Posted by According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), many African nations now see the potential of a thriving digital economy to usher in a plethora of positive social and economic changes.
During Thursday’s 11th African School on Internet Governance, AfriSIG, in Abuja, NCC’s Head, Corporate Services in the Universal Service Provision Fund, Mistura Aruna, made this announcement.
This year’s conference is focused on the “Data Policy Framework of the African Union.”
This year, the impact of the African Union’s (AU) Data Policy Framework on the Internet ecosystem’s service delivery has taken center stage.
Aruna continued by saying that data in all its forms—information, statistics, numbers—are key to the unprecedented magnitude and speed with which the digital transformation is taking place across the world.
She explained that the term “datafication” was created to describe the phenomena of using data-driven technologies to turn everyday life and work into measurable data that can be followed, monitored, analyzed, and monetized.
She elaborated that the African Union’s adoption of the Digital Transformation Strategy (DTS) in 2020 forms the basis for the data policy framework, with the goal of empowering the continent and its member states to leverage digital technologies for local innovation to enhance citizens’ access to resources, mitigate poverty and inequality, and speed up the distribution of goods and services.
“The AU Data Policy Framework represents a significant step toward creating a consolidated data environment and harmonized digital data governance systems to enable the free and secure flow of data across the continent while safeguarding human rights, upholding security, and ensuring equitable access and sharing of benefits,” she continued.
“This framework articulates a shared perspective on the future of data use in Africa, outlining guiding principles, strategic priorities, and critical recommendations for the continent’s nations as they build out their data infrastructure and skills to maximize its potential.
It’s important to remember that “the domestication of the framework by African countries and the implementation of its key recommendations will position Africa as a strong partner and will enable African youth to participate in and thrive in the global digital economy and society.” This is true despite the fact that individual African countries have varying levels of economic development, technological sophistication, and access to the internet.
She said she was crossing her fingers that the school’s final recommendations would get in front of the right people.
She claims that the Commission is still dedicated to its original objective of facilitating the implementation of reliable infrastructure and the universal provision of high-quality, low-cost Internet access to all interested parties.