The High Level Working Group on Information and Communications Technology in Africa (HLWG) was set up as an in response to Resolution 6795 (XXX) of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Conference of African Ministers Responsible for Economic and Social Development and Planning, entitled "Building Africa's Information Highway". This Resolution called for work on "national information and communication networks for planning and decision making as part of Africa's information highway", for exchange of experiences and for the establishment of a High level Working Group on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) made up of African experts to prepare a plan of action to assist Africa's entrance into the Information Age to be presented to the next meeting of the ECA Conference of Ministers to be held in May 1996.

 The first meeting of the HLWG was hosted by Egypt's Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC), November 12-13, 1995, at IDSC in Cairo. At this meeting the HLWG recommended the production of a series of television programs and video presentations—similar to one already under production by Egypt with EMC support—by other African countries, and a summary program to present the main messages of the HLWG's report. Peter Knight, EMC Chief, was designated by the HLWG to coordinate the production of these national and international television programs and video presentations.

Production of a program on "The Development of the Internet in Senegal" began during the Symposium on Information Superhighways for Africa at AFRISTECH'95, December 11-15, 1995. A program entitled "Bringing the Internet to Ethiopia" was begun during the second meeting of the HLWG in Addis Ababa, February, 5-6, 1996 and completed in March, 1996.

Mozambique and South Africa began production of similar television programs and video presentations in March 1996. Internet em Moçambique in Portuguese, was completed in April 1996 (an English version is also available). South Africa's program was produced by SABC and  broadcast on May 13, 1996, the day of the opening of the Information Society and Development conference (ISAD).

Using footage shot for each of these national case studies plus other footage at EMC's disposal, EMC produced a summary entitled “Building Africa's Information Highway” which was presented to both the May 1996 ECA Council of Ministers Meeting in Addis Ababa (6-8 May 1996) and the ISAD Conference in South Africa (13-15 May 1996) along with the HLWG's report, Africa's Information Society Initiative (AISI): An Action Framework to Build Africa’s Information and Communications Infrastructure.

The First Meeting of the High Level Working Group:

Momar Ali Ndiaye [Delegue de la Informatique Senegal], Hisham El Sherif [Chairman of the Advisory Board, IDSC, Egypt; member of Global Information Infrastructure Commission], Nancy Hafkin [Officer in Charge, Pan African Development Information System, UNECA], and Ahmed Nazif [Executive Director, IDSC, Egypt]

EMC Staff Prita Chathoth and Neal Dickerson at work editing "Building Africa's Information Highway" on the EMC's Media 100 system.