SESSION THREE THE REGIONAL OUTLOOK This session provided a regional perspective on trends, restrictions and limitations of information, communication and internet rights on the continent. Representatives from Zambia and Malawi shared the realities and opportunities for internet governance in their respective countries, while HIVOS, shared experiences on supporting internet governance and policy- in the Middle East and Africa. PANEL MODERATOR VERENGAI MABIKA Internet Society of Zimbabwe Chairperson Verengai is the founding Chairman of Internet Society- Zimbabwe Chapter, the world's independent source of leadership for Internet policy, technology standards, and future development. He is also co-founder of Bitfinance, a crypto currency African start-up. 4.1. Internet democracy - regional trends, restrictions and limitations of information, communication and internet rights PRESENTED BY EMILAR VUSHE- GANDHI Association for Progressive Communications , (APC) Resource Mobilization Coordinator Emilar leads the policy work in Africa for the APC, an international network of organizations working with Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) to support social justice and development. She continues to advocate for innovative approaches to spectrum use and management as a means of extending affordable access and securing and defending fundamental human rights on the internet. • The internet is a defining technology - presenting new ways of organising in education and learning, shopping and online monetary transacting. It also presents new channels for expression especially for the socially excluded groups. It is therefore shifting power relationships in our everyday lives. the Malawi elections held in 2014 saw citizens accessing information to facilitate their vote. Regional trends - key trends in SADC in relation to Internet Democracy 1. Enactment of piecemeal cybercrime legislation – The enactment of cyber crime legislation in Africa is perhaps in reaction to various activities such as protests or perceived threats. This trend is likely to increase after the adoption of the new African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection. • With these shifts come new opportunities in the field of human rights and also new threats such as censorship and surveillance. Personal privacy is fundamentally at risk. • The internet empowers people by placing the means to access and disseminate information directly in their hands. An example of this is the shift in African elections. The Senegal elections held in 2012 and INTERNET GOVERNANCE MULTISTAKEHOLDER CONFERENCE REPORT 2015 Unfortunately, the convention also has weak provisions that are open to abuse. e.g. Article 29 bans using data that was not obtained using 026 www.misazim.com @misazimbabwe MISA Zimbabwe