In July 2022, UN ECA formed and launched the African Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Task Force (TF) with the theme "Digital always". A key objective of the African IGF Task Force is to ensure African youth are effectively, inclusively, and actively involved in the 17th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 28 November to 2 December 2022 under the theme "A Resilient Internet for a Sustainable Future."
Members of the Task Force Steering Committee include representatives from each of the five African regions, African Union Commission (AUC) through the Policy and Regulation Initiative for Digital Africa (PRIDA), UNECA, and Ethiopia's Ministry of Innovation and Technology.
A total of 80 African youth between the ages of 18 and 30 are being recruited as part of this initiative and the selected volunteers will be placed in various services, including Rapporteur, Technical, Conference, Media and Communication, Webcast and Zoom Meeting moderation and Side Events, to support the 17th IGF.
In its first face-to-face meeting, the UNECA IGF Task Force will discuss:
- How to select volunteers across five African regions in an open, inclusive, and transparent manner.
- Volunteers' Terms of Reference for each service they will be supporting.