The New Public Square

by Victor Jacob

Every generation has had its own public square. For our parents and grandparents, it was the village square, the town hall, the classroom, the marketplace, or the community meeting where people gathered to exchange ideas, settle disagreements, and shape society — more of a physical square.

For my generation, that public square has moved beyond physical spaces and into our phones, our laptops, and the digital platforms we use every day.

Today, our conversations happen on social media, in virtual meetings, through messaging apps, and across digital platforms. We learn online, build careers online, advocate for justice online, as well as tell our stories online, just like we do here at Shades of Us.

Whether we realise it or not, these spaces have become the new public square — a place where ideas can be exchanged, where communities are built, and where civic participation increasingly takes place.

But every public square raises important questions.

• Who gets to speak?

• Who decides what is seen or heard?

• Who protects those who are vulnerable?

• Who holds power within these spaces?

These were the questions that stayed with me after I attended TechHer Initiative's webinar, “Who Controls Africa's Civic Space? Technology, Power and Democratic Freedom,” on July 26, 2026.

The webinar featured panelists Mahmoud Elmasry, a Human Rights Advocate and Program Manager at MONA; Amanda Manyame of Equality Now; and Moyosore Ale, a product designer and humanist.

Together, they explored issues surrounding digital rights, online violence, data governance, and the responsibility we all share in creating safer digital spaces.

Before the webinar began, I kept asking myself one question: “What does a civic space actually look like, and what does it have to do with technology?”

To be honest, I couldn't connect the two.

I expected a conversation about digital tools, artificial intelligence, and online platforms. After all, it was a technology webinar. Instead, I found myself thinking about something much bigger. Power. Not just any kind of power, but the power to decide whose voices are amplified, whose stories disappear into the background, and who feels safe enough to participate in the first place.

That was the connection I had been missing. I soon realized that the TechHer Initiative webinar was never simply about technology. It was about the digital spaces where questions of freedom, participation, and human dignity now play out every day.

It reminded me that technology itself was never the real story. The real story has always been the people who use it and the systems that either protect or fail them.

Technology Has Built the New Public Square

Technology has transformed the world in ways that would have been difficult to imagine only a few decades ago. Today, someone in Abuja can collaborate with a colleague in Nairobi, attend a lecture from London, launch a business serving customers across Africa, or join a global conversation without leaving home.

But perhaps its greatest transformation is this: it has created the new public square.

This digital public square is where people debate ideas, challenge governments, build communities, support causes, create opportunities, and share stories that would otherwise remain unheard.

Like every public square before it, it can only serve its purpose when people feel safe enough to participate.

That was one of the strongest messages I took away from the TechHer Initiative webinar.

Data: The Foundation Beneath the Conversation

One conversation that particularly challenged the way I think was the discussion around data.

During the conversation on data, Mahmoud Elmasry and Moyosore Ale challenged one of the assumptions I never realised I had: that data is simply something we consume.

Mahmoud explained how policies across parts of Africa have limited their citizens' access to information and digital spaces. Listening to him made me realise that access to information is not merely a technological issue. It is also about rights, participation, and freedom.

Moyosore Ale then described data as infrastructure: something society depends on every day.

Yet, we rarely stop to think about it. 

She explained that although enormous amounts of data already exist, much of it remains fragmented and inaccessible, making it difficult to use effectively. That was the moment I realised that building better digital societies is not just about creating more technology. It is also about organising, protecting, and making data accessible to the people who need it.

Before then, I had rarely considered the connection between the data we use every day and how it powers economies, influences public policy, supports businesses, shapes digital experiences, and affects how people participate in society. Now I have come to see that every search, every click, every location shared, every online purchase, and every interaction contributes to systems that increasingly influence our daily lives.

Data is no longer simply information stored somewhere on the internet.

At least, it shouldn't be.

It has become part of the infrastructure that supports governments, businesses, innovation, education, healthcare, and democratic participation.

Accessibility should never come at the expense of privacy, dignity, or security.

When the Public Square Becomes Unsafe

The webinar also highlighted a difficult reality.

Although technology has created opportunities for connection and participation, it has also created spaces where harassment, intimidation, misinformation, and abuse continue to thrive, and like every public square, this new public square is only valuable when people feel safe enough to remain in it.

One issue that stood out was the underreporting of digital violence. Many people never report online abuse because they fear further attacks, do not know where to seek help, or simply believe nothing will change. When those experiences remain hidden, society struggles to understand how widespread digital harm has become.

Listening to that discussion made me realise that digital safety is about protecting people.

When fear pushes people into silence, everyone loses.

Why Women's Voices Matter

The conversation became significant when the discussion turned to how the uncontrolled use of technology can affect women.

The internet has created remarkable opportunities for women to build businesses, tell their stories, advocate for justice, lead organisations, and participate in public life. Yet many women, particularly journalists, activists, politicians, entrepreneurs, and community leaders, continue to experience targeted harassment simply because they choose to speak. One point Mahmoud Elmasry made stayed with me: for many women, entering the new public square means entering a space filled with both opportunity and hostility. The same platforms that amplify their voices can also become tools used to silence them.

If women begin to withdraw from digital spaces because participation feels unsafe, then society loses valuable voices, perspectives, and leadership. A public square where some people are forced into silence can never truly belong to everyone.

Protecting the New Public Square Is Everyone's Responsibility

One major lesson I took away from this event is that protecting the new public square cannot be the responsibility of governments alone.

• Technology companies also have a responsibility to build safer platforms.

• Governments must continue strengthening policies that protect digital rights.

• Civil society organisations must keep raising awareness.

• Researchers and educators must continue promoting digital literacy.

• Communities must support survivors of online abuse instead of dismissing their experiences.

• And as individuals, we must all contribute to creating respectful digital spaces through the choices we make every day.

The future of our digital society depends on collective responsibility.

Why This Matters to Shades of Us

As I reflected on everything I had learned, I found myself thinking about Shades of Us.

At Shades of Us, we believe every story matters because every person deserves the opportunity to be heard. By amplifying underrepresented voices and creating space for meaningful conversations, Shades of Us is helping shape a more inclusive new public square where every story matters, every voice is valued, and everyone can participate without fear.

In many ways, this reflects the vision of Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16): Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, which calls for inclusive societies where people can participate freely, safely, and with dignity.

Creating these inclusive communities should not stop in our schools, workplaces, or neighbourhoods. It must also extend into the digital spaces where millions of people now learn, connect, organise, and advocate for change. That is why conversations like this matter. They also remind me why the work we do at Shades of Us is important—creating spaces where stories are shared, underrepresented voices are amplified, and conversations continue to build more inclusive communities, both online and offline.

My Final Reflection

Now, I see data differently. I no longer think of it as simply information stored online. I see it as infrastructure that must be organised, protected, and used responsibly if it is to benefit everyone. 

For me, the new public square is no longer just another way of describing the internet.

It is where democracy is debated.

It is where communities are built.

It is where businesses grow.

It is where movements begin.

It is where ordinary people can speak up or choose to remain silent because they no longer feel safe.

If we want a digital future that is inclusive, democratic, and safe, then we must build digital spaces where dignity is protected, rights are respected, and every person can participate without fear. Because when we protect the new public square, we are not simply protecting technology.

This conversation has changed my perspective, and now I am constantly reminded that if conversations are the heartbeat of the new public square, then data is its foundation.

Because when we protect the new public square, we are ultimately protecting people. And that is a responsibility all of us share.