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
announces the Stockholm Challenge GKP Awards 2007
GKP announces a new award in collaboration with Stockholm Challenge,
focusing on importance, relevance and value of Multistakeholder
Partnerships for development efforts in 4 areas - Culture, Economic
Development, Education and Public Administration. Applications
open 1 Jan 2007. More: http://www.globalknowledge.org
GKP
at ICANN’s 27th International Public Meeting
GKP explored more concrete forms of engagement with ICANN at
the São Paulo meeting in December 2006, where the international
non-profit corporation responsible for assigning domain names
and addresses of the Internet was conducting the final stages
of its consultation process for its 2007–2009 Strategic
Plan. More: http://www.globalknowledge.org
GTP
represented in UN Steering Committee on Global Alliance for
ICT and Development
The Joint Program Manager of the Global teenager Project, Ms.
Titi Akinsanmi has been selected as a member of the first ever
United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN-GAID).
The Steering committee is charged with executive oversight and
guidance and contributes to the strategic direction of the UN-GAID.
Ms. Akinsanmi has been involved in the Information Society and
the two phases of the WSIS since 2001 taking a leading role
in implementation and leadership of Youth engagement with the
process. Ms. Akinsanmi's presence on the UN-GAID SC boosts the
profile of the GTP and of its strategic partner the International
Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), as well
as bringing the project and its successes to the direct attention
of the policy makers, donors and government people who are usually
the people at these committees. More: http://www.iicd.org/articles/GTP_UN_Steering_Committee
New
Director at IDRC
In January 2007, the International Development Research Centre
(IDRC) welcomed Michael Clarke, the new Director of the Information
and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) program
area. Clarke takes over for Richard Fuchs who moved to Singapore
in October 2006 to assume his new duties as IDRC’s Regional
Director for Southeast and East Asia. Clarke received his PhD
in Parasitology from the University of Guelph, and has also
studied at York and Stanford Universities. He has held successive
academic appointments at the universities of Guelph, Victoria,
Western Ontario, and Ottawa. Over the past 15 years, Clarke
has also served in progressively senior roles in the management
and direction of ICT programs as they relate to development,
particularly in the areas of curriculum development and medical
education. He is a founder of the Canadian health and clinical
medicine journal, Open Medicine www.openmedicine.ca.
More: http://www.idrc.ca
The GKP Secretariat and ECA as the Coordinator of GKP Africa
organised a resource mobilization workshop for GKP Africa members
from 23 – 24 January 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The
objective of the training workshop was to substantively review
GKP Africa members’ project proposals for seed funding
in the framework of the GKP Africa Action Plan. Resource persons
from the GKP Secretariat facilitated the training. A total of
nine GKP Africa members attended the workshop. Participants
discussed guidelines for submitting projects for seed funding,
and reviewed the project proposals submitted so far. The workshop
provided participants with a forum to exchange experiences and
lessons. More: Eskedar Nega (enega@uneca.org).
ECA,
ECOWAS and UEMOA to chart a legal framework for ICT development
in West Africa
A workshop organised by ECA in collaboration with the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African
Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) was held from 19 –
20 December 2006 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The workshop
brought together ICT experts, lawyers, trade specialists and
economists on the most effective legal framework for ICT development
in the region. Discussions focused on how to put in place an
enabling legal environment for e-commerce and for an enhanced
cyber crime control. Two studies commissioned by ECA served
as the basis for discussion. Funded by the Government of Finland
and by the Canadian e-Policy Resource Center (CePRC), the two
studies dealt with a harmonized legal framework for e-commerce
and a harmonized legal framework on ICT in general respectively.
In this regard, participants reviewed the recommendations, the
set of priorities and the proposed roadmap. In his opening remarks,
Mr. Joachim Tankoqno, Minister of Posts, Communications and
Information Technology, Burkina Faso paid tribute to ECA's repositioning
exercise for taking into account African countries ”needs
to harnessing ICTs for poverty reduction, for the achievement
of MDGs and for a global knowledge economy.” This workshop
is part of a process involving ECOWAS and UEMOA. The two institutions
signed a memorandum of understanding with ECA two years ago
to set up collaborative arrangements for the adoption of a common
regulatory framework on ICTs for West Africa, as a way of attracting
foreign direct investments. A Follow up Committee composed of
ECA, ECOWAS, UEMOA, BCEAO in addition to the Host country (Burkina)
and the Chair of ECOWAS/UEMOA organs (Niger) will coordinate
the follow up and implementation of the workshop recommendations.
The final outputs on the legal framework for ICTs in West Africa
are expected by May 2007. More: Makane Faye (mfaye@uneca.org).
R&D
Bulletin by AISI Academia Research Network (ARN) Cameroon group
working on Electronic Rural School in Cameroon local language
The
Bulletin is sponsored by PICTA project called "Harambee"
a joint initiative of ECA-APC-Bellanet. The bulletin aims at
sharing R&D activities in the Information Society with Academia
Community and ICT partners. For a copy of the Bulletin as well
as further information, contact Thierry Amoussougbo (tamoussougbo@uneca.org).
ECA-CEEAC-CEMAC
Workshop on ICT Strategy for Central Africa
The workshop was held in Douala, Cameroon from 24-25 January
2007, organised by ECA in collaboration with the Economic Community
of Central African States (CEEAC) and the Economic and Monetary
Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). Participants from public
and private sectors, civil society, media and the RECs, discussed
the draft strategy document prepared by the ECA. Participants
agreed on the revisions and the process for the adoption of
the strategy by CEEAC and CEMAC organs. Participants also adopted
a declaration containing recommendations addressed to the stakeholders,
in order to implement the strategy at national and sub regional
levels, and urged the two RECs to establish cooperation mechanisms
for the development of the Information Society in the sub region.
More: Mohamed Timoulali (mtimoulali@uneca.org).
Harambee
Workshop
The Harambee Project, conceived by the ECA, APC, and Bellanet
under the framework of PICTA, and funded by Connectivity Africa
and Hivos, was designed to support increased capacity among
a range of Africa-based networks and communities to coordinate
and facilitate the interactions of their respective constituencies.
A workshop was held in Kampala, Uganda from 12 – 16 January
2007, which brought together members of the Harambee Coordination
Committee, Network Coordinators from the first phase, and successful
small grant concept note applicants for the second phase. The
aim was to review phase I and discuss on the way forward for
the implementation of the second phase. Participants made concrete
recommendations to improve the implementation of the second
phase of the Harambee project. More: Thierry Amoussougbo (tamoussougbo@uneca.org).
OR http://wikis.bellanet.org/harambee/index.php/Main_Page
OTHER
NEWS ..... OTHER NEWS .....
OTHER NEWS .....
WIPO
Press Release on Traditional Knowledge and Traditional and Cultural
Expressions
A key committee of the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO), agreed upon a new approach to their work on intellectual
property and traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural
expressions (TCEs) (also termed 'expressions of folklore').
The Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and
Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC)
adopted two lists of issues that it agreed would be the focus
of its future discussions. These sets of issues represent a
way forward for discussion as they provide a systematic approach
to the fundamental policy choices that member States will have
to make in developing or enhancing protection of TK and TCEs.
More: http://www.wipo.int/tk
Towards
an African e-Index: SME e-Access and Usage
Research ICT Africa! (RIA!) has published a new chapter in their
e-Index research. At the end of 2006 the report Towards an African
e-Index: SME e-Access and Usage Across 14 African countries
was published. The SME e-Access and Usage survey was carried
out across 14 African countries between the last quarter of
2005 and the first quarter of 2006. The report explores the
impact of ICT on private sector development, and how ICT can
contribute to a vibrant SME sector and economic growth in the
context of developing economies. The countries covered included
Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia,
Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and
Zimbabwe. More: http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/903/32/
SANGONeT
attempting a rescue of poorly performing telecentres
APC member SANGONeT features in a recently released report titled
South Africa: Rescue Attempt On Poorly Performing Telecentres.
In this report released by South Africa's major business-oriented
daily, Business Day, strong criticism of telecentres is advanced.
“Of 133 telecentres set up by the Universal Service Agency,
many are underused, entirely dysfunctional or have turned into
private businesses benefiting the people appointed to run them,”
it says, before explaining that "Sangonet, a body that
helps development agencies use IT in the communities they serve,
is driving the telecentre overhaul." More: http://blog.apc.org/en/index.shtml?x=5053903
2007
ICANN Nominating Committee Issues Formal Call for Statements
of Interest
ICANN's Nominating Committee invites Statements of Interest
from the Internet community as it seeks qualified candidates
to assist in ICANN's technical and policy coordination role.
Interested individuals are invited to submit a Statement of
Interest to this year's Committee for the following positions:
Three members of the ICANN Board of DirectorsTwo members of
the Council of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO)
One member of the Council of the Country-Code Names Supporting
Organization (ccNSO) Three members of the At Large Advisory
Committee (ALAC). ICANN's Nominating Committee (NomCom) is an
independent committee tasked with selecting a majority of the
members of ICANN's Board of Directors and other positions within
ICANN's Supporting Organisations. More: http://nomcom.icann.org.
3
– 5 February 2007, GKP EXCOM and Membership Committee
/ Regional Coordinators' Meeting, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
More: http://www.globalknowledge.org
12
– 14 February 2007, The 10th Interagency Round Table on
Communication for Development, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The Round Table will focus on the theme “Achieving the
Millennium Development Goals”. The objectives include
increasing UN interagency joint collaboration, increasing awareness
within and among UN agencies about communication for development
(discuss challenges, achievements, obstacles, required solutions),
and introducing mechanisms to harmonize communication for development
programming approaches internationally (engage active focal
points at international and country levels, reinforce commitment
of respective agency HQs, promote the round table and invite
wide participation of other UN agencies). More: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=21347&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
13
– 15 February 2007, Expert Group Meeting on Information
and Communications Technology Indicators Adoption and Data Collection:
Use of ICT Indicators in Education & E-Government, The Cabinet
-- Information and Decision Support Center, Cairo, Egypt
The meeting is jointly organized by UNESCWA, UNESCO Institute
for Statistics (UIS), the Knowledge Management Branch/DPADM/UNDESA,
and the Cabinet - Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC)
of Egypt. The meeting will consider the proposal of UIS for
a core list of indicators for measuring the use of ICT in education
for possible endorsement and adoption into the Partnership list
of core ICT indicators. It will also consider proposals for
ICT indicators related to e-government and regional readiness,
thus paving the way for establishing a preliminary regional
list to start collecting data for these indicators, as well
as provide a venue to involve interested stakeholders in a preparatory
meeting to debate the challenges and opportunities for progress
of e-government in the region. The meeting will bring together
decision makers, ICT experts, statisticians, and researchers
in the field of measurement of indicators in education and e-government,
from UNESCWA and other Arab countries, regional and international
organizations, including members of the Partnership on Measuring
ICT for Development, and academic and research institutions.
More: http://www.escwa.org.lb/wsis/meetings/13-15feb07/main.html
19
– 23 February 2007, Association of Regulators of Information
and Communications for Eastern and Southern Africa (ARICEA)
Fourth Annual General Meeting, Kigali, Rwanda
The main focus areas are draft policy guidelines such as numbering,
domain names, consumer protection, type approval, IP telephone;
policy and regulatory framework; digitalisation; content; frequency
spectrum; trade in communications; study visits; interconnections;
and future activities development and implementation. More:
http://www.aricea-comesa.org/
7
– 9 March 2007, Joint ECA- ITU-UNCTAD Regional Workshop
on Information Society Measurements in Africa
The meeting is sponsored by ECA, ITU and UNCTAD under the framework
of the international Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development.
The purpose of the meeting is to address challenges related
to Information Society measurements in the African region, present
possible solutions and identify technical assistance needs.
The workshop will also review progress made with regard to the
implementation of Scan-ICT Phase II and attempt to enlist more
National Statistical Offices (NSOs) in the process. The workshop
builds on the work by the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development
and the Scan-ICT project, and aims to advance the availability
of comparable data on ICT in the region. A preliminary list
of core indicators for e-Government will also be discussed.
More: Makane Faye (mfaye@uneca.org).
26
– 28 March 2007, Communications Regulators´ Association
of Southern Africa (CRASA) annual general meeting, Windhoek,
Namibia
CRASA’s 10th Annual General Meeting, the supreme decision
making body of CRASA, will be meeting in Windhoek, Namibia from
the 12th to 16th March 2007. The main objectives include receiving
country reports from members, specialist committee reports,
updates on activities of the Association, approving CRASA Action
Programme, and receiving, approving and adopting audited financial
statements for the year ended 31st March 2006. More: http://www.crasa.org/
28
– 30 May 2007, eLearning Africa 2007 - Building Infrastructures
and Capacities to Reach out to the Whole of Africa, Nairobi,
Kenya
The second International Conference on ICT for Development,
Education and Training, aims to reflect on the efforts of African
countries in setting up their national and regional information
and communication technology (ICT) infrastructures to create
access to education, training and services for all. It will
also look at how Africa is providing the capacities for all
stakeholders to efficiently exploit the huge potentials advanced
telecommunications technologies offer for the benefit of Africa.
More: http://www.elearning-africa.com
ECA
and the Canadian e-Policy Resource Center (CePRC) are pleased
to announce the First Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA)
Awards. The
aim is to encourage the use of ICTs in the delivery of public
services, which remains a major challenge for African governments,
affecting millions of Africans, mostly rural citizens. The deadline
for the 2007 TIGA Awards is 15th February 2007. Entries can
be made in four categories including public service delivery
to citizens/communities, improved health services through the
use of ICTs, improved educational services through the use of
ICTs, and Public Private Partnership (PPP) in economic and financial
eServices delivery. More: http://www.uneca.org/disd/events/2007/tiga/main.html
VoIP
or the Voice Infrastructure Freedom - Building communication
alternatives in Developing Regions
A new guide to support the spread of low-cost communications
in the poorest parts of the world. This free guide to Voice
over IP, available in four major languages, is an effort to
disseminate the use of telephony over the Internet in developing
regions. The 40-page guide targets both technical and non-technical
readers. The booklet "VoIP-4D Primer, Building Voice Infrastructure
in developing regions" is written by IT +46, a Swedish
consultancy company focusing on innovative usage of IT technology
in the developing world. The work has been supported by the
Acacia Initiative of the International Development Research
Centre of Canada and the contribution of several translators
and reviewers. More: http://voip4d.it46.se
Balancing
Act’s Forthcoming Publications
Balancing Act’s forthcoming reports in 2007 include new
reports like Africa’s Mobile Companies: Key Business Opportunities
and Challenges and updated reports like African Voice and Data
Bandwidth Forecasts. Some of Balancing Act’s updated reports
like African Broadband, Triple Play and Converged Markets and
African Internet and Telecoms Markets have been changed to make
them more useful as the markets themselves change. Balancing
Act says that all of its reports now contain data sets that
have been specifically gathered for its reports from its own
surveys. Alongside this core data it provides informed analysis.
More: http://www.balancingact-africa.com
IViR
Study on The Recasting of Copyright for the Knowledge Economy
DiploFoundation
Capacity Building Training Programme 2007 – Call for Applications
DiploFoundation, in cooperation with various partners, is currently
accepting applications for the 2007 Internet Governance Capacity
Building Training Programme. This programme is designed to improve
Internet Governance (IG) related knowledge and skills for participants
mainly from developing countries and to facilitate community
building among individuals with different national, cultural,
and professional backgrounds. The programme offers 135 places
for young professionals from diverse stakeholder backgrounds
in IG related fields and is open to individuals from all around
the world. Participants from developing countries are eligible
to receive full scholarship support. The programme includes
an online training phase, a research phase, and capacity building
fellowships awarded to a number of successful participants in
the programme. Fellowship opportunities include internships
with partner organisations and attendance at IG related meetings,
including the Internet Governance Forum later in the year. The
deadline for applications is 10 February 2007.More: http://www.diplomacy.edu/ig/igcbp/
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