ITU and ATU Webinar – Shaping Africa’s Digital Future: Governance in the Metaverse and Virtual Worlds

Description

The metaverse, an integrative ecosystem of virtual worlds offering immersive experiences to users, has the potential to reshape how societies, economies, and individuals interact with digital technologies. As Africa’s digital economy continues to grow, the metaverse presents both opportunities and challenges for policymakers, businesses, and citizens. Africa’s digital transformation has been marked by increasing mobile connectivity, a thriving tech startup ecosystem, and innovative solutions in financial technology, e-commerce, and education. However, the regulatory and policy frameworks governing digital spaces remain underdeveloped, especially in areas related to emerging technologies like the metaverse and virtual worlds. The lack of clear governance structures poses risks around data security, privacy, economic inclusion, intellectual property rights, and digital sovereignty. As such, it is critical to develop regulatory pathways that ensure the metaverse fosters inclusive growth and aligns with Africa’s socio-economic priorities. Co-organized by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and African Telecommunications Union (ATU), this webinar seeks to address the policy and regulatory challenges associated with the metaverse and propose pathways for African governments and regional bodies to navigate this new frontier. This webinar will bring together policymakers, legal experts, technologists, and industry leaders to explore strategies for fostering a secure, inclusive, and thriving metaverse and virtual worlds environment in Africa.

Target Audience

Participation is open to the ITU Member States, Sector Members, Associates, Academia, and to any individual from a country that is a member of the ITU and who wishes to contribute to the work. This includes individuals who are also members of international, regional and national organizations. Participation is free of charge.

Note: By registering for this event, you agree for ITU (the event organizer and data controller) to process your personal data for the organization and management of the event in accordance with the ITU Data Protection and Privacy Policy. The personal data you submit as part of the registration and your participation in the event will be used by ITU for the organization, management, and follow-up of the event, including managing attendance and for internal ITU administrative requirements. The event is taking place via Zoom, and it will be recorded. You can read here Zoom’s privacy notice on how it processes your personal data. The event video recording will be made publicly available on ITU’s event webpage to raise awareness and promote standardization aiming at knowledge-transfer and bridging the standardization gap. For any questions or requests concerning your personal data, including your inclusion in video, you can contact ITU at digitaltransformation@itu.int.