Photo by: Duane Daws
Members from more than 90 hubs of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers community, extending from Cape Town to Cairo, are driving a campaign to ensure that all Africans can enjoy the economic and societal benefits of Internet access, the WEF said on Wednesday.
The Shapers, a worldwide network of young leaders, have come together from across Africa under the campaign #internet4all to make sure that the voices of millennials are heard in the debate.
The immediate priority of the Shapers’ campaign is to focus attention on the forthcoming World Economic Forum on Africa, which takes place in Kigali, in Rwanda, on May 11 to 13.
The meeting will host high-level discussions among leaders from government, business and civil society about how to improve the conditions necessary for widespread internet adoption in the region.
The #internet4all campaign, which was launched on April 6, has so far focused on galvanising momentum among the 21% of Africans who have access to the internet. A high-profile social media campaign has already generated more than 40-million online impressions.
“#internet4all isn’t just a call to action for African leaders in the public and private sector; it is in itself living proof on how broadening access to the internet can drive collaboration on a massive scale and empower Africans to leverage the internet to do more with less,” said Lauren Uppink, execution strategist at Africa Health Placements in South Africa and a member of the Global Shapers Cape Town hub.
More than 1 200 participants are taking part in the twenty-sixth World Economic Forum on Africa in Kigali, the theme of which is Connecting Africa’s Resources through Digital Transformation.