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> iConnect Africa > Vol. 2, No. 1 Volume 2, Number 1, August 2005 Contributors
to this issue: Sylvestre
Ouedraogo, Tovin Ngombe, Filifing Diakite, Davis Joseph Weddi, John
Ekow Yarney, Harry Hare, Download PDF version: [English] [French]
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News Briefs FOCUS:
SPOTLIGHT: ICTs and Education
FORTHCOMING EVENTS: August - October 2005
iConnect collaboration with i4d Information for Development (i4d), which is a monthly magazine published in India by a leading Asian not-for-profit organization called Centre for Science - Development and Media Studies (CSDMS), and the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) have announced their collaboration on a series of articles on “evidence based real life experiences and impact in the field of ICT for development”. The articles will be contributed by local journalists in IICD’s focal countries. More: http://www.iicd.org/articles/ KPN computers for African schools Royal Dutch Telecom (KPN), a leading telecommunications company in the Netherlands, has signed an agreement to donate 10,000 used computers to schools in Africa. KPN is replacing its computer park and the used computers will be handed over to SchoolNet Africa (SNA). SNA is an African not-for-profit organization, which promotes the use of ICTs in education in Africa. IICD and SNA have been working together for several years on the Global Teenager Project and KPN’s interest is in investing in the knowledge economy and in ICT education. The aim of this project is to enable secondary school students from all over the world to exchange knowledge and experiences through the Internet. More: http://www.iicd.org/articles/
The observatory, which is currently being developed, will assist senior
decision-makers in the public, private and civil society sectors to
closely follow up ongoing e-government developments in the East Africa
Community (EAC) member States as well as at national levels. The observatory
aims to provide a valuable insight on the implementation of various
e-Government strategies, initiatives and projects. This forms part
of the regional e-Government strategy being developed by EAC with
support from ECA, the Government of Finland, and ePol-Net through
the Canadian e-Policy Resource Center (CePRC) and Industry Canada.
Ethiopia doubles its coffee take in Internet auction. This was the first web auction and the coffee was sold for US$3.22 per pound. More: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ nm/20050701/od_uk_nm/oukoe_ food_ethiopia_coffee_1 Rwanda’s dream for hi-tech Africa. Rwanda is hoping to become a technology hub and lead Africa into a new Information Age. More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ go/em/fr/-/1/hi/programmes/click_ online/4663893.stm Sudan’s refugees find water through radar. A new technique using satellite radar images may hold the key to providing the water needs of 200,000 Sudanese living in sweltering heat in camps along the Chadian border. More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4696335.stm
Cellphone Banking in South Africa. First National
Bank (FNB) cellphone banking uses SMS technology for customers to
conclude banking transactions, increasing mass-market reach and adding
functionality. More: MTN Foundation/Nigeria takes SchoolsConnect To Abuja, Two Other States. The MTN SchoolsConnect project is an education empowerment initiative sponsored by MTN Foundation and managed by SchoolNet Nigeria. MTN Foundation is set to embark on the second phase of its SchoolsConnect programme in Kwara and Rivers States and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. More: http://www.mtnonline.com/ corporate/press.asp?NewsID=79
The workshop was the first of its kind in The Gambia, organized jointly with the Department of State for Communication, Information and Technology (DOSCIT) with 58 participants from the National Assembly, women’s groups, media and youth groups and discussed their roles in the implementation of the country’s National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) policy and plan, which will be adopted shortly. One workshop participant George Christensen of the Gambia’s Radio 1 FM said, “this is the first time media and other stakeholders, such as members of the National Assembly, have been involved as stakeholders in the implementation of the ICT policy and plan”. One key outcome was the establishment of The Gambian Women’s Network for ICT Promotion (GAWONET). More: http://www.uneca.org/aisi/GambiaWS/index.htm
MPs from Niger’s National Assembly also congregated at a workshop
held in Niamey to familiarize themselves with ICT issues in general
and their role in implementing the just-approved NICI policy for the
country. The workshop entitled ‘Parliamentarians’ role
in building an Inclusive Information Society in Niger’, was
attended by over 60 MPs, which stimulated lively discussions especially
on the justification for inadequate basic ICT infrastructure in the
country. As highlighted by Hon. Issaka Hassane Djegoule, vice chair
of the National Assembly stated that “ The Parliament of Niger
has adopted the NICI policy and established an MPs ICT Committee and
this action justifies the interest of Niger’s Parliament in advancing
the ICTs in the country and it is our hope that this interest grows”.
Under the spotlight in this edition, four iConnect Africa correspondents examine ICT and education issues with case studies from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Schools in Burkina Conquer New Technologies Initiatives
aimed at integrating ICTs in the educational system in Burkina Faso
are underway. World Links, a World Bank initiative set up in Burkina
in 1997, “aims for better integration of the ICTs in schools
and brings together groups of pupils to conduct searches on the ‘net’
for information on courses being given in class. However some fundamental
challenges have to be faced including access to relevant and suitable
material, and adequate capacity by teachers who are also new to computers.
The story written by SorŽ is available in French and English
at:
Ghana aims to increase its per capita income from $400 to $1000 per
annum within the next 10 to 15 years. Plans to bring about this development
include turning the country’s large youthful population into
a skilled human resource. This is buttressed by an ambitious e-leaning
programme underway in Ghana as part of the President’s Special
initiative on Distance Learning, (PSI-DL), launched in 2002 using
ICTs. Another initiative, the Global Teenage Project, (GTP) whose
programmes are implemented by various primary and secondary schools,
delivers content through the Internet in learning cycles of 10 weeks.
For the full details of this story by correspondent George Koomson,
including the results of an assessment of the GTP initiative go to:
In this story, Moussa Bolly offers insights into several initiatives in Mali that aim to turn computers into efficient pedagogical tools. If things are taking off slowly nationally, private initiatives are constantly exploring the use of ICTs in schools with greater or lesser success. The experiment currently underway at Bamako’s "Les Petits Saints" elementary school (pre-school and primary) is certainly one of the most promising. The establishment is run by Reverend Mahamadou Traoré a former international football player and economist by profession and his wife, Sarah. Schoolnet has donated 20-odd computers that run open source software, which offers a much cheaper alternative to proprietary software. The writer puts a spotlight on SchoolNet Mali Môgôyajuru, a division of the pan-African non-governmental organisation, SchoolNet Africa (SNA) whose goal is to guarantee the promotion of learning and teaching through the use of ICTs in African schools. With support from USAID, Schoolnet Mali has managed to acquire nearly 200 computers, scanners, inverters, cables and extra keyboards for the schools. SchoolNet Môgôyajuru has trained nearly 400 teachers and pupils in marketing and managing the computer centres and in basic computer and maintenance skills. Other aspects of the story include efforts and perspectives on the Malian government approach to ICTs integration in education and in the National Policy. Read
the full story in French and English at: ICT in Education: Content Issues as Kiswahili reigns Kiswahili dominates theTanzanian education sector and any ICT and education strategy cannot ignore this fact. In support of language development, the Kamusi project and related initiatives by the University of Dar-es-Salaam and the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) have been launched to form the Open Ki-Swahili Localization Team, also known as KiliNux. Early this year the team presented the first edition of a Kiswahili spellchecker (http://www.o.ne.tz/spellchecker) that works natively with Jambo OpenOffice.org. Aloyce Menda’s full story can be read at: http://www.iconnect-online.org/Articles/iconnectarticles.2005-05-11.3497297733 Uganda’s ICT connectivity in schools There are disparities between rural and urban schools with respect to access to ICTs in Uganda and an initiative by World LinksforDevelopmentProgramme, of the World Bank Institute aims to address this issue through Internet connectivity to schools in developing countries. The disparities can also be attributed to the lack of an approved ICT policy in Uganda, which could have served as a vision and strategic guide to the integration of ICTs into the education system in the country. There are now several initiatives launched to make ICT available to schools, and the Uconnect and SchoolNet projects are a case in point. For more information on the impact and penetration of ICTs in the education sector raised by John Eremu, as well as the key infrastructural challenges that need to be met go to: http://www.iconnect-online.org/Articles/iconnectarticles.2005-05-30.6804494476 Zambian teenager’s ICTs skills boosted Zambia’s Global Teenager Project (GTP) launched in 1999 under IICD has opened up a window of opportunity for schools to bring the full potential of ICTs into the classroom. The project has a “Learning Circles” initiative, which are web-based, virtual environments for intercultural exchange and provide a safe, dynamic and fun environment for GTP’s exciting educational programme. However, challenges still remain including infrastructure, as well as human resource capacity that impact on teaching computers in schools. In this story, correspondent Tovin Ngombe examines the role Zambia’s new ICT policy is likely to have on the future of the country’s ICT educational programme.For the full story, http://www.iconnect-online.org/Articles/iconnectarticles.2005-05-11.6315606816
World Youth Development and ICT (WYDI 2005), 11 - 12 August 2005, Arusha, Tanzania This conference is being organised with a theme of "Young People Creating Global Culture". The event aims at bringing together more than 250 young professionals, community leaders, non-governmental organisation (NGO) leaders, university students, ICT professionals, among others. More: http://www.wydi2005.tk/ Community Informatics (CIRN) Conference 2005, August 22-30Cape Town, South Africa Registration is now open for the CIRN 2005 conference, which forms part of the Information Society Week to be held in Cape Town. http://www.cirn2005.org International Conference on ICT & Cyberlaw, August 21 2005Herghada-Egypt This is being organized by the Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO) that plays an important role in research and development in the field of management, ICT and Cyberlaw. Details and registration form: http://www.arado.org.eg or contact (dalian23@arado.org.eg). World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR) 2005, 31 August - 2 September 2005, Gaborone, Botswana The Forum is hosted by the Government of the Republic of Botswana, in collaboration with the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). WITFOR is a state-of-the-art, high-level international forum, aimed at ICT policy-makers and practitioners. More: http://www.witfor.org/ Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization FORUM 2005, 5 - 6 September 2005 Yaounde, Cameroon CTO will be holding its third annual international ICT Forum from 5-6 September 2005 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The Forum will be held under the theme “ICT Business and Development: The Challenge of Access” and is open to all stakeholders. The event will be organized with the support of the Cameroon Government. The Commonwealth ICT Ministerial meeting will also be held during the Forum. More: http://www.cto.int/forum2005 Third Meeting of the Preparatory Committee of the Tunis Phase of WSIS, 19 - 30 September 2005 Geneva, Switzerland The third meeting will be held in Geneva, Palais des Nations, from 19-30 September 2005. PrepCom-3 will be a critical step in the preparatory process for the Tunis Summit, which will take place in Tunis from 16-18 November 2005. More: http://www.itu.int/wsis
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Workshops
have recently been held in The Gambia, Niger and Swaziland as part
of ECA’s efforts in building a stronger role for stakeholders
in the Information Society in general and ICT policy-making in particular.
Dubbed NICI Dialogues, these events are meant to create sustained
interest of various stakeholders at the national levels.