BLURB ON THREE MONTHS INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE AT PIN ICT
POLICY OFFICE ABUJA
Great experience has the opportunity of a life time.
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| Working on policy briefs to be published. |
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| During Office Hours. |
I was introduced
to ICT policies that I never knew existed. I got to know about the agencies that regulates the use of Internet within the
country and various policies used by these agencies to regulate these
activities.
Also got to know about various bills pending in the National
Assembly that also seeks to regulate internet usage, permit interception of
communication and the Cybercrime bill
Also helped in the drafting of letters requesting meeting
with policy makers so as to help draft a better ICT law that promotes privacy,
security and doesn’t hamper citizens’ right to information and expression
I conducted a research concerning ICT
Policy related issues, focusing on internet surveillance and freedom, started
from Africa and moved to other continents. During this research, I also
reviewed recent bills (2010-2014) passed at the Nigeria National Assembly, both
senate and house bills, and wrote a report on the aspects that inhibits internet
freedom and data privacy.
I was also able to set up meetings between policy makers, legislators
and Paradigm Initiative Nigeria to discuss legislation or policies that may
affect Internet Freedom in Nigeria, and this built on Paradigm Initiative
Nigeria’s relationship with policymakers and legislators. I visited the Nigeria
National Assembly regularly, to keep PIN’s database of Information Technology
related bills, policies and regulations updated and also for research purpose.
I kept myself relevant with ongoing/recent internet freedom issues in
Nigeria and across the globe, by following relevant ICT ministries, departments
and agencies social media accounts, and also by reviewing newspapers and online
articles. I wrote reports on the Internet/ICT policy issues discovered. I was
actively involved in conducting PIN’s online interview/discussion on Internet
freedom/ censorship related issues in Nigeria and the Paradigm Initiative
Nigeria internet policy workshop across various geo-political zones in Nigeria.
I represented Paradigm Initiative Nigeria in conferences and meetings related
to Information and communication technology.
It
was a wonderful experience, I also followed several international debates and
conferences related to internet policy all over the world, it improved my
report writing skills and my knowledge about Internet Policy.
Very innovative, I would encourage anybody that seeks to be
aware of the various legislation guarding ICT in Nigeria to be a part of this.
Thank you
