Participants in Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2017 in South Africa

Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2017

Sunnyside Park Hotel, located on Princess of Wales Terrace & Carse O’Gowrie Road, Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa were the venue of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2017. 

The forum on internet freedom in Africa brought together activists, media experts, techies, jurists and others to discuss issues related to internet freedom in Africa. From September 27-29, 2017 in a series of conferences-debats and workshops, participants had the opportunity to discuss on different themes related to the issue of freedom of the internet in africa.

With a grant from the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), I had the opportunity  to participate in the forum and to speak during the Forum on the way to enhance privacy and digital security of journalists and activists working in high risks environment such as the democratic republic of Congo.

Participants to the workshop learnt different tools such as Ipeace Project App, a mobile application that allows journalists to report in safe and secure manner.  

They also learnt how to enhance their digital security, how to overcome online censorship, digital attacks and how they can use innovative USB keys and other secured tools using Elliptic-curve cryptography (ECC) to share their data and communication in safe and secure manner on internet.

During the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2017, I have acquire new skills and knoweldge that will help me improve my daily work on internet freedom in Africa and I will also transfer these skills and knowledge to other people and organization in democratic republic of Congo interested by the internet freedom and related issues.

Finally, the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2017 has been a unique occasion to meet new friends and old friends. I had the opportunity to meet a friend  such as Gbenga Sesan from Nigeria with whom we met for the first time in 2001 in Midrand, Johannesburg during the Youth Telecom 2001 Fellowship programme organized by the International Telecommunication Union.  I also meet Boubacar Diop, an IT expert from Senegal whom we meet in Cotonou, Benin in 2003 during the Fete de l'internet en Africa.

Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2017 were a successfully event.