Blog

Growing The Community of Advocates Advancing Digital Rights For Women And Girls

By Alice Aparo and Simone Toussi |

The 2023 theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) was “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality” and sought to highlight the need for inclusive and transformative technology and digital education. This theme resonated with efforts on the digital inclusion of girls and women by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and…

Mitigating Online Abuse Against Women Journalists in Ghana and Nigeria

By Ashnah Kalemera |

As the world commemorates the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day, African media’s ability to operate effectively remains under threat as their safety continues to be compromised. According to a UNESCO Global Survey, online attacks against women journalists, whose representation in the sector at executive and editorial levels is already limited, are increasing exponentially. In…

Tanzania: Personal Data Protection Act

News Update |

On 1 May 2023, the Personal Data Protection Act 11 of 2022 came into effect in Tanzania, marking a significant step forward for data protection in the country. The law was passed by Parliament in November 2022.

The Act seeks to establish minimum requirements for the collection and processing of personal information with the aim of protecting the right to privacy. It establishes…

New Partnership to Enhance Parliamentarians’ Role in Advancing Digital Freedoms

Announcement |

A new partnership to enhance the role of Members of Parliament in advancing progressive internet policy and protecting digital rights has been signed by the African Parliamentary Network on Internet Governance (APNIG), the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), and Small Media.

The partners recognised the critical role played by parliamentarians and the importance of…

CIPESA, AFIC and Partners Searching for Proposal Writing Consultants

Announcement |

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is a leading centre for research and analysis that works to defend and expand the digital civic space to enable the protection and promotion of human rights and to enhance innovation and sustainable development. With a focus on disparate actors including government, the private sector, civil society,…

Gear Up! The 2023 Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) is Heading to Tanzania!

Announcement |

The annual Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) hosted by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) will be hosted in Dar es Salam, Tanzania on September 27-29, 2023. This year will mark a decade of the largest gathering on internet freedom in Africa, which has since 2014 put internet freedom on the…

Apply To The Latest Round of the Africa Digital Rights Fund (ADRF)

Announcement |

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is calling for proposals to support digital rights work across Africa. The current call is particularly interested in proposals for work related to:

Data governance including aspects of data localisation, cross-border data flows, biometric databases and digital ID
Digital resilience for human rights defenders, other activists and journalists
Censorship and…

Digital Democracy in Africa: What has the Law Got to Do With It?

By Edrine Wanyama |

With digital freedoms continuing to take a hit amidst a wider democratic regression across Africa, the role of laws in curing what ails democracy in the region warrants scrutiny. In a number of countries, the laws that regulate how citizens use digital platforms and exercise their digital rights are retrogressive and fail to offer sufficient protection to citizens.…

CIPESA at the Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF23)

By CIPESA Writer |

The Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF) is an annual convening hosted by Nigeria based Paradigm Initiative. Themed “Building a sustainable Internet for all”, this year, the event is being hosted in Nairobi, Kenya on 12-14 April. DRIF is a platform where conversations on digital policy in Africa are shaped, policy directions debated and partnerships forged for…

Compelled Service Provider Assistance for State Surveillance in Africa: Challenges and Policy Options

By CIPESA Writer |

In many Sub-Saharan countries, state surveillance, which generally refers to state measures to monitor and supervise activities of the population, has become more pervasive and reliant on various digital technologies. The increasing communication surveillance, which entails the monitoring, interception, collection and retention of information through communication networks, undermines digital technology users’ rights, including to privacy, and…