Media Coverage on the 2010 AU Heads of State Summit

A new publication from ECA “m-Banking: an African Financial Revolution” launched

01 February 2010

The Economic Commission for Africa officially launched today a comprehensive study on mobile banking in Africa. The launch took place at the Press Briefing Room of the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa as a side-event to the African Union Summit organized this year under the theme: ‘’Information and Communication Technologies in Africa: Challenges and Prospects for Development.’’

Knowledge Sharing and Networking Training Workshop -- a joint UN Regional Commissions’ initiative
14-16 December 2009

Twenty five participants, comprising managers of community access points, telecentre network leaders, project coordinators and managers of ICT initiatives from eight countries attended from 14 to 16 December a training on “Knowledge Sharing and Networking” at the Six Eighty Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya. The participants were from Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Experts et statisticiens africains se réunissent à Rabat pour renforcer leurs capacités dans la mesure de l'économie de l'information 7-11 Décembre 2009

Depuis quelques années, les Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (TIC) ont vu leur importance croître dans les stratégies nationales de développement de nombreux pays. Par conséquent, le besoin de données statistiques et d'indicateurs fiables sur l'accès et l'utilisation des TIC ainsi que sur leur impact sur le développement se fait sentir de manière plus pressante. Ces données et indicateurs jouent un rôle essentiel auprès des gouvernements pour fonder et évaluer leurs politiques et stratégies sur les TIC, ainsi que pour permettre des comparaisons entre pays et élaborer des solutions pour réduire la fracture numérique. C'est pour répondre à ce besoin croissant de statistiques sur les TIC comparables au niveau international que la communauté internationale a lancé dans le cadre du sommet mondial sur la société de l'information (SMSI), le Partenariat sur la mesure des TIC pour le développement, une initiative visant à améliorer la disponibilité et la qualité des données et indicateurs sur les TIC.

Celebration of the African Information and Communication Technology Week (AICTW)

The African Union Conmission announced that the African ICT week (AICTW) will take place from 16th to 22nd of November 2009, which will mark the commemorattion of Africa's involvement in the Information Society. This African ICT week answers the desire and the commitment to build a people-centred, inclusive, and development-oriented information society and inline with the outcome of WSIS, the decisions of the AU CIT Ministerial Conference and relevant AU Summit decisions.

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The Oliver Tambo Declaration - AU Conference of African Ministers in Charge of ICTs

The Oliver Tambo Declaration was adopted by the Extra-Ordinary Meeting of the Conference of African Ministers in charge of Information and Communication Technologies on 5 November 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Pursuant to the Assembly of the Heads of State and governments decision (Assembly/AU/Dec. 232(XII)), the main objective of the meeting was to prepare the 2010 African Union January 2010 Summit on the theme “Information and Communications Technologies in Africa: Challenges and Prospects for Development”.

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Launch of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) “Information Economy Report 2009”
22 October 2009

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The UNCTAD Information Economy Report (IER) 2009 was launched today, the 22nd of October at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa. The report was launched in collaboration with the ECA’s ICT, Science and Technology Division (ISTD) at a function attended by the Africa Union Commission (AUC) Human Resources, Science and Technology Division, international media personnel, media institutions in Addis Ababa, statisticians from the Ethiopian National Statistics Office (NSO), academics from the University of Addis Ababa, representatives of IT institutions, representatives from UN Agencies in Ethiopia (WHO and UNDP) and ECA staff. The report takes stock of recent trends with regard to extending connectivity worldwide, monitors developments in enhancing the use of ICTs among enterprises and analyses how international trade in ICT goods and in IT and ICT-enabled services is evolving..

"The e-SADC initiative launch meeting” opens in Gaborone, Botswana, 05-06 October 2009
05 October 2009

eSADC is a joint United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) initiative. Twenty-five participants drawn from NICI National Focal Points from eight SADC member States, Southern African Postal Operators’ Association (SAPOA), Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA), Communications Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (CRASA), NEPAD e-Africa Commission, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and e-SADC consultants are attending a two-day technical meeting to launch the e-SADC initiative - a framework for the implementation of the Information Society in the sub-region at the Grand Palm Hotel in Gaborone, Botswana. The member States in attendance are Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia..

ECA and its partners building ICT measurement capacity in Africa
13 July 2009

ECA and its partners building ICT measurement capacity in AfricaAddis Ababa, Ethiopia - A two-week training course on “Measuring ICT Use and Access in Households and Business” opened in Addis Ababa today to build the capacity of African National Statistical Offices (NSOs) in measuring ICTs. The main objective of the training is to strengthen the capacities of the NSOs in the African region to produce national statistics on the access and use of ICT in households and by individuals, as well as on ICT use in business and the ICT sector. The ICT statistics and indicators will allow Governments to elaborate and evaluate their ICT policies for development and to take measures to bridge the digital divide within and between countries.

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Workshop on e-government development opens in Addis Ababa Tuesday
16 February 2009

A capacity development workshop for senior policy makers, practitioners and experts on e/m government initiatives opens in Addis Ababa Ethiopia on Tuesday 17 February 2009.

The workshop, which will last until Thursday 19 February 2009 is on the theme: “Electronic/mobile (e/m)-Government in Africa, Progress Made and Challenges Ahead”.

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Announcement: 2009 Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards
Deadline for Applications: 28 February 2009

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Canada Fund for Africa are pleased to announce the SecondTechnology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards.

Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards aim to recognise the work of African Governments in the effective use of ICTs for public services delivery as part of ECA's African Information Society Initiative (AISI) and Canada's ICTs for development programme. The Awards are aimed at African Governments and institutions based in Africa that are engaged in initiating, developing, and implementing ICTs for public services in Africa contributing to the development of the Information Society in Africa. The aims are to:

• Create greater awareness on the role of ICTs in the public services and the development process within the framework of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI);
• Encourage African Governments and institutions to use ICTs for development in general and improved public/citizen's services in particular; and
• Motivate other African stakeholders in effective utilization of ICTs for citizen's services.

This pioneering African programme will publicly recognise the innovation, excellence, and leadership in Africa's public sector e-government development. It will be recognised as an honour to be nominated for TIGA Awards, and a significant public sector career achievement for the team members to be selected as an Award Winner. The TIGA Award is intended to be a biannual event to honour African Governments and institutions.

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What is AISI?

The African Information Society Initiative (AISI) is an action framework that has been the basis for information and communication activities in Africa since 1996. AISI is not about technology. It is about giving Africans the means to improve the quality of their lives and fight against poverty.

Resolution 812 (XXXI): Implementation of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI)
Adopted by the 22nd meeting of the ECA Conference of Ministers, May 1996, Resolution 812 (XXXI) States:

The Conference of Ministers, Recalling resolution 795 (XXX) on building Africa’s information highway which requested the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa to constitute a high level working group to develop an action plan on information and communication technologies to accelerate socioeconomic development in African countries; ...

Vision

The African Information Society Initiative aims at supporting and accelerating socio-economic development across the region. Driven by critical development imperatives, it focuses on priority strategies, programmes and projects which can assist in the sustainable build-up of an information society in African countries. This is in accordance with the regional integration goals of the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community, which foresaw the necessity of information networks and of regional databases, information sources and skills capacities.

For more about AISI, click here >