African Union InnoFest '26 unveils continental coalition and Youth HackLab to combat digital abuse across Africa

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - The African Union Commission brought together experts, practitioners and human rights defenders at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa to strengthen Africa’s response to technology-facilitated violence against women and girls. 

The meeting took place during the African Union Innovation Festival (AU InnoFest’26), held from 29-30 September, under the theme “Vibrant Youth Ecosystems for AI and Digital Sovereignty.” The event marked the inaugural gathering of the African Community of Practice on Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women and Girls, convened by the AU Innovation Lab under the Commission’s Women, Gender and Youth Directorate. This initiative was supported by UN Agencies, including UNDP, UNFPA and UN Women, through the Spotlight Initiative Africa Regional Programme.

Prudence Ngwenya, AU’s Director of the Women, Gender and Youth Directorate, opened the session by calling for greater support for survivors. “Women and girls must be able to participate online, build businesses, create, learn, organize, express themselves and lead without being pushed out by violence and abuse,” she stated. Ms. Ngwenya emphasized that this initiative is “part of our wider commitment to ending violence against women and girls, including through the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls.” She further stressed the importance of equipping institutions to deal with abuse in complicated digital environments, noting that the Community of Practice will act as a primary platform to assist human rights defenders and shape a comprehensive continental response.

Iride Boffardi, the European Union Delegate to the African Union, also addressed the festival's opening, emphasizing the robust international backing for these initiatives. "Through the EU-AU partnership under the Africa-EU Global Gateway Investment Package, we are supporting efforts to expand connectivity, strengthen digital public infrastructure, human-centric AI, promote digital skills and foster innovation," Ms. Boffardi stated. She stressed that this cross-continental collaboration is being further solidified through the implementation of the Spotlight Initiative Africa Regional Programme.

As greater access to generative artificial intelligence and digital technologies has taken place, important questions have been raised about the systems for reporting incidents, data privacy and the effectiveness of automated moderation. A key issue in the discussions was the fact that automated content moderation cannot correctly understand African languages and local cultural references. 

The quick development of generative AI has greatly increased the need for a digital safety strategy, since tools which produce manipulated synthetic content allow abuse to spread quickly on social media. Automated accounts and organized online behavior also serve to enhance the circulation of harmful content directed at women and girls, connecting digital violence with wider problems relating to disinformation and a decline in social cohesion. 

The attendees emphasized that communities should be provided with thorough digital literacy, knowledge of cybersecurity and education on human rights so that individuals will be able to spot manipulated content, understand their digital rights and navigate online spaces safely. 

The AU InnoFest event, which lasted two days, provided a vital opportunity to connect high-level tech policy with grassroots activism, with a strong emphasis on developing inclusive and locally based digital infrastructure. This year's festival placed particular importance on making sure that Africa's fast-paced digital expansion actually safeguards its most vulnerable groups.

During the festival, ‘SafeTech Africa HackLab: Innovating for Safe Spaces’ was also launched live with a focus on empowering young people to develop digital solutions. The challenge urges young African innovators between the ages of 18 and 35 to create practical technology solutions. 

Backed by UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, the Spotlight Initiative Africa Regional Programme, the AU Innovation Lab and UN Women, this challenge invited young social entrepreneurs and advocates for digital rights to develop tech-based solutions which address gender-based violence, child marriage and technology-facilitated violence. The AU InnoFest '26 proves that Africa's drive for digital sovereignty is closely linked to its commitment to developing safe, ethical and inclusive technologies which empower all citizens.

By Serawit Atnafu