Ethiopia embraces UNESCO’s ROAM-X framework to enhance internet policy and governance
Ethiopia is undergoing a digital transformation that aims to improve its internet ecosystem and align it with the principles of human rights, openness, accessibility and multistakeholder participation. To support this process, in collaboration with stakeholders, UNESCO has been supporting Ethiopia to assess the internet development in the country using the Internet Universality Indicators (IUIs) framework. The IUIs, also known as the ROAM-X indicators, are a comprehensive tool that allows countries to measure their progress and identify gaps and challenges in their internet environment.
The assessment now at its final stage for publication by UNESCO, has produced key recommendations that are relevant for Ethiopia’s digital transformation agenda. The relevance of the recommendations was underlined by participants at the global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) held from 28 November 2022 to 2 December 2022 in Addis Ababa.
Prior to featuring at the IGF, the findings and recommendations were presented and validated by representatives of local stakeholders, including the government, private sector, academia, civil society, media and development partners, in a workshop organized by UNESCO and the Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU), which is the lead research institution for the assessment.
The Ethiopia IUI assessment is one of the 17 similar initiatives in Africa and 44 countries around the world supported by UNESCO through the ROAM-X framework developed by its International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC). The assessment aims to provide the country with current data that can inform the government’s decision-making process, in embracing the inevitable digital revolution and the challenges. It will also contribute to policy recommendations and practical initiatives that will enable Ethiopia to improve its internet ecosystem as advanced ICTs evolve.
At the validation workshop, Dr. Abraham Debebe Vice President of Research and Technology Transfer of AASTU noted the significant contribution of the study to the country’s journey towards a digital economy. Dr. Abraham noted that this study will also be used as a baseline resource for similar studies to be conducted in future. Dr Asrat Mulatu, the principal investigator of the assessment and a professor at AASTU, on his part indicated that the assessment followed the ROAM-X principles and addresses Internet usage rights, access to Internet services, Internet governance modalities, and other issues related to gender, children and peoples with disabilities.
Ms Xianhong Hu, UNESCO’s programme specialist on freedom of expression, who participated in the validation meeting online, emphasized the importance of the IUIs framework as a practical tool that enables countries to evaluate their internet development in a comprehensive and multidimensional manner. She reaffirmed UNESCO’s commitment to support Ethiopia and other countries in promoting internet universality and digital inclusion. Mr. Aderaw Genetu, the UNESCO’s programme specialist in Ethiopia, stated that the study’s recommendations will be shared with relevant stakeholders including the government and that a close follow-up will be done to ensure that these recommendations are implemented by stakeholders to support the country’s transformation agenda. He also noted that through a series of bilateral meetings of UNESCO and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT), areas of collaboration and partnership have been identified.
The ROAM-X assessment is a result of the collaboration between UNESCO and MInT started in 2019 with a meeting between the former UNESCO Assistant Director General(ADG) Mr. Moez Chakchouk and the former Minster of MInT Dr. Ing. Getahun Mekuria on the sidelines of the World Press Freedom Day 2019 global conference in Addis Ababa. The current ADG Dr. Tawfik Jelassi and Minister H.E. Dr. Belete Molla also met in 2022 during the IGF 2022 event. Additional technical meetings and discussions involving the two organizations including with the State Minister H.E. Ms Huria Alli have helped to shape the actions plans.