Kyoto, Japan , 10 October 2023 – This week is full of high-level discussions on all issues digital on the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2023 being held 8 – 12 October in Kyoto, Japan. Government representatives, business leaders, and civil societies are gathered in the direction of shaping our collective digital future that’s open, secure and inclusive.
ECA’s delegation to the IGF 2023 is sharing its views and expertise in the direction of creating options to the challenges and alternatives going through the continent’s digital transformation. The discussion board can be an opportunity to study from and collaborate with international companions. A variety of issues in focus embody African National Digital Transformation Strategies, Cross Border Data Flow, Cybersecurity, Digital Media, Information Literacy, Gender Digital Divide, Multi Stakeholder processes for enhanced digital cooperation and South-South Cooperation amongst others.
Here are some chosen Africa-ECA centered occasions that may be of curiosity to you for becoming a member of just about:
National digital Transformation Strategies in Africa | IGF 2023
Date: Wednesday, eleventh October 2023
Time: 11:30 am – 12:30 am JST | 05:30 am – 06:30 am EAT
Event Page + Zoom Link: IGF 2023 Open Forum #124 National digital transformation methods in Africa
This session, facilitated by UNECA and UNU-EGOV, will give attention to the most recent developments, challenges, and alternatives in Africa’s digital transformation journey. By that includes case research examples within the adoption of Digital Transformation Strategies and Roadmaps in choose African nations, the session will give attention to approaches that make use of digital assessments and diagnostics to establish gaps and challenges that inform technique growth. It may also discover how the AU Digital Transformation Strategy (2020-2030), co-developed with the ECA, gives a framework for prioritizing digital infrastructure and accessibility as a prerequisite to reaching digital transformation and prosperity in step with SDGs and Agenda 2063.
The dialogue may also give attention to the significance of digitizing Africa’s governance system and the digital transformation of the governance sector on the continent. The session will spotlight the significance of institutional foundations for a digital authorities ecosystem and contribute to figuring out, by way of a co-creation and collective intelligence method (co-construction workshops), some concrete proposals to grab the digital transformation of the general public sector and lay the foundations for the event of digital authorities roadmaps.
UNECA Role within the Internet Ecosystem in Africa | Open Forum
Date: Thursday twelfth October 2023 | Time: 10:15 – 11:45 JST | 04:15 – 05:45 EAT
Event Page + Zoom Link: IGF 2023 Open Forum #110 UNECA Role within the Internet Ecosystem in Africa | Internet Governance Forum (intgovforum.org)
UNECA has supported the formation of the Africa Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and has repeatedly supported its progress since its inception in 2011. UNECA’s packages in Innovation and Technology give attention to quite a lot of points associated to web governance, together with capability constructing, cybersecurity, infrastructure, digital identification, and expertise coverage growth. These packages are designed to spur the inclusion of youth, ladies, and ladies within the digital financial system.
This session discusses and displays on the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa UNECA’s main function in selling inclusiveness and bridging the digital divide in Africa. UNECA is presently helping a number of African nations of their digital transformation methods and supporting them on coverage growth and implementation of digital identification techniques that promote inclusion and progress the African continent by way of its socio-economic aspirations. UNECA has additionally repeatedly offered assist for youth within the IGF processes in Africa and on the international IGF.
UNECA’s work within the African web ecosystem is important to making sure that each one Africans have the chance to profit from the digital financial system. By selling inclusiveness, supporting coverage growth, and empowering youth, ladies, and ladies, UNECA helps to create a extra equitable and affluent future for Africa.
South-South Cooperation for Harnessing Digitalization |Draft Report Presentation, Launch and Award
Date: Thursday twelfth October 2023
Time: 14:00 – 15:00 JST | 08:00 – 09:00 EAT
Event Page + Zoom Link: IGF 2023 Launch / Award Event #147 Report South-South Cooperation for Harnessing Digitalization
The draft report is impressed by the truth that industrialization is a acknowledged growth precedence for the African continent, in gentle of persistently weak financial diversification, lack of structural transformation processes, the need to create first rate jobs for Africa’s bulging younger workforce and, on the similar time, the alternatives obtainable to harness rising applied sciences, together with digital applied sciences to enhance on the continent’s industrial competitiveness, tackle its industrial growth challenges and improve the value-added of industrialization to the continent’s economies.
The crucial to industrialize in Africa has been highlighted in lots of African coverage paperwork, together with Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want and the UN Economic Commission for Africa Economic Reports on Africa in addition to within the strategic coverage frameworks of a number of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) such because the SADC Industrialization Strategy and Road Map (2015-2063), COMESA Industrialization Strategy (2017-2026) and numerous National Industrial Policies of many African nations.
The hybrid session is anticipated to herald numerous stakeholders from growth organizations that collaborate with UNECA and UNOSSC on the sphere, academia, researchers, finish customers, principally youth and girls and different members from the worldwide Internet governance ecosystem.
South-South Cooperation for Harnessing Digitalization for Africa’s Industrialization by Hany Besada, Senior Research Advisor, United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation
Follow the Digital Center of Excellence @UNECA (@Dite4Africa) on X (twitter.com) for reside Tweets and updates.
For extra data, please do attain out to the next contacts:
Sorene Assefa,
Internet Governance and Cybersecurity Expert, ECA
Email: sorene@un.org
Hilda Mwakatumbula
Digital Development Expert,
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Email: hilda.mwakatumbula@un.org
Abiy Goshu
Projects Communication Lead,
Digital Center of Excellence in Digital ID, Trade and Economy (DITE4Africa)
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Email: abiy.goshu@un.org
Source: UNECA