African Development Forum '99: the challenge to Africa of Globalisation and the Information Age Annex I The Way Forward to a people-centred African Information Society ( This is the in-session report of the Forum which was presented on 28 October.)1. Overall principles 1.1 The 64,000 people challenge In 2010, the population of Africa will be 1,150 million, almost half more than in 1996 when the African Information Society Initiative was launched. Over the following four decades, it will almost double again, and Africa will still be the second most populous continent in the world. It is in that world that Africa will be a full player, culturally, economically, politically and ecologically. It is of that world that all our peoples, women, men and children, will be global citizens just as they will be full citizens of their communities, their nations, their regions and our continent. In the twenty-first century we shall live in predominately information and knowledge-based societies, which will have achieved our goals of social and economic development, including full education, proper food security, decent health, genuine gender equity and respect for cultural pluralism, and will continue to meet them. Africa will have met, for example, the challenges of tripling educational opportunities, for all generations, of ensuring water supply and of quadrupling food supply. It is to attain and sustain these goals that we are committed to building an African Information Society. 1.2 The inclusive information and communication infrastructure Rapid change is underway in information and communications technologies (ICTs), notably in the convergence of computer information technology and longer established media such as television and radio. Since any sustainable development effort can only succeed if it is rooted in existing knowledge and best practice, the spread of ICTs will inevitably make use of existing media, and in the African context these will in particular focus upon radio. The speed of development and convergence in ICTs make more imperative the need to unleash the energies of all African people to shape their own world. We have organised our societies and economies in such a way that we are government, the private commercial and financial sector, the academic and research community and civil society. The latter ranges from traditional and indigenous organs, through established bodies such as voluntary societies and trade unions, to new and emerging forces such as community-based organisations. We must, more than ever, share our commonalties and pool our specialties. We are faced with the need for massive investments, not only financial, but also social and cultural. No one sector has a monopoly of capital, be it social, financial, intellectual or political. Our approaches and our achievements must be inclusive: our point of departure is the fundamental right to communicate and to participate in society. This requires equity of access to and use of ICTs. At present, some people are more distant, unacceptably so, than others from the opportunities of ICTs, notably many women, many young people, the disabled and many rural and marginal urban communities. 2. The ways forward The issues around the establishment and management of the African Information Society form a complex, multi-dimensional web. For example, there can be no sustainable infrastructure without adequate education, or reliable energy supply. There can be no adequate education for all, or sufficient re-distribution of limited energy resources, without widespread use of ICTs. There can be no widespread use of ICTs without an enabling environment which empowers the distant to come closer to opportunity, there can be no enabling environment without optimal governance, and this can only be achieved in an information society. Where are the key points on the circle, to make the circle virtuous? Resources will come primarily from within Africa, and complemented by support and input from outside (whether in terms, for example, of foreign capital, or diaspora-mobilised know-how). But is it not also a question of re-organising resources and priorities? And what synergies await us, for example, in blending the soaring decentralised networks of women-centred savings and credit funds with the investment needs of emerging e-enterprises, in the framework of rejuvenated financial institutions and approaches? And how do we approach those points: at what level? 2.1 In the global context, the NICI is the key The fundament of the African Information Society is the development and consolidation of National Information and Communication Infrastructure policies and plans (NICI), which will be a cornerstone of Africa’s response to the challenges of globalisation. It is the national level which provides the platform for making strategic choices as to the most appropriate modalities for decisions on, for example, regulation, infrastructural priorities and service distribution. Some strategic activities will be implemented at sub-regional or regional level, or indeed at local level. It is often at the supra-national level that activities should best be implemented, such as several countries sharing access to global gateways. Similarly, regional mechanisms for the exchange, even concertation, of experiences and programmes can provide the most appropriate channel for Africa to play an active part in global fora. But without well-equipped and properly functioning NICIs at the national level, which can also benefit from mutual contacts, there can be no African Information Society. The development of NICIs is an ongoing process by which stakeholder consensus on progress towards the African Information Society can be sustained. The success of NICI efforts to date has been based on the inclusionary nature of the process, including as many stakeholders as possible. This needs to be continued, with efforts made to ensure that the private sector is involved. Among the specific measures that would enhance the establishment of NICIs would be a regional mechanism for sharing information at regional and national level on capacity building in NICI development. This could make use of IDRC’s ICT-Scan initiative. 2.2 Actions to be developed The various sectors participating in the ADF have taken full advantage of the opportunities provided for the elaboration of further action plans within and between sectors, at various levels. These reflect the depth and sincerity of the commitment of the players at ADF, and they are listed in some detail in the following section. In addition, there are three key foci on which cooperative programmes and partnerships could unlock great strategic progress, namely in the areas of regulation, financing and education. 2.3 Common approaches and tools In each area of work there must be activities which enable capacity building and skill development among all the stakeholders and the various institutions. There must be systems to monitor, review and, if necessary, correct the extent to which certain commonly agreed goals are actually met within an activity: these must include the integration of women on the basis of full equity, and thus, where necessary, the adaptation of certain activities and practices to allow for this. There is here an on-going, essential role for the research community, which should also be actively engaged in developing and outrolling viable indicators for measuring needs, performance and impact of each activity. Similarly, the skills and knowledge of the diaspora and civil society bodies, including community-based organisations, in particular in outreach and needs response, must be mobilised. 2.4 Policy and Regulation: Policies and regulations should create an environment which is conducive to innovation, competition and both inward and local investment. It is important to ensure that such investment meets national developmental needs at all levels and of all sectors. There is a need for strengthening and consolidating regulatory bodies which are inclusive in nature. They must be autonomous of government and operators and actively involve all stakeholders, including consumer and user communities, and balance their diverse interests. Such bodies operate at the national level and will always have national specificity. Cooperation at sub-regional and regional level is an essential part of the policy and regulatory framework. The recent and present experiences in some sub-regions, such as southern Africa, could provide useful models for replication or emulation. Additionally, the recent emergence of continent-wide bodies for concertation between media regulatory bodies could provide a useful point of reference for any initiatives in the ICT area. Programmes in this area could provide the platform for ensuring that Africa takes a pro-active stance in advancing its interests in fora such as the WTO, ITU, ICANN and AFRINIC. 2.5 Finance: The process of investment in leading edge uses and access to ICTs will only be unleashed if new models of finance and financial instruments, such as risk analysis, can be further developed. This is in particular essential in enabling adequate investment in such areas as e-MSEs (such as e-commerce in services, telecentres and cybercafé MSEs set up by young entrepreneurs) so that financiers can be assured about perceived risks, and the MSEs remain viable and increasingly accessible to ‘the e-distant’. This process can be advanced by the establishment of task forces and pilot projects to work on new financial models and to examine investment models for emerging initiatives in education and telecommunications. Furthermore, global private sector investment in research and development should be mobilised in cooperation with local companies and local research institutions. 2.6 Education The need for more widespread education and life-long learning is paramount in development strategies, and ICTs have a key role to play in the delivery of services to the education sector, as well as in direct education such as in distance learning. This includes the applications considered by SchoolNet and similar initiatives, telecentres, and women’s and youth groups. In particular, emphasis must be given to the special circumstances, needs and demands of specific groups hitherto often excluded from educational opportunities, such as young women. An African level task force on Distance Education will make significant contributions to this. 3. Session recommendations 3.1 Globalisation and the Information Economy To join the information economy and to address barriers to e-commerce in Africa, participants felt that Africa must :3.2 Information and communication technologies for improved governance Participants felt that ICTS for improved governance could support four areas especially: reducing poverty; meeting basic human needs; improving public administration; and enhancing democratisation. Their recommendations in this area were to:4. Initiatives emerging from the ADF process African Distance Learning Programme A task force for the African Distance Learning Programme (ADLP) has been organised. Provisionally the task force will include participation by Egypt, South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia and other interested countries. The programme aims at using ICTs for the provision of distance learning in Africa. The group recommends the drafting of a conceptual framework for the ADLP for completion by mid December 1999. This will include digital systems design, content design, communication and networking and local training and support facilities. African Information Society Youth Network Participants from the youth focus group and others formed the African Information Society Youth Network, as a way to extend the youth focus group beyond the Forum itself and become part of the African Information Society Initiative. The Network was preparing for a role at the Global Knowledge Conference in Kuala Lumpur and for a youth ICT journal, a Web site and a youth consultative forum to build Information Age momentum into Africa. Alliance for African Business In order to promote African private sector collaboration, the Alliance for African Business (AAB) was formed, coordinated by the Global Information Infrastructure Commission-Africa. It aims to maintain a web site, knowledge management portal, archived mailing lists and use web-based collaborative tools to promote dialogue and debate within the African and global private sector. One objective is to enhance Africa's ability to utilise effectively its access to the mechanisms of global governance. Beijing+5 Women’s Networking Activities An electronic discussion forum has been formed to focus on the impact of ICTs on women in Africa (to be launched at the Sixth African Regional Conference on Women in Addis in November 1999) Biz2BizNet A group of some 70 representatives of companies, business associations, and chambers of commerce involved in ICT and development for micro and small enterprises agreed to launch a Biz2Biz network initiative committed to advancing the interests of micro and small enterprises in Africa. They recognised the ways in which such businesses could profit from ICTs for the mangement of their businesses as well as the new economic activities and services which the technologies could help them generate. The aims of the initiative are to establish virtual communication links between such enterprises in the Africa region in order to widen their global market opportunities, act as a broker for sourcing opportunities and promote shared access to training programmes. Diaspora The diaspora group will create a database of diaspora groups already active and working for Africa’s development as a means to linking needs to sources of support. The diaspora group will oversee the production of a special journal edition devoted to the various ways that the diaspora can harness ICTs to promote Africa’s development; an edited book on the same theme; and an online journal. The group will also develop a distance learning system that intellectualises indigenous knowledge and gets it to people in rural parts of Africa. It intends to initiate a project to link diaspora groups with their communities in Africa using multipurpose telecentres. Gaia: Global Access Information Agency This project defined at ADF will reduce the price of Information Age services for end users in Africa. It is based on: recycling computers from developed countries; the development and use of ‘copy left’/free software; and the training and the connection of end users. The initiative will be promoted by a coalition of ADF participants from several countries who are coming together to implement the initiative. Malawi ADF National Plan of Action The Vice President of Malawi, Right Honorable Justin Malewezi formed a Committee from among the delegates of his country to integrate the fundamental issues raised at this conference into a national plan of action. This Committee includes government, the private sector and think tanks. NGOnet Africa: Civil Society ICT Network Initiative NGO representatives at ADF created NGOnet Africa, an African-led information sharing and dissemination initiative for African civil society organisations. The initiative seeks to engage civil society organisations in Africa (non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations) in advocacy and the promotion of awareness towards broad-based stakeholder engagement in the promotion of ICT for African development. They stressed the need for civil society organisations to be involved in advocating equitable ICT policy in Africa at a global level, including at WTO negotiations. They urged African Governments to recognize the universal right to communications. The long term result could be stronger African civil society voices in debates on information, communication and development issues in the region- a necessary prerequisite for effective policy reform. A planning group was constituted at ADF and Chestrad International (Nigeria) identified as an interim coordinating secretariat, with Woyaa providing electronic support. Schoolnet Africa A working group has been established to move forward the implementation of Schoolnet Africa, a continent wide initiative aimed at producing an African generation of critical thinkers who will play a major role in the global information society. The working group agreed to meet within 6 months to review a concrete programme of action. Telecentre Network People from 6 African countries agreed to build a network of telecentre operators and supporters to develop a manual, computer recycling strategies, identify e-commerce opportunities at community level, improve services for disabled people and share evaluation methodologies and outcomes.
Opening Session - Sunday, 24 October 1999 Setting the Scene - Monday, 25 October 1999 Closing Session - Thursday, 28 October 1999 Annex III - ADF '99 Documentation Annex IV - PARTNERS in adf ’99 Annex V - List of Participants |
