The Africa Geospatial Data and Internet Conference (AGDIC), a 3-day conference which commenced on 22nd October 2019 at the Accra International Conference Centre, Accra, Ghana was just successfully concluded and the event was amazingly enlightening as well as engaging.
The main objective of the event was to bring people together from various stakeholder groups as equals, in discussions on public policy issues relating to geospatial data, open data, ICTs and Internet in Africa. The objective was fully achieved as different speakers, participants and high-level leaders such as Mr Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, Hon. Minister Lands & Natural Resources, Government of Ghana and Dr Jimson Olufuye Immediate Past Chairman AfICTA & CEO Kontemporary Konsulting Ltd were present and were fully engaged.
Dr Jimson Olufuye giving a speech at Africa Geospatial Data and Internet Conference
The Theme of the event was on Shaping the Africa’s Digital Future and Dr. Jimson Olufuye gave a remarkable presentation on Internet Governance for all round Development (IG4D) stating that Shaping Africa’s Digital Future requires that “policymakers should pay serious attention to those core values such that geospatial and other critical developmental data are open and transparently accessible for innovation and creativity to thrive for the continuous growth and development of our economies; and for more jobs to be created for our large youth population and for the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals in our countries and the bridging of the digital divide”. Read More: https://tinyurl.com/yxd6apeh
Dr Jimson also spoke at a Public Forum discussion with the audience and excerpts from that conversation included:
- Capacity development is essential.
- The high cost of Internet access can be addressed through competition among service providers and by removing barriers e.g. multiple taxations.
- Embrace country to country peer review mechanism (#SDG17) to measure progress on the implementation of #SDGs.
The recommendations from the different panel discussions, workshops, presentations etc were indicated to be put formally into an “implementation pledge” which will be supported by a number of institutions such as GODAN, SERVIR, FAO, GMC, and others, who have agreed to put their expertise to the service of the nations of West Africa.
In conclusion, he expressed that “No data means No Information. No e-Solutions means Digital divide”. He also mentioned that “Long term planning must be implemented by those responsible for the sustainability of the underlining ICT infrastructure because data Access is imperative!”.
AGDIC: Panel on "Internet Governance: Bridging the Digital Divide"
L-R: Dr Jimson Olufuye, CEO Kontemporary Konsulting/IPC, AfICTA; Pierre Dandjinou (Vice-President, ICANN); Ida Jallow (Program Co-ordinator ITU); & Alaa Abou El Seoud (GTT President & CEO)
