The African Summit on Women and Girls in Technology is an international summit organized by the World Wide Web Foundation and the Alliance for Affordable Internet in collaboration with other international organizations and ministries. It is a gathering of digital equality advocates who are mostly women and the main focus of discussion is bridging the digital gender gap. [1]
The summit focuses on exploring how technology policies could further the rights and interest of women in Africa and how these policies could work to help bridge the digital gender gap. [2] [3]
The First Edition of the African Summit on Women and Girls in Technology was held on the 13 to the 14 of September 2016 in Accra, with about 150 digital equality advocates in attendance. It was a collaboration between Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), the World Wide Web Foundation, UN Women, the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Center of Excellence in ICT (AITI-KACE), and the African Development Bank. [4] [5] [6]
The second edition of the summit was held from the 9th – 11 October 2018 in Accra with over 250 participants in attendance. [7] The 2018 summit is a collaboration between the World Wide Web Foundation, Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), African Development Bank, Internet Society, Ministry of Communications, Ghana, Open Society Initiative for West Africa, UN Women, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Germany, Google, Facebook and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. [8] [9] [10] [11] The three day summit includes lightning talks, panel discussions and workshops. [12] [13] [14]
The 2018 edition of the summit was attended by the following dignitaries. [15]
| Country | Title | Name |
|---|---|---|
 | Deputy Minister of Communications | Vincent Sowah Odotei |
 | Former Minister of Communication Technology in Nigeria | Omobola Johnson |
 | Gender Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications, Posts and Digital Economy | Bitilokho N’diaye |
A digital divide is any uneven distribution in the access to, use of, or impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) between any number of distinct groups. These groups may be defined based on social, geographical, or geopolitical criteria, or otherwise. Because of ICT high cost, its adoption and utilization is highly uneven across the globe.
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, human rights, protection of the environment, and sustainability. Pioneering the use of ICTs for civil society, especially in developing countries, APC were often the first providers of Internet in their member countries.
Ghanaian passports are issued exclusively by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to Ghanaians granted citizenship in accordance with the Ghanaian nationality law. There are three types of passport booklets – contemporary (regular), service, and diplomatic passports. Ghanaian passport booklets are valid for travel by Ghanaians anywhere in the world, although the holder may need to obtain a visa from the destination country when travelling for some purposes. More than one valid Ghanaian passport of the same type may not be held.
Nnenna Nwakanma is a Nigerian FOSS activist, community organizer, development adviser. She worked for the United Nations for 15 years and she was the Interim Policy Director for the World Wide Web Foundation
The Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MWCA) or Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) of Ghana is the government ministry responsible for the formulation of policies that promote the institutionalization and development of women and children issues.
Rebecca Naa Okaikor Akufo-Addo is a Ghanaian public figure and the current First Lady of Ghana as the wife of President Nana Akufo-Addo, 5th President of the 4th Republic of Ghana.
Mr. William Tevie is a Ghanaian Politician formerly known as the Director General for the National Communications Authority and member of the Internet Society of Ghana Chapter.
Emmanuel Agbeko Gamor, is a former director at the office of digital and design innovation at Impact Hub Accra. He is a founder for Urithi Labs, a partner for team1000words and a member of the world economic forum. He is an entrepreneur and worked as a multimedia journalist with global media alliance and a presenter for the MPwr Show at Yfm, where he covered stories on youth engagement culture and technology.
Oreoluwa Somolu Lesi is a Nigerian social entrepreneur and UK-trained economist and information technology expert. She is the founder and executive director of Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC), a non-profit organisation that empowers women and girls socially and economically through education in Information technology. W.TEC was established in the year 2008. She is a fellow of Ashoka and a recipient of the Anita Borg Institute (ABIE) Change Agent Award.
iSpaceFoundation is a technology hub in Ghana known to offer a co-working space, tools and facilities for entrepreneurs and startups to launch and manage their business ideas. It was founded in 2013 by two technology entrepreneurs Josiah Kwesi Eyison and Fiifi Baidoo.
Hajia Alima Mahama is a lawyer and was from January 2005 to January 2009 Minister for the affairs of women and children in Ghana under President John Kufuor. She is currently the Ghanaian minister of Local Government and Rural Development, appointed into office by President of Ghana Nana Akuffo-Addo on 10 January 2017. She is the member of parliament for Nalerigu/Gambaga constituency and a member of the New Patriotic Party.
Samira Bawumia is a Ghanaian politician and the Second Lady of the Republic of Ghana. She is married to the Vice President of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia.
The Women's Technology Empowerment Centre, often referred to as W.TEC, is a non-profit organization that focuses on empowering Nigerian women and girls through the use of technology. It was founded in 2008 by Oreoluwa Lesi after noticing a gender gap in understanding of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) throughout Nigeria and other African countries. Services and programs offered by W.TEC include mentoring, training in technology, technology camp, awareness campaigns, collaborative projects, and research and publication. In 2017, Facebook partnered with W.TEC to take efforts toward improved Internet safety. Partners for the annual girls camp include Prof. Kenneth Dike Central E-Library, Awka and the Anambra State Library Board, Hadassah STEM, Oracle, Sage Foundation and Swift Networks Limited and Laureates College, Lagos.
Jemila Wumpini Abdulai is a Ghanaian blogger, writer and digital marketer. In 2007, she founded Circumspecte.com, a lifestyle blog dedicated to Africans. Her blog was a recipient of the African Blogger Awards in 2016.
Nanjira Sambuli is a Kenyan researcher, writer, policy analyst, advocacy strategist who works to understand the intersection of information and communications technology (ICT) adoption with governance, media, entrepreneurship, and culture. Nanjira is a board member at Digital Impact Alliance, Development Gateway and The New Humanitarian. She is also a Commissioner on the Lancet and Financial Times Commission on Governing Health Futures 2030: Growing Up in a Digital World.
Victoria Michaels is a Ghanaian-Nigerian model, fashion icon, actress, brand ambassador and philanthropist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including Ghana Models Awards, Glitz Style Awards, and the City People Entertainment Awards.
Africa Digital Awards is an annual digital event that celebrates, recognizes and rewards digital players in Africa. The Awards recognize digital creators and developers while celebrating users in digital finance, social media, Mobile, Agritech, Media, Telecommunications, esports etc.
Gender digital divide is defined as gender biases coded into technology products, technology sector and digital skills education.