PICTA Bulletin
is a monthly publication that provides information on activities
of members in the Partnership for ICTs in Africa (PICTA), as
well as news on ICT-related activities in Africa.
Scan-ICT
launched in The Gambia, Cameroon and Mauritius
The
Scan-ICT project was launched in The Gambia, Cameroon and Mauritius
during national consultative workshops held from 29 to 30 November
2005 (The Gambia), from 5 – 6 January 2006 (Cameroon)
and 23 January 2006 (Mauritius). These events identified core
ICT indicators, reviewed the processes and reflected on research
and methodological issues related to the studies, including
a work plan and timeframe for implementation of Scan-ICT project
in the countries. The major outcomes of the workshops include:
Enhanced
awareness on issues related to measuring the Information Society,
including the Scan-ICT processes and documents
Better understanding of the roles of stakeholders in the implementation
of the project
Institutional arrangements and a plan of action for the implementation
of the project, including the integration of ICT indicators
in the national surveys conducted by National Statistics Offices
Consensus reached on the Scan-ICT methodology framework and
preliminary list of core and extended ICT indicators to be
used for the countries.
Scan-ICT
programme was launched in November 2000 as a collaborative project
between the Acacia programme of the International Development
Research Centre (IDRC) and ECA, with financial support from
the European Union (EU) and the Norwegian Agency for Development
Co-operation (NORAD). The programme monitors the penetration,
impact and effectiveness of ICT applications in pilot countries
across Africa, providing added value to the AISI implementation
at the national, regional and global levels. The countries selected
to participate in the second phase of Scan-ICT with support
from the Government of Finland include Cameroon, Ethiopia, The
Gambia, Ghana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sudan, and Swaziland.
More: http://www.uneca.org/aisi/scanict.htm
Achieving
affordable bandwidth in West and Central Africa
The
workshop was organized by the Open Society Initiative for West
Africa (OSIWA), held from 30 November to 2 December 2005 Saly
Portudal, Senegal. Participants were drawn from NGOs/civil society
organizations involved with connectivity, public policy-makers,
ISPs/telecom operators, regulators, and ICT ministries. The
event combined information sharing, plenary sessions, and working
groups in an Open Space format to look at four key issues. These
were: 1) an overall vision for affordable bandwidth, 2) user
requirements and reaching less well-serviced areas, 3) policy
and regulatory reforms, and 4) investment in network development.
More: Mohammed Timoulali (mtimoulali@uneca.org).
IICD
receives renewed support from the Dutch government
The
International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD)
successfully gained support for its work from The Netherlands'
Minister of Development Cooperation, Agnes van Ardenne. With
this support comes a financial backing amounting to 20 million
euros. Allocating the funding shows that IICD is working well.
IICD was established in 1996, with the aim of fighting poverty
in developing countries by realising sustainable development
through ICT. IICD are active in nine countries: Burkina Faso,
Bolivia, Ecuador, Ghana, Jamaica, Mali, Tanzania, Uganda and
Zambia. Its aim is to have developed a unique strategy in which
terms such as 'local ownership' and 'capacity development' are
key to development. More: Hilde Eugelink (information@iicd.org).
Swaziland
validates its ICT Policy
About 50 participants drawn from government, private sector,
civil society, international and regional organizations (SADC)
attended the NICI Policy validation workshop organized by the
ECA on the 26th of January 2006 in Mbabane, Swaziland. This
workshop presented participants with an opportunity to critique
the Kingdom of Swaziland’s ICT Policy whose drafting was
coordinated by ECA as part of its technical assistance under
the auspices of the AISI with financial assistance from the
Government of Finland. The workshop resulted in the adoption
of the final draft policy, which would be presented to the cabinet
for approval in the next few weeks. The final approved document
will be showcased at a local ICT Fair in March 2006. More: http://www.uneca.org/aisi/swaziNICIws.htm
Contact: Sizo Mhlanga (smhlanga@uneca.org).
ECA
and IDEP go virtual to address African training needs
The UN Institute for Development and Economic Planning (IDEP)
and ECA’s Development Information Services Division have
joined forces to develop a virtual learning academy to be referred
to as the African Virtual Learning Academy (AvLAC.org). The
two entities plan to operate the Academy as a mutual exchange
of resources where IDEP and vLAC training expertise and modules
will be integrated transparently. The overall objective is to
create a collective mechanism through which to channel African
constituents for specialized development related training. It
is expected that AvLAC.org can offer 10 to 15 specialized and
focused courses given that IDEP has accumulated a great deal
of information with regard to economic planning and is well
known in the region for its training programmes. The initial
slot of courses will range from Internet User Training to Regional
Integration and will be targeted to both organizations’
traditional clients. More: http://www.uneca.org/aisi/idep-disd.htm
Contact: Dawit Isayas (disayas@uneca.org).
CODESRIA
to become an AVLIN node
With possibly the largest collections of African social science
research findings on the continent, CODESRIA, the Council for
the Development of Social Science Research in Africa has recently
expressed interest in becoming a node of the African Virtual
Library and Information Network (AVLIN), spearheaded by the
ECA Library. AVLIN is a network of virtual and digital libraries
providing internet-based information and knowledge assets, resources
and services to policy makers, and researchers from across the
African continent. Among its goals is for AVLIN to serve as
a gateway of gateways to facilitate knowledge exchanges among
interested Africans and connect them to leading African libraries,
universities and information centers dealing with socioeconomic
development issues. AVLIN also offers a general framework, model
and opportunity for the acquisition of concrete technical knowledge
for the effective development and management of digital libraries
and electronic information networks. More: Petrina Amonoo (pamonoo@uneca.org)
and Dawit Isayas (disayas@uneca.org).
OTHER
NEWS ..... OTHER NEWS .....
OTHER NEWS .....
Ethiopia:
National consultation on ICT education
The workshop was organized by the College of Telecommunication
and Information Technology (CTIT) took place from 26 to 27 January
2006 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Over 300 participants drawn from
all stakeholders (government, academia, private sector, donors,
etc.) attended the workshop. A number of sessions were conducted
focusing on ICT education, ICT human resource development, the
role of the private sector and donors, and national ICT policy
issues. Participants recommended that a sectoral e-strategy
on education and ICTs be developed, and a national task force
be constituted to deal with ICTs and education in Ethiopia.
More: http://www.gstit.edu.et
Uganda:
Government to set up full ICT ministry (The
Monitor)
The Government will create a separate ministry to manage and
coordinate the ICT sector. This follows a recommendation by
the ICT working group of the Presidential Investors Round Table
(PIRT), a two-year task force mandated to consult and advise
the government on critical areas to accelerate growth and development.
President Y.K. Museveni, has blessed the formation of the ICT
ministry and promised to appoint a minister by March 2006. ICT
is a critical stimulant to the development of a country that
wants to be an equal member of the developing nations. Creation
of a full ICT ministry will bring resources (funds) closer to
the stakeholders and allow for an equal dissemination of the
service countrywide thus creating more jobs and easing access
to information. More: http://www.monitor.co.ug/
Ghana:
Telecommunications bill meets stiff opposition from stakeholders
(GINKS)
Stakeholders in the ICT industry in Ghana have requested that
the proposed Telecommunications Bill 2006 and the National Communications
Authority ACT 2005 be redrafted in take into account convergence.
The two bills are being developed by the Ministry of Communications
as part of the process to streamline the communications sector
in Ghana. At a well-attended meeting organized to solicit the
views of industry stakeholders, various dissenting views were
expressed about the proposed bill. Beginning on a rather surprising
note, the head of the regulatory agency, Major Tandoh, NCA Acting
Director, disagreed with the whole bill and suggested that the
bill be completely put aside. In his view an amendment of the
old NCA Act 524 is a much better solution. In his words this
new bill ‘is going to make my work more difficult’.
Major Tandoh was not the only one worried about the new Bill,
ISP veteran Dr. Nii Quainoo of NCS said, the bill fundamentally
lacked a strong community focus. He said by focusing the bill
on Telecommunications it completely neglected the trend towards
convergence and shut out the Internet community altogether.
Prof. Clement Dzidonu, who chaired the meeting, reminded the
drafting committee that convergence is a clearly stated objective
of the overriding Ghanaian ICT4AD policy and that this should
be reflected in the bill. More: http://www.ginks.org/
Tanzania:
Regulator now allow multiple services over single network
(IPPMedia)
The new licensing regime, introduced by the Tanzania Communication
Regulatory Authority, now permits multiple services over a single
network. ’’This has opened the door for 6 Telecoms
to enter the market and build an advanced international access
network that links Tanzania to the world using more efficient
technologies,’’ the Director and Chief Executive
Office of Six Telecoms Company Limited, Rashid Shamte, has said.
Shamte said this after TCRA awarded his company three new licences
that are the International Network Facilities Licence, the International
Network Service License and the Application Service Licence.
Commenting on their licences, Shamte said: ’’Last
year, TTCL had exclusive rights over the international gateway.
More: http://www.ippmedia.com/
Meeting
on India/AU Pan-African Network Project (PANP)
The PANP Steering Committee meeting took place from 30 –
31 January 2006 at the Africa Union HQ in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The meeting reviewed technical modalities and operational arrangements
made for launching the network by creating e-education and e-health
network nodes in all the 53 African countries, and 5 sub-regional
nodes. The brainchild of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, this
Pan African network aims at bridging the digital divide and
accelerate development throughout Africa. The 63.7 million project,
which will be funded by the Indian external affairs ministry
under its Aid-to-Africa Budget programme, is being hailed as
the modern face of the India-Africa relations and cements the
growing synergy in developmental projects. The project, which
is likely to become operational by 2007, includes setting up
a VVIP network that will network the Presidents of all the 53
African countries who will have a ready access to their counterparts
through videoconferencing and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)
facilities. More: http://www.africa-union.org
10
– 12 February 2006, Internet Governance - The Way Forward:
From Tunis via Malta to Athens, Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort,
Malta
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis
resulted in the decision to establish an Internet Governance
Forum. The decision taken by parties at the WSIS indicates WHAT
the Forum should do and WHO should be involved (multistakeholder
approach). However, it remains to be seen HOW the Forum will
be organised. Organized by the DiploFoundation, this conference
aims to provide an initial mapping, through addressing the structure,
approaches, representation/participation, complementarities
between stakeholders, and proposed solutions. Prominent players
in the Internet Governance debate will also address issues such
as Internet Governance Capacity Building; Policy Lessons Learned
from the WSIS Process (2002-2005); Implementation of the WSIS
Conclusions on Internet Governance; Multistakeholder Approach
to Internet Governance; International Cooperation and Internet
Security; and Legal Challenges of Internet Governance. The conference
will also include a presentation on the results of the Internet
Governance Research Project, which began in September 2005,
with the participation of 20 researchers. The conference will
mark the launch of the Internet Governance Capacity Building
Initiative, involving more than 15 institutions involved in
training and research activities in the field of Internet Governance/Policy.
The initiative participants will develop a plan of action for
2006/2007. More: http://www.diplomacy.edu/Conferences/IG/default.asp
14
– 17 February 2006, Applying Geographic Information Systems
to SADC Development, Cape Town, South Africa
The Centre of Specialisation in Public Administration and Management
(CESPAM), a SADC institution set up in 2000, is organising this
activity within its ongoing Executive Training Programme. The
seminar will treat the subject of Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) and its application to development particularly in the
SADC region and is intended for senior managers and policy makers
in the civil service, state corporations and agencies as well
as senior management from local government, professional associations
and the private sector with an interest in GIS. This is an interactive
seminar, which will provide participants with opportunities
to freely exchange ideas, knowledge and experience with each
other and the resource persons facilitating this seminar. This
will be achieved through the use of discussion groups and case
studies. The event is sponsored and co-organised by the Government
of South Africa together with the Government of the Federal
Republic of Germany through its aid agency (GTZ). More: http://www.cespam.net
23
– 25 February 2006, IDLELO2: Achieving millennium development
goals through community software?, Nairobi, Kenya
The Free Software & Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA)
in Collaboration with ECA, InWEnt Capacity Building International,
Germany and the eGovernment Directorate of Kenya are organizing
the Second IDLELO Conference on Free and Open Source Software
(FOSS) to be held at the Nairobi Safari Park Hotel in Kenya
from the 23rd to 25th February 2006. The first IDLELO Conference
which attracted over 250 delegates was held in January 2004
in Cape Town, South Africa. IDLELO is a Zulu word for a common
grazing ground. The conference aims at stimulating a local FOSS
Software Industry in Africa, and bringing together practioners,
decision makers and FOSS developers to learn how FOSS works.
IDLELO2 was also identified as a potential opportunity to gather
opinion on incorporating the gender component in FOSS and explore
the challenges that hinder active participation of young Women
in Software Development. More: http://www.fossfa.net/idlelo2/index.html
01
– 03 March 2006, IFISI World Forum, Marrakech, Morocco
The ''International Forum of ICT Strategies and Investment''
(IFISI) organized in partnership with the Islamic Development
Bank (IDB, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Formatiscom, will be
held at the Marrakech Congress Center (Palais des Congrès)
under the High and Effective Patronage of His Majesty, Mohammed
VI, King of Morocco. As a continuum of phase two of the World
Summit on the Information Society, in Tunisia, IFISI is intended
to bring effective and concrete answers to the complicated issue
of funding of national, local and corporate ICT projects. The
primary goal of this forum is to afford countries and organizations
to present business plans of their ICT investment projects and
strategies to a varied audience of venture capitalists, private
equity funds, and other capital providers. The event will also
provide numerous networking opportunities for informal interaction
between organizations seeking capital and prospective investors.
The Forum, with its emphasis on investment and ICT business
will be articulated in session presentations and other parallel
events. More: http://www.virtualis-net.com/ifisi/index.html
7
– 15 March 2006, World Telecommunications Development
Conference, Doha, Qatar
ITU sanctioned “World Telecommunications Development Conference”
is being hosted by the State of Qatar on March 7-15, 2006. The
purpose of the Conference is to agree on development priorities
in view of the high-level recognition of the Digital Divide
between developing and developed nations created by the rapid
but uneven expansion of ICTs. ICT-1-WORLD is the first ever
exhibition to run in conjunction with a World Telecommunications
Development Conference, therefore, it is unique in its appeal
to delegates, media and business influencers. More: http://www.ict-1-world.com/
7
– 9 March 2006, ICTs for Civil Society, Indaba Hotel,
Fourways, Johannesburg, South Africa
The Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT), in conjunction
with The Information Society Institute (Tisi) at the Cape Peninsula
University of Technology, invites academic/scientific and action-research
papers dealing with the theme, "The Information Society
as a Response to Poverty and Inequality in Southern Africa",
for presentation at the conference. The areas of interest include,
but are not limited to, research on information and community
informatics in the new and emerging information societies of
Southern Africa. More: http://www.sangonet.org.za/conference2006
8
– 11 March 2006, 5th FIG Regional Conference in Accra,
Ghana
The conference is organized by the International Federation
of Surveyors (FIG) and the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS)
and co-hosted by the Ministry of Land, Forestry and Mines (MLFM)
of Ghana. It is the first FIG Regional Conference to be held
in West Africa. As has been the case with the previous FIG regional
conferences the conference in Accra will be organized in co-operation
with other international and regional organizations like the
United Nations and its agencies (e.g. FAO, UN-Habitat and ECA,
as well as with international geospatial societies and ISM).
The focus of the 5th FIG Regional Conference will be on land
administration and good governance as conditions for sustainable
development. More: http://www.fig.net/accra/
14
– 16 March 2006, e-Trade in Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ECA is organizing an e-Trade Forum under the auspices of the
Africa node of the Global ePolicy Resource Network (ePolNet)
at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. The forum will help to promote and build confidence
in e-business development, and sensitize stakeholders to emerging
e-business opportunities and their impact on national strategies.
It will uniquely combine learning, expertise sharing (South-South
and North-South), interactive dialogue, networking, and business
matching and be used to launch the African e-Trade Initiative.
The forum will be followed by a workshop, on e-finance including
e-payment, e-loans and e-money transfer. More: Aida Opoku-Mensah
(aopoku-mensah@uneca.org).
“Mainstreaming ICTs: Africa Lives the Information Society"
is a contribution towards efforts to bridge the policy-practice
divide. The book is aimed at development practitioners and ICT
innovators interested in inventive technology applications for
social justice and development. The book contains 10 case studies
reflecting on the innovative and creative ways ICTs have been
used to promote people-centred development in a number of Sub-Saharan
African countries. More: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=31436
SOUTHERN
AFRICA: NEW TRENDS LED BY SOUTHERN AFRICA
Africa's largest Sub-Saharan Internet sub-region, Southern and
Central Africa leads the way with new trends, says a new report
out recently. Outside North Africa, Southern and Central Africa
has some of the most developed Internet country markets on the
continent. As a result, a number of trends developing there
are beginning to spread across the continent. These are the
findings of a new report published by Balancing Act recently.
More: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/current1.html
Archives:
(Note:
All documents are in PDF) To view PDF files, download the Adobe
Adobe
Acrobat Reader.
