Digital Rights And Inclusion Forum Registration Now Open

By Samuel Ouma   Registration is now open for the 10th Edition of Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF23), a pan-African bilingual event that will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from April 12th to 14th, 2023. The forum, whose theme is Building A Sustainable Internet For All, will be held at Sarova Stanley Hotel, organized by Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a leading Pan-African Digital Rights and Inclusion organization. The event will be attended by 300 delegates from the legislative branch, executive branch, civil society, non-governmental organizations, the academic community, policymakers, the technical community, and the corporate sector within the digital ecosystem. The forum will be hosted in collaboration with Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) and other PIN partners. KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder think tank in Kenya for ICT policy and regulation. Sessions will focus on, among other themes, Internet shutdowns, Universal Service Fund utilization, data protection, content moderation, and censorship. Also lined up at the event are key launches of research, platforms, and networks. Ms. Thobekile Matimbe, PIN’s Partnerships and Engagements Manager, said the organization and its partners are looking forward to hosting vibrant and thought-provoking sessions that will provide solutions to the current global digital challenges. "The caliber of session proposals we received represents the thoughts, ideas, challenges, and solutions in the digital and inclusion space. At PIN, we are honored to provide a platform that acts as a melting point for stimulating discussions and great ideas. This will be a great forum, and we appreciate all our stakeholders who presented their proposals," said Ms. Matimbe. On her part, Ms. Grace Githaiga, the Convenor and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KICTANet said the forum would play a key role in bringing together key players in the tech space at a time when the world is racing to catch up with many technological developments which are happening in quick succession. “ As a major think tank in the country, I would say this is a major event as it goes a long way in further entrenching Kenya’s position as a leader in the tech space both in the region and beyond,” Githaiga said. The link to the forum’s registration can be accessed here: https://bit.ly/DRIF23Registration.