08:00–09:00

Registration of Participants

Opening Session

09:00–09:45

Opening Ceremony - Welcome and Keynote addresses

09:45–10:00

Photo Session

10:00–10:30

Speakers' Welcome Addresses

Session 1:

10:30–11:15

Policymaking process and the challenge of building an equitable Information Society in Africa: The role of Parliaments

To speed their entry into the information and knowledge global economy African countries have for over a decade embarked in ICT policies and strategies intended to assist countries to deploy, harness and exploit ICTs for socio-economic development at the local, national and sub-regional levels. In some cases these have produced an integrated set of decisions, guidelines, laws, regulations and other mechanisms which are geared towards ensuring that ICT assist in the reduction of poverty, improved healthcare delivery, provision of educational opportunities for all, particularly the girl-child and the creation of employment opportunities. Efforts to ensure sound ICT regulation and the pro-poor, development oriented ICT strategies necessary for the achievement of an equitable information society however, has been uneven.

The session shall look at achievements, lessons learnt in ICT policy formulation, implementation and monitoring process on the Continent on one hand and in addition it shall focus on the institutional, political and legislative role of Parliament, and its policymaking capacity, to promote the building blocks around which the Information Society can prosper. The catalytic function of parliamentary assemblies that can create consensus around a unified political view, as well as their ability to engage the executive over an inclusive Information Society long-term strategy, will be demonstrated.

11:15–11:30

Coffee Break

Session 2:

11.30-12.15

Significance of ICTs in global economy: importance of governance frameworks, markets and regulation.

Long a secondary public utility, telecommunications has been transformed by the technological and economic drivers of digitalization and liberalization into the backbone of modern economies and potentially, transformers of public delivery. No longer a natural monopoly in many elements of the network and able to carry more services than ever before, including traditional broadcast or audio visual and Internet services, has prompted the need for new forms of governance and regulation. This session will provide the context for Parliamentary oversight of the ICT sector by examining its changing nature as a result of convergence and competition and the associated changes to the institutional arrangements for the sector. This session provides the global context for the following sessions’ deliberations on the information society from the perspective of two multilateral agencies responsible for ICTs – the primary UN body responsible for ICT, International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and infoDev, the division of the World Bank responsible for ICTs and development.

Session 3:

12.15–13:15

Evidence based policy formulation as the basis of effective legal reform.

Parliaments throughout the world are charged with the development of an equitable Information Society as a key aspect of the Millennium Development Goals and as a key to national economic development and global competitiveness. To do this effectively requires policy formulation that is evidence based. Decision-making needs to be informed by rigorous research that analyses the reasons for current success or failures and demonstrates how new strategies to achieve policy objectives are based on through assessment of international trends and local conditions.
For effective legal frameworks to be developed for the communications sector it is essential that legislators have a thorough understanding of current policy outcomes and how proposed reforms can contribute to meeting national policy objectives such as affordable access to the wide range of communications services necessary for effective citizenship in contemporary society.
This session will provide an overview of African ICT indicators; research and analysis in order understand the policy and regulatory challenges that exist on the continent. It will explore the linkages between policy, market structure, regulation and sector performance, in order to determine effective policy interventions for greater participation by citizens in the information society and knowledge economy.

13:15–14:30

Lunch Break

Session 4:

14:30–15:30

Information Rights Issues on the Parliamentary Agenda: Guaranteeing fundamental rights.

The right of access to information and administrative procedures is becoming a constituent element of a new citizenship. The lack of access to public information could limit accountability and hamper institutional transparency and accountability. Improved access to communication, particularly through the increasingly ubiquitous mobile phones, but particularly for those with access to the World Wide Web, is creating new opportunities for people to express opinions, communicate with others and participate in the governing process. This also raises concerns about how best to ensure individual privacy. Main issues here are: expanding opportunities for citizens to access public information and actively participate in policy formulation; ensuring citizen rights of expression in the evolving Internet world; data protection and cyber-crimes

15:30 – 16:00

Tea Break

Session 5

16:00–17:00

Access to Knowledge in the information era.

The information era is characterised by the unprecedented creation of knowledge, the access to which is constrained by copyrights and patents. The scarcity that this produces therefore is not primarily the effect of naturally occurring events but of deliberate commercial policies. While establishing a fair intellectual property rights regime, parliamentarians need to be aware of the implications of this artificially created scarcity on the rights of citizens and for economic development more broadly. Marginalization from “information/knowledge” could deprive millions of people of extraordinary possibilities for their individual and communal growth especially in Africa where access to knowledge is also key for its development. At the same time African countries need to create an intellectual property rights regime that provides incentives for creativity, innovation and research and development. This session will look at what legal environment would be most conducive to ensuring access to knowledge.