The Association for Progressive Communications (APC), the Information Society Division of the African Union Commission (AUC), and Research ICT Africa, are now accepting nominations for the 14th annual African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG 2026), a multistakeholder training initiative that aims to give Africans from diverse sectors and stakeholder groups the opportunity to gain knowledge about the internet governance landscape. This year’s edition will take place in Accra, Ghana, in the last quarter of 2026, immediately before the Africa Internet Governance Forum (AIGF).
According to the organisers, over the years, AfriSIG has built a multidisciplinary cadre with expertise in internet governance through the participation of current and emerging leaders drawn from government, business, academia, the media, the technical community, and civil society, with the diversity of participants reflecting the School’s objective of enhancing multistakeholder cooperation in national and global internet policy and development.
AfriSIG’s primary goal, they said, is to give Africans who are already active in internet governance or digital policy from various sectors and stakeholder groups the opportunity to gain knowledge that will enable them to participate effectively with increased confidence in national, regional, and global internet and digital governance processes and debates.
The overall focus of AfriSIG 2026 will be on AI governance in the African context.
AfriSIG 2026 will take place over the course of five and a half days as an intensive and interactive learning, knowledge-sharing, and networking event with a curriculum that will cover:
- Artificial intelligence (AI) for development and AI governance in Africa, with special emphasis on the African Union AI Strategy and trends in current and emerging national AI strategies.
- Digitalisation, sustainable development, and digital inequality/inclusion.
- The internet governance ecosystem from a multilateral and multistakeholder perspective.
- The African institutional context.
- Roles of government, intergovernmental forums, UN agencies (e.g. UNESCO, the ITU and more), regulators, parliaments, civil society, business, academia, and the technical community.
- Open internet architecture, infrastructure, standards and protocols, and management of internet names and numbers.
- Data governance and digital “sovereignty”.
- Internet governance and social issues: gender, human rights, misinformation and disinformation, content regulation, political participation and access to information.
- Cybersecurity, trust and safety.
- Platform accountability.
- Digital governance and climate change.
- Current processes and debates, e.g. the Global Digital Compact, the UN Global Dialogue on AI, WSIS+20 implementation and the future of the Internet Governance Forum.
This practicum component will focus on artificial intelligence governance in Africa, looking in particular at the African Union AI Strategy through the lens of the Just AI Framework.
For nominations, participants must meet the following criteria:
- They must be passionate about the internet as a driver for people-centred development in Africa.
- They must work in the internet, telecommunications, media, digital policy, data governance or digital rights, in any sector or stakeholder group.
- They must have relevant experience in AI, data or internet governance, or ICT research, policy and regulation, and the foundational knowledge to engage at a professional level. This programme is not designed for beginners.
- They must be well-positioned to contribute to strengthening internet governance in Africa and amplifying African voices in global discussions, and their current employment or studies should support their active engagement in this space.
- They must have basic fluency in English.
Individuals in middle or senior management, or those in leadership roles in their field or institution, are strongly encouraged to apply.
Nominations are welcomed from across all stakeholder groups, including government ministries, departments and public sector ICT services (such as public libraries), national and regional communications, data and information regulatory authorities, members of parliament serving on portfolio committees covering media, communications or information technology, internet industry service providers and businesses, including mobile network operators and digital platforms as well as small and medium internet-related enterprises, and civil society, NGOs, and community-based organisations working in the internet and communications sector.
Other stakeholder groups include human rights, gender, and ecological justice advocates and institutions dealing with internet issues, the legal community, including the judiciary, legal practitioners, and law enforcement working in internet, communications or data protection law, the internet technical community, including those involved in internet names and numbers, engineering, systems administration, programming and security, academic and research institutions working on internet governance, data protection, or data governance, and media organisations, journalists, and bloggers focusing on internet or data governance and policy.
To submit a nomination, a nominating institution needs to submit a letter of recommendation and motivation and attach the CV of the nominee. The documents must be submitted in English. The deadline is May 31, 2026, at 23:59 UTC. Please address the nomination to afrisig@apc.org.
Participation in AfriSIG costs USD 2,000, which covers accommodation and tuition. Participants are responsible for their own travel costs, unless they are a beneficiary of a travel fellowship.
Shortlisted nominees will be asked to complete an application form through which they can apply for sponsorship.
The AfriSIG organisers have limited support available for successful applicants. This support will cover the tuition fee and accommodation. There is also a limited number of travel fellowships available.
Please note that all participants, even those who are self-funded, will be expected to attend for the duration of the school.
For more information, visit the AfriSIG website www.afrisig.org or contact the AfriSIG organisers, Anriette Esterhuysen and Peace Oliver Amuge at afrisig@apc.org.
