Objet : Media Advisory – Third Extra-ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Communication and Information Communications Technology

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION DIRECTORATE

MEDIA ADVISORY

Third Extra-ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Communication and Information Communications Technology (STC-CICT)

What: Third Extra-ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Communication and Information Communications Technology (STC-CICT)

When: The extra-ordinary session of the CCICT is scheduled to be held on 11-13 June 2024 virtually at 1:00 pm EAT (GMT+3)

(i) Experts’ session: 11-12 June 2024;

(ii) Ministerial session: 13 June 2024.

Where: The meeting will be held on Zoom Platform and participants are kindly requested to register in advance using below link. After registering, they will receive a confirmation email containing the login details to access to the meeting.

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJItf-yuqDotHN2TO6h4H_AyPkHcbD6y1vzG

Who: The meeting will be addressed by:

· H.E. Dr Amani ABOU-ZEID, AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy

· H.E. Mrs. Nthati Moorsi, Chair of the STCCICT and Minister of Information, Communications, Science Technology, and Innovation of the Kingdom of Lesotho.

Objectives: the main objectives of the extra-ordinary session of the CCICT are as follows:

(i) Present the draft African Digital Compact for consideration by the STC;

(ii) Present the draft Continental Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy for consideration by the STC;

(iii) Submit to the Executive Council the approved draft African Digital Compact and draft Continental AI Strategy for consideration and adoption.

Expected results:

The expected result will include:

(i) Ministerial Declaration with recommendations drawn from the reports; and,

(ii) Approved African Digital Compact and Continental AI Strategy.

Background information: The Specialized Technical Committees (STCs), which constitute an important technical organ of the African Union (AU), were established under Article 25 of the African Economic Community Treaty (the Abuja Treaty). With the transformation of the OAU into the AU, the STCs were carried over by the Constitutive Act of the African Union under Articles 14 to 16.

Following AU Assembly referenced Assembly/AU/Dec.227 (XII) reconfiguring the existing STCs the STC on Communication and Information Technologies called Committee on Communication and ICT (CCICT) has been established as one of the fourteen committees set up to work in close collaboration with the various departments of the Commission (AUC) to provide well-informed inputs in their areas of specialization to the work of the Executive Council.

The Ministers in charge of Communication and Information & Communication Technology (ICT), meeting in Addis Ababa, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on 23^rd November 2023 for the Fifth Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Communication, and ICT (STC-CICT5) requested the African Union Commission to:

· Develop an African Digital Compact as a contribution to the Global Digital Compact in preparation for the United Nations Summit of the Future,

· Expedite the development of a Continental AI Strategy; and

· Organize an Extra-Ordinary STC on Communication and ICT in the first half of 2024 to consider and approve the Draft African Digital Compact and Draft Continental AI Strategy as an African contribution to the Global Digital Compact and submit for examination and adoption by the AU Executive Council.

Participants:

The Extra-ordinary STC on CICT will gather Ministers in charge of ICT, Post and Communication and Information from AU member States, AU Specialized Institutions and International Organizations, African and International Partners of Africa dealing with Communication and Information Technologies in addition to participants from Regional Economic Communities (RECs); AU Specialized Institutions; AUDA-NEPAD; African Telecommunications Union (ATU; Pan African Postal Union (PAPU); African Development Bank (AfDB); Smart Africa; UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); African and International Specialized Organizations and partners; African Media Organizations and Houses (Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), The African Editors Forum(TAEF), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), African Media Initiative (AMI)); Private sector; Academia and NGOs.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Mr. Gamal Eldin Ahmed A. Karrar | Senior Communication Officer | Information and Communication Directorate | African Union Commission | E-mail: GamalK@africa-union.org