The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is organizing a forum on digital public infrastructure (DPI) interaction in service delivery in Nigeria.
MFWA, a media and civil rights organization based in Accra, Ghana, has scheduled the event for Tuesday, April 23, at the Stratton Hotel Asokoro in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.
Statement by MFWA Digital Rights Program Officer Vivian Affoah About 100 participants from the media, government, civil society organisations, academia, political parties and members of the diplomatic corps in Nigeria will attend the one-day public forum.
The event will feature a keynote from the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in Nigeria – on the theme, ‘The State of Digital Public Infrastructure in Nigeria: Progress, Challenges and the Way Forward’.
Similarly, other critical institutions directly implementing DPI in the country such as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Services Agreement (SERVICOM), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), are expected to deliver goodwill messages.
What is DPI?
Digital public infrastructure (DPI) is defined as “society-wide digital capabilities that are essential for participating in society and markets as a citizen, entrepreneur and consumer in a digital age,” according to tmCo-Develop. This global non-profit fund is a platform for countries to mobilize resources to build inclusive, safe and equitable DPI.
It refers to all the digital organizational structures and facilities required for the functioning of a society or business. Examples include e-governance and e-payment systems.
In a webinar hosted by MFWA for 20 DPI Fellow journalists from 10 West African countries in August 2023, David Eaves, Associate Professor of Digital Governance at the Institute for Innovation and Public Policy, University College London, said relevance of DPIs hit the world during the COVID-19 pandemic when people were forced to rely more on digital platforms to communicate and transfer assistance, especially digital payments, to their loved ones.
DPIs are expected to deliver digital public goods (DPGs) to the people through efficient service delivery in digital payment and data exchange services, among others.
Forum goals
Also, the event will feature a panel discussion with two of the DPI Fellows Nigeriacivil society representatives and a technology company.
“Stakeholders and participants will have increased knowledge about Digital Public Infrastructure and Digital Public Goods in Nigeria and come up with actionable recommendations to make its adoption more inclusive, secure and equitable and what the media can do to support the process,” the statement said. MFWA announcing the event said.
The meeting will discuss the current status of Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure and digital public good (DPG) issues and the extent to which the country has secured participation in its development.
Participants will highlight challenges and make recommendations on how Nigeria can make DPI/DPG adoption more inclusive, secure and fair for its citizens.
DPI Journalism Scholarship Program
In 2023, MFWA, funded by Co-Develop, hosted a DPI quarter journalism scholarship program.
The fellowship, which ran from September to December 2023, had its maiden 20 journalists from 10 West African countries – Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Niger, Benin, Togo, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal .
The fellowship had both virtual and face-to-face activities such as virtual training workshops on DPI with papers/presentations by Fellows. production and publication/dissemination of stories about DPI by fellows, and a two-week residential gathering of the fellows in Accra, the capital of Ghana for further training and site visits to institutions.
According to MFWA Executive Director Sulemana Braimah, the fellowship aimed to develop a cadre of West African journalists who would have the relevant knowledge and skills to produce meaningful reporting for DPI.
The ultimate goal was to help increase public awareness and access to information about DPI development across the region, Mr Braimah said.
A senior fellow at Co-Develop, Robert Karanja, said his organization remains committed to accelerating the adoption of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that is inclusive, secure and fair.
With the population boom over the past two decades, governments around the world are migrating from analog to digital technologies for efficient and effective service delivery.
However, the adoption and development of DPI in many countries on the African continent is plagued by limited public awareness, participation, inclusion and adoption.
In Nigeria, for example, despite the huge increase in DPI adoption in digital payment services and citizen databases, there are challenges in rural communities due to the underdevelopment of DPI, such as telecommunications assets such as webs and fiber optic cables.
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