IGF 2023 Open Forum #124 National digital transformation strategies in Africa

The session will be facilitated by UNECA and UNU-EGOV and will focus on the latest developments, challenges and opportunities in Africa’s digital transformation journey and will feature case study examples in the adoption of Digital Transformation Strategies and Roadmaps in select African countries. Focus will be placed on approaches that employ digital assessments and diagnostics to identify gaps and challenges that inform strategy development. Furthermore, the session will explore how the AU Digital Transformation Strategy (2020-2030), co-developed with the ECA, provides an excellent framework for prioritizing digital infrastructure and accessibility as a prerequisite to achieving digital transformation and prosperity in line with SDGs and Agenda 2063 and can have substantial impact on regional cooperation and integration in Africa. The discussion will also focus on the importance of digitalizing Africa’s governance system and the digital transformation of the governance sector on the continent. The session will discuss the importance of institutional foundations for a digital government ecosystem and contribute to identifying, through a co-creation and collective intelligence approach (co-construction workshops) some concrete proposals to seize the digital transformation of the public sector and lay the foundations for the development of digital government roadmaps.

The session will be in a hybrid-format. Detailed to be determined.