The World Wide Web Foundation and the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), in partnership with the Ghana Ministry of Communications, OSIWA, the African Development Bank, UN Women and Internet Society are pleased to announce the 2nd Africa Summit on Women and Girls in Technology, which will be held October 9–11, 2018 in Accra, Ghana.
The 2018 Summit will bring together the growing network of women and girls in technology policy in Africa for three days of peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, hands-on workshops, and networking to build on efforts initiated at the 2016 Summit to promote digital gender equality across the continent.
Furthermore, it will offer a critical forum on how technology policies and plans can further the rights and interests of African women and girls. We will engage high-level participants, including African women leading in technology and ICT policy, to debate policy solutions and contribute to policy processes on broadband internet access, women’s empowerment, women’s leadership in various ICT industries and sustainable development. Building on the measures outlined in the 2016 Accra Summit Action Plan, we will examine the key actions that policymakers, activists, teachers, technologists, and women community leaders must take to ensure that women and girls in Africa have access to an open, safe, and empowering internet. What can we do to overcome the main barriers to women’s access and rights online to promote ICT-enabled entrepreneurship and leadership for women and girls in Africa?
The Summit will connect women’s rights advocates, digital media and gender policy experts with internet rights advocates, broadband policy leaders, and leading and aspiring women technologists and innovators in Africa, creating a platform for participants to gain a clear understanding of key technology policy issues that affect African women and giving them a forum to contribute to ongoing processes to shape ICT policy, practice and investment on the continent.
We invite you to Save the Date and plan to join us in Accra this October. Please register interest in attending the Summit, and to receive additional updates. Finally, please help us spreading the word about the Summit (#TechWomenAfrica!).
Interested in partnering/sponsoring participants to the Summit? Contact us via africasummit@webfoundation.org