The DBE, through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), co-hosted the International Conference on Digital Governance 2026, held at the University of Pretoria from 12 to 13 February 2026. The co-hosts included the University of Pretoria, the UNESCO Headquarters, the UNESCO Regional Office and other partners.
As part of the build-up to the conference, delegates visited the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg to reflect on South Africa’s history on systemic human rights violations, reinforcing the conference objective of promoting a human-rights based approach to the governance of digital platforms.
The overall goal of the conference was to strengthen collective engagement of participation in global digital platform governance by: promoting human-rights based approaches; encouraging inclusive multi-stakeholder dialogue; advancing the implementation of UNESCO’S governance guidelines; and addressing challenges such as misinformation, transparency, accountability, and online harm. Furthermore, the conference sought to ensure that South Africa’s digital governance framework is aligned with the emerging global standards and best practices in digital platforms.
In his opening remarks, Advocate Mathole Motshekga, former Premier of the Gauteng Province of South Africa, expressed his appreciation to UNESCO for its leadership and initiative of providing the global community with principled human-centred guidance in navigating the complexities of digital transformation, and for placing human rights, transparency and accountability at the centre of digital governance.
Ms Pancy Tlakula, Chairperson of the Information Regulator of South Africa noted that UNESCO’s Guidelines on Digital Governance play a vital role in protecting digital freedom of expression while protecting accountability. She indicated that the potential roadmap emerging from the conference will be adopted and implemented to strengthen a rights-based digital governance framework.
Other speakers included the Assistant Director-General for Communications and Information at UNESCO, Dr Jarfiki Jelassi, who underscored key messages in his presentation. He noted that “collective momentum has grown, but fragmentation of power imbalances remain”. He expressed his appreciation to the effect that stakeholders had come together to reflect on a shared understanding of governance of digital platforms, and highlighted its public interest significance, and that it requires collaborative efforts. He called for a coordinated action-orientated implementation of UNESCO’s Guidelines through practical measures.
The session followed with panel discussions involving representatives of different countries, fostering a rich dialogue. A representative from the Zara organization in Austria shared how they translate reported cases of cyberbullying, racism and abuse online, into evidence that can be shared with regulators and digital platforms. One of the panellists, Ms Maluleka, Chairperson, ICT South Africa media regulators forum, expressed her gratitude in that the platform provides a great opportunity for continuous learning experiences from each other.
In closing, Professor Mbangi Nepfumbada thanked all strategic partners for their valuable contributions, noting that their inputs had enriched the dialogue, and reinforced the importance of a multisectoral approach to digital governance. He emphasized that a lot of work lies ahead as stakeholders seek to “advance the action points that have culminated in the Pretoria Declaration”.