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.
GKP
Feature: Exploring the Benefits of Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships
(MSPs)
UNESCO's Community Multimedia Centre (CMC) is a shining example
of a Multi-Stakeholder Partnership (MSP), which involves GKP
members, UNDP, ITU, AMARC, OneWorld, APC and NIC. The CMC is
a UNESCO initiative, which began as a small telecentre that
was added to a rural radio station in Kothmale, Sri Lanka. In
2001, there was still the only one CMC but then UNESCO began
to involve partners in the programme, with many of them through
the GKP network. For example, while United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and the International Telecommunication Union
(ITU) supported CMC creation, World Association of Community
Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), OneWorld.Net, Association for Progressive
Communications (APC) and Radio for Development supported the
development of training materials in various formats, and NIC
developed software tools such as the community browser eNRICH.
As a result of UNESCO’s MSP with GKP and other partners
at the local level, the solitary CMC prototype has grown to
become a widely used generic model today, where there are over
40 pilot CMCs in developing countries in Asia, Africa and the
Caribbean, with some 75 more being developed by UNESCO in scale-up
projects in Mali (20), Mozambique (20), Senegal (20) and Cameroon
(15). In addition, the International Institute for Communication
& Development (IICD) and the International Development Research
Centre (IDRC) are partnering with UNESCO to set up CMCs in Burkina
Faso and Senegal respectively. http://www.globalknowledge.org/gkps_portal/newsmaster.cfm?&menuid=2&action=view&retrieveid=279
IDRC
grant to ICT4D lab project in Morocco
In recognition of the success of the eGovernment project, the
International Development Research Center (IDRC) has granted
the ICT4D lab an amount of USD 472, 800 to scale up its research
to the national level and generalize the eGovernment Platform
and associated Roadmap to the whole Wilaya of Fez and other
Moroccan cities including Larache, Hajeb, and Ifrane. The new
project duration is 24 months and it intends to build on the
findings, achievements, and outcomes of the first phase. More:
http://www.idrc.ca
IICD’s
corporate identity: a new way to go
During the last ten years, ICT has assumed an increasingly important
role in international development efforts. The International
Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) was part
of this and was able to collect a lot of experience with more
than 130 projects on the ground, 11 policymaking processes at
the national or sector level, and various knowledge-sharing
activities. More than 5,000 people participated in over 120
seminars and training courses related to the projects and IICD
estimate that its programmes have reached over 200,000 end-users
directly and 2,500,000 end-users indirectly, the majority of
whom live in rural areas. IICD would like to enter the new era
with a new visual identity that expresses its experience from
the past: development work is all about people and partnerships.
More: http://www.iicd.org
IICD
celebrates its tenth anniversary
Ten years ago, in November 1996, the former Dutch Minister for
Development Cooperation, Jan Pronk, founded the International
Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) to assist
partners in the South to overcome the digital divide. Together
with its public, private and not-for-profit partners from the
North and South, IICD has gained during the past decade a lot
of experience in using modern information and communication
technologies such as Internet, email, radio, multimedia and
mobile telephone solutions to create practical and sustainable
solutions for development. These experiences have been captured
in a photo anniversary booklet that shows what has been achieved
over the years and how. More: http://www.iicd.org
The
African youth deliberate on ICTs and entrepreneurship
Over 100 youth delegates from all over Africa deliberated on
ICT & Youth entrepreneurship during the ADF V Breakout Session,
which was held on 16th November 2006 organised by the ICT, Science
and Technology Division. During the session, participants discussed
best practices in using ICTs as a tool to promote youth initiatives
and leadership and to foster broader economic development process.
Participants shared a number of exciting and innovative ideas
and activities undertaken by African youth in the areas of entrepreneurship,
ICT and Youth-led social enterprises as well as job creation.
The session concluded with recommendations and consensus statement
as input to the main ADF V report, and outcomes promoting the
objectives of the African Youth in ICT for Development Network
(AYIN), an outreach initiative under the aegis of the African
Information Society Initiative (AISI) as part a key stakeholder
input into the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
More: http://www.uneca.org/adf/story061120.htm
“African
Youth Speak on the Information Society” – a new
publication from ECA
In preparation for the fifth African Development Forum (ADF
V), which is focused on the theme “Youth and leadership
in the 21st century”, ISTD organised online discussions
aimed at creating a platform for African Youth to share experiences
and knowledge in order to help develop innovative approaches
to their needs and to establish a dialogue with stakeholders
in devising and implementing Information Society initiatives
at country and regional levels. The discussions were focused
on issues such as policies and strategies, education, employment,
and entrepreneurship. Over 200 young people from all over Africa
participated in the discussions for over a period of one year
defining the agenda for their active participation in national
and regional Information Society initiatives. The views expressed
and concrete recommendations made by the participants as well
as quotes from statements made, were compiled in a publication
entitled “African Youth Speak on the Information Society”.
More: http://www.uneca.org/disd/documents/African%20Youth%20Speak.pdf
Rwandan
Cabinet Approves Second NICI policy and plan
The second Rwanda NICI policy and plan started in July 2005
and has recently been approved by Rwanda’s cabinet. The
second NICI aims at transforming Rwanda into an information-rich,
knowledge-based society and economy. Based on 10 pillars, (ICTs
in Education, Human Capacity Development, Infrastructure, Equipment
and Content, Economic Development, Social Development, e-Government
and e-Governance, Private Sector Development, Rural and Community
Access, Legal, Regulatory and Institutional Provisions and Standards,
National Security, Law and Order). The NICI-2010 will deal with
the applications and systems, providing the greatest impact
on Rwanda’s socio-economic development and will also foster
private sector participation in ICT for national development.
In this context more incentives will be put in place to attract
the critical mass of investments needed to accelerate the development
of the key sectors of the economy, in particular those lead
sectors such as the services and the industrial sectors, which
are key to the development of Rwanda’s information society
and economy. The Rwanda e-strategy development process is cited
worldwide as a success story. The NICI 2010 Plan development
was coordinated by ECA with financial support from the Government
of Finland. More: http://www.uneca.org/eca_resources/news/131106disd_dna.htm
SADC
Ambassadors build their ICT skills
A 3-day training workshop on Information Society issues and
hands-on ICT skills development was undertaken for SADC ambassadors
at ECA’s Southern Africa Regional Office (SRO-SA) in Lusaka,
Zambia. The programme introduced ambassadors to the overall
African Information Society Initiative (AISI) framework and
the activities underway in the southern Africa region with respect
to ICT for accelerated socio-economic development. One concrete
aspect of the training was that the diplomats gained important
skills to utilize ICT in their day-to-day activities as well
as participate in global ICT discussions. The programme was
jointly organized by SRO-SA and the ICT and Science and Technology
Division (ISTD) under the auspices of the Global ePolicy-Resource
Network (ePol-NET), led by Canada. More: http://www.uneca.org/disd/news/1128200601dnadisd.asp
Regional
e-Government Framework for the East African Community (EAC)
Approved
The East African Community (EAC) Council of Ministers approved
the Regional e-Government Framework for EAC at its 13th meeting,
which ended on 29 November 2006. The EAC Regional e-Government
Framework was developed with assistance provided under the Global
ePolicy Resource Network (ePol-NET), funded by the Government
of Canada, and through support from the Governments of Finland
and Canada (ePol-NET). Canada's ePolicy Resource Centre (CePRC)
also greatly participated in the development of the e-Government
Framework through the provision of Canadian expertise as well
as training and sharing of experiences with members of the Secretariat
and the Interim Working Group on e-Government. The final draft
of the framework was processed by the EAC secretariat for political
approval as per the EAC protocols. The Council of Ministers
is the policy organ of the East African Community. It consists
of the Ministers responsible for regional co-operation of each
Partner State. Among it functions, the Council promotes, monitors
and keeps under constant review the implementation of the programmes
of the Community and ensures the proper functioning of the regional
organization. More: http://www.uneca.org/disd/news/1201200601dnadisd.asp
Empowering
Kenyan Parliamentarians for their new Role in the Information
Society
In collaboration with the National Assembly of Kenya, the ICT,
Science and technology Division of the ECA will facilitate a
2-day Member of Parliaments (MP) training workshop on "Empowering
MPs for building an Inclusive Information Society in Kenya"
from 7-8 December in Nairobi. The workshop is organized in the
context of ECA’s e-Policy Resource Network for Africa
(ePolnet), which was set up with support from the Government
of Canada to provide expertise, guidance and advice to African
countries implementing national e-strategies and financial support
from the Government of Finland. The objective of the workshop
is to train MPs in mainstreaming ICT in their daily activities;
and enhancing awareness and understanding of the country's national
e-strategy and e-Government, engaging them in discussions on
how to actively participate in the e-strategies process, through
the establishment of an ICT Committee within Parliament. More:
Thierry Amoussougbo (tamoussougbo@uneca.org).
ICT
education, R&D and innovation in tertiary institutions in
East Africa Community
More than thirty academics from Inter-University Council of
East Africa (IUCEA) member countries including Kenya, Uganda
and Tanzania, were convened in Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture
and Technology (JKUAT) in Nairobi, for two days of reflection
on mainstreaming ICT in education, R&D and innovation to
respond to the challenges ahead of building the knowledge economy.
Under AISI’s VarsityNet programme, ECA has been supporting
research activities at the IUCEA bringing together more than
twelve Universities from East Africa. The main outcomes of the
meeting include the establishment of the East Africa ICT Committee;
the development of sub-regional policy on ICT in education;
the development of sub-regional Higher Education Institution
Quality Assurance (QA) Standards; the strengthening of VarsityNet
inter-university information system into a “high quality
Information System for students records management and other
administrative tasks”; the implementation of East Africa
ICT R&D, incubation and entrepreneurship Center; the development
and implementation of an “Indigenous knowledge, localization
and African language in cyberspace” in the East Africa
sub-region; the development and implementation of a capacity
building program on e-learning and curriculum development for
Higher Education Institutions in East Africa; and the creation
of the “East Africa Journal on ICT for Development”.
More: Thierry Amoussougbo (tamoussougbo@uneca.org).
OTHER NEWS .....
OTHER NEWS .....
OTHER NEWS .....
Youth
and Internet Governance Consultation
Young people were active contributors to the two phases of the
WSIS process – raising awareness of important issues;
mobilizing at the national, regional and international levels
to provide policy input; and creating networks to support local
ICT projects. The WSIS process gave birth to a multitude of
action lines, one of which is the Internet Governance Forum.
In particular, the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society
invited the Secretary-General to convene a new forum for multi-stakeholder
policy dialogue (Para 67). The Internet Governance Forum (www.intgovforum.org)
was convened October 30th – November 2nd in an open and
inclusive process as indicated in Para72 of the Tunis Agenda.
At this forum, a Panel on Emerging Issues of Internet Governance
from the perspective of youth in the Information Society was
organized with the direct support of the IDRC, participation
of an ITU Youth Fellow and IISD staff. A report on this panel
is being finalized and will be available for the online consultation.
As a next step, an eConsultation has been planned to continue
deliberations on the issues raised including a widening gap
of knowledge amongst Youth on IG and towards the formulation
of the IGF Rio Agenda and Youth inclusion. A three week moderated
discussion is underway from November 26th to December 16th 2006.
Topics include demystifying Internet Governance/Raising Awareness;
decoding the Internet Governance Forum; and progressive involvement:
Road to Rio. To subscribe, send email to: YouthandIG-subscribe@groups.takingitglobal.org
South
African language innovators win top African ICT award for bridging
the digital divide
Translate.org.za has won the prestigious African ICT Achiever
2006 Award for bridging the digital divide in Africa by breaking
down the language barrier. Translate.org.za's work includes
the translation of computer software into the 11 official languages
of South Africa using locally based translators; and more recently
the creation of the first all-South African language keyboard
- a world first. Translate.org.za has also made spell checkers
from Afrikaans all the way to Zulu. This means people in South
Africa no longer have to suffer the indignity of their language
being underlined in red by an ignorant teacher. On the African
continent as well as worldwide, Translate.org.za has provided
help and support to other passionate people wanting to start
similar initiatives for their mother tongue. Now through the
WordForge Foundation, of which Translate.org.za is a founding
partner, they continue to help other both in Africa and the
rest of the world. Supporters of Translate.org.za include Obsidian
Systems, The Shuttleworth Foundation, St James Software, Hewlett-Packard
South Africa, the Department of Communication and the CSIR.
More: http://translate.org.za/content/view/1729/
Scientists
push open access for developing nations
Scientists from Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India and South Africa
have set guidelines for developing countries to freely access
publicly funded research. The success of their draft national
policy will depend on whether the relevant governments, funders
and research institutes adopt its recommendations. The guidelines
were agreed at a workshop in Bangalore, India held from 2-3
November 2006 where 44 international participants, including
scientists and policymakers, discussed ways to promote open
access. Open access is the free online availability of digital
content, especially of peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly
journal articles. Scientists in the developing world have long
complained that their work is invisible to scientists in North
America and Europe, said Alma Swan, co-director of Key Perspectives
Ltd, a UK consultancy company for scholarly information. The
participants said financial barriers prevented researchers in
developing countries from accessing the research information
they need. The draft policy urges governments to require all
publicly funded research published in peer-reviewed journals
are deposited in an institutional digital database as soon as
publication is accepted. This should be a condition for research
funding for any papers partly or fully funded by the government.
The workshop was funded by the Open Society Institute and organised
by the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian Institute of Science
and the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. More: http://mailman.dst.gov.za/mailman/listinfo/idlelo2
e-Governance
in the Developing World in Action: The Case of DistrictNet in
Uganda
The
programme, DistrictNet, tries to provide transparency at the
local government level and to improve the provision of public
information through the implementation of Information and Communication
Technology (ICT). DistrictNet started in 2002 and is on-going.
The achievements of the programme are presented and evaluated
according to the criteria of the three domains of e-governance
and their impact on government processes. On the basis of this
evaluation, they elicit lessons that can be used to guide similar
programmes at the local government levels in the developing
world. More: http://www.iicd.org/articles/districtnet
Digital
divide increasing, says Information Economy Report 2006
The Information Economy Report 2006: The Development Perspective
provides unique data on the adoption of ICT by enterprises in
developing countries. It also explores ICT policy options in
a developing-country context and proposes a framework for national
ICT policy reviews and for the design and assessment of pro-poor
e-strategies. The Report’s analysis of trends in core
ICT indicators such as the use of Internet and mobile phone,
as well as the role of broadband in promoting the information
economy, concludes that the diffusion of ICT in developing countries
still needs government intervention in areas where private providers
might be discouraged to go because of costs associated to geographic
hurdles or the absence of a critical mass of customers. Other
conclusions are that broadband is key to developing an information
economy, and that industrial and trade policies in ICT-producing
developing countries should support the creation of business
opportunities in ICT-related industries. UNCTAD´s research
on measuring the impact of ICTs on GDP in developing countries
reveals a positive contribution even in poorer countries. But
countries that already have a certain level of ICT uptake seem
to benefit most from the new technologies. More: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/WebFlyer.asp?intItemID=3991&lang=1
4
– 5 December 2006, UNCTAD Expert Meeting "Using ICTs
to achieve growth and development", Geneva, Switzerland
The meeting is organised in support of the implementation and
follow-up of WSIS. The main objective of the event is to provide
a discussion forum for Government representatives, experts,
business people and academia on the potential of harnessing
ICTs for economic and social development. During this two-day
event experts will examine the latest empirical evidence on
the way ICTs impact on the productivity and growth of firms,
industries and countries with a view to identify how developing
countries can best benefit from the information economy. Additionally,
the analysis of recent trends in trade in ICT-enabled goods
and services, labour markets and employment in the ICT sector,
including outsourcing and offshoring to developing countries
will help experts in formulating their future ICT strategies.
Confirmation to participate is expected before 17 November 2006.
More: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Meeting.asp?intItemID=3876&lang=1
and http://www.unctad.org/ecommerce
17
– 19 December 2006, First World Congress on Grassroots
ICT4D Practices & Third Amader Gram Knowledge Fair, Bangladesh
The Amader Gram ICT4D Project is organizing the First World
Congress on Grassroots ICT4D Practices, together with the Third
Knowledge Fair, in Bangladesh. Originally slated for 5-7 September,
this event has now been moved to 17-19 December 2006. This 3-day
Congress will bring together ICT4D professionals engaged in
innovative development initiatives, policymakers, development
practitioners, donor and non-governmental organization (NGO)
representatives, community representatives, and academics from
around the world to share experiences and best practices in
this growing field for a common understanding of Information
and Communication Technology for Development. Participants will
be selected through the call for abstracts/proposals. More:
http://www.amadergram.org/
19
– 20 December 2006, ECOWAS workshop on e-commerce and
harmonized framework for ICT regulation, Ouagadougou, Burkina
Faso
With the objective of building the Information Society within
the West Africa sub-region with particular reference to the
intra sub-regional trade liberalization and facilitation, including
e-commerce, ECA is collaborating with the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS) and Union Economique et Monétaire
Ouest Africaine (UEMOA) to develop a harmonised legal framework
for e-commerce. In line with this, ECA has commissioned a study
on this issue to assess the current situation of legal frameworks
for e-commerce in the sub-region. As a follow-up to the study,
a workshop will be organized from 19 - 20 December 2006 in Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso to discuss the outcomes of the study report. The
workshop aims to discuss the results of the study on the legal
framework for e-commerce, make recommendations for the implementation
of the legal framework for e-commerce in the sub-region, and
provide directions for a formulation an harmonised legal framework
for ICT in the sub-region. More: Mohamed Timoulali (mtimoulali@uneca.org).
AT
THE CROSSROADS: ICT Policymaking in East Africa
This
book, (free for download), which presents experience from Kenya
and other countries of East Africa, captures elements of both
the process and the outcomes of ICT policymaking processes.
With contributions from research projects, institutions, and
spokespersons from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda, this
book shows what worked and what did not work. It will be a useful
guide for countries and institutions that are contemplating
their own ICT-policymaking exercise, and will be of interest
to researchers, educators, and students in development studies,
history, and comparative studies; development professionals
specializing in social policy and ICTs; and decision-makers
and policy advisors in research and development organizations
worldwide. THE EDITORS: Florence Etta is Senior Program Officer
for Acacia in IDRC’s Nairobi regional office. Laurent
Elder is Team Leader of IDRC's Pan Asia Networking program,
and former Acacia Program Officer in IDRC’s Dakar regional
office. More: http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/rc/ItemDetail.do?itemId=1082812
Uniting
through networks
The
International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD)
has five years of experience building the capacity of multi-stakeholder
networks in the field of ICT for development (ICT4D) in nine
countries. The networks engage in knowledge sharing, advocacy
and awareness raising activities to a different extent in each
country. The authors (Joitske Hulsebosch, Bénédicte
Marcilly and Loeki Schaeffers, IICD) draw lessons from practice
and through reflection on their experiences with the networks.
Yet, despite common goals, each network is unique and therefore
develops its own dynamics. In this paper, the authors aim to
contribute to the practice area of capacity building for networks
by sharing IICD’s approach, practical experiences and
evolving insights on supporting and ‘nurturing’
the networks. More: http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/rc/ItemDetail.do?itemId=1081916
The
importance of convergence in ICT policy
This
paper looks at the meaning and importance of convergence and
considers some of the challenges to implementing it, along with
strategies for overcoming them. It also provides a global perspective
on regulating convergence and broadband from the International
Telecommuncations Union, and then it looks at experiences in
North America and Europe as well as regional and country approaches
in Africa. More: http://rights.apc.org/documents/convergence_EN.pdf
Archives:
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