Organised by Paradigm Initiative, the three-day event, which holds at NAF Conference Centre, Abuja, is supported by Microsoft, Ford Foundation, Google, Facebook, Civicus among others.
Session organisers at the forum include Amnesty International (AI), Web Foundation, BudgIT, and Mozilla.
According to Paradigm Initiative, the forum comes at a time when many Africans fear for their freedom online.
The forum, in a statement by Paradigm Initiative Director of Programs Tope Ogundipe, helps bring attention to important issues confronting digital rights such as data privacy, internet shutdown, access to the internet, among others.
Ogundipe said: “The Forum, now in its the sixth edition, will welcome delegates from 30 countries, including Uganda, Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa, Cameroon, Togo, United Kingdom and the United States. The Forum will also be live-streamed to the whole world to encourage virtual participation.
“Speakers at the forum will include the author of Love Does not Win Elections, Ayisha Osori, Special Assistant to the President on Digital Media Tolu Ogunlesi, and Head, Government Relations and Public Policy at Google Titi Akinsanmi. Others are Facebook’s Public Policy Manager Akua Gyekye and Afef Abrougui of Ranking Digital Rights.
“IFF2018 provides an important platform to discuss issues that bother many Africans. The sessions and side-sessions at IFF 2018 cover some of the most pertinent themes relating to digital rights and inclusion in Africa. These include, “How to Ruin Elections in Africa”, “Cybercrime Laws and Freedom of Expression”, “Bridging Gender Knowledge Gap in Wikipedia”.
“The forum will also discuss the state of internet in various African countries with report from scores of “Gender, Open Data and AI: Intersecting for Digital Equality”, “Empowering Human Rights Defenders in Digital Era In Africa” and “Building a Healthy Internet in Africa.”
