In September 2025, the Internet Society organized its first-ever Africa Cybersecurity (Encryption) Advocacy Workshop in Windhoek, Namibia, held alongside the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica), a leading regional convening on digital rights and governance that brings policymakers, advocates, technologists, and journalists together to shape an open, secure Internet.
Building on the success of our earlier event in Brussels, our team developed this workshop in collaboration with steering committee members of the Global Encryption Coalition.
The three-day workshop equipped leading African civil society organizations with the technical grounding, policy context, and advocacy tools necessary to defend strong encryption and advocate for robust cybersecurity across the continent.
Over three days, Internet Society staff, together with partners and regional experts, led high-impact discussions and practical sessions on encryption, cybersecurity, and digital rights advocacy.
Participants explored:
- How the Internet works and why encryption is a key building block for Internet safety, trust, and resilience.
- Encryption policy and debates across Africa and globally, including technical proposals and legislative trends that could weaken strong encryption.
- Practical strategies and tools to advocate against encryption threats, including campaign design, messaging for diverse audiences, and media interview skills.
The workshop deepened our understanding of how encryption protects not only individuals but the very fabric of civic participation.”
The workshop brought together 21 representatives from civil society groups, Internet Society chapters from Namibia, Uganda, South Africa, and Zambia, and several former Global Encryption Day grantees.
Partners who helped facilitate the sessions included Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), Access Now, and the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE), which enriched the program with regional knowledge and case-led learning.
At a moment when governments across Africa are exploring measures that could circumvent or weaken encryption, African civil society needs the skills and networks to proactively advocate for strong cybersecurity before anti-encryption legislation is proposed. Skillfully articulating how strong encryption safeguards safety, press freedom, democratic participation, and community resilience is key to positively shaping policy. To elaborate on the real-world impact of such measures, the workshop analyzed live and recent case studies, such as Nigeria’s Social Media Bill and Mauritius’s ICT Authority proposal.
It gave us practical tools to integrate encryption into our advocacy work.”
With this workshop, the Internet Society and the Global Encryption Coalition continue to empower organizations across regions to speak up for encryption. As governments explore regulatory measures that could undermine digital security, these advocates are becoming powerful voices for protecting the open, global Internet.