Women in Africa Call for a Trusted and Inclusive Internet

Creating a safer and trusted Internet MUST involve education building and awareness raising. This is one message that came up at the women’s event during the 2018 Africa Internet Summit held in Dakar.

“Education should target mothers who do not always believe that they can have an important role in the Internet world and who are the ones educating the future generation of women in tech. Also, we should educate developers of applications used on the Internet to consciously include safety by design, as well as governments to enact cyber laws that protect their citizens,” one of the participants stated during her presentation. With this, they meant that not only individuals, but also companies and governments have an important role in building a safer and trusted Internet.

Raising awareness of Internet safety was another point raised by many of the participants. “In school, we are taught to use computers and the Internet, but we are not taught about how to use the Internet safely,” one participant stressed. The attendees called for educational systems to change. They also suggested addressing online privacy and safety concerns so girls can be aware from the very beginning.

Privacy of personal data was another important Continue reading