A group of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria and other African countries met in Abuja on Civic Tech Networking, Future of Work, Ecosystem and other related issues as part of measures to deepen development, especially among the youths in the country.
The programme organised by German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and Yiaga Africa is to enable participants share information about the work they do for improvement and better partnership.
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Speaking during the event on Thursday evening, the head of programmes, Citizens Engagement and Innovative Data Use for Africa’s Development (DataCipatation), GIZ African Union Office, Franz von Weizsaecker, said they will continue to share understanding for the betterment of Africa and the people.
“We have been hiring a lot of tech (technology) fellow from the African countries. We respect the sovereignty of African state so we don’t engage in politics but assist communities to develop. Development agenda is very important. Engagement with CSOs is also very important. It helps people to voice out the mind of the citizen in the agenda 2063.
“The citizens should benefit. We will ensure the sustainable development goals is achieved in the African continent.
“Data governance frameworks and related digital policies are critical for Africa’s development in the 21st century: as much as digitalization and innovation are recognized as key enablers for participatory and inclusive decision making the former are instrumental to realize the vision of an “integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens” (Agenda 2063),” Weizsaecker said.
The African Union (AU) has prioritised citizens engagement as part of its institutional reforms agenda with the aim to foster systematic citizen participation across AU Organs and Institutions.
He said, “Enhancing digitalization presents opportunities and challenges for governments, civil society, private sector and citizens alike. These are further implicated by power shifts and geo-political realities at national, continental as well as global level, which requires realistic and pragmatic policy responses and strategies.”
Also, the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said the collaboration is to open new opportunities for CSOs carrying out different activities in African.
He said the collaboration and sharing of contacts will help in achieving better development.
On his part, the founder, Follow The Money and CEO of Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal, said leading a grassroot campaign in over 40 African countries on practical issues associated with climate change, open data advocacy campaign and development policies as it affects rural and deprived grassroots communities need collaboration and funding.
He said despite raising lots of funds for their campaigns, they still need over $200m for other projects stating that such collaboration will help in achieving better development.
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