Addis Ababa, 28th March 2019: The High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation has launched the Africa Dialogue Series on digital cooperation to discuss and identify areas in which cooperation across borders, industries and sectors, can mobilize efforts for the development of effective digital policies and for the future of Africa’s digital transformation.
The High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation is an independent, expert group tasked by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres to conduct wide-ranging consultations on the opportunities and challenges of cooperation in the digital age.

Over the coming months, the High-Level Panel will work with partners to organise a series of national and regional dialogues aimed at addressing African priorities in digital cooperation. The dialogue series include: in-person session with members of the Policy and Regulation Initiative for Digital Africa (PRIDA) on March 29th, in-person session at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum on April 10th, and two online sessions on April 18th and April 25th.

The public dialogues will be conducted by a multi-stakeholder partnership of the African Union Commission, the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the International Telecommunication Union, the Internet Governance Forum, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the Association for Progressive Communication, and DiploFoundation.

The issues being raised by the High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation provide timely and relevant context for African leaders and stakeholders to start addressing the ways and means by which digital cooperation can be effective at the national, regional and continental levels. In addition, Africa needs to strengthen its voice and presence in global negotiations on issues such as data, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.

Digital Transformation was the underlying theme of the recent meeting of leaders at the African Union Commission where African Heads of State and Government joined chorus of calls for digital transformation of the continent in the Ethiopian Capital, Addis Ababa.

Over the last decade, mobile technology has helped Africa leapfrog into the digital era. Countries across the region are moving steadily forward, using effectively digital technology in education, agriculture, economic development and other related fields. Cooperation across borders, industries and sectors, and the development of effective digital policies, is essential for the future of Africa’s digital transformation.

For further information:
Moctar Yedaly| Head of Information Society Division| Department of Infrastructure and Energy I African Union Commission I E-mail: yedalym@africa-union.org mailto:dic@africa-union.org
For media enquiry:
Sophia Nesri | PIDA Information Analyst | Department of Infrastructure and Energy | African Union Commission I E-mail: sophian@africa-union.org mailto:dic@africa-union.org