Journalist Garang Abraham Malak - COURTESY

A South Sudanese Journalist, Garang Abraham has won second prize in the #D4Dblogging competition beating 88 entries from 27 countries.

The first prize in the #D4Dblogging competition went to Nigerian blogger and researcher, Sunday Jerome Salami.

While the third prize went to a 27-year-old Kenyan human right lawyer, Lilian Olivia Orero.

Garang Abraham Malak told Eye Radio on Thursday that South Sudan has a lot to do in the digital field.

“South Sudan has a lot to do in the digital field. And thus, having my writings on digital development between Europe and Africa should alert our government and stakeholders to prioritize digital projects that include having digital literacy introduced in our school curriculum, establishment of digital strategies to counter dis and misinformation and making sure internet is a human right,” said Garang.

Garang is a South Sudanese multimedia journalist, blogger, media trainer, and fact-checker, author, and communications specialist.

The former Eye Radio reporter writes about politics, human rights and governance, justice, conflict, security and the environment, with a special focus on South Sudan and Sudan.

Garang’s writings have appeared on Eye Radio, Nation Media Group, Ijnet, and the BBC, among others.

He has also worked with research organizations, which includes Excel Security Solutions and Global Initiative Against Transitional Organized Crime as Researcher Lead.

The 28-year-old passionate writer who holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications.

He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Data Science at University of East London (UK).

Garang as well co-authored “Hate Speech and Misinformation Guide for the Media”.

The #D4Dblogging competition was organized by the AU-EU Digital for Development (D4D) Hub project.

The purpose of the activity was to foster debate and to gather original views on how Africa and Europe can jointly tackle online disinformation through human rights-based actions.

A total of 89 entries from 27 countries were received through an open call for submissions. 60 per cent of participants were under 30 years old.

The Director for Green Deal and Digital Agenda at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), Carla Montesi says during the announcement of the competition results that digitalization offers opportunities to promote sustainable development in society.

“Digitalization offers enormous opportunities to promote sustainable development in our societies, but it also poses new challenges such as the spread of online disinformation, which threatens our democracies and puts people at risk,” said Montesi.

“This is why through the AU-EU D4D Hub, we are supporting a much-needed conversation with our African partners on how we can work together to tackle this issue, while at the same time avoiding measures that violate human rights – such as Internet shutdowns, online censorship, or increased surveillance,

“We were delighted to receive so many concrete ideas through this blogging competition, and we look forward to continuing the debate,” she added.

The three blogs will be published by the AU-EU D4D Hub in the lead-up to the Town Hall session “Jointly tackling disinformation and promoting human rights”, which will be held on 2 December at the Internet Governance Forum 2022 (hybrid event).