shrink further if states continue to exert more pressure on civil liberties through internet shutdowns, surveillance, limits to privacy rights, and adopt laws that limit freedom of expression, assembly and association under the pretext of combating disinformation, hate speech, terrorism and threats to national security. 

As a means towards remedy, recommendations are made to policy-makers, civil society, academia, and the private sector. Among them: the need for enactment and enforcement of rights-respecting and inclusive policy and legislation; regular documentation and assessment of digital rights developments in these countries to inform debate and design of interventions; and robust advocacy to align country digital policies and practices with human rights standards and push for transparency and accountability of governments and companies.