Jackie Akello Email & Phone Number

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Research ICT Africa is an African think tank that seeks to provide alternative policy and regulatory strategies that address digital inequality in Africa and enable data justice. Through rigorous research and analysis, it seeks to build an African knowledge base in support of digital inequality and data justice and to monitor and review developments on the continent.Currently working on:- The Global Index on Responsible AI, which is a global project that seeks to measure the commitment and progress by countries on the implementation of responsible AI principles and practice. - The African Observatory on Responsible Artificial Intelligence, which is a project that seeks to promote African voices, experiences and value systems in global debates on responsible AI.

Nairobi, Kenya

Offering legal advisory, policy review, transactional, commercial, and project structuring legal solutions on matters touching on Intellectual Property Law, Technology, Media and Telecommunication Law, Internet and Data Protection, and Corporate Law.

London, United Kingdom

This fellowship aims at equipping fellows with the tools they need to actively engage and participate in the formulation of technical policies and standards that define the global internet. It centralizes on empowering fellows to actively advocate for the protection and consideration of human rights in the design, development, and deployment of internet infrastructure in internet governance bodies where policy development happens.My project in this fellowship will border on the Connectivity track, where I will look at the cybersecurity and digital (rights) literacy concerns that should be considered in the advent of community networks in Kenya.

The Center for AI and Digital Policy is an independent non-profit organization that assesses national AI policies and practices, trains AI policy leaders, and promotes democratic values for AI. It aims at ensuring that AI and digital policies promote a better society, fair, and broad social inclusion based on fundamental rights, democratic institutions, and the rule of law.

The goal of this fellowship was to introduce fellows to the workings of ICANN and equip them with relevant knowledge to become active participants in the ICANN community. As a fellow, I was exposed to:- ICANN's multi-stakeholder model, the structure of each ICANN community, their priorities, and their work. - The Internet Domain Name System (DNS) and the work that ICANN does to coordinate and support the DNS across the world.- Policy development process around the DNS.- The management of Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs), Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs), and Internet Protocol Addresses (IP Addresses) by ICANN, and - DNS fundamentals and pertinent DNS abuse issues across the globe and measures being taken by ICANN to address them.

This research project involved research on the state of AI adoption in Kenya and its impacts on human rights. In this project I successfully managed to:- Prepare an AI Factsheet that gave a general overview of the state of AI in Kenya. The Factsheet contained statistics on the adoption of AI in various sectors in the country.- Convene a virtual consultative forum gathering AI stakeholders in the country to share views on AI adoption in the country, challenges impeding AI adoption, risks caused to human rights, and policy recommendations to be considered striking a balance between AI development and protection of human rights.- Prepare a Policy Brief based on the views shared in the Consultative Forum and additional research.- Convene a physical Consultative Forum gathering AI stakeholders in the country to discuss the Policy Brief and add additional views.- Compile views made on the policy document and publish it together with Paradigm Initiative.

Research Project on the Data Protection Practices of Digital Lending Apps.Research Title:Digital Lending Apps in Africa: An Examination of Data Protection Practices and Security of Digital Lending Apps.

Conducted research on a research project on Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) in Africa. This research sought to examine the establishment, independence, impartiality, and efficiency of DPAs in Africa. As an Anglophone Africa researcher, I successfully managed to:- Examine data protection laws in select Anglophone Africa countries to gather information on appointment, responsibilities, and independence of DPAs under the laws.- Interview DPAs of the select Anglophone African countries to gather information on the public perception around their office, and the fines and guidance notes issued by their office.- Prepare a report for each Anglophone country on the operation of their DPA. This project proved to be a success as the report filled the research gap that existed in the African landscape on the operation of DPAs in Africa.

This Fellowship entailed: -Training on key Internet Governance issues.-Engagement and collaboration with key internet stakeholders from around the world.-Participation in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)The Fellowship also entailed writing academic papers and developing projects that border on internet governance. As a fellow, I wrote a paper on community networks titled 'The State Of Internet Connectivity In Kenya: How Community Networks Can Help Bridge The Digital Divide'. This paper provided:- A detailed enumeration of the state of internet connectivity in Kenya,- An analysis of the role community networks can play in bridging the digital divide,- An explanation of the entry-level challenges faced by community networks in Kenya, and - Policy recommendations on the regulatory & licensing framework of community networks. I also developed a project, in collaboration with colleagues, that focused on encryption and human rights. This project aimed at establishing an online platform that educates the public on the importance of encryption. It also aimed at coming up with an advocacy toolkit that would be used to advocate against government practices that undermine encryption. The key metrics for this project were: - Creation of awareness among citizens on the importance of encryption.- Reduction in the push by governments on practices that undermine encryption.

Nairobi, Kenya

-Participated and convened policy discussions around topical issues in the tech space in Kenya.-Conducted research on the tech landscape in Kenya and wrote key articles on: i. Data Protection ii. Digital IDs, and iii. Internet Governance.

Nairobi, Kenya

Played a key role as a researcher in the Cyber Rights Research Initiative and Localized Legal Almanac (CYRILLA) project [https://cyrilla.org/], which is a global initiative focused on integrating digital rights law, case law, and policy from across the globe. CIPIT was the African partner in this collaborative, where I achieved the following:i. Conducted a needs assessment research for regional ICT legal publishing activities in sub-Saharan Africa. This also involved actor mapping for the establishment of a regional baseline on access to the legal information in the ICT sector.ii. Leveraged findings from the needs assessment research to produce the Africa ICT Policy Manual resource providing an open format (CASEDATA data model) for the publishing of ICT legal data. iii. Participated in direct national government advocacy engagements to encourage and promote the use of the developed open format standard (CASEDATA data model) in the publishing of ICT legal resources and legal data.iv. Participated in the hosting of a long-week sprint workshop designed to train actors on how to update the ICT Policy Database with ICT legal resources for all African countries, using the CASEDATA data model to index gathered resources.

Post-Graduate Diploma In Law, Law

Bachelor Of Laws, Law, Second Class Honors-Upper Division

Master Of Laws - Llm, Media And Telecommunications Law