Report of Workshop on Engendering and Greening Digital Policies in Nigeria
Date: 28th – 29th Jan, 2026
Venue: Digital Bridge Institute
Project Background and Rationale
Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda is advancing rapidly, driven by goals of economic diversification, innovation, and service delivery efficiency. However, this transformation is occurring against a backdrop of deep gender inequalities, uneven digital access, and increasing climate and environmental risks associated with digital infrastructure, energy consumption, and extractive technologies.
Despite the existence of multiple national digital policies and strategies, many frameworks remain largely gender-neutral and environmentally silent, resulting in policies that unintentionally reproduce exclusion and environmental harm. Women, rural communities, persons with limited digital access, and climate-vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected by these gaps.
In response to these challenges, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), with support from the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), implemented the project titled Greening and Feminist Centering of the National Digital Transformation Agenda and as part of the project activities a two day training workshop was conducted on “engedering and greening of digital policies” the two-day training workshop represented the final and most practical phase of the project, designed to translate research and advocacy into institutional capacity, policy practice, and actionable reform pathways.
Training Objectives
The overall objective of the two-day training was to strengthen the capacity of policymakers, regulators and digital ecosystem stakeholders to integrate gender justice and climate sustainability into Nigeria’s digital policy processes.
The training brought together representatives from different government agencies including; directors, assistant directors and gender representatives in the the digital ecosystem ect.
The training aimed to deepen understanding of gender and climate gaps in Nigeria’s digital policy framework, introduce feminist and environmental analytical lenses for digital policy review, to build institutional capacity for gender- and climate-responsive policy design and implementation, to promote cross-sector dialogue and shared responsibility for inclusive digital transformation and to generate practical commitments and policy reform insights applicable to participants’ institutions
The training adopted a participatory, dialogue-driven, and practice-oriented methodology, combining Expert presentations, Plenary discussions, Experience sharing across sectors, Group policy analysis exercises and Practical frameworks and toolkits.
This approach ensured that learning was not theoretical, but anchored in real institutional contexts, lived experiences, and national policy realities.
Day One focused on framing the problem and building a shared understanding of why gender and climate justice are critical to Nigeria’s digital transformation.
Participants were formally welcomed and introduced to the project’s background, scope, and key findings from the policy analysis conducted earlier in the project. It was emphasized that although Nigeria has numerous digital policies, only a limited number were selected for in-depth review.
The opening session clearly established that digital transformation is not value-neutral and that policies that ignore gender and climate dimensions often deepen inequality likewise efficiency and infrastructure expansion alone are insufficient measures of progress.
A keynote technical session examined Nigeria’s digital transformation journey, highlighting both progress and structural challenges.
Key issues discussed included:
- Unequal access to digital infrastructure between urban and rural communities
- Persistent gender gaps in device ownership, internet access, and digital skills
- Weak coordination across government agencies
- Policy discontinuity across political administrations
- Limited community participation in policy design
- Environmental sustainability concerns related to energy-intensive digital systems
Participants critically reflected on the notion that digital transformation must be judged by social outcomes, not only by technological advancement.
Day One featured extensive stakeholder dialogue, allowing participants to share institutional realities, implementation challenges, and community-level experiences.
Recurring themes included:
- Failure of top-down policy models that exclude end-users
- Sustainability challenges of rural connectivity projects
- Gender-neutral policies that disproportionately benefit men
- Online safety concerns, particularly for women
- The importance of community ownership and co-creation
- Climate change exclusion in policies
The discussions reinforced that inclusion requires intentional design, not assumptions.
By the end of Day One, participants had developed a shared understanding of gender and climate gaps in digital policies, recognized the limitations of “neutral” policy frameworks, acknowledged structural and cultural barriers affecting women and marginalized groups and reframed digital transformation as a social justice and sustainability issue. Day One successfully laid the conceptual and analytical foundation for the practical work of Day Two.
Day Two began with a reflective session revisiting insights from day One. Participants discussed how gender inclusion is often misunderstood as exclusion of wmen and clarified that gender justice benefits entire communities. This reflection created space for honest dialogue and helped strengthen collective ownership of the agenda.
A major technical session focused on the intersection of gender, climate change, and national digital policy, situating Nigeria’s commitments within global frameworks such as: Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategies, Enhanced Transparency Frameworks, Climate finance accountability mechanisms
This session was particularly impactful in linking policy design to financial sustainability and international accountability.
Participants were also introduced to a five-phase institutional framework for embedding gender and climate responsiveness: Diagnosis – identifying internal gender and climate gaps, Planning – designing inclusive and responsive interventions, Budgeting – aligning financial allocations with commitments, Implementation – integrating principles across operations and Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification – ensuring accountability
Participants from government agencies, regulatory bodies, unions and ICT institutions shared concrete examples of challenges and successes.
Notable insights included:
- Women’s participation improves sustainability of community projects
- Gender-responsive budgeting strengthens accountability
- Male-dominated sectors require intentional mentorship pipelines
- Existing affirmative action policies remain poorly implemented
- Institutional gender policies provide protection beyond leadership changes
Participants were divided into groups to analyze the National Digital Economy and E-Governance Act using gender and climate lenses. The exercise enabled participants to Apply feminist and environmental analysis tools, Identify policy silences and implementation gaps and Propose practical reform recommendations. This session translated learning into hands-on policy evaluation skills, reinforcing the workshop’s applied focus.
Overall Outcomes and Impact
Knowledge and Capacity Outcomes
- Enhanced understanding of gender and climate justice in digital policy
- Improved ability to analyze policies using feminist and environmental lenses
- Increased awareness of global compliance
Institutional and Policy Outcomes
- Participants committed to reviewing internal policies and guidelines
- Increased recognition of the need for institutional gender frameworks
- Strengthened understanding of gender-responsive budgeting mechanisms
Network and Collaboration Outcomes
- Strengthened collaboration between government agencies and digital actors
- Shared ownership of inclusive digital transformation goals
- Creation of a community of practice around feminist and green digital policymaking
Conclusion
The two-day training successfully bridged the gap between research, advocacy, and institutional practice. By combining conceptual grounding with practical tools and peer learning, the workshop equipped participants to move beyond rhetoric toward systemic, accountable, and inclusive digital policymaking.
The training affirmed that Nigeria’s digital future must be Inclusive by design, Environmentally responsible and Grounded in gender justice.
The outcomes of this workshop are expected to contribute to longer-term policy reform, improved institutional practices, and more equitable digital development outcomes across Nigeria.