Paradigm Initiative - February 2026 Newsletter

Dear Reader,

The month of February was one full of digital rights and inclusion action across the globe, from India to Burundi, Namibia to Ghana and across multiple online platforms. The month of love, it was filled with so many engagements that we did not see it ending. But alas! Here we are. As we look ahead to an even more promising month of March, we invite you to take a walk with us through the latest highlights of our work with you and the amazing things we have lined up for March.

Key Highlights

• Calling out social media disruption in Gabon

• More than a ticket: DRIF needs you

• Who actually pays the 3% in Cameroon’s new digital tax?

• PIN digital rights board game makes a landing in Namibia

• Giving digital policy in Burundi a fresh look

Calling out social media disruption in Gabon

History is repeating itself once again. This time, the scene is playing out in Gabon as the country has imposed a nationwide social media suspension until further notice. Last week, Paradigm Initiative called on authorities to restore access, as the current action violates national and international accords to which the country is a party. Beyond civic space implications, the suspension carries severe economic consequences estimated at $2,960,568 for the first two days of the shutdown of apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. See details here

Events

Sign up for our Women’s Day webinar

On March 9, we will host the second edition of our All Aboard Webinar in celebration of International Women’s Day. The webinar, All Aboard: Gender, Digital Rights, and Equality in Francophone Africa, will focus on Frenchspeaking Africa and provide a space to celebrate women’s achievements in the digital age, explore how digital rights and

gender justice intersect and define collective actions to advance gender equality through digital inclusion and rights protection across Francophone contexts. Sign up to join us.

Giving digital policy in Burundi a fresh look

On February 17, Paradigm Initiative hosted a Digital Policy Engagement Series (DiPES) session in Burundi. DiPES Burundi provided a timely platform for different stakeholders to engage with both the country’s Cybercrime Law and the new Data Protection Law. The engagement counts as part of our work in ensuring that cybersecurity and data governance frameworks protect citizens’ rights rather than enabling surveillance, repression, or misuse of personal data.

PIN digital rights board game makes a landing in Namibia

Dozens of youth in Namibia are the latest beneficiaries of our gamified learning initiative, the Digital Rights and Inclusion Board Learning Experience (DRIBLE), which equipped them with the skills and knowledge to navigate the digital world safely. This was on the third of three days of on-ground events in Windhoek last week, including a Digital Rights Academy and a Digital Policy Engagement series session. The DRIBLE Namibia launch follows successful editions in Lagos, Nigeria; Dakar, Senegal; Nairobi, Kenya; and Lusaka, Zambia. Our vision is to reach 20 million people through our digital inclusion and digital rights interventions.

Spotlighting information integrity at the UNESCO platform governance convening

On February 12 and 13, Thobekile Matimbe, our Senior Manager, Partnerships and

Engagements, and Bridgette Ndlovu, Partnerships and Engagements Officer, were at the UNESCO 2026 International Conference on Platform Governance at the Future Africa Campus, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Their participation built on Paradigm Initiative’s continued engagement with UNESCO, following our contribution to the previous UNESCO consultation in Cape Verde in 2025, where PIN was a key stakeholder on information integrity and platform governance issues in Africa. Their participation was an opportunity to highlight emerging risks to information integrity, democratic participation, and civic space, while contributing practical, solution-oriented insights grounded in regional experience.

Speaking for underserved groups at the India AI Summit

Paradigm Initiative (PIN) had a delegation join other internet governance stakeholders at the India AI Impact Summit, in New Delhi, from February 15- 20, 2026, under the theme ‘Shaping AI for Humanity, Inclusive Growth and

a Sustainable Future.’ Our team at the summit comprised Thobekile Matimbe, PIN’s Senior Manager, Partnerships and Engagements; Sani Suleiman, PIN’s Programmes Officer, Research; and Bridgette Ndlovu, PIN’s Partnerships and Engagements Officer. Through their sessions and workshops, the team anchored the voices of underserved groups in the Global South communities we serve, strategically positioning these views in global conversations on access and accountability. Watch a minute-long summary of highlights.

More than a ticket: DRIF26 needs you

Our flagship event, the Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF26), is coming to Abidjan this April, and you can be part of this movement in a meaningful way. Every year, participants leave the Forum inspired, empowered, and ready to make change in their communities, and this year, we are taking the experience a notch higher. By purchasing a Supporter’s Ticket, you are not only helping sustain, but also grow this vital platform. Your contribution ensures that we can continue to connect thousands and expand opportunities for youth, activists, and digital pioneers across the continent. This is more than a ticket. For

us, it is a lifeline, and we count on your support to make it work. Purchase your Supporter’s Ticket here.

In the meantime, feel free to share your experience at past editions of DRIF and what you look forward to having with us at drif@ paradigmhq.org

We want to hear from you

This year, Paradigm Initiative is placing a strong focus on impact, highlighting the real, human stories behind our work. Across Africa, we have delivered trainings, built tools, published research, supported advocacy initiatives, and created spaces for learning and collaboration. But what matters most to us is how these efforts show up in your lives and communities. Did a Digital Rights Academy change how you work? Did a toolkit help you respond to a digital rights challenge? Or did a workshop, report, or engagement shape a decision, policy, or personal action? We want to hear from you. Your story could help strengthen advocacy, inspire others, and shape what we do next. Reach out to us by email at media@ paradigmhq.org

Thought Leadership

Who actually pays the 3% in Cameroon’s new digital tax?

Cameroon stands at an important digital crossroads after adding a digital tax in its 2026 Finance Law. Our Communications Officer, Giyo Ndzi, argues that while the country is right to ensure that global technology companies contribute fairly to the economy, this fairness must be balanced with foresight. The goal, he

notes, should not be merely to tax the digital economy but to grow it sustainably, and with rules that encourage participation and inclusion. Read the full article.

Media Corner

Internet shutdowns in Africa: A human rights and democratic crisis

Internet shutdowns have become a growing threat to Africa’s democracy. From high cost implications to outright threats to democracy, they are an increasingly common part of the authoritarian toolkit used by governments to control information and suppress dissent. In the following article, Nets Politik outlines why you should care.

Make March count with Paradigm Initiative

• March 4: Digital Policy Engagement Series (DiPES), Chad

• March 16: Digital Policy Engagement Series (DiPES) Kenya

• March 17: DIPES Senegal/ SCILLS Town Hall Meeting

• March 19: Digital Rights and Inclusion Board Learning Experience (DRIBLE), Kenya

Letter to Ajegunle

When rain clouds gather

Dear Ajegunle,

I hope you are keeping well today. Today, we woke up with mixed feelings, reflecting on Bessie Head’s ‘When Rain Clouds Gather.’ For old times’ sake, let me refresh your memory. In the book, after fleeing apartheid South Africa, Makhaya crosses into Botswana and arrives in the village of Golema Mmidi. Though he carries anger and trauma from his past, this moment marks the beginning of renewal. For the first time, he senses the possibility of peace and belonging in a community built on cooperation rather than racial hatred. Bessie Head put this physical and emotional escape rather nicely when she said, “He had crossed the border, and with that crossing, a new life had begun.” Does this remind you of anything? For us, your PIN fam, it brings back memories of the environment we operated in during our earlier days. Those were days void of opportunity and chances for youth to be better versions of themselves. While there was social media, it remained hard to access for a community that could barely boast of affording its next meal.

It is this feeling of despair that hit us when Gabon pulled the plug on social media the

other day. For millions of youth who had social media as their only or primary lifeline, the asphyxiation has been horrible to watch, even as we push for justice to be served. The artist African China’s 2,000s hit, ‘Mr President,’ has not stopped ringing in my head. But we, like other youth across the continent, won’t let this setback define us or deter us from putting our best foot forward and celebrating our wins.

Ajegunle, as we celebrate our recent life wins across the continent, including Ghana, where we held a town hall with stakeholders, it is to us a reminder that while Gabon and ours are different times and different challenges, the hope remains the same. Like Bessie Head said, “You may see no rivers on the ground, but we keep the rivers inside us. That is why all good things and all good people are called rain. Sometimes we see the rain clouds gather even though no clouds appear in the sky. It is all in our hearts”.

Our latest strides remind us of when Ashoka came to the rescue. It was for moments like this that the universe came through for us back then. Now, let us not spoil chapter 2 of the PIN book for you. Keep reading and encourage your friends to get their copies too. We can’t wait to discuss the book lessons and insights at the cookout in the months ahead. May the rain clouds continue to gather in your heart as they have for all these years, spanning the skies of all 13 African countries that have welcomed LIFE so far.

Yours truly,

The PIN Fam

Letter to Ajegunle is a new segment of the PIN newsletter dedicated to the vibrant town of Ajegunle, where Paradigm Initiative’s journey began. Through these letters, we celebrate our roots, reflect on our growth, and share the

stories of change that have come from these streets to communities across Africa.