The Kenya School of Internet Governance (KeSIG) virtual sessions began Friday. KeSIG is one of the Kenya ICT Action Network’s (KICTANet) capacity building programs that aims to promote diversity and inclusion in the country’s ICT policy dialogues and beyond.
The program responds to the need and importance of ensuring inclusive cyber policy. It was established in 2015 to bring in stakeholders from different backgrounds and expertise such as human rights, fintech, technologists and lawmakers to participate in Kenya ICT policy development.
The KESIG course was designed to take place over three weeks. Students take the first two weeks to go through the online modules. The course covers introduction to internet governance, pathways to internet governance and participation in the internet governance processes. The third week is reserved for practical interaction with internet governance players such as ICANN, KENIC, human rights organizations, private sector and policy makers through industry presentations. The students are also expected to attend the Kenya Internet Governance Forum (KIGF).
The 2022 Cohort
The 2022 cohort was drawn from a pool of 331 applications. The call for participation was targeted to individuals across the country interested in ICT policy and regulations. 118 applicants were selected ensuring gender, stakeholder and regional balance: Females (62), male (54), preferred not to say (1) and other (1). In terms of sectors, within the civil society organisations (14), academia (23), private sector (53), public sector (20) and from the media.
The cohort also enjoys participation from the east African Countries, Uganda and Tanzania. In Kenya, they are spread across 47 counties including Meru, Kilifi, Nairobi, Marsabit, Nyandarua, and Kisii among others.
Since its inception, KeSIG has expanded the Kenyan ICT policy dialogue space, promoting inclusive policies and collaboration between stakeholders in the ICT sector. The KESIG alumni are now spread over, both in the global and National ICT policy fields. The training has enabled proactive policy interventions in digital rights, Internet access, and sector developments such as in the finance, agriculture and healthcare industries.
This year’s KeSIG is being supported by Meta. KICTANet expresses huge gratitude for all the current and previous supporters.
About KICTANet
KICTANet is a multistakeholder think tank for Information and communications technology policy formulation whose work spans Stakeholder engagement, capacity building, research, and policy advocacy. The network was established to promote an enabling environment in the ICT sector that is robust, open, accessible, and rights-based through multistakeholder approaches.
