Dar es Salaam, 9 October 2024 - The Africa WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) Annual Review Workshop was held from 9 to 11 October 2024, in Dar es Salaam, to review Africa's progress in implementing the WSIS Action Lines nearly two decades after inception.
Participants focused on assessing achievements, identifying gaps, and setting new priorities for Africa’s digital future, as part of the global effort to realize WSIS’s vision of building "a people-centered, inclusive, and development-oriented Information Society."
Co-hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania’s Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology, the event marked an important milestone in aligning Africa’s digital agenda with the WSIS Action Lines and the Global Digital Compact (GDC). The workshop further highlighted the progress made over the past 20 years with a focus on national-level implementation of the WSIS Action Lines and alignment with the SDG process and the Agenda 2063 aspirations - The Africa we Want.
In his opening remarks, Jerry William Silaa, Tanzania’s Minister of Information, Communication, and Information Technology, expressed Tanzania’s commitment to advancing digital transformation across the continent. He noted, “Tanzania is dedicated to aligning with the WSIS framework by investing in digital infrastructure, fostering innovation, and enhancing capacity-building efforts to ensure an inclusive digital economy for all.”
Mactar Seck, Chief of the Emerging and Frontier Technologies, Innovation, and Digital Transformation Section at ECA, briefed the host nation’s ministerial delegation on the commission’scommitment to assisting African member states in the transition to an inclusive digital society by harmonizing digital policy frameworks.
In his opening remarks, Mr Seck highlighted ECA's key contributions to Member States in building the capacity needed to address emerging digital challenges. He further noted: ‘...ECA’s work in building consensus within the WSIS Action Lines remains crucial in improving digital governance structures across Africa’.
Country-level presentations and successful initiatives were shared, highlighting models that can be replicated across the continent to enhance digital inclusion. Presentations from national delegations emphasized the hurdles African nations face and shared policy recommendations for aligning the WSIS+20 process with national digital transformation strategies.
Among the key challenges discussed was bridging the digital divide and the need for a common reporting framework that would enable citizens, stakeholders, and governments to monitor digital transformation efforts.
Participants stressed the importance of creating systems that allow communities to report and align implementation plans with WSIS Action Lines in addressing new and emerging digital governance in areas such as AI, cybersecurity, and data privacy, while ensuring coordination with global initiatives to avoid duplication of multi stakeholder processes. Such systems were suggested to provide policymakers with tools to more effectively measure the outcomes and impact of the Action Lines. Additionally, enhanced parliamentary engagement was highlighted as crucial to driving forward digital policies and ensuring sustained implementation.
The Africa WSIS Annual Review Workshop culminated in the African WSIS Review Dar es Salaam Declaration, scaling up WSIS implementation across Africa. This declaration was presented at the CSTD 2024-2025 Inter-sessional Panel on October 21, 2024, solidifying Africa's stance in the WSIS+20 Review process and Global Digital Compact discussions.
This workshop will serve as a pivotal starting point for consolidating Africa's position on WSIS +20, in preparation for the UN High-Level Meeting on the WSIS Review in September 2025 in New York. It will shape Africa's contribution to the global digital agenda and influence the continent's stance in both the WSIS+20 Review process and broader Global Digital Compact discussions.
The review meeting brought together a diverse group of 150 participants both online and in-person, comprised of parliamentarians, international organizations, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), civil society, academia, government, private sector, technical community, and continental organizations.
For more information and ongoing updates on the Africa WSIS Annual Review, please visit: www.uneca.org/eca-events/africa-wsis-annual-review
Documentation
Download the African WSIS Review Dar es Salaam Declaration [Draft]
Watch the full recordings and session recaps ▶ Available at ECA’s Digital Center of Excellence YouTube channel
Follow updates and upcoming sessions on ECA’s Digital Center X page: https://x.com/Dite4Africa
Contact persons
Mactar Seck
Chief-of-Section, Emerging and Frontier Technologies, Innovation, and Digital Transformation Section
Technology, Innovation, Connectivity and Infrastructure Division (TICID)
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Email: seck8@un.org
Sorene Assefa
Cybersecurity and Digital Governance Expert
Technology, Innovation, Connectivity and Infrastructure Division (TICID)
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Email:sorene@un.org
For media inquires
Abiy Goshu
Projects Communication
Technology, Innovation, Connectivity and Infrastructure Division (TICID)
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Email: abiy.goshu@un.org
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org