Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa to take place in Johannesburg

By APC Johannesburg,

Published on 26 September 2017
Page last updated on 1 September 2023

Privacy, access to information, free expression, non-discrimination and the free flow of information online are some of the concerns of this year's Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (#FIFAfrica17). Co-organised by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) and the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), this meeting will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa from 27 to 29 September 2017. This will expand the physical footprint of the event, which has been held in Kampala, Uganda since its inception in 2014.

FIFAfrica is an annual event where participants gather for discussions aimed at promoting a free and open internet in Africa. It brings together human rights defenders, journalists, government officials, private sector players, global information intermediaries, bloggers, developers, the arts community, law enforcers, regulators and others to discuss and work on ways to advance internet freedom in Africa.

What are #FIFAfrica17's main themes?

This year, the panels and discussions are built around themes which engage with various principles from the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms, a key tool to promote internet rights in the African region. The Declaration is intended to elaborate on the principles which are necessary to uphold human and peoples' rights on the internet, and to cultivate an Internet environment that can best meet Africa’s social and economic development needs and goals. For more on the African Declaration, check out APC's African Declaration interactive platform, which is part of APC’s project Building feminist cross-movement collaboration and action on internet and human rights in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, funded by the Ford Foundation.

Click here to see the full agenda for the event.