EU Delegation Highlights Commitment to Digital Rights at FIFAfrica 2025

EU Delegation Highlights Commitment to Digital Rights at FIFAfrica 2025

The EU Delegation to Namibia was honoured to contribute to the 12th Edition of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica 2025), hosted in Windhoek from 24-26 September. The event gathered policymakers, parliamentarians, civil society organisations, and digital rights advocates from across Africa and beyond to discuss the future of a free, open, and inclusive internet.

During her opening speech, EU Ambassador to Namibia, H.E. Ana Beatriz Martins commended the organisers and highlighted Namibia's role as a fitting host:

"Defending internet freedom, means defending our most fundamental civil rights in the digital age: the freedom to connect, communicate, and access information online. The European Union stands as a committed ally to advance digital rights and internet freedom. The European Union stands with you not as a distant partner, but as a committed ally to advance digital rights and internet freedom. Together, we will continue to build bridges across the digital divide, defend the open internet, and ensure that technology serves as a tool for human empowerment."

In her remarks, Ambassador Martins underscored the EU's investments in digital infrastructure, democratic governance, and a human-centric digital transformation under the Global Gateway strategy, as well as support to more than 200 civil society organisations across Africa working to defend digital rights and promote digital literacy.

At the closing session, Head of Cooperation Alexandre Baron reinforced this message, stressing the global importance of rights in digitalisation:

"The EU stands for a rights-based, human-centred model of digitalisation. We believe that rights are the backbone of trust in digital transformation. Without rights, there is no trust. Without trust, there is no sustainable digital economy."

He outlined the EU's human-centred approach to digitalisation, referencing landmark regulatory frameworks such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Digital Services Act (DSA), and the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). He highlighted the need to ensure artificial intelligence is safe, fair, and inclusive - and called for Africa to be not just a consumer of AI but also a developer, regulator, and standard-setter.

Baron concluded by stressing the value of multi-stakeholder governance, praising the contributions of parliamentarians, civil society organisations, and innovators represented at the forum.

Read the full speech of the Ambassador here.