This article was jointly co-authored by : Malick K. ALASSANE, Bendjédid Rachad SANOUSSI, I. Tatiana HOUNDJO, Malorie Amoussou, Mars-Arès AGNOUN BASSO and Raihanath GBADAMASSI
Introduction
The impact of the Internet is undoubtedly a factor of development of the nations and thus lays the foundation for the governance of the Internet. Like many countries, Benin has also joined this global network with the actors of its Internet ecosystem to participate and contribute to the evolution of the Internet at national, regional and global levels. Benin’s mainly young population is the fundamental pillar for its development. Thus, the various Internet governance initiatives in Benin are focused and oriented towards the youth target. They are more and more invited and asked to participate and contribute to decision circles of internet governance.
I- The actors of Internet Governance in Benin
In Benin, the challenges of Internet governance are linked to the very nature of the actors involved in the governance process. These actors can be grouped into five categories:
A- Government
Made up of all the actors acting by delegation or on behalf of the public authority, state actors play a predominant role in Internet governance processes in Benin.
Indeed, they are largely responsible for the legislative, regulatory and organizational aspects of the Internet in Benin. The Beninese state remains one of the most economically powerful stakeholders within the multi-actor local framework through the publication of sector guidelines, the design and implementation of major public policy projects and the management of the universal service fund.
Among the state actors, we count in particular:
B – Private sector
The private sector plays a major role in Benin in the dissemination of digital goods, services and content. It is an extremely dynamic and diversified sector (from large technology companies to emerging start-ups) and is being consolidated into large subgroups.
In recent years, Internet-using companies have begun to take an interest in governance issues. This fact is quite important to be highlighted and testifies to a maturation of the sector with actors of the quality of providers and their rights. Among the private sector actors, there are in particular the telecommunication operators MTN Benin and MOOV Benin and Internet Service Providers (FAIs) are:
C- Civil society
Civil society in Benin is very active in the field of Internet governance in Benin. The objective of this family of actors remains the representation of non-professional groups using the Internet. This term also includes the various activist groups and other influential and active groups in the ICT sector in Benin. This group of actors plays its role as a counter-power and alerting agent quite well. Among the actors of civil society, there are in particular:
D – Technical Community
The technical community in Benin plays a very important role in Internet governance issues. This brings together universities with many research laboratories working around Internet technologies. The University of Abomey Calavi conducts much interesting research in Benin and many of the start of work of Internet technologies.
E – International organizations
The community of international organizations that works and supports Internet governance in Benin, plays a fundamental role in the development of the Internet in a global way. We can mention among others:
II- The different initiatives of Internet governance in Benin
Several initiatives in Internet governance are to be welcomed. Among these, we can mention:
The Internet Governance Forum in Benin (IGF Benin) is a multi-stakeholder framework for Internet Governance, which is inspired by the United Nations’ mission to organize an annual Internet Governance Forum as a global multi-stakeholder platform for dialogue on current and future issues in Internet governance.
This is a youth training workshop on Internet governance that was organized by IGF-Benin and ICANN in Cotonou from 06 to 09 December 2016. The Youth’Com (Youth Communities) ICANN’s program guidance through local-level training in partnership with national Internet stakeholders.
The School of Internet Governance in Benin aims to contribute to the popularization of information on the Internet in Benin and to inform end-users and the general public about Internet-related topics. It is organized by the IGF Benin, the third edition of which was held on June 2019 on the theme of « Digital Rights.
Established since 2015 by non-profit organizations, the Benin DNS Forum is a major meeting place for issues related to the Internet and the DNS in Benin. This annual event is organized in several activities, public forums, seminars, open training sessions and critical Internet technologies and resources in Benin. DNS, Domain Names, DNSSEC and DANE, Internet security and IP resources. After four successful editions, which have been acclaimed by the Beninese technical, economic and digital community, the next edition of the Benin DNS Forum is scheduled for September 2019.
The purpose of the Force Member initiative is to build the capacity of members of the Internet Society (ISOC) Chapter of Benin on various aspects related to the Internet, with the aim of developing a community of qualified and seasoned members on the challenges related to the operation and maintenance of the Internet. use of the Internet.
The DIGITAL WEEK or SENUM (Digital Week) is an initiative that aims to highlight and develop the digital ecosystem in Benin. Benin’s potential is a week-long event in Benin’s potential. In this respect, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Communication creates favorable conditions for the development of the sector and the promotion of local innovations.
The Benin Digital Tour is a digital awareness and training caravan for the use of digital services for students, schoolchildren, craftsmen and traders for digital inclusion initiated by the Beninese Agency of the Universal Service of Electronic Communications and Training. Post (ABSU-CEP) in the vision of Making Benin the digital services platform in West Africa for the acceleration of economic growth and social inclusion.
III- The way which young people can participate in these initiatives
In Benin, opportunities for young people to participate in and contribute to Internet Governance initiatives extend to several levels, namely:
They can participate in these initiatives by attending meetings in their countries and regions so that they get a better understanding on the subject. During these meetings, they get to know people who are experts in the field. There are also online platforms and programs for young people interested in Internet Governance issues. Youth can engage themselves and become ambassadors of Internet Governance in their countries.
Example of platforms and programs
References
