Session
Organizer 1: Milton Mueller, 🔒
Organizer 2: Karim Farhat, 🔒The Internet Governance Project
Speaker 1: Anne-Rachel Inné, Private Sector, African Group
Speaker 2: Nape Nnauye, Government, African Group
Speaker 3: Alice Munyua, Private Sector, African Group
Speaker 4: Kalisha Holmes , Government, African Group
Milton Mueller, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Karim Farhat, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Karim Farhat, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Roundtable
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: The workshop is organized as a 60 minute roundtable session which will include 20 minutes of commentary from panelists and 40 minutes for debate and discussion among the panelists and the audience.
What is the relationship between the digital industries and overall economic prosperity in the region?
What is the comparative record of state-controlled ICT services and competitive, liberalized markets in developing ICT industries in Africa?
Which better encourages local ICT skills and industry development: openness to the global cloud industry or data localization requirements?
What is the long term impact of foreign capital investment in domestic ICT industries in Africa?
What will participants gain from attending this session? Participants will gain a more comprehensive understanding of different ICT policy initiatives and their relationship to economic development in the East Africa region. They will learn what problems and experiences countries in the region share and how public and private stakeholders can coordinate and negotiate shared ICT policy concerns. Case study presentations from participants will facilitate the comparison of various approaches, and help identify shared opportunities, challenges and lessons learned for governance of the digital economy in the East Africa Community.
Description:
An open, globalized Internet with permissionless innovation is a proven recipe for rapid economic development of the digital economy and society more broadly. However, there is a major tension between the model of an open, transnational internet and the demands for digital sovereignty and national control over domestic networks.
In this session, participants will engage with the trade-off between data sovereignty and openness in the East African context, and discuss relevant case studies where needed. They will explore policy directions to compare and contrast digital openness across the region, and to assess what policies have worked, and what policies have not. Particular focus will be afforded to the case of Tanzania with its digital economy at a turning point. The Ministry of ICT’s 2023 Draft National ICT Policy has recognized the ICT sector as both an enabler and driver of the economy, yet many challenges remain from digital literacy to under-investment. What first principles of internet governance can best allow Tanzania to capitalize on its digital economy as the country's National Development Vision 2025 draws near?
This workshop will allow regulators, government policy makers, the industry and civil society users and consumers of digital products and services to compare notes and assess which policies are working and which are not.
Hybrid Format: Once it is known that the proposal has been accepted by the MAG, the organizers will begin preparing the speakers by holding several online pre-meetings to facilitate engagement between online and onsite speakers. Advance preparation of this kind improves the quality of the interactions. During the workshop, apart from assigning a slot for online speakers we will ensure, they are given an opportunity to respond to discussions as well as highlight the steps being taken to address issues being raised. An open mic session follows the main session to enable the onsite and online participants from other countries to join the conversation and present their experiences, opinions, suggestions, etc., on how to move the discussion forward and identify action areas. To broaden participation, social media (Twitter and Facebook) will also be employed and online moderators will be charged with distilling the discussion using a dedicated hashtag.