Ahead of the workshop on Internet Universality in Benin, the Minister of Digital Economy and Communication, Aurélie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU, met members of the media.
Ahead of the workshop on Internet Universality in Benin, the Minister of Digital Economy and Communication, Aurélie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU, met members of the media. On the agenda of this press conference were the Government’s actions in support of digital inclusion and the main themes of the meeting, organised in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Organised by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Communication through the Beninese Agency for Universal Service in Electronic Communications and Postal Services (ABSU-CEP), in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the workshop on Internet Universality in Benin opens on Tuesday 23 July in Cotonou. In preparation for the meeting, the Minister of Digital Economy and Communication, Aurélie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU, spoke with members of the media about the efforts of President Patrice Talon’s Government to achieve strong digital inclusion. “We are building the digital sector and we want strong digital inclusion,” she said. According to her, the Head of State’s ambition for the digital sector is to use Information and Communication Technologies as a catalyst for economic momentum and the modernisation of Benin in order to accelerate economic growth and social inclusion by 2021. In her words, the aim is to ensure that all citizens have access to digital technology. This is why the Government has enabled the installation of digital infrastructure in the country’s municipalities. “We want local authorities to take charge of the transformation of their communities,” she said. To this end, the fibre optic network has been densified and extended to certain regions of Benin to give people access. All of this has enabled Benin to be the second country in sub-Saharan Africa with room for progress towards better internet.
For its part, the Beninese Agency for Universal Service in Electronic Communications and Postal Services (ABSU-CEP) helps to give the most disadvantaged communities access to telephone and internet services and Information and Communication Technologies, as well as basic postal and financial services. It has installed technical rooms, community digital points and Wi-Fi access points in certain localities for the benefit of communities. “We need to take into account the development of digital skills and content in order to draw people towards digital technology,” recommended Ms Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU. Finally, it was announced that the “workshop on Internet Universality” would be held in Cotonou. Around 150 stakeholders in the study on the integrated and dynamic area-coverage strategy are expected at the meeting, whose objective is to highlight and support the reforms boldly implemented in Benin’s digital economy sector. It should be noted that the session on “universal service for the development of Benin”, the facilities built by ABSU-CEP and the overall presentation of the study project on Internet Universality indicators in Benin are the main themes around which the work of the workshop will be structured.