Lagos, Nigeria – [Aug 28, 2020] – Paradigm Initiative (PIN) is delighted to announce the 8th edition of the Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF) scheduled for April 12-30, 2021.
DRIF21 will be a multi-country festival which communities can join both face-to-face and online. This edition will begin with a virtual open house on April 12, 2021, followed by meetings in several countries across Africa.
DRIF is an important platform where debates on public digital policies in Africa are formulated as well as political orientations and partnerships for their implementation. It is also the space for the expression of various skills and capacities to strengthen digital rights and inclusion on the African continent and beyond.
As Paradigm Initiative’s flagship platform for digital communities, DRIF continues to set the tone as a space for discussion on global challenges regarding digital rights, privacy, access, digital tools, violations, digital empowerment for underserved communities and similar themes – especially in Africa – and consolidating perspectives from civil society, tech companies, governments, academia and other stakeholders.
According to “Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director of PIN,” the Paradigm Initiative team is honored once again to bring the digital rights community together through a mix of virtual and physical interactions, because as we have seen from the very first In the days of the global pandemic, violations of citizens’ rights continued – and in some cases intensified. ”
For Nnenna Paul-Ugochukwu, Director of Operations of Paradigm Initiative, “It is important to discuss the lessons learned about how different countries are responding to the challenges of data governance during times of crisis, how the freedom to Expression evolves in the face of dangerous misinformation and how civic space might thrive amid lockdowns. We look forward to the multi-country debates of the 8th edition of DRIF and look forward to working with partners and participants on the action opportunities identified! ”
Previous editions have taken place face-to-face in a single country and have seen the participation of various members of civil society, the technical community, academia, state actors and the private sector for common commitments.
“Hosting DRIF21 in a number of African countries will be a great opportunity to celebrate the diversity that accompanies a growing network of digital rights and inclusion advocates. The DRIF21 model will offer a series of enriched conversations that will unravel the issues and help shape strategies for improving the digital landscape in Africa, ”said Thobekile Matimbe, Community Officer at PIN.
“We are delighted to introduce DRIF to our communities this time around, literally bringing the Forum to our partners and attendees as we continue the important conversations around digital policy on the continent,” added COO Nnenna Paul -Ugochukwu.
PIN has issued a call for session proposals and urges interested stakeholders and partners to submit proposals that will help improve the digital ecosystem.
