Between April 20 and 24, the Institute for Development Studies  - represented by Mr. Douglas Wanja, and Ms. Eunice Karimi - took part in the inaugural Data for Governance Alliance (D4GA) Continental Convening themed “Continental Reflections on Democracy, Governance and Human Rights in Africa. The East Africa delegation included representatives from Katiba Institute, Africa Youth Trust, African Woman Global Network, HRAPF (Uganda), and Eastern Africa Child Rights Network. 

Day 1 kicked off with an official welcome by the Afrobarometer CEO Joseph Asunka and Prof. E. Gyimah-Boadi, Senior Advisor, Afrobarometer. The Keynote speech was delivered by Amb. Salah Hammad, Head of the African Governance Architecture (AGA) Secretariat, who emphasized the need for honest conversations on Africa’s governance commitments and the urgent need to close the gap between policy and implementation. The day’s presentations and discussions focused on D4GA’s impact and learning from 2021 to 2025.

Day 2 turned the focus to Data-driven advocacy: Tools, communication, and CSO-AU partnership building.  CSO partners worked in groups to examine governance and human rights in Africa, assessing progress and challenges and proposing SMART interventions to strengthen collaboration with the AU for accountability and inclusive governance. 

Overall, key messages from the convening were:
1.    Data must be a public good
2.    There are persistent governance gaps across Africa that data must speak to and help close
3.    The rule of law, economic development, and human rights must go hand in hand
4.    Free access to legal information is a key condition for development, not a product of it

The Convening provided a key opportunity for CSOs and all participants to interact with African Union Organs and Institutions present, including APRM, AUBAC, and ACHPR.