Registration is now open for the 10th Edition of Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF23), that will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from April 12-14, 2023.
The event is organized by Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a pan-African Digital Rights and Inclusion organization. The forum, whose theme is Building A Sustainable Internet For All, will be held at Sarova Stanley Hotel. It will bring together 300 representatives from government, legislature, civil society, NGOs, academia, policymakers, technical community, and the private sector within the digital ecosystem.
The 2023 in-person forum will be hosted in collaboration with Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) and other PIN partners. KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder think tank in Kenya for ICT policy and regulation. The event sponsors include; the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Wikimedia Foundation, Google, and Global Network Initiative (GNI).
This year, the organization sifted through 112 session applications and accepted 70 from partners in 23 countries across the world. Sessions will focus on themes that include; Internet shutdowns, Universal Service Fund utilization, data protection, content moderation, and censorship. Also lined up at the event are key launches of research, platforms, and networks.
Ms. Thobekile Matimbe, PIN’s Partnerships and Engagements Manager, said the organization and its partners are looking forward to hosting vibrant and thought-provoking sessions that will provide solutions to the current global digital challenges.
“The caliber of session proposals we received represents the thoughts, ideas, challenges, and solutions in the digital and inclusion space. At PIN, we are honoured to provide a platform that acts as a melting point for stimulating discussions and great ideas. This will be a great forum, and we appreciate all our stakeholders who presented their proposals,” she added.
Ms. Grace Githaiga, the Convenor and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KICTANet, said the forum would play a key role in bringing together key players in the tech space at a time when the world is racing to catch up with many technological developments which are happening in quick succession.
“As a major think tank in the country, I would say this is a major event as it goes a long way in further entrenching Kenya’s position as a leader in the tech space both in the region and beyond,” Githaiga said.
Last year’s DRIF under the theme, Towards a Digitally Inclusive Africa, was a hybrid event which was able to reach 1,300 individuals. Physical sessions were hosted in 17 African countries.
The link to this year’s event registration form is here: https://bit.ly/DRIF23Registration.