Addis Ababa, 7 May 2024 (ECA) - The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in collaboration with Research ICT Africa (RIA), organized an online open consultation on Africa’s zero-draft as part of continued efforts to align and identify Africa's key priorities within the Global Digital Compact (GDC).
More than 100 registrations from various stakeholder groups participated in the open consultation to review the zero draft, ensuring its harmonization with the region's priorities. Discussions centered on bridging digital divides, nurturing inclusion in the digital economy, advocating for an open, safe, and secure digital environment, fostering equitable international data governance, and managing emerging technologies.
The consultation commenced with a presentation by Liz Orembo from Research ICT Africa (RIA), who highlighted the organization's significant contributions. She showcased RIA’s involvement in various consultation processes and outlined their stance in response to the Zero Draft of the Global Digital Compact.
Following, Mr. Moses Bayingana introduced a draft AU African Digital Compact. This document delineates commitments aimed at enhancing digital infrastructure, promoting digital literacy, and fostering innovation and economic growth. The AUC expressed optimism that more elements from the African Digital Compact would be integrated into the GDC, slated for consideration and adoption by African Union policy organs in July 2024.
Ms. Sorene Assefa presented the outcomes of ECA's Regional Consultation, summarizing Africa's call to action outlined in ECA's "Africa's Contribution towards the Global Digital Compact (GDC) Policy Declaration." She emphasized the need to continually assess the zero-draft's adequacy in addressing the continent's priorities, particularly in light of its 5 Objectives, 10 Principles, and Commitments & Action items. Furthermore, she explored the necessary steps for the effective implementation of the GDC in African contexts post the Summit of the Future. Additionally, Ms. Assefa discussed the integration of the UN High-Level Advisory Body on AI (HLAB) and DPI Safeguards Working Group's work into the GDC.
The conversation emphasized aligning the zero-draft with Africa's priorities, harmonizing multi-stakeholder engagement, and refreshing existing processes to ensure digital transformation agendas benefit Member States beyond their development agenda.
Participants suggested the following key recommendations:
- Renewal and update of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF): integrate national and regional IGFs into the follow-up of the GDC and aligning with intergovernmental processes within the African Union Commission to ensure the highest political will and effective implementation.
- Aligning the GDC with the African Union Commission’s work on preparing the African GDC, mainly by providing guidance to Member States on how to approach the negotiations into the United Nations.
- Establishing mechanisms within the UN General Assembly to engage governments that are not actively involved in the GDC, with a focus beyond development issues. This mechanism should facilitate follow-up and implementation assessments of GDC principles.
- Focusing on the nexus between climate change and emerging technologies: Refreshing action lines and incorporating resolutions and intercessional work at national and local levels to emphasize the connection between climate change and emerging technologies as the overarching thematic. This also involves integrating institutions such as UNESCO and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) into the follow-up process of the GDC.
- Leveraging outputs from National IGFs: Recognizing the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) as the primary space for open discussions on GDC topics among all stakeholders. Propose GDC follow-up as a track within the IGF and advocating for explicit support for regional and national IGFs. Outputs from the IGF discussions can inform an enhanced version of the UN's Committee on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD 2.0), which serves as a decision-making body.
- Innovative funding for affordable connectivity: Focus should be given to meaningful connectivity through innovative funding mechanism for investing in infrastructure, including at the community-based level, to address the wide digital divide in Africa. Given that two-thirds of the region’s population is still offline, prioritizing meaningful connectivity is essential.
- Community-Based Solutions: Recommending exploration of community-based solutions such as community networks and ensuring financing for alternative models of connectivity expansion. Developing strategies to ensure affordable access to digital technologies and broadband internet for women and youth.
- Data Collection and Disaggregation: Advocating for the collection of gender- and age-disaggregated data to address digital inequalities faced by women and youth. Promoting the participation of women and youth as role models and mentors in the digital sector to foster inclusivity.
- Capacity Building: Investing in programs to enhance digital literacy and leadership skills among women and girls, particularly in underserved communities.
Mr. Mactar Seck, ECA’s Chief of Technology and Innovation Section, seconded the importance of harmonizing various multilateral processes including the WSIS+20 Action Lines, Regional and Global IGF processes, and the Global Digital Compact (GDC) policy declarations. He reiterated ECA’s commitment to align the Africa zero draft with the principles and objectives identified by the African Union Commission, Member State Representatives, CSOs, private sector, academia and all stakeholders consulted throughout this process.
Mr. Seck also emphasized the need for the GDC to recognize national and regional IGFs and encourage more accessible participation of African stakeholders through these consultative processes. He further acknowledged the collaborative role taken thus far by ECA, the Government of South Africa, OSET, the UN Regional Coordinator Office in South Africa, and UNDP in organizing the first regional review workshop on July 4 - 5, 2023, in Cape Town. The workshop gathered over 70 African stakeholders from 32 Member States, which resulted in the formulation of the African Policy Declaration to encapsulate Africa's vision for a ‘digital future rooted in equity, accessibility, and resilience’.
Since its inception in July 2023 in Cape Town, the African regional consultations have been focused on articulating the continent's digital transformation priorities ahead of the Summit of the Future in September 2024. While recognizing that the GDC Zero Draft may not comprehensively address every aspect of the region's urgent need, it's role in developing a global digital governance architecture was acknowledged.
The facilitators at (ECA) and Research ICT Africa (RIA) thanked all participants that made a fruitful regional open consultation on the GDC Zero-draft.
The virtual consultations on the Zero draft were succeeded by a hybrid GDC Data Deep Dive Workshop held on the 8th of May, organized by ECA in collaboration with the United Nations University - Center for Policy Research (UNU CPR) and the United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV), alongside the co-facilitators of the GDC. The workshop convened more than 40 prominent African experts in data, ICT, and internet governance. Mr. Seck presented the key messages of the zero-draft consultations during the deep dive on behalf of the African multi-stakeholders.
About Research ICT Africa (RIA)
Research ICT Africa (RIA) is an African think tank that has operated for over a decade to fill a strategic gap in the development of a sustainable information society and digital economy. It has done so by building the multidisciplinary research capacity needed to inform evidence-based policy and effective regulation Africa. RIA’s dynamic and evolving research agenda examines the uneven distribution of the benefits and harms of the intensifying global processes of digitalization and datafication. Visit website for more: https://researchictafrica.net/company-profile/
About the Global Digital Compact (GDC)
Set to be established at the Summit of the Future in September 2024, the Global Digital Compact (GDC) is the UN Secretary General’s roadmap to realize "an open, free, secure, and human-centered digital future". The initiative aims to accelerate the achievement of the UN Vision 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and foster a new social and political framework beneficial to all and conducive to planetary sustainability.
For media and follow-up inquiry:
Sorene Assefa,
Digital Governance and Cybersecurity Expert, ECA
Email: sorene@un.org
Abiy Goshu
Projects Communication, ECA
Email: abiy.goshu@un.org