Media Advice and Press Release

Languages: Portuguese, French

This text is part of the #FASTAfrica Toolkit

We want to help you get your own activities and #FASTAfrica mentioned in the media. Journalists often choose what stories they cover based on a press release. Below is a sample release you can send to reporters. You can add details of your own event, perhaps in the second paragraph.

Some tips for working with the media:

  • Find the contact details for the right journalists first. Have you seen a related news story? A few minutes of research makes you more likely to reach the right person. Otherwise, try to speak to a news editor.
  • It is a good idea to try and call a reporter to explain why your story is important. Reporters are busy and may get hundreds of emails a day. A quick phone call is the best way to make sure they hear you.
  • You probably won’t get to talk for long, so think about what you will say, and particularly why their audience will be interested.
  • The reporter may ask you to email them a press release, or call back later for an interview. Or, they may not be interested at all.
  • Good luck! If you have questions, you can always contact us.

 

PRESS RELEASE — April 28, 2016

New Pan-African Movement Seeks Faster, More Affordable Internet for All

  • #FASTAfrica campaign launches with events spanning 30+ African nations during a Week of Action: May 1-7, 2016.
  • Campaigners want all Africans to have access to Internet that is Fast, Affordable, Safe and Transparent (FAST) by 2020.

Unveiled today is #FASTAfrica, a new campaign to demand Internet that is faster, more accessible, and affordable for all Africans before 2020. The message is that development, and therefore African lives and futures, depends on it. Campaign events will be held during the first week of May across more than 30 African countries, with results to be presented at the World Economic Forum on Africa and African Union meetings later this year. Anyone can sign up to host an event or participate here: https://webwewant.org/fast-africa/

Africa is home to four of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world, and is the fastest growing market for mobile phones. However, the continent suffers from the slowest and most expensive Internet in the world — as a result, around 80% of people in Africa remain offline. Most African governments have not prioritised ICT policies despite having committed, through the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to achieving universal and affordable Internet in all least developed countries by 2020. The #FASTAfrica campaign aims to change this by bringing popular attention to the issues and highlighting possible solutions.

#FASTAfrica has been shaped by a planning group of more than 60 representatives of African groups and organisations that work on Internet rights issues in their own countries. The campaign is being coordinated by the World Wide Web Foundation, which was established by Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Twenty-nine small grants were made to local organisations hosting events during the action week. These grants will allow youth groups, technology activists, developers and policy experts to host campaign activities in Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and many other countries.

“If you look at all the countries that enjoy relatively good Internet connections in the developing world, they all share one trait: a deliberate government policy to intervene in connecting the country,” says Moses Karanja, co-founder of a brand new online African ICT Policy Database based in Kenya that is participating in #FASTAfrica.

Renata Avila, Global Campaign Manager at the Web Foundation added: “For the Internet to have a truly transformative effect in Africa, everyone needs to be able to get online — either by being able to afford regular access, or through a widespread public access programme. Once online, it is important that everyone knows that their rights will be respected, otherwise it will limit the way they use the Web. Minimum speeds of 4mbps are also a must to make the most of vital educational and health resources. And, we need openness about prices, speeds, and government policies, so anyone can track progress and think of new solutions to obstacles.”

___________

Key Demands of the Campaign

We need FAST Internet in Africa for ALL to meet our development goals.

African leaders have committed to strive for universal and affordable Internet in least developed countries by 2020 through the UN Sustainable Development Goals. One year since making this promise, we want to hear their concrete plans for Internet that is F.A.S.T….

Fast – For true economic and educational impact, we need average download and upload speeds of at least 4mbps for comfortable Web browsing and online communication.
Affordable – A basic prepaid data plan of 1GB should cost less than 2% of average national monthly income, and there should be plenty of free public access points too.
Safe – Our privacy, security and rights online should be protected in line with the African Declaration of Internet Rights and Freedoms, which should be adopted by all.
Transparent – Policies related to information and communication technology (ICT) laws, taxation and pricing need to be openly available and easy to understand.

[ENDS]

___________

Dates

May 1-7, 2016 : #FASTAfrica Action Week (pan-African)
May 11-13, 2016 World Economic Forum on Africa (Kigali, Rwanda)
June (TBC): African Union Summit

Contacts

To attend individual events in different countries or speak with local activists engaged with Internet rights in YOUR country, please ask the #FASTAfrica campaign for contact details.

For #FASTAfrica: Ms. Renata Avila
Global Manager, Web We Want (#FASTAfrica)
renata.avila@webfoundation.org

For Internet policy facts and statistics: Ms. Sonia Jorge
Executive Director, Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI)
sonia.jorge@webfoundation.org

Logos and campaign images

Please download and reuse freely in print or online: https://webwewant.org/fast-africa/fastafrica-logo-image-resources/

Links:

Campaign Homepage: https://webwewant.org/fast-africa
Map of Events: https://webwewant.org/fast-africa/map-of-events

About the World Wide Web Foundation

Established by the inventor of the Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the World Wide Web Foundation seeks to establish the open Web as a global public good and a basic right, creating a world where everyone, everywhere can use the Web to communicate, collaborate and innovate freely. Represented by more than a dozen nationalities working from hubs in London, Washington DC and Cape Town, the World Wide Web Foundation operates at the confluence of technology and human rights, targeting three key areas: Access, Voice and Participation.

Website: https://webfoundation.org
Facebook: https://facebook.com/webfoundation
Twitter: https://twitter.com/webfoundation