By Cherie Oyier
The Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF) 2025, hosted by Paradigm Initiative (PIN), was held from April 29th to May 1st, 2025, in Lusaka, Zambia. The event brought together policymakers, civil society organisations, tech companies, academics, and activists from across the global majority to address the complex intersection of technology, human rights, and inclusive development.
Under the guiding theme “Promoting Digital Ubuntu in Approaches to Technology,” the forum created a vital space for reimagining digital futures centred on African philosophies of communal well-being and interconnectedness.
Opening Ceremony: Setting the Stage for Digital Ubuntu
The opening ceremony established the urgent need for Africa-centred approaches to technology governance. Representatives from the United Nations (UN) emphasised that “inclusive economic growth cannot be achieved without prioritising digitalisation at all levels,” highlighting the UN’s commitment to leveraging digital transformation to reclaim progress toward Sustainable Development Goals.
A significant focus was placed on the evolution of freedom of expression and access to information in the digital age. Originally narrowly focused, these rights have expanded to recognise that information access is foundational to democratic governance and the enjoyment of other fundamental rights. Based on this, it has become imperative to explicitly expand internet access and push governments to ensure last-mile connectivity for all communities, including those traditionally excluded and marginalised.
Data Protection and Electoral Integrity
Several sessions explored the critical relationship between data protection and democratic processes across Africa. For example, South Africa’s innovative legal framework for information access emerged as a compelling case study. Their approach applies to both public and private entities, allowing citizens to request information from any organisation, including political parties, if needed to exercise their rights.
Participants were informed of an investigation into South Africa’s Electoral Commission that revealed vulnerabilities in data protection practices after candidate nomination lists were leaked on social media. This incident highlights the need for robust organisational measures to safeguard sensitive information in increasingly digital electoral systems.
With elections approaching in several African countries, discussions addressed the growing threat of AI-generated disinformation. Workshops explored practical strategies that election management bodies can deploy to maintain information integrity, ensure transparency and personal data protection. Also, participants emphasised that digital rights frameworks must evolve to address emerging technologies that can be weaponised against democratic processes.
The Challenge of Big Tech and Information Control
Perhaps the most animated discussions centred around a fundamental challenge of the digital age – big tech. Currently, traditional access to information laws are becoming obsolete as valuable information increasingly resides with large private technology companies based outside the continent, rather than governments.
The forum wrestled with this new reality—how can citizens access information essential to their rights when it’s held by social media giants headquartered oceans away? The conversations pointed to the need for expanded legal frameworks to compel greater transparency and accountability from these platforms, particularly around surveillance, misinformation, and disinformation that threaten democratic processes.
This challenge isn’t unique to Africa but requires global cooperation. Nevertheless, participants emphasised that Africa must develop approaches tailored to its unique context and needs, rather than simply importing regulatory models from other regions.
Artificial Intelligence: Promise and Peril
Multiple sessions examined the double-edged nature of artificial intelligence technologies in African contexts. Participants noted that AI systems trained predominantly on Western data continue to misrepresent African contexts and languages, reinforcing patterns of digital colonialism and discrimination.
Several sessions explored how the principle of Ubuntu could be operationalised in AI development, calling for systems that prioritise community benefit over individual profit. Discussions highlighted the promising applications—such as AI-powered healthcare diagnostics adapted for low-resource settings—and the concerning trends, such as algorithmic discrimination and automated decision systems deployed without adequate oversight.
The forum called for greater African participation in global AI governance discussions and investment in local AI research centres that can develop solutions aligned with African values and needs.
Implementation of the African Union Data Policy Framework
A significant portion of the forum was dedicated to assessing the implementation progress of the African Union Data Policy Framework (AUDPF). The AUDPF represents a milestone in continental efforts to harmonise data governance approaches while affirming African digital sovereignty.
A panel discussion convened by KICTANet revealed varied adoption rates across different regions, resulting in asymmetrical implementation. Representatives from different stakeholder groups shared challenges, including limited technical capacity, resource constraints, and competing policy priorities that have slowed implementation in many countries.
The discussions emphasised the potential of the AUDPF to strengthen Africa’s position in global data governance dialogues while better protecting citizens’ rights. The implementation of the framework’s provisions on data sovereignty was highlighted as particularly crucial in the context of increasing foreign technology influence. Participants noted that without robust implementation, the framework risks becoming another well-intentioned policy document with limited practical impact.
Digital Security in Contested Spaces
The increasing deployment of invasive surveillance technologies across the continent received critical attention during specialised workshops. Human rights defenders shared strategies for secure digital communications in increasingly monitored digital environments. Recent data breaches across multiple African countries that have exposed millions of citizens’ personal information underscore the urgent need for stronger data protection frameworks and implementation strategies.
Moreover, sessions addressed the particular vulnerabilities faced by journalists, activists, and marginalised communities, with practical training on digital security tools. Participants emphasised that security must be understood not merely as a technical issue but as fundamentally linked to human dignity and political rights.
Digital Access and Inclusion
While much of the forum addressed emerging challenges, participants repeatedly returned to fundamental issues of access and inclusion. Sessions explored innovative approaches to extending connectivity to rural and underserved communities, including community networks and spectrum sharing models.
Particular attention was paid to gender-based digital divides and the exclusion of persons with disabilities from digital spaces. Workshops shared practical approaches to developing accessible technologies and ensuring regulatory frameworks address the needs of marginalised communities.
A Continent at the Digital Crossroads
DRIF 2025 painted a picture of a continent at a crossroads. Africa’s digital transformation is accelerating, bringing both tremendous opportunities and significant risks. The protection of digital rights in this new landscape requires updated regulatory frameworks, cross-sector collaboration, and innovative approaches to long-standing challenges.
Instructively, as digitalisation reshapes African societies, economies, and governance systems, forums like DRIF play a crucial role in ensuring this transformation advances inclusion and human rights rather than undermining them. The message was clear: digital rights are human rights, and their protection requires coordinated efforts across governments, civil society, the private sector, and international organisations. Only through such collaboration can Africa ensure that all citizens can fully exercise their rights in both physical and digital spaces.
Conclusion: The Promise of Digital Ubuntu
The focus on digital Ubuntu—applying the African philosophy of community, interconnectedness, and shared humanity to technology—comes at a critical moment.
Therefore, promoting digital Ubuntu represents not just an ethical stance but a necessary framework for developing technologies that respect African dignity, prioritising collective wellbeing, and addressing the continent’s unique challenges—rather than simply importing solutions designed elsewhere, for different contexts and needs.
KICTANet supports the forum’s call to action for policymakers, civil society organizations, tech companies, and citizens to collaboratively build digital futures that embody Ubuntu principles. KICTANet remains committed to fostering collaboration beyond the forum during our upcoming Africa Tech Policy Summit from 12 – 16 May 2025. We recognise that the work of aligning technology with human rights and African values requires sustained engagement not just within the digital rights community, but also across sectors and borders.
Lastly, digital Ubuntu is not about rejecting technology, it is about ensuring technology serves our shared humanity. The question isn’t whether Africa should be digitised, but whether that digitalisation will reflect our values and serve our people.
Cherie Oyier, Programs Officer-Women’s Digital Rights, KICTANet
