ICTs have profoundly changed the way in which we live, work and spend our leisure time, but at the same time they introduced challenging ethical problems which are some times also referred to as information wrongdoings or information harm.

These ethical challenges include spamming, creation and distribution of computer viruses, virtual crimes such as identity theft, and so-called ‘e-corruption’. The advent of ICTs also created a digital divide between those who have access to, and use of, these technologies and those who don’t. This digital divide is particularly apparent on the African continent.

There is, therefore, an urgent need to integrate leading African scholars and practitioners into the international ethical debate on the impact of ICTs that can be reflected in practical information policy and strategy formulations.

It is in this spirit that the organizers of this Conference, which include the South African Government, UNESCO, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (USA), the University of Pretoria and the International Center for Information Ethics, joined efforts for the holding of the event.

Some 80 experts from Africa and around the world have been invited to participate in this info-ethical debate and the main themes that will be addressed include the following:

• Modern ICTs and their impact on development and poverty reduction.


• Global security, human security and individual security.


• Respect for human dignity as it is expressed in a variety of information rights.


• Cultural and language diversity and globalization.


• Spamming and other forms of information wrongdoings, information corruption and information injustice.


• Protection and promotion of indigenous knowledge that includes the legal and moral protection and promotion of indigenous knowledge.


• Internet and exclusion. The emphasis will be specifically on the impact that this kind of exclusion has on the educational and cultural aspects as well as on the social and economic development of African countries.

The expected outcomes of the Conference are to:

• Establish a platform that can advise African governments on policy implications regarding the ethical dimensions of the creation, distribution and use of information by means of ICT. The establishment of an African Information Ethics Advisory Board is planned that will comprise of experts representing a variety of related and interdisciplinary fields related to information ethics.


• Publish a reader on Africa Information Ethics that can be used as a textbook for students and scholars. This will contribute to the development of a distinct field of African Information Ethics.


• Ensure that African scholars in this field are part of the international scholarly community. This outcome will be achieved by the creation of a virtual research network between the different scholars. The virtual research network will be coordinated and maintained by the African Chapter of the International Center for Information Ethics, which is to be created on this occasion.


• Discuss and enrich the draft Code of Ethics prepared by UNESCO and presented to the participants in the Conference.
• Adopt a Final Declaration on Info-Ethics.

The ethical, legal and societal implications of ICTs are also one of the three priorities of UNESCO’s Information for All Programme and UNESCO was recently designated as the Facilitator for the implementation of Action Line C10 “Ethical Dimensions of the Information Society” of the Geneva Action Plan adopted by the World Summit on the Information Society.

This African Conference is another concrete follow up action of the Organization toward implementing this Action Line, following a similar Info-Ethics event for Latin America and the Caribbean organized last December in Santo Domingo by UNESCO and the national authorities of the Dominican Republic.