The Internet Society is in Mombasa, Kenya this week taking part in the World Economic Forum meeting under the theme “Future of the Internet Initiative Northern Corridor Integration Projects – Internet for All’.
On this occasion the Internet Society will be making a presentation on the importance of collecting data and how this can be implemented. We are looking forward to working with the World Economic Forum and other partners to help the Northern Corridor countries achieve their vision to bring Internet to all their citizens as well as enable them to use it for their socio-economic development.
In the past years, the Northern Corridor countries (Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia and DRC) have been undergoing major transformation in the ICT sector thanks to various government-led initiatives and also to the increasingly vibrant private sector. This transformation is expected to continue and even intensify in the coming years. The Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) are viewed as important catalysts for this transformation, which aim to bring new development opportunities for the countries.
It is nonetheless important to make sure that the projects are having the desired impacts and this cannot be achieved if there is no data on the improvements in connectivity, content production and hosting, usage, etc.
This meeting, which is set for 1.5 days, is the first working meeting of the World Economic Forum “Internet for All” global community and local stakeholders, under the leadership of the Northern Corridor governments, having the following overall objectives:
- Gain the latest updates on the status and plans of the Northern Corridor ICT Integration Projects
- Collectively develop a set of outcomes that the Northern Corridor “Internet for All” program will achieve that complement and enhance existing plans, and that ultimately accelerate our common goal of Internet for all in the region
- For each outcome, develop objectives, programme elements, and key performance indicators (KPIs)
- Develop the initial program organizational structure and governance
- Align on the overall common roadmap and initial sense of each organization’s role and responsibilities over the coming months and years
We are looking forward to working with these partners as we continue our focus on connecting the unconnected and bringing the opportunities of the Internet to all.