Côte d'Ivoire launches national assessment using UNESCO’s Internet Universality Indicators

By assessing the 109 core ROAM-X indicators of Internet Universality developed by UNESCO - and linked to the legal framework, accessibility, gender equality and sustainable development, among other things - the survey aims to develop recommendations for the various stakeholders in the Internet ecosystem. The implementation of these recommendations will ultimately impact the development of the Internet in accordance with the ROAM principles of Rights, Openness, Accessibility, and Multi-stakeholder participation.

The government, which sees this initiative as an opportunity to make Côte d'Ivoire a "digital hub in Africa", has committed to supporting the UNESCO teams in carrying out this project.

This study, which will help to understand and assess the complexity of the development of the Internet and its impact on the development of the country, comes after the adoption of the National Strategy of Cybersecurity in 2021 as well as the strengthening of existing laws on the management and protection of personal data, individual freedoms and privacy. The initiative aims to promote the development of a more inclusive and human rights-based Internet.

Welcoming the existing collaboration between his organization and Côte d'Ivoire, especially in the field of the right of access to information, the Head of the UNESCO office in Côte d'Ivoire, Ms. Anne Lemaistre, recalled that the initiative contributes to the achievement, of Sustainable Goal 16.10, among others, of the 2030 UN Agenda Sustainable Development.

Funded by UNESCO, through the International Program for the Development of Communication (IPDC), the study, whose results are expected by the end of June 2022, is supervised by an advisory committee currently working on completing the first draft of the assessment.