The 3-Line Summary
- The 11th African IGF met in hybrid format on 19–21 July 2022 at the Bingu International Conference Centre in Lilongwe, Malawi — the first in-person edition in three years — under the theme "Digital Inclusion and Trust in Africa," with over 52 sessions across four tracks.
- President Lazarus Chakwera called for investment in home-grown solutions and talent; AU Commissioner Amani Abou-Zeid pressed the case for a single digital market. Participants closed by committing to African norms on data protection and cybersecurity.
- Held months before the global IGF in Addis Ababa that November, it was where Africa firmed up its continental positions — and its push for common data and cyber rules shapes the business environment for anyone operating on the continent.
Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on AfIGF 2022 in Lilongwe draws on official outputs, session records and on-site reporting. In a hurry? The three lines above and the diagrams carry the gist.
📍 Matches the catalogue (Lilongwe, Malawi). The first in-person (hybrid) AfIGF since N'Djamena 2019. The former event domain 2022.afigf.africa now redirects to an unrelated site and was excluded from sources.
Conference at a Glance (from official records)
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Edition | 11th African IGF (The AU officially calls it the 11th; an announcement page on igf.africa still says '10th' — the edition numbering is inconsistent across official sources) |
| Dates | 19–21 July 2022 (Pre-events (Youth IGF and legislative/parliamentary sessions) ran on Monday 18 July per the official print schedule; a School on Internet Governance, the Youth African IGF and a Parliamentarian Symposium were held alongside) |
| Venue | Bingu International Conference Centre, Lilongwe, Malawi (hybrid) |
| Theme | Digital Inclusion and Trust in Africa |
| Sessions | 52 ('Over 52 sessions' organised into four thematic tracks (per the AU)) |
| Tracks | Affordable and meaningful access, Cybersecurity, privacy and personal data protection, Digital skills and human capacity development, Digital infrastructure |
| Host | African Union Commission, the Republic of Malawi and UNECA |
| Outcome | Participants committed to developing African norms, regulations and protocols on data protection, privacy and cybersecurity, aligned with the AfCFTA and the AU Digital Transformation Strategy 2020–2030 |
(See the source list at the end of this article.)
Discussion Digest — from the Session Records
Key exchanges extracted from session records and transcripts.
1. Digital Inclusion and Trust — Investing in Home-Grown Solutions
Sessions: Opening ceremony (President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi and others)
"The vision for a 'digital Africa' can only be realized if we invest in indigenous solutions and workforce to drive this transformation"
— Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi [1]
- Malawi's president opened the forum with a call to invest in African-made solutions and workforce rather than rely on imported technology [1]
- Under the inclusion-and-trust theme, debate ran across four tracks: access, skills, infrastructure and data protection/cybersecurity [1]
2. A Single Digital Market — Africa's Post-COVID Digital Economy
Sessions: High-level segment (AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Amani Abou-Zeid and others)
"Since 2020, digital technologies have proven to be the lifeline that made our communications easy, our work going and businesses functioning"
— Amani Abou-Zeid, AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy [1]
- The ultimate goal of a single African digital market was reaffirmed, with calls to root digitalisation deeply in national economies [1]
- Rulemaking was aligned with the AfCFTA and the AU Digital Transformation Strategy 2020–2030 [1]
3. A Cybersecurity Model Law — Building a Continental Legal Baseline
Sessions: UNECA workshop on an African Cybersecurity Model Law
- ICT officials, lawyers, parliamentarians and academics reviewed standards and draft guidelines for an African Cybersecurity Model Law [2]
- Building on the Lomé Declaration on Cybersecurity and Fight Against Cybercrime (signed March 2022), ECA officials warned that poorly drafted model laws could leave gaping holes in national cybercrime legislation [2]
- ECA's Mactar Seck stressed that multi-stakeholder platforms are key to implementing the AU's Digital Transformation Strategy [2]
4. Youth and Parliamentarians — Pre-Events Bridging Generations and Legislation
Sessions: Youth African IGF, Parliamentarian Symposium and School on Internet Governance (from 18 July)
- A School on Internet Governance, the Youth African IGF and a Parliamentarian Symposium preceded the main forum, plugging young people and legislators into the debates [1][3]
- Malawi's information minister underlined the forum's value as a place for Africa and beyond to learn from one another [1][3]
Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered
Q. So what did the conference actually decide?
A. Nothing binding, but participants committed to developing Africa's own norms and rules on data protection, privacy and cybersecurity, tied to the AfCFTA and the AU Digital Transformation Strategy 2020–2030.
Q. What was the highlight?
A. The return to an in-person (hybrid) format after three years — and Malawi's President Chakwera urging investment in indigenous solutions and workforce, a clear pivot away from dependence on imported technology.
Q. Why should I care?
A. A single African digital market and common data and cyber rules define the business environment for anyone operating on the continent. The forum also set the stage for the global IGF in Addis Ababa that November.
What Is AfIGF? (for first-time readers)
AfIGF is a National or Regional IGF Initiative (NRI), aligning local internet governance discussion with global IGF principles.
Why It Matters to You
What was discussed here becomes the baseline for national digital policy, platform rules and AI regulation worldwide within a few years. The principles confirmed at the 2022 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.
Sources & References
- African Internet Governance Forum 2022: Africa Strives to Improve Digital Infrastructure, Close the Digital Divide, and Foster Resilience and Security — African Union (accessed 2026-07-10)
- Experts brainstorm on a cybersecurity model law for Africa — UNECA (accessed 2026-07-10)
- Africa Internet Governance Forum 2022 – Print Schedule (PDF) — igf.africa (accessed 2026-07-10)
- Africa Internet Governance Forum 2022: Schedule (Main Sessions) — Sched (accessed 2026-07-10)
- 2022 – Africa Internet Governance Forum（開催準備・公募ページ） — igf.africa (accessed 2026-07-10)
- About us – Africa Internet Governance Forum（歴代開催一覧） — igf.africa (accessed 2026-07-10)
Quotes are translated or condensed from the records listed above. Bracketed numbers [n] refer to the source list.
Related links
- IGF official (NRI list): https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/national-and-regional-igf-initiatives
- Japan IGF: https://japanigf.jp/
- Yuki Nakazawa's blog: https://nkzw.jp/category/igf/
Revision History
Rev. 1 — published 25 July 2022, 09:00 (Article published)
Rev. 2 — updated 10 July 2026, 23:16 (Fully revised into the in-depth edition: added the 3-line summary, minutes digest, short talk, source list and diagrams (all quotes verified against the listed sources))
— 中澤祐樹
