Sponsor

UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Duration

September 2021 – March 2022

Project objectives

• embed the operational process of the Clearing House in the GFCE community
• scale up the offer of the Clearing House both national and regionally, assisting with the alignment of regional CCB programmes to meet CCB needs
• encourage a demand driven approach to the Clearing House across the GFCE working groups. 
• The benefit in the achievement of these aims will be to ensure better visibility, understanding and use of the GFCE Clearing House Tool by GFCE Members and Partners

Description

• Lead the GFCE Clearing House operations, actively supporting matching requests for cyber capacity building support from GFCE Members with offers of international support. 
• Develop a GFCE Clearing House Strategy, prioritising efforts and resources to scale the Clearing House offer both nationally and regionally. 
• Promote and broaden understanding of the GFCE Clearing House Tool’s offer and impact among the GFCE community and internationally.
• Work with GFCE Working Groups to refine/design a demand driven approach for GFCE members and partners to utilise, engage and improve coordination on CCB efforts, avoiding duplication, through the GFCE Clearing house Tool.  

Sponsor

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Duration

01/09/20 – 31/12/23

Project objectives

The primary outcome of the project is to enable a majority of African Countries to identify and address their national cyber capacity needs, in turn helping to strengthen their cyber resilience.

To achieve the primary outcome and to ensure these efforts can be sustained for the duration and after the project, the following secondary outcomes are envisioned:

• Coordination and cooperation between existing cyber capacity building projects and programs in Africa
• Identification of cyber capacity needs on a national and sub-regional level in African countries
• The growth of a trusted community of cyber leaders from the different African countries

Description

• The project will be split into four phases: ‘Preparing’, ‘Developing’, ‘Learning’, and ‘Sustainment’ – see below for more detail – spanning a two-year period.
• The project will build on and utilize existing cyber structures, plans, expertise and capacities within the AUC Information Society Division (ISD) in charge of Cyber Security in the Africa region, as well as within the multi-stakeholder and international GFCE Community. 
• The GFCE Secretariat and the Information Society Division of the AUC will be responsible for the coordination of the program. A GFCE regional liaison will be part of the AUC team to align the coordinating role of the AUC and the GFCE Secretariat. Below under each phase are the responsibilities explained for both the GFCE Secretariat and the AUC.

Sponsor

Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Duration

15/02/22-15/07/22

Project objectives

In-depth interviews with each ECOWAS member states on their CCB needs. Increased participation of ECOWAS countries in GFCE initiatives, including the AUGFCE project and the CCB Coordination Committee.

Description

Through participation in GFCE workshops, ECOWAS countries are further engaged in identifying CCB needs, sharing knowledge and best practices, and setting CCB priorities. This will take the form of a White Paper that contains the following elements:

• Identifies CCB needs in the ECOWAS region, based on the workshop feedback, as well as from ongoing GFCE initiatives in the region (the AU_GFCE project and the KPMG produced report);
• Delivers recommendations for a 3-year West African – G7 CCB programme and the establishment of a ECOWAS – G7 CCB platform.

Sponsor

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Commonwealth of Australia

Duration

February 2022 – December 2024

Project objectives

The Women in International Security and Cyberspace Fellowship program aims to ensure equal and effective representation of women diplomats from all regions in United Nations cyber negotiations. The program seeks to develop cyber governance capacities, providing access to workshops and training as well as direct support to fellows for their participation in UN processes on international security and cyberspace.  Long-term goals include the increased capacity of women diplomats to participate in UN discussions, increased awareness of the gender digital divide, and the development of indigenous national capacity to facilitate involvement in UN cyber discussion.  

Description

• Attendance at OEWG and other UN meetings in New York
• WiC Network confidence building and roundtable discussion

Sponsor

Global Affairs Canada

Duration

7-14 June 2023

Project objectives

The Executive course seeks to improve state capacity to effectively engage with the international community to develop the normative architecture governing cyberspace and state behavior, in particular public international law. The alumni course seeks to build the capacity of, and networks between, policy makers, legal experts and legislators who have previously undertaken CLI courses. The project will also be actively supported by the Commission of the African Union.

Description

In order to foster international peace and security, this project will work with state officials operating on the multinational level to better understand the international law implications of cyber activities and the complex nuances thereof. It will also work to foster better engagement from states in the continued development of a common understanding on how international law regulates states’ activities in cyberspace, protects human rights online, and prevents, and enables them to mitigate cyber threats.

Sponsor

Global Affairs Canada

Duration

14-18 November 2022

Project objectives

The scope of the Project is to examine the law applicable to cyber operations during peacetime and to focus on various specialized regimes of international law as applied in the cyber context.

Description

The course also includes two exercises to enable the application of the legal principles and rules examined to fictional, but realistic, scenarios. The training employs an interactive teaching style that encourages active student participation.

Sponsor

Global Affairs Canada

Duration

19-21 July 2023

Project objectives

The training seeks to improve state capacity to effectively engage with the international community to develop the normative architecture governing cyberspace and state behavior, in particular public international law, including for Women in International Security and Cyberspace alumni. The Exchange of views will discuss the draft statement by the AU on the Application of International Law. The project will also be actively supported by the Commission of the African Union.

Sponsor

KPMG

Duration

14 weeks (starting November 2021)

Project objectives

• Present an overview of current cyber capacities and gap analysis regarding cybersecurity and cybercrime needs for the African region taking into consideration the national specifics in each state
• Present an agenda with specific cyber capacity needs for the Africa region, and more specifically priorities for the five Africa regions (North, East, West, Central, and Southern Africa)
• Present specific needs for Cyber diplomacy for African nations to contribute to the global debate

Description

The engagement will consist of five (5) phases

• Initiate
• Research and Analyse 
• Workshop and Interview
• Report

Sponsor

UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Duration

01/10/2021 – 31/03/2022

Project objectives

Ensure equal and effective representation of women in UN cyber negotiations.

Description

• The UK will offer up to 27 fellowships to Commonwealth countries in Africa and South Asia, covering both the new OEWG and the Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) to develop a new cybercrime treaty.
• The fellowships include funding travel to New York/Vienna, accommodation and expenses for negotiating sessions. Other donor countries will do the same for their fellows. In addition, there will be a supporting programme of networking and developmental events for all fellow.