Intro
duct
ion
On 21 September 2017, the Media Institute of Southern Africa - Zimbabwe
(MISA-Zimbabwe) held its second Multi-stakeholder Internet Governance
Conference (IGC) at the Jameson Hotel in Harare. The inaugural IGC was
held on 21 August 2015. Since the inaugural gathering, a number of incidents which threaten internet freedom in the African space have shown
the need for robust national and relevant national discussions convened
for the purpose of fostering democratic internet governance principles
and practices. Some of these incidents include the partial internet shutdown Zimbabwe experienced on the morning of 6 July 2016, the 93 day
internet shutdown in the English speaking regions of Cameroon,1 and the
various other reported internet shutdowns in countries such as Ethiopia,2
and The Gambia.3

1 Yomi Kazeem “The Internet shutdown in English speaking parts of Cameroon is finally over”
2 “Ethiopia blocks internet ‘to stop exam cheats’”
3 “The Gambia: Authorities shut down internet, international phone calls”

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Misa Zimbabwe Second Internet Governance Multi
Stakeholder Conference 21 September 2017

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