Activity no. 4: Support the development of a legal and regulatory framework for achieving an equitable and open Information Society

The promotion of an enabling legal framework for the development of an Information Society in Africa will be carried out in coordination with the APKN ICT and the Pan African Parliament’s Committee on “Transport, Industry, Communication, Energy, Science and Technology” in order to promote an  Africa-wide process for the development of an Information Society regulatory framework.

The Project, in collaboration with the APKN, will organize annual Pan-African conferences under the aegis of the Pan-African Parliament, to provide members of parliaments with a forum to discuss the various issues related to building an “Information Society” and improving “Access to Information” within a broader continental framework. Such a forum is required in order to fully exploit the benefits in terms of cooperation and integration that ICTs can provide. These conferences will constitute an opportunity for African Parliaments to improve their understanding of how national issues relate with continental ones, and the different levels in which they have to operate in order to provide a favourable environment for the diffusion of ICTs. It will also provide a means to work out ICTs policy issues at a regional level (possibly related to inter-connectivity, inter-exchange and regional protocol issues).