In November 2022, the Centre for Multilateral Affairs (CfMA) participated in a collective report titled ‘African and Romanian perspectives on consolidating the European Union – African Union partnership’. The document is produced by the European Institute of Romania (EIR). The collective report “African perspectives on consolidating the European Union – African Union partnership” was designed as an open platform for African experts to express their views and concerns regarding the potential held by the renewed partnership. There were contributions of 16 experts from African countries: Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda.
The CfMA made submission regarding advancing digital equality and transformation in Uganda. It argued – re-echoing calls from other digital strategists around the globe that, whereas technology has transformative potential, unless efforts to address the broader inequality questions structured in many African society, digital agenda will continue to leave many people behind. We emphasized the importance of having internet that positively influences lives of citizens and communities citing the meaningful connectively approach that have been advanced by our partners around the globe such as the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership.
We noted that bilateral partnerships as those between the European Union (EU) and Government of Uganda or any other bilateral cooperation agreement is key in promoting the above causes. For instance, the EU Multi-Annual Indicative Programme 2021-2027 aim at addressing digital divide, ensuring e-participation and e-governance in delivery of services in government and in communities – through support to both the state and civil society in Uganda.
We recommended that African governments should take a closer look at the African Union Internet Infrastructure Security guidelines for Africa to help tailor their digital needs in respect to the guidelines. Above all, we suggested that given these priorities in the African Union (AU) guidelines, a certain need arises: strengthening multi-stakeholder participation in tackling the question of digital inequality – which requires broad participation of government, civil society, private sectors, technical communities, and academia.
On 17th February 2023, the European Institute of Romania (EIR) organized an expert online meeting to further deliberate on the report produced but also to facilitate an exchange of ideas regarding the consolidation of the EU-AU partnership, as well as the potential contribution of Romania and other Central and Eastern European countries to this partnership.
The CfMA highlighted the following points in its 5 minutes intervention.
- The EU-AU and Romania should aim at ensuring that their support to advance digital equality is backed up by concerted effort to address the broader inequality bottlenecks under which our society is structured. We pointed out that African countries are inundated with challenges of negative culture, norms and stereotypes that hampers and contribute to exclusion of sections of society but, also that barriers such as education and literacy levels as well as infrastructural challenges equally, places serious strains on communities and exacerbate inequality. We recommended changes in policy but also the meaningful connectivity approach as a solution to addressing barriers to internet access as advanced by our partner the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership
- We pointed that from our experiences, African perspectives are either lacking or not featuring prominently in multi-stakeholder policy discourses – even more importantly, on how Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) can be used as tools of empowerment, development and maintenance of international peace and stability. The work of the European Institute of Romania should continue to advance this agenda, a vision that is consistent with the aspirations of the CfMA.
- Considering the above, we emphasized that future cooperation between Romania and Africa should deepen African engagement in inter-governmental and multi-stakeholder processes in advancing the benefits of how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as an accelerator for development and, to maintain international peace and security. We cited limited participation of the African groups and African governments in processes such as Adhoc committee on Cybercrime or the United Nation’s Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) processes – so that Africa is not playing a catch up role in these processes
- We noted that EU-Romania support to Africa in advancing digitalization should ensure such support focus on making technology work for people and communities as positive enablement – allowing them to thrive and survive as opposed to the state-centric approach of protecting the technology and its infrastructures and overlooking the roles of technology for the empowerment of individuals and communities.
- In that regard, we noted the need to ensure such cooperation and support to advance digital transformation in Africa supports the crucial need to respect human rights nationally and in line with international legal instruments and frameworks.
We hope that the renewed partnership will mutually contribute to the interests of both the EU-AU. And that cooperation at bilateral levels or other forms substantially and meaningfully benefits the local persons and communities. We hope that such support is tailored towards ensuring African governments meet the specific legal obligations as required by International Law and especially, in regard to respect for human rights in the digital age and that, such support rather promotes freedom of expression online.
