Session
Paradigm Initiative
Chiti Mutati, Southern Africa Programmes Officer, Paradigm Initiative Adeboro Odunlami, Product Director, Resilience Technologies
Chiti Mutati, Southern Africa Programmes Officer, Paradigm Initiative Adeboro Odunlami, Product Director, Resilience Technologies
Organization's Website
Speakers
Chiti Mutati, Southern Africa Programmes Officer, Paradigm Initiative
Adeboro Odunlami, Product Director, Resilience Technologies
Onsite Moderator
Miriam Beatrice Wanjiru, Paradigm Initiative
Rapporteur
Yasin Musa Ayami, co-founder Ubuntu AI Lab
SDGs
1.4
8.2
9.c
10.2
16.b
Targets: DPI adoption, by governments, aims to leverage technology to promote equitable access to, and use of resources and services to address poverty, support economic growth and reduce inequality. The proposal aims to answer questions which address the selected SGD's such as: With lessons from the case studies to what extent and how are civil society and technology policy advocates engaging stakeholders, such as government and technology vendors, around embedding human-centred, responsible technology adoption principles across the DPI lifecycle? What human rights risks and vulnerabilities associated with Digital Public Infrastructure are emerging in the featured countries and what lessons and strategies can civil society and human rights defenders employ in advocating against potential human rights risks and vulnerabilities associated with Digital Public Infrastructure? What is the case for the development of standalone national DPI policies and strategies, and what are the necessary principles required to be embedded within them, to protect human rights?
8.2
9.c
10.2
16.b
Targets: DPI adoption, by governments, aims to leverage technology to promote equitable access to, and use of resources and services to address poverty, support economic growth and reduce inequality. The proposal aims to answer questions which address the selected SGD's such as: With lessons from the case studies to what extent and how are civil society and technology policy advocates engaging stakeholders, such as government and technology vendors, around embedding human-centred, responsible technology adoption principles across the DPI lifecycle? What human rights risks and vulnerabilities associated with Digital Public Infrastructure are emerging in the featured countries and what lessons and strategies can civil society and human rights defenders employ in advocating against potential human rights risks and vulnerabilities associated with Digital Public Infrastructure? What is the case for the development of standalone national DPI policies and strategies, and what are the necessary principles required to be embedded within them, to protect human rights?
Format
This will be conducted in the format of a lightning talk where both presenters will share the findings of a study into the DPI adoption journey in West and Southern Africa thus far.
Duration (minutes)
30
Description
The majority of discourse around Africa’s Digital Public Infrastructure journey have been largely dominated by the focus on the immense opportunities for improved governance, public service delivery and economic benefit, for example. Meanwhile, considerations of the human-centred, rights-impacting elements of DPI have received less prominence, outside of the wider civil society space. But, it is crucial that a human and inclusion-centred, rights-respecting approach forms the premise of technology deployment in the region. This session will provide insight into the Digital transformation journey of countries in West and South Africa. Using case studies it provide a comprehensive analysis of key policies, processes and the impact on citizens, from a regional lens. Knowledge sharing of policy perspectives around human-centred, responsible and inclusive DPI deployments in West and Southern Africa.
The lightning talk aims for the following outcomes:
Discussions around strategies and policy considerations for civil society actors and human rights defenders to advicate for responsbile and inclusive DPI;
Training and capacity building for civil society organisations to advocate for the rollout of human rights-centred DPI by governments in their respective countries; as well as to continuously monitor digital transformation initiatives to assess their ongoing commitment to respecting human rights.
In addition to the in-person room, we will provide a virtual conference room to accommodate both in-person and virtual attendees. We will employ technology to enable the virtual audience to participate in interactive Q&A breakout sessions or networking forums through a dedicated hybrid event platform. The report link will also be shared after the session to enable continued engagement afterwards.
In addition to the in-person room, we will provide a virtual conference room to accommodate both in-person and virtual attendees. We will employ technology to enable the virtual audience to participate in interactive Q&A breakout sessions or networking forums through a dedicated hybrid event platform. The report link will also be shared after the session to enable continued engagement afterwards.