Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) will host the 5th edition of the annual Internet Freedom Forum (IFF) in Lagos, Nigeria from April 25 to 27, 2017.
Prospective participants from 30 countries have registered to participate in this year’s edition. It will bring together internet freedom advocates and forward-looking government actors.
In 2016, participants drawn from 14 countries attended the Internet Freedom Forum which took place in Abuja in March.
The Internet Freedom Forum is a global platform that brings together participants from various countries to discuss and engage on a variety of topics touching on Internet Freedom with particular focus on the African continent.
In the past, the IFF discourses have explored issues around surveillance and transparency, freedom of expression online, the Internet and democratic governance, constitutionalism and digital rights amongst many others.
Over the years, the IFF has grown the needed conversations around closing the gap between policy and Internet consumers who are fast becoming the active population in any socio-economic layout. The 2014 edition of the Forum produced a much sought-after draft bill, the Digital Rights and Internet Freedom bill which seeks to address fundamental freedoms issues around the Internet. The Digital Rights and Internet Freedom Bill is currently being consulted for replication in other jurisdictions across the world. The bill has scaled the Public Hearing stage at the House of Representatives and is also nearing passage into law.
Additionally, conversations at the Forum in 2016 spurred the need for research and reports from PIN’s Office such as the ‘Status of Internet Freedom Report in Nigeria’ and more recently, the ‘Digital Rights Africa Report’ launched at 11th edition of the Internet Governance Forum in Guadalajara, Mexico on December 8, 2016. This, among many other activities by various advocates, has launched Nigeria into the forefront of Internet rights and infrastructure conversations not only in Africa, but on the global scene.
