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IGF 2023 WS #416 African Approach on Data Governance for Prosperity and Trust

    Subtheme

    Data Governance & Trust
    Cross-border Data Flows and Trust

    Organizer 1: Ngiruwonsanga Theoneste, Smart Africa
    Organizer 2: Aretha Mare, Smart Africa
    Organizer 3: Thelma QUAYE, 🔒

    Speaker 1: Thelma QUAYE, Intergovernmental Organization, African Group
    Speaker 2: Philippe KOUAME, Intergovernmental Organization, African Group
    Speaker 3: Souhila Amazouz, Intergovernmental Organization, African Group

    Moderator

    Thelma QUAYE, Intergovernmental Organization, African Group

    Online Moderator

    Aretha Mare, Intergovernmental Organization, African Group

    Rapporteur

    Ngiruwonsanga Theoneste, Intergovernmental Organization, African Group

    Format

    Panel - 90 Min

    Policy Question(s)

    ​​​A. What Africa can do to unlock data for prosperity?
    B. How can we chart a sustainable African data governance approach?
    C. What are ongoing efforts for ensuring cross-border data flow with trust?

    What will participants gain from attending this session? The Panel brings together regulators, policymakers, and technicians to explore the potential of data to drive economic growth and development in Africa, and the need for a comprehensive data governance approach that would ensure that data is used safely, ethically, and for the benefit of all stakeholders.

    The participants and attendees of this session will take away recommendations from the panelists on the collaborative approach to data governance, mechanisms of how to involve all stakeholders in the development of harmonized policies and frameworks and the importance of building local capacity in data science and analytics, promoting data literacy and awareness, and investing in technology and infrastructure to support data collection, management and value creation.

    SDGs

    Description:

    Africa’s population is currently around 1.4 billion and projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050. Africa will comprise 26% of the world’s working age population, with an economy that is estimated to grow twice as rapidly as that of the developed world. There are ongoing efforts on the continent to transform Africa into a Single Digital Market (SDM). Africa’s SDM will be the world’s largest market and will build growth in an African Digital Economy. However, some key challenges remain to unlock the potential of Africa’s SDM such as lack of policies harmonization between African countries, limited capacity of national governance institutions and limited trust on both sides of a digital transaction nationally and across borders.

    This session on African Approach on Data Governance for Prosperity and Trust will be focused on how data can be used to drive economic growth and development in Africa. It will look at how Africa can enable its data flows with trust to safeguard the journey of Africa’s digital transformation into a single market while ensuring an efficient and effective e-governance implementation for the benefit of citizens.

    Expected Outcomes

    Recommendations from the panelists on the collaborative approach to data governance
    Importance of building local capacity to support data collection, data management and value creation.
    African Union – Implementation of the Continental Data Policy Framework
    Smart Africa – Implementation of Pan-African Data Governance Blueprint.
    Development and Implementation of Senegal National Data Strategy
    Development and Implementation of Ghana National Data Strategy

    Hybrid Format: 1) Smart Africa has the capabilities and experience to facilitate interaction between onsite and online speakers and attendees
    2) The panel discussion will be 40min and the remaining time will be for open discussion facilitated by a moderator
    3) Zoom or Teams for registration and attendance