May 1-2, 2012
— Keynote: Ebrahim Rasool, South African Ambassador to United States
Information and communications technologies (ICTs) are helping to advance political participation and social movements in Africa. The use of ICTs for democratic participation and government accountability offer exciting new possibilities that are changing politics and development in Sub-Saharan Africa. The recent North African revolutions have shown that rising ICT connectivity can facilitate political and social movements, placing new pressures and demands on autocracies and democracies alike. A major conference organized by the African Studies Program at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies will examine these trends and their implications. The meeting will bring together experts and policymakers to discuss challenges and opportunities for African politics in the digital age.
The conference will address two broad questions:
(i) How has ICT advanced democratic participation, government accountability, and state-society relations in Africa?
(ii) How can policy better support connectivity and the use of ICT for democratic political participation and government accountability and transparency in the region?
To understand the drivers of change, we must look at levels of freedom in a society, how active is civil society, and how densely different societies are connected by ICTs. These factors can be measured and traced. The type of regime, ICT penetration, and levels of social mobilization should be mapped and analyzed for a fuller picture of technology and politics. Although the IT boom has had a positive impact in Africa, the effects of technology is uneven. Whether it’s the printing press or the micro-blog, technology has been fundamental to human progress throughout the world. But there are many questions as to how technology will be used, as well as the direction and pace of technologically-driven change. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of fixed internet subscriptions in Tanzania sharply rose from 10,000 to 488,000, while Guinea-Bissau has yet to reach 700 subscriptions. In Kenya, women’s self-reported use of the internet was less than half of men’s internet use, and even low-tech information sources such as newspapers reported a similar gender-gap in usage. A more discerning look at ICTs and politics in Africa can yield important policy implications. Collaboration and support from local donors, international foundations, government agencies, and private investors have accelerated the proliferation of ICT’s across Africa. How can foreign supporters collaborate more effectively with local organizations to promote good governance through ICT?