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It was June 2010, the schools were about to go on a long break. The eyes of the world were on South Africa. The first African country to host the FIFA world cup. Huddled in the corner of the small and dusty school library, a little girl came across a book that spoke of computers and the internet. A place that held the promise of access to endless information at your fingertips. She dreamt of the day when she herself would, at the touch of a key, access this information. This little girl was me.
Eleven years later, this is still the reality of millions of young girls and marginalised communities in Africa. This has had a profound impact on, inter alia, access to education and access to health care. Measures such as social distancing, lockdowns and remote working that were introduced to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the already existing digital inequalities.
Before I attended the 2021 African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG), I had always believed that it was only the responsibility of the governments to work towards addressing, amongst other things, digital inequalities. Taking part in the practicum and getting the opportunity to play a completely different role from what I do for a living completely changed my perspective. To learn about multistakeholderism and hearing the speakers tell us their opposing views about the process was an eye-opening experience for me.
Read the full blog post on the AfriSIG website.
Image: Wikiwand
