Training on Internet Governance and ICT Policy Kicks off with Special Session for African Diplomats
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in partnership with the African Union Commission and the Malta-based DiPLO Foundation, today kicked off a three-day e-Diplomacy and Internet Governance training with a special first session aimed at raising the awareness of African diplomats in Addis Ababa on the current and future use of e-tools in diplomatic activities. The workshop concludes on April 8, 2011.
“I am sure [you] are closely following the latest developments in the diplomatic circles in terms of WikiLeaks and the dynamic power of online communication in recent events shaking our continent and the Middle East,” said Makane Faye, Officer-in-charge of the E-Applications Section at the ICT and Science and Technology Division of the ECA. He added that ECA is closely following these developments and is working with partners to support and provide advice to Member States on these issues.
The 3-day training will offer participants a rare glimpse into the multidisciplinary field of Internet Governance (IG), including technical, legal, economic, socio-cultural and developmental aspects. It will also focus on the interplay with international, regional and national IG policies and processes.
“The more we depend on the Internet and information technology, the more it becomes relevant to international policy,” said Jovan Kurbalija, Founding Director of Diplo Foundation, who added that the workshop was also meant to help narrow the gap between diplomacy, policy and Information technology.
Various online tools, including, RSS, wikis, social networks, blogs, ‘virtual embassy and virtual negotiations’ were demonstrated for the Diplomat’s consideration. They were encouraged to explore the use of social media, including facebook; and to experiment with netvibes.com to aggregate information.
With the growing popularity of WikiLeaks, however, participants raised various concerns regarding internet security as well as ownership and management of information.
In discussions on practices from around the world aimed at enhancing information security, it was noted, that no one has complete protection of their information and that protective mechanisms that are now in vogue only serve to provide diplomats the “fake assurance” that their information is safe.
It was also noted that the emergence of WikiLeaks should not prevent them from using e-tools; they should learn to exercise caution in email exchanges.
Besides the Addis Ababa-based African diplomatic corps, the special session on e-Diplomacy attracted representatives from among other institutions, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ethio Telecom, the International Telecommunications Union and participants from Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
This article was originally posted on Africa ICT & Telecom Network
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