LocationsAdvancing digital governance in Africa requires a holistic and coordinated approach. Central priorities include expanding equitable access to digital infrastructure, strengthening regulatory and policy frameworks, building institutional and technical capacities, and promoting the inclusion of youth and marginalized communities.
UNDP Africa Governance and Peacebuilding Practitioners press for digital governance and democratic resilience
March 13, 2026
Group photo of the participants of the CoP
UNDP The Gambia
Banjul, The Gambia – 13 March 2026: The 2026 edition of UNDP Africa’s Governance and Peacebuilding Community of Practice (CoP) held in Banjul, The Gambia, from 10–12 March 2026, bringing together approximately 70 participants, including Governance Team Leaders, practitioners, Peace and Development Advisors, and Chief Technical Advisors working on elections, rule of law, human rights, and access to justice.
The three-day forum was organized under the theme “Digital Governance for Inclusive, Transparent, and Accountable Societies: Leveraging Technology to Strengthen Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in the Digital Age.” Held at the Banjul International Conference Centre, (formerly called the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre), the event served as a platform for peer learning, networking, innovation exchange, and strategic dialogue on how digital transformation can strengthen governance systems, democratic resilience, and citizen-state relations across Africa.
Participants included representatives from UNDP Country Offices and Regional Hubs, government institutions, civil society organizations, technology partners, and regional bodies. Through high-level plenaries, breakout discussions, innovation showcases, and a field visit, participants explored opportunities and challenges associated with digital transformation in governance systems.
UNDP The Gambia
The event kicked off with a spectacular opening ceremony where key statements were delivered by The Gambia’s Minister of Public Service, Administrative Reforms, Policy Coordination and Delivery, Hon. Baboucarr Bouy, who affirmed that the theme of the CoP captures both national aspirations and continental imperatives, as digital transformation is reshaping state–citizen relations and expectations of public institutions. He emphasized that the forum comes at a time when rapid global changes are creating governance challenges that require collective understanding and shared solutions.
“Governance reforms in The Gambia are people-centred, rooted in listening to citizens and expanding inclusion, especially for women and youth. Good governance is inseparable from justice. We have made significant progress through our TRRC process, where the government accepted 263 recommendations and embarked on implementation to confront the past honestly and build a future anchored in justice and reconciliation.” The Minister also highlighted.
Reflecting on The Gambia’s unique democratic journey, the UNDP Director of the Sub-Regional Hub for West and Central Africa and Senegal Resident Representative, Njoya Tikum, said the country has confronted difficult governance challenges, questioned its internal values, and emerged stronger by building robust transitional justice mechanisms and designing innovative, cost-effective electoral systems such as the traditional marble/pebble voting method.
“Civil, political, energy, human mobility, demographic, and economic are six transitions that Africa is experiencing today. Missing is the role that technology and governance play in these transitions. Governments need us to help figure out these transitions.” Njoya Tikum challenged colleagues to leverage technology and democracy to better support navigating these broader structural transformations.
UNDP The Gambia
Building on this perspective, in her welcome remarks, the UNDP Resident Representative for The Gambia, Ms Mandisa Mashologu, noted that digital governance represents one of the most pressing and transformational opportunities of our time, reshaping governance, access to services, transparency, and participation.
The Resident Representative expressed delight in The Gambia hosting the CoP, which she said is particularly befitting as the world commemorates the International Women’s Month and Day under the theme RIGHTS. JUSTICE. ACTION – For All Women and Girls. The Gambia’s population is made up of 51% women, and yet we know more can be done for this to be translated into economic empowerment, leadership, and decision-making roles.
Meanwhile, the UN Resident Coordinator for The Gambia, Karl Frédérick Paul, described the event as an opportunity to strengthen the social contract, expand access to justice, modernise public administration, and enhance citizen participation.
In her elaborate, analytical and informative keynote address, the Executive Secretary of the African Commission (AUC) on Human and Peoples’ Rights (The Banjul Commission), Banjul, Ms Abiola Idowu-Ojo, delivered the keynote address, framing governance and peacebuilding not as aspirational ideals but as urgent global imperatives. She described a world shaped by converging pressures that are: democratic backsliding across parts of the continent, deepening socioeconomic inequality, climate-related stresses, and a growing disconnect between institutions and the citizens they are meant to serve.
Ms Abiola examined in greater detail the issues, focusing on the Dual Reality of Digital Transformation; Legal Framework: The African Charter, opportunities and challenges of Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights Advancement; Human Rights Risks; and the African Commission’s Engagement in delivering the governance agenda.
UNDP The Gambia
Ms Idowu-Ojo closed the substantive portion of her address with a set of recommendations directed at different actors. For African states, she called for the adoption of comprehensive AI governance frameworks grounded in human rights treaties, mandatory human rights impact assessments for high-risk AI applications, stronger data protection laws, and meaningful investment in digital infrastructure and literacy, particularly for rural and marginalised populations.
Echoing these reflections, during the ground‑setting session, Nirina Kiplagat, Governance and Peacebuilding Coordinator, Regional Service Centre for Africa, emphasised that the Community of Practice is convening at a moment of profound transformation in governance. She noted that digital technologies are reshaping how citizens engage with the state, how elections are managed, and how trust in institutions is either strengthened or eroded.
Over the three days, participants held several panel discussions, breakout sessions, an innovative marketplace of ideas showcasing their work, a TED-Talk styled Governance Talks and an emotion-packed field trip to the African Network against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances (ANEKED). During these exchanges, they emphasized the notion and understanding that digital transformation is reshaping governance across Africa, presenting opportunities to improve public service delivery, strengthen transparency and accountability, and expand civic participation.
They also highlighted persistent challenges, including digital inequality and limited internet access, risks of misinformation and manipulation in electoral processes, Cybersecurity threats and data protection concerns, capacity gaps in digital governance systems, and potential human rights risks in digital spaces.
Participants stressed that digital governance reforms must remain grounded in democratic values, human rights, and inclusive social contracts between citizens and the state.
The next Governance and Peacebuilding Community of Practice is projected to take place in Cabo Verde.
UNDP The Gambia
Recommendations
Participants recommended the following priority actions to strengthen digital governance, democratic institutions, and promote inclusive and human rights–based digital transformation in Africa:
- Support African governments to develop or update national digital governance strategies, regulatory frameworks and digital rights protections aligned with international human rights standards.
- Accelerate the development of inclusive e-government platforms and digital public services to improve transparency, efficiency, and accessibility of government services.
- Support electoral management bodies and governance institutions to manage digital risks in electoral processes, including misinformation and digital manipulation.
- Leverage civic tech platforms and digital participation tools to strengthen citizen engagement and accountability.
- Build technical and institutional capacity within governments and development partners to design and implement digital governance initiatives.
- Create a digital knowledge platform to document innovations and share practical tools, policies and lessons learned across Africa.
Full details on the key recommendations and specific actions are available on demand.
UNDP The Gambia
Post-CoP Reactions from Peacebuilding and Governance Practitioners
“The biggest value-add for me for this COP was particularly discussing issues around resource mobilization for middle-income countries, focusing on how we can leverage and work better with the government to achieve its priorities. I think the focus currently for the government is economic development for Eswatini, and they invest quite a lot of resources. So, the COP also assisted in our understanding better how we can support the government, how to ensure that digitalization is an enabler for all of the portfolios that the government is working on.”
Ms. Linda Nxumalo, Governance Team Leader, UNDP Eswatini
“Participating in this community of practice has been quite an enriching experience because of the exchanges that we have had with colleagues around digital solutions. We struggle with how to bring on board youth; we struggle with how to bring on board women and this session and these exchanges enriched some of the solutions that we can take and adapt to our context. Also, coming around the backdrop of the Women's Month, this is quite important and very much relevant in terms of meeting some of the targets that we're working towards in terms of SDG5 as well as the national development priorities.”
Ms. Tafadzwa Muvingi, Governance Team leader, UNDP Zimbabwe
“We have exchanged ideas on what the challenges are, how we can improve digitization in our countries, and how we can support our host countries in many ways. This is a critical aspect for South Sudan, particularly as we prepare for the elections. We have an election coming up in 2026 December and as a young country that does not have a lot of infrastructure in terms of elections, but also digital governance.
It will be key for UNDP to support many aspects that are required. We are seeing the
effect of digital issues, a lot of hate speech, a lot of misinformation, and disinformation that is already affecting the country, which has a lot of tension. So, this is a very apt time that we are going to be able to speak these things with our communities and with our government, and support them to come up with frameworks and various policies, legal and administrative issues to support what they are doing.”
Ms. Catherine Waliaula, Governance Advisor, UNDP South Sudan
UNDP The Gambia
Contact details:
- Jacob Enoh Eben | Head of Communications | UNDP Sub-Regional Hub for West and Central Africa | jacob.enoh.eben@undp.org | Tel.: +221 78 963 61 90 / 77 358 66 62 |
- Mariam Njia | Communications Analyst | UNDP The Gambia | Banjul, The Gambia | mariam.njai@undp.org | T: +2203303180 |