Fatou has over 20 years’ professional experience working on human rights in Africa with civil society, governments and IGO. For many years, she oversaw ARTICLE 19’ work in West Africa. She has established the regional office of ARTICLE 19 for West Africa in Senegal which she heads.She has delivered technical assistance to governments on human rights, reform of media law policies and freedom of expression and access to information on the African Continent. Prior to ARTICLE 19, she worked for the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa and developed inter alia programmes for the judiciary and legal practitioners in the Gambia.She is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Gambia Radio and Televisions Services and member of several boards and committees of human rights institutions in Africa and adviser to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR). She is Founder of the Center for Women Rights and Leadership in the Gambia (CWRL).She holds an (LLM) in Economic and Communication Law, a Master’s Degree in International and European Law, a Bachelors of Law (civil law) at the University of Toulouse, Capitole and a Bachelor of English Language Specialty Law, at the Institute for languages and Civilisations.She received many distinctions and awards for her human rights work: these include, the French National Order of Merit (Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite) in 2018, the Shield Awards for West Africa by the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network in 2019 in recognition of her human rights contribution in West Africa, and in 2020 the Press Freedom hero by the Gambia Press Union.
Tabani Moyo has over 15 years’ experience in media development, communications, journalism, marketing, and business administration. He is the current the Regional Director for the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), a media advocacy and lobby network with a presence in eight (8) African countries.
He has served for boards in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa, Africa and globally in those past 15 years. He is a board member at the IFEX, a global network that defends freedom of expression. At IFEX, he chairs the governance committee for the board.
He is also a member of the African Commission on Human & People’s Rights’ Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and access to information. Further, he was one of the six-member technical committee members that supported the previous Special Rapporteur on expression, Commissioner Mute in successfully reviewing the Declaration of Principles of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression to include the internet as a right in 2018.
In 2021, in commemoration of the Windhoek Declaration on Independent and Diverse Media, he was appointed the moderator of the African Forum that reviewed the declaration and came up with the Windhoek Declaration on independent and diverse media +30 which adopts to the changes that to place for the past 30 years when the declaration was crafted and endorsed by the peoples of the world. The session took place from the 29th to the 30th of April 2021.
Through hosting the annual regional multi-stakeholder’s internet governance forum, he has been leading a team that has shaped the regulation of the internet in southern Africa. In addition, he has been instrumental in challenging internet shutdowns in Southern Africa mainly in Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Democratic Republic of Congo. This is in addition to shaping the global agenda on media platforms as a key resource person and expert in the subject matterHe is a qualified journalist, marketer and business administrator, and is currently studying towards Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) focusing on the impact of social blogs on reputation management in the telecommunications industries in Southern Africa. He is a fellow and chartered marketer with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) (UK); holds MBA; Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing; BA Media Studies; BBA Marketing and diploma in journalism and communications.
He brings the depth of exposure in high level engagements and appreciation of serving diverse membership.
Ms Thandizo Safuli Mphwiyo holds a MSc Degree in Environmental Science and Bachelor’s Degree in Education. She has over 10 years’ experience in Gender and Development issues through NGO work. Thandizo is resourceful, goal oriented, personable, hardworking, analytical and proactive individual with extensive experience in Development issues, like women’s and girl’s rights, HIV and AIDS, adult and adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Rights, democracy and Good governance and other crosscutting developmental challenges in Malawi and similar contexts and their impact on the realization of human rights and gender equality.Thandizo has been a seasoned Gender Activist for over a decade of service in different portfolios both at CHRR and outside the Organization. At CHRR, Thandizo has been part of management, providing technical leadership and guidance for the Organization. Currently, Thandizo heads the Programs Department and provide technical support to all programs that the Centre is executing.Outside the organization she is also serving as a Board member for the NGO Gender Coordination Network (NGO-GCN) where she heads the Women in Politics and Decision Making (WPDM) Permanent Committee. NGO GCN is an umbrella body for all CSO’s that deal with issues in Malawi. My role involves lobbying and advocating for increased numbers and inclusion of women in decision making positions in public life. During her reign she has contributed to increased number of female legislatures in Parliament which is currently at 23%.
Malcolm W. Joseph is the Executive Director, Center for Media Studies &Peace Building , a leading Media development, Freedom of Expression and Access to Information NGO in Liberia.A professional journalist and civil society activist, Mr. Joseph currently leads civil society efforts on Access to Information, and Freedom of Expression initiatives in Liberia.
He currently works on Access to Information and media law reform processes in Liberia.He has held important portfolios, including Vice President, Press Union of Liberia, Vice President, WAJA, Regional Executive Committee Member, West African Civil Society Forum, member Panel of Experts, 2003 IFJ Journalist of Tolerance Award for West and Central Africa.He currently serve as Chairman of the Liberia Freedom of Information Coalition, Chairman of the Liberia Media Law and Policy Reform Working Group and a University Instructor.
Joseph holds MPA in Public Sector Management , MA International Relations and BA Mass Communication. He holds Certificate in Human Rights, Peace and Security from Indevelop Institute Uppsala University. Malcolm is a 2009 Draper Hill fellow on Democracy, Development and the Rule of law at Stanford University, and a 2011 Internews Fellow in Global Media Policy from the Annenberg-Oxford Media Policy Institute at University of Oxford, UK.In 2010, Malcolm received the Pan African Platform on Access to information (APIA) Prestigious award for Promoting Access to information in Africa.
Gilbert Sendugwa has a rich experience in successfully managing donor funded projects spanning nearly 2 decades. He has more than 15 years of leadership experience at senior management level in international organizations such as the International Labor Organization, Transparency International, Save the Children and the Uganda Law Society among others. Gilbert also sits on various Board of Directors and Steering Committees on non-profit organizations and initiatives. He successfully designed and implemented several donor- funded research and advocacy projects on open contracting and access to information in Africa. He has strong experience with managing multi-stakeholder initiatives, open contracting, anticorruption, social accountability, constructive engagement with governments and the business sector.
She is the Executive Secretary of Ghana Anti – Corruption Coalition (GACC) since January 2017. Prior to this, she served as the Acting Executive Secretary and Communications Officer of GACC.She is a member of the High-Level Implementation Committee (HiLiC) of Ghana’s National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP), a Co-Chair of the Ghana CSO Platform on SDGs, Convener for SDG Sub Platform 16, Vice Chair of the Alliance for Integrity Steering Committee, and a Steering Committee Member of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) Local Network. She is also a Steering Committee member and the current host of the Economic Governance Platform (formerly CSO Platform on the IMF).She has over fifteen (15) years’ experience in communications, advocacy, resource mobilisation, coordination, facilitation, and project management. With practical field experiences from diverse development issues, in the areas of good governance, anti-corruption, the socially disadvantaged, sustainable forest management and gender. She has also managed projects funded by the World Bank, [ A pool fund set up by DIFD, USAID, DANIDA and EU]STAR-Ghana, LOGODEP[ The Local Governance and Decentralization Program (LOGODEP) is a collaborative program between Management Systems International (MSI), and SNV with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)], OSIWA, British High Commission, CFLI and KASA/CARE, among others. She also served as the Project Manager for a World Bank funded West Africa Contract Monitoring Network (WACMN) in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia from December 2010 – June 2014.She holds a master’s degree in International Affairs with a concentration in Communications and Development, and a graduate Certificate in women’s Studies from Ohio University, USA. And Certificate in Executive Communications and Governance Reform from the World Bank and Annenberg School, USA.