Digital Rights and Inclusion have been an area of concern for most countries across Africa. At the just-concluded Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum 2022 organized by Paradigm Initiative and a host of country partners across 17 African countries, stakeholders shared recommendations for a proper digital rights implementation within the continent.
The Forum brought together over 800 delegates and participants for 39 days to dissect the state of digital rights and inclusion in Africa. It was attended by experts, stakeholders, and advocates within the digital rights ecosystem in Africa.
It was concluded in Kenya with the launch of PIN’s 2021 Annual Digital Rights and Inclusion Report – LONDA featuring 22 countries. The report notes that many of the African countries featured are too busy violating digital rights to focus on the digital opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on their relevance.
Londa 2021 expands on last year’s report with findings from 22 countries, examining themes of privacy, freedom of expression, access to information, segmentation and exclusion, digital transformation, affordability, gender, and others within existing legislative frameworks, and against the backdrop of a widening digital divide. This edition captures the gaps and proffers recommendations to achieve a digitally inclusive and rights-respecting Africa.
Mr. Gbenga Sesan, Paradigm Initiative’s Executive Director highlighted the importance of Londa in Africa, and the need for groundbreaking rights-respecting frameworks.
“Africa needs to make an urgent choice between focusing on clampdowns and maximising digital opportunities so we don’t miss out on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). ” Gbenga said.
”The report is timely as it assesses the state of digital rights and inclusion in Africa, and also provides recommendations on what each country must do to move towards realising the huge gains that rights-respecting and inclusive digital policies and practices bring.” he concluded.
The report is available for download here.
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