The annual Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) will take place in Finfinne on September 23-26, 2019.
The four-day forum will be hosted by the Ethiopia Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MoIT) and the Collaboration on Internet Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA).
FIFAfrica19 will be hosted at the Skylight Hotel and is expected to assemble at least 300 participants from across the continent and beyond.
The partnership is part of the Ministry’s digital transformation efforts, and aims to engage stakeholders on strategies for harnessing the benefits of new technologies.
MoIT said in a statement that it is working towards building a digital economy and society grounded on knowledge and technology and as such “values the power of knowledge, novel ideas, learning and the unlimited potential of virtual endeavors.”
As Ethiopia continues to embrace wide-ranging political and economic reforms, it is integral to ensure greater awareness within the country as well as beyond its borders of what the reforms mean to the potential of ICT as an enabler of democratic governance and sustainable development.
FIFAfrica19 will be among recent strategic convening's in Ethiopia related to broadening the range of freedoms enjoyed by citizens online and offline, such as the World Press Freedom day commemoration last May.
The annual convening offers a platform for critical engagement of diverse stakeholders on internet rights and freedoms and looks at them through the lens of policy, regulation, and governance.
In spite of challenges that still exist, including in governance and security, over the last one year, Ethiopia has made notable strides in improving the state of internet freedom, in ways which can be instructive for other African countries.
FIFAfrica 2019 will thus provide a platform for the exchange of knowledge, skills, advocacy efforts and policy agendas that can have an impact on digital rights and internet governance agenda among key actors including policy makers, regulators, human rights defenders, law enforcement representatives, and the media in Ethiopia and Africa as a whole.
Among the Ministry’s undertakings at FIFAfrica19 will be the hosting of a high level meeting of government officials within the auspices of the ICT committee at the African Union (AU) to discuss some of the reigning concerns and initiatives related to innovation ecosystems, data protection and privacy, access and affordability, diversity and inclusion, network disruptions, and access to information, among others.
Hosting FIFAfrica19 in Finfinne will this year mark its return to East Africa since 2016 -n keeping with the stride of expanding the conversation, as well as knowledge and skills development to different parts of the continent.
The 2018 edition was hosted in Ghana, while the 2017 was hosted in South Africa Other editions since 2014 were hosted in Uganda.