Uganda readies to host the 11^th East Africa Internet Governance Forum, 2024

The East African Community (EAC) in partnership with the Internet Society Uganda Chapter have kicked off preparations for the 11^th East Africa Internet Governance Forum (EAIGF) set for   September 11 -12, 2024 at Serena Hotel, Kampala, Uganda under the theme “Building our Multistakeholder Digital Future for East Africa.”

Last hosted in Uganda in 2016, the EAIGF will this year provide an opportunity to showcase Uganda’s vibrant digital ecosystem while learning and sharing experience from other countries on how to make the internet work for all in the region. Uganda’s internet landscape has seen significant developments in the 10 years with a dynamic and growing digital innovation landscape driven by supportive policies, increasing infrastructure investments, and a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. This ecosystem is further supported by the National Digital Transformation Roadmap, a five-year strategy launched in 2023 to among other things provide last mile connectivity in hard to reach areas of the country.

The EAIGF is annual multistakholder forum, which has since 2008 created space for continued dialogue on Internet Governance issues and best practices and consequently spurred a momentum for localised integration of global practices on Internet Governance in the region. The forum also institutes a consensus-building process to develop a common understanding of Internet Governance issues as well as building policy capacity to enable meaningful participation in global Internet policy, governance, and development.

Discussion from the regional Forums such as the EAIGF go on to feed into the continental Internet Governance Forum, which assembles contributions from across Africa with the goal of realising the multistakeholder model at both continental and global scale. The EAIGF follows a bottom-up multi-stakeholder approach, which begins at the national IGFs that form the building block for the regional EAIGF. The forum is hosted on the premise of enabling the meaningful participation of developing nation partners in global Internet policy development has long been identified as an important priority in achieving an equitable and accessible Information Society. It is in this spirit that the EAIGF brings together multistakeholder representatives from government, media, private sector, civil society, and individuals interested in shaping discussion on how the internet is run.

The EAIGF is part of the global UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) that provides an environment to continue dialogue on Internet public policy issues with the goal of ensuring the sustainability, robustness, security, stability and development of the Internet.

PRIORITY THEMES/ISSUES OF FOCUS FOR EAIGF 2024

• Harnessing innovation and balancing risks in the digital space.
• Enhancing the digital contribution to peace, development, and sustainability.
• Advancing human rights and inclusion in the digital age.
• Improving digital governance for the Internet We Want.

PARTICIPANTS

Participation is expected from all stakeholder groups in the East African sub-region and international partners. Key participants shall be conveners of the National IGFs of the five East African countries. We will also have representatives from East African Governments, Civil Society, academia, research institutions, libraries, documentation centers and other technical communities, private sector, and regional and international organizations.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES:

The forum is expected to focus on: –

1. Fostering multi-stakeholder engagement and partnership on IG issues in the countries.
2. Extending capacity development on Knowledge Management.
3. Being able to directly address and influence public policy issues related to Internet Governance at the national and regional level.
4. Developing an advocacy plan to improve accessibility and affordability of the Internet in East Africa
5. Continue to identify topics for research and further shared understanding in ICT policy and Internet governance in the region.
6. Strengthening of East African representation at continental and global level.

EAIGF 2024 Timeline

• Call for session proposals – June 24, 2024
• Deadline for call for session proposals – July 12, 2024
• Notification of successful proposals – July 19, 2024
• Opening of participate registration, July 01, 2024

Interested in partnering in hosting the EAIGF 2024, please contact – info@eaigf.africa cc’ info@isoc.ug