| Happy New Year! January was a busy month for AIRA members, with a number of us commemorating the International Day of Education. A number of our members are looking to recruit new staff, please check out the websites and social media pages of CcHub/I-Hub, Paradigm initiative, CIPIT, CIPESA, LRC South Africa. We also have these positions listed on our website- aira.africa. Read on to get more information about reports, documentaries, and exciting events of our members from January and the coming months. |
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL – KENYA 1. Amnesty Kenya and partners issued a statement commending the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for the swift investigations into the brutal murder of Edwin Kiprotich Chiloba which resulted in a confession and arrest of four suspects. They also called upon the LGBTQ+ community and the public to share additional information to help prosecute this case. Read the statement here. All Kenyans were called upon to sign the #JusticeForEdwinChiloba online petition here. 2. Amnesty Kenya were at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) attending the World Privacy Day Conference together with key data holders in Kenya. The 2023 theme is 'Data Protection in a Digitally Transformed Economy'. Amnesty Kenya Executive Director, Irungu Houghton was a panelist at the conference speaking on promoting data protection in a digitally transformed economy. They also had a booth at the event discussing their work in Data Governance, Data Protection and Human Rights. The event was graced by H.E William Ruto who launched the Data Protection Registration system. Details here |
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ARTICLE 19 EASTERN AFRICA 1. ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa issued a statement welcoming the 11thJanuary 2023 ruling of the Constitutional Court of Uganda which declared section 25 of the Computer Misuse Act null and void. ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa Regional Director noted that, “We are glad that the Constitutional Court observed that section 25 is unjustifiable, as it curtails free speech in a democratic society, is vague, overly broad and ambiguous. It is therefore inconsistent with Article 29(1) of the Constitution and Article 19(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 9(2) of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).” The statement also noted that while we the ruling by the court is welcome, there remain greater challenges to freedom of expression posed by the Computer Misuse Act, including amendments made in October 2022. Read it here. 2. ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa issued a statement on the untimely death of John Williams Ntwali, one of the few Rwandan journalists who published stories critical of President Paul Kagame’s government. He was the editor of The Chronicles newspaper and owned the channel Pax TV on YouTube – IREME News, which is known for critical reporting in Rwanda. His death has been described as suspicious, stating that Ntwali might have been murdered. He had previously stated that he had received death threats, and that he feared for his safety. The statement called for an urgent, impartial, and thorough investigation into his death. Read it here.
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Upcoming activities: Article 19, under their Eyes on Expression Project are monitoring on-going freedom of expression violations in South Sudan. South Sudan’s National Security Services have detained the 7thjournalist working for state-run media, with charges remaining unclear. The journalists were accused of leaking an embarrassing video of the South-Sudan president last year. Article 19 continues to monitor the situation, as his family has been denied access to him. Details here. |
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BUDGIT 1) BudgIT shared their Vision and Mission for the BudgIT Strategy 2022 - 2026, ‘Cultivating People Power for Impact’. BudgIT’s mission, amongst others is to use creative technology to simplify public information, create digital civic tech products and tell a compelling story that spurs action from both the governed and government. Read it here. 2. On 26th January, BudgIT is hosting a Twitter Space on Nigeria’s 2023 Elections: Dismantling Voters’ Apathy. Listen to the recording here. 3. BudgIT’s Iyanuoluwa Bolarinwa was on Fresh FM speaking on the power of PVC. Listeners were reminded that the PVC is the only way they can decide who controls your country and its resources. Details here |
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Upcoming activities: BudgIT and partners will on 11thFebruary at the University of Lagos host the Youth Voters Seminar. Register here. |
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CcHUB/I-HUB 1. CcHub/I-Hub organized the annual Career Festival; an opportunity to be involved in a job matching session where jobseekers – skilled tech and non – tech talents – met potential employers who can connect them to a diverse number of companies. There was an expert panel that engaged in conversations between founders and Human Resource Recruiters on how you can stand out on the job market, valuable tips on writing CVs, cover letters, interview preparation, and more. Look out for details on the event here. 2.CC-Hub/I-Hub Announced the Creators' Circle 4.0, this time discussing funding and investments. It is aimed at creative professionals or entrepreneurs looking to get funding for their businesses. This event discussed how entrepreneurs can prepare creative business for capital injection, expand and secure more capital, find capital – best practices. Participants were able to find practical knowledge to help them prepare their businesses for more financial investment, build strategic partnerships that generate commercial value, and find the right investors and what do those investors look out for. Details here. |
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Upcoming activities: CcHub/I-Hub advertised positions focused on edtech. Check out the job details and apply if you think you're the right fit for the role. There are 10 jobs in Lagos and Nigeria and 6 in Nairobi, Kenya. The jobs at CcHub include Communications Associate (Brand Storytelling), Practice Lead, Technology & Society, Programme Manager (Startup Support), Practice Lead, Design for Health, Senior Impact and Evaluation Analyst, Acceleration Program Manager, Senior Product Manager, Edtech, Senior Programme Manager, and Creative Economy Practice. Apply here. I-Hub advertised the positions of Senior Impact and Evaluation Analyst, Growth and Partnerships Manager, Learning Science Manager, Venture Capital Analyst, Portfolio Manager, and Account Manager (Communications). Apply here. |
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KICTANET 1. KICTANet produced a documentary on dealing with on-line violenceThe documentary provides a human face to what can be considered an abstract problem. The documentary calls for more action from stakeholders such as tech companies, civil society, and the general online community. Watch it here. 2. KICTANet attended the World Privacy Day Conference together with the office of the Data Protection commissioner on 27th January. The KICTANet team moderated a sessions on Digital superhighway and creative economy - the government perspective KICTANet also had an exhibition booth that shared about their network that encourage synergies for ICT policy related activities and initiatives. Details here. 3. KICTANET and partners started the Data Protectors Podcast; a new podcast series that aims to help SMEs in Kenya comply with data protection regulations. The project is in collaboration with the Digital Transformation Center (DTC) Kenya, and the Nairobi Legal Hackers network. The podcast brought together Kenyan and European experts to explore different aspects of data protection compliance, share lessons learned, and identify opportunities created with the enactment of the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulations. Listen to the episode here. |
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Upcoming Activities: KICTANET issued a call for applications for independent researchers to audit the accessibility of public service websites in Kenya for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). This research project is part of KICTANET’s Digital Access Program that seeks to promote the accessibility of digital technologies and platforms for Persons with Disability. Details here. |
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Legal Resources Centre ( LRC) 1. Shared a toolkit for undocumented children, to enable access education for undocumented learners in South Africa. The toolkit explores the law, policy, and court decisions on the right to education in South Africa. It also uses a question-answer format to address right to education issues such as whether immigrants and those without documentation like a birth certificate can attend school. Access it here. 2. LRC advertised the position of Grants Management and Funding Officer to support its work. The position is based at the LRC’s office in Johannesburg. Purpose of the role is to strengthen the financial sustainability of the LRC through the development of and reporting on grants, projects and other new funding streams. Details here. |
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Upcoming Activities: INCLO in partnership with LRC and others have published a report, “Under Surveillance: Misuse of Technologies in Emergency responses, Global responses from the Covid 19 pandemic.” The report will be launched and further disseminated over the next weeks. Read it here. |
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Paradigm Initiative 1. Paradigm Initiative commemorated the International Day of Education and urged African countries to invest in digital technologies and internet access to prioritize education. International Day for Education is an annual event celebrated on January 24th, to promote international education and awareness of its importance in human development. Paradigm Initiative has in place Digital Inclusion programs, which include the Life Skills, ICTs, Financial Literacy, and Entrepreneurship training (L.I.F.E) for young people in under-served communities, and the LIFE School training, a technology club that runs in secondary schools to increase access to ICTs and digital literacy training for underserved African youth. Read the full statement here.
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Upcoming Activities: - Paradigm Initiative will open participant registration for DRIF 23 on 1st February 2023.
- Paradigm Initiative has advertised vacancies for positions whose application deadline is Friday 3rd February 2023. The positions include programs Officer – East Africa, programs Officer – Anglophone West Africa, Finance Officer. Details here.
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Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT) 1. Listen to the latest episode of the Friendly Troll Podcast that discusses the Data Protection Act, ODPC and the future. In this episode, Francis Monyango and Mutua Mutuku discuss the Data Protection Act turning 3 years, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and the digital lenders' enforcement notice. Listen here. 2. CIPT will be part of one week of Debates on copyright and access to knowledge from 23rd – 27thJanuary 2023 on the right to research in Africa. The topics under discussion were copyright and access to knowledge with policymakers, researchers, legal experts and activists from across Africa. The programs were in Johannesburg and Cape Town. There were also lessons on open licensing of government information, Freedom of Panorama, and Making the Copyright Amendment Bill work in South Africa, and learning to edit Wikipedia at an edit-a-thon. Details here. 3. CIPIT advertised the positions of Junior Research Fellow – IT, Junior Research Fellow – Artificial Intelligence, Research Assistant – Gender Studies, Research Assistant – IT. For more details on the job details and how to apply see here.
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Upcoming Activities: - The deadline for the call for proposals for the Conference for the state of AI in Africa 2023 has been extended to February 6. Send your submission to [email protected] For more information see here.
- Introduced the Data Governance and Gender Fellows. The CIPIT Data Governance Centre Fellows work on research in the field of data protection and privacy from an African perspective. Fellows are researching and writing journal articles on topics related to Gender and Data Governance for a Data Protection-themed JIPIT edition. They will spend the next 3 months researching topics around Data Governance with a focus on Gender. View their profiles here.
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The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) 1. CIPESA wrote an article on the Computer Misuse Act 2011 ruling, describing it as a small win for digital rights in the country. The statement notes that the Act has been previously used to suppress digital rights including free expression and access to information of social critics and political opposition. It was also noted that despite the progressive decision by the Constitutional court, the Computer Misuse Act will remain a key impediment to free expression and the enjoyment of digital rights, notably because of amendments made to the law in late 2022. Read about it in detail here.
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Upcoming Activities: CIPESA issued a call for a Fundraising consultant with a passion for non-profit work to help develop a comprehensive fundraising strategy to support the implementation of their new strategic plan. The consultant will, among others conduct a situation analysis of CIPESA’s funding over the last planning period, Develop SMART objectives for the strategy, conduct research to identify and map potential donors and funding sources for the new planning period, develop a comprehensive fundraising plan, including specific tactics, budgets, and timelines. Application deadline 15thFebruary 2023. Apply here. |
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POLLICY 1. Pollicy facilitated a session at the 2023 Okere City Summit for Sustainable Development. The session focused on measuring the Sustainable Development Goals in practice. The sessions were aimed at defining better opportunities for the community, rooted in people's ideas, knowledge as well as their context. See more here. |
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Upcoming Activities: Pollicy is now accepting applications for its upcoming second cohort of the VOTE: Women Programme. Application deadline: 6th February 2023. Details and application here. |
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