Change Makers Furthermore, across the African continent, there is a growing consciousness about the digital right to privacy, data protection, and the significance of safeguarding user data. This awareness extends to the point where even those who might seek to diminish privacy rights recognize its importance.So, I think the criticality of it has become something very central, and that's a point of progress because it means that it's being recognized as such. Moreover, even when legislators, companies, or other actors infringe upon that right, it is being acted upon and acknowledged as a violation of human rights. And I think that is really important, not just in Africa, but anywhere in the world. There's increased civil society movement around the topic, and this wasn’t the case before anywhere in the world. Many people now understand that your data is also a part of yourself, and you need to protect it. It is a fundamental human right to protect your own privacy. What are some of the most promising innovations, best practices, and initiatives that are contributing to the expansion of Internet freedom and digital rights in Africa? It's challenging to ascertain, as many of those best practices appear to have regressed, through no fault of the individuals committed to implementing them. The room for manoeuvrability, particularly in the context of civil society advocacy in Northern Africa and across the continent, seems to have diminished. The civic space has shrunk significantly. One of the best practices is coalition building, which is critical. It's not an innovation, it's not exciting and new, but it is a very critical social and political tool that is used to highlight what unites different groups and what divides them in a transparent and accountable way. So what I mean by that is being able to build coalitions across civil society, organisations that are more “traditional,” and those that are more new or novel or innovative. In many African countries, there are numerous civil society organisations that specialise in distinct areas of advocacy - such as press freedom, online censorship, and women’s rights. Historically, these organisations have had challenges talking to each other, especially because some older organisations (some dating from the early 1960s) lack the contemporary methods and human rights perspectives prevalent among newer entities- it's only natural. Consequently, I think coalition building and creating bridges across the different kinds of civil society actors has been a pivotal strategy to work on specific issues or demystify the digital sphere to more traditional organisations. Then, what traditional organisations bring to the newer civil society is their understanding of the system they operate in. For example, they know who was the head of an advocacy group way back1980, and why there is an issue around that, or that there was a campaign in response to a crackdown. They have all the institutional history, and they can help us understand the landscape and terrain that we're operating in. We can also assist them in understanding newer technologies and how they could be used to both liberate and repress. I think this reciprocal generational exchange is one of the most promising best practices I've seen within the African continent. I would also say the more transparent organizations are, the better it is. You see, these kinds of collaborations flourish when organizations are transparent and open to coalition building among diverse equities and stakeholders. In terms of innovation, there's a lot happening in cryptocurrency and fintech. However, I don't necessarily view these developments as direct contributors to Internet freedom. They may aid in economic growth, but they don't inherently ensure liberation or protect freedoms, despite the importance of cross-border digital payments in modern economies. But again, while valuable, these advancements don't directly correlate with the concept of Internet freedom. 44 A CIPESA Series