IGF 2022 Open Forum #93 Resilient Internet for a shared sustainable & common future

The Internet and digitisation represent a potential game changer for Africa’s sustainable development in line with both the UN’s SDGs and the Africa We Want (Agenda 2063). In order to ensure that all Africans can benefit from meaningful and equitable access to the Internet, there is an urgent need to set in place not only a common narrative, but also a strong agenda for shaping the Internet Africans Want. Current global digital agendas and initiatives aimed at imagining such an enabling future Internet tend to be mainly led and dominated by states and entities from the global North. An example is the recent Declaration for the Future of the Internet, which was led by the US Department of State and only signed by three African states (Kenya, Niger and Cabo Verde). Similar to such ‘global’ commitments, a large proportion of the discourses taking place at international fora and policy platforms like the IGF tend to be dominated by the perceptions of stakeholders and agendas set by technologically advanced countries – meaning that Africans’ voices are often neither heard nor reflected in global policies or agendas.

This interactive and multistakeholder session will encourage a more equitable and meaningful share in global Internet governance debates for participants and agendas from the global South as well. To do so, diverse stakeholders will deliberate on how Africans can come together to develop and promote a common narrative and agenda for shaping the Internet Africans Want. It will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to learn from the history of Africa’s experience with the Internet as well as how some African stakeholders have already worked on diverse aspects such as digital rights, women’s empowerment in digital space, addressing digital divides between Africa and other regions, and other relevant topics.

Online participants will be able to ask questions and interact with the onsite participants through a specific Q&A part that is dedicated to questions from the chat and online participants who want to speak directly.