Rivers to Host Nigerian Internet Governance Forum Next Week

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By Emma Sunday, Port Harcourt 

Rivers State, the Treasure Base of Nigeria, is gearing up to host this year’s edition of the Nigerian Internet Governance Forum, NIGF. 

The NIGF event with theme: “Responsible Use Of The Internet: A Panacea for Sustainable Socio-economic Development”, is scheduled to take place from October 16 to 17, 2024, at the Rivers State Ministry of Women Affairs Complex, Eastern Bye-Pass, Port Harcourt.

The event will welcome representatives of the government at all levels, and gather the internet community, tech experts, advocacy groups and different stakeholders from the public and the private sectors to discuss critical issues such as internet governance, among others.

President of Internet Society Nigeria Chapter, Engr. Kunle Olorundare while addressing Journalists at the opening ceremony of the 5th edition of the Nigerian School on Internet Governance, NSIG 2024, yesterday in Port Harcourt, said the forthcoming internet forum conference will shine a spotlight on responsible use of the internet.

He said, “Next week we are going to be having Nigeria internet forum where representatives from the government, the internet and tech community, public and private sectors and advocacy groups will come together to discuss issues bordering on internet governance.

“I think its a beautiful thing to do, sit down together and discuss on how to make the internet a better and safer place for all of us.”

Speaking on the 5th edition of the NSIG 2024 with held between 8 to 10 October with theme: “Developing Internet Impact Brief,” holding at the Centre of Information and Telecommunication Engineering, University of Port Harcourt, Olorundare said the programme is part of efforts by the organisation to build additional Internet Governance capacity within Nigeria.

He added that, “NSIG is a capacity building exercise where we train people to make them be aware of what is happening in the internet governance space so that they can engage at the local, national and international levels. 

“The internet has come to stay in our lives because it is something that everyone of us uses everyday. 

“So, we want the public to get more understanding on the responsible use of the internet. In this century, everyone uses the internet, but the question is, how do we use the technology. We have to be responsible when we use the internet, and that’s why they are being trained.”He added that the event is part of the organisation’s goal to develop the next generation of leading Nigerians from diverse sectors, backgrounds and ages with the skills to participate in local and international internet governance structures, and shape the future of the internet landscape for Nigeria’s development.

“We are trying to ensure that the internet is actually safe too and that the internet is used responsibly.

Olorundare explained that the NSIG 2024 is a precursor to the Nigerian Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) to give participants the practical experience of participation at the national internet governance forum. 

He noted that the internet society has achieved a lot, especially with the Nigerian School on Internet Governance, and training internet users. 

“The School on Internet Governance has trained users on issues that border on internet governance, and those people that we trained have started engaging in the industry not only at the local level. Some of them are now ICANN Fellows, and some are making impact on the global level. 

“The School has also helped many notable countries groom citizens that have risen to take up key positions and influence in the global Internet ecosystem,” he said.