Presidency, Civil Society Set for Roundtable Talk on Digital Rights

Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a leading outfit on digital rights and inclusion, is collaborating with the Presidency Office on Digital Engagement (PODE) to organise a roundtable talk on digital engagement and rights.

The roundtable, which comes up on July 20, 2017, at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Abuja, will feature discussions between representatives of civil society and government agencies on topical issues in digital rights and digital engagement.

According to Boye Adegoke, Paradigm Initiative’s program manager, “Paradigm Initiative’s partnership with PODE is geared towards ensuring a balance of engagements that are rights-inclusive and help benefit the whole essence of governance through digitisation. Some of the issues to be discussed is how to catalyse digital engagement for effective public service delivery. Special attention will also be paid to the issue of digital rights violations and ways to curb the phenomenon”

Adegoke also said, “Paradigm Initiative is also interested in the concerns of authorities on why they do what they do. This is why we worked out this roundtable on ensuring that both sides sit at a table to share perspectives and push forward a collaborative front that helps foster a harmonious relationship and reduces tension.”

These issues are important to Tolu Ogunlesi, head of PODE and the Special Assistant to the President - Digital and New Media and we are happy to be collaborating with his team to help entrench best practices in digital engagement and rights in Nigeria

Organisations that have confirmed their attendance for the event include BudgIT, Enough is Enough and SERAP.

On the government side is the Nigerian Army Spokesperson, the Police Complaints Unit and the Office of National Security Adviser, among others.