Regional review meeting on “WSIS+10 and beyond: outcomes and perspectives for Africa”: recommendations for policy makers

Abstract

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) organized an Africa regional ten-year review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+10) on the theme “WSIS+10 and beyond: Outcomes and perspectives for Africa”. The review, which took place in Addis Ababa, from 14 to 16 April 2015, was attended by over 70 participants drawn from 27 member States. Participants agreed, based on the evidence, that African countries have made and continue to make progress toward the Geneva Action Lines and the Tunis Agenda. Most have put in place dynamic information society policies, and there has been considerable growth and expansion of ICT skills, expertise and markets. Nonetheless, a lot remains to be done on the continent to speed up progress. Furthermore, at the review participants agreed that most of the WSIS action lines and targets remain relevant today and should be retained in a post-2015 WSIS framework. Based on the imperatives of Africa, the review proposed that a post-2015 information society framework should include four additional action lines drawn from Africa’s experience.