ICT policymakers and industry leaders from 23 African countries convened at the 7th Transform Africa Summit in Conakry, Guinea, on 12 November 2025, to advance practical data governance solutions and launch the French edition of UNESCO’s Data Governance Toolkit. The workshop brought together over 50 senior ICT policymakers, regulators, and industry representatives, focusing on bridging persistent legal, technical, and institutional gaps as Africa accelerates its digital transformation.
Titled Data Governance in the Digital Age: From Principle to Practice, the session emphasized actionable guidance over high-level concepts, helping participants translate data governance principles into concrete national and regional strategies. The workshop leveraged tools such as the Smart Africa Data Governance Blueprint, the African Union Data Policy Framework, and country case studies to discuss implementation pathways and regional alignment. Participants explored the Toolkit’s 4P framework—purpose, principles, people, processes—assessed their countries’ data-governance maturity, and identified priority challenges in their local contexts, while also exchanging insights and best practices with peers.
A pre-workshop survey revealed that many African countries still face significant barriers, including gaps in legal and regulatory frameworks and limited technical capacity for data management and sharing. These findings aligned with UNESCO’s global consultation involving over 200 stakeholders from 56 countries, underscoring the need for practical, context-specific approaches to bring data governance principles to life. Workshop facilitators emphasized that advancing a digital Africa relies on capable institutions, everyday decisions, and skilled people to ensure trust, innovation, and accountability.
The event also marked the launch of the French edition of the Data Governance Toolkit: Navigating the Digital Age, expanding access across Africa’s linguistic diversity. Organized by Smart Africa and UNESCO, in partnership with the World Bank and ITU, the workshop was facilitated by Leona Verdadero, Dr. Stefaan Verhulst, and Hawa Siga Diankon. It represents a key step in UNESCO’s capacity-building efforts, with a follow-up workshop planned for 8–10 December 2025 in Mozambique, targeting Portuguese-speaking countries to further strengthen practical data governance across the continent.
