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SA to host African Internet Governance Forum

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 27 Jun 2016
This year's African Internet Governance Forum will take place in SA in October.
This year's African Internet Governance Forum will take place in SA in October.

Cabinet has approved a request by the African Union for SA to host this year's African Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF), scheduled to take place in October.

In a statement, Cabinet said hosting the forum provides a platform for Africa to develop strategies for participation in the global Internet economy, which is critical for the development of economies on the continent.

The AfIGF is a platform for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue on prevailing and emerging issues on the Internet governance ecosystem. The forum also provides a platform for African governments to set the agenda to adopt a common position on Internet governance.

"These include participation in the online economy, intellectual property, cyber security and privacy, and access to key technical resources, such as domain names and Internet Protocol addresses that make Internet services possible," Cabinet said in a statement.

The statement added: "This reaffirms the Tunis Declaration, that Internet governance is a global resource that should be managed in a multilateral, transparent and democratic process, with the full involvement of all stakeholders."

African governments will also have an opportunity to engage on critical components of the Internet value chain with a view to promote the equitable distribution and use of Internet resources.

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