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
Members requested to submit proposals for activities or events
at GK3
Members are invited to submit proposals for conference panels,
workshops, and associated events at GK3, a GKP Event on the
Future themed "Emerging People, Emerging Markets, Emerging
Technologies". More: http://www.GKPEventsontheFuture.org
IICD
connectivity model presented at World Bank conference
A new connectivity model based on shared connectivity developed
by the International Institute for Communication and Development
(IICD) received positive feedback from various Latin American
and Caribbean public, private and grass-root organisations at
the conference ‘Connecting the Future: Strategies to Reduce
Telecommunications Access Gaps’ co-organised by the World
Bank in Lima, Peru November 2006. The conference was an initiative
of the World Bank, the Economic Commission for Latin America
and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and Regulatel (an organisation that
represents 19 South American regulators). IICD was invited to
share their experiences on the implementation of telecentres
in Bolivia. The result is an alternative connectivity model
based on the experiences gathered using telecentres; until this
time the most suitable solution for connectivity were not satisfying.
This alternative, a Community of Networks, is based on shared
connectivity, which means that a group of local actors unite
to make connectivity more affordable and therefore make access
to the Internet and information feasible. The new model was
successfully tested in Bolivia and Ecuador and can be replicated
in Africa and Latin America, as well as Asia. More: http://www.iicd.org
Partnership’s
Core ICT indicators endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission
In March 2007, the UN statistical Commission endorsed the core
list of indicators on ICTs, which was developed by the Partnership
on Measuring ICT for Development. UNCTAD presented a report
on ICT Statistics on behalf of the Partnership during the Commission's
recent session in New York. The report informed of the significant
progress made by the Partnership to improve the availability
of internationally comparable statistics on ICT and to define
a core list of ICT indicators. Chief statisticians from around
the world congratulated the Partnership for its work and for
being an example of successful cooperation between international
organizations. The Commission encouraged countries to use this
core list of ICT indicators in their data collection programmes,
and encouraged the Partnership to assist countries in their
capacity building efforts for the collection of ICT data. The
Commission acknowledged that ICT is a rapidly evolving area,
and encouraged the Partnership to continue work to improve and
update the list of indicators, especially in view of measuring
the use of ICT in education, in government, the contribution
of ICT to economic growth and social development, and barriers
to use of ICT. Members of the Partnership include, ITU, UNCTAD,
OECD, UNESCO, World Bank, Eurostat, and the five UN regional
Commissions including ECA. More: http://new.unctad.org/templates/Page____847.aspx
African
Network of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID)
launched
More than fifty representatives from African Governments, Civil
Society Organizations, Private sector actors, Academia and International
Organizations took part in the launch and first meeting of the
African Regional Network of the UN Global Alliance for ICTs
and Development (GAID) on Friday 23rd March 2007. The meeting
adopted the creation of a Steering Committee composed of three
facilitators from Academia, Government and CSO representatives
from West, Central and North Africa sub-regions to steer the
African GAID Network with the assistance of ECA, which hosts
the secretariat. The launching took place alongside the African
Civil Society Forum, jointly organized by CONGO, the African
Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), the
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and African Union (AU),
from 22-23 March 2007, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The launch
will be followed by on-line discussion of the GAID Africa structure
and modalities of action to be drafted by the identified steering
committee. More: Thierry Amoussougbo (tamoussougbo@uneca.org).
ECA
supports Mozambique in the areas of ICTs, Science and Technology
An ECA delegation held discussions with Mozambican authorities
in Maputo from 19 – 21 March 2007 on consolidating a joint
work programme to support the implementation of the Mozambique
Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy (MOSTIS) following
the official request received from the Government of Mozambique.
After initial discussions between H.E Prof. Venancio Massingue,
Minister of Science and Technology of Mozambique and the Executive
Secretary, ECA, the areas identified for joint collaboration
include building capacities in e-commerce and e-security, establishing
an ICT Excellence Center/Science Park, developing STI indicators,
and joint STI capacity building activities. After working visits
to the various S&T institutions in the country, and consultations
with the respective authorities, a joint Plan of Action for
implementation with support from ECA and its partners is being
finalised. Afework Temtime (atemtime@uneca.org).
OTHER NEWS .....
OTHER NEWS .....
OTHER NEWS .....
Egypt:
NEPAD e-schools officially launched
The Egyptian Minister of Education, Dr Yousry Al-Gamal, has
officially launched the NEPAD e-Schools Demonstration (Demo)
Project at Al-Haddain Secondary School in El Behaira Governate,
Egypt. The project is a joint venture of the Egyptian Government,
HP Consortium, ORACLE Consortium and NEPAD e-Africa Commission.
Egypt is the sixth country to launch the project after Uganda,
Ghana, Lesotho, Kenya and Rwanda. It is also the first North
African country to launch the NEPAD e-Schools. The NEPAD e-Schools
Project is led by the NEPAD e-Africa Commission - the NEPAD
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Task Team responsible
for developing the NEPAD ICT Programme and implementing related
projects. The project focuses on providing end-to-end ICT solutions
that will connect schools across Africa to the NEPAD e-Schools
Network and the Internet. Solutions also include the provision
of content, learning material and the establishment of health
points at schools. More: http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/internet/40235
Kenya
sets up ICT advisory body
A new Parastatal has been set up to spearhead development of
ICT in the country. The Kenya Information and Communications
Technology Board will advise the government on all relevant
matters on development, co-ordination and promotion of ICT industries
in the country. President Mwai Kibaki authorised setting up
of the new Corporation through an order in a Kenya Gazette supplement
dated March 2 this year. Kenya Information Communications and
Technology Board Order details how the board of the corporation
would be instituted and function. The corporation will be expected
to promote — both locally and internationally —
opportunities for investment in ICT and also appoint agents
within and outside the country to carry out defined functions.
It will also facilitate and manage ICT products and services,
and industrial incubation and technology parks. The development
comes at a time when the government is promoting large-scale
communications infrastructure capable of delivering efficient
and affordable services as a critical prerequisite for economic
growth. It is also seen as part of a broader strategy that seeks
to make the country the regional ICT hub by 2010 and create
employment. More: http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143966148
South
Africa- Information Society and Development (ISAD) Plan
After
consultation with all stakeholders in government, South Africa
finalised the National Information Society and Development (ISAD)
Plan, which was approved by Cabinet on 7th February 2007. The
Plan emanates primarily from the dynamic global impact of ICTs,
and is informed by the World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS) Plan of Action, based on the advice of the Presidential
International Advisory Council (PIAC) and the development challenges
facing the country. The ISAD Plan indicates that the transformation
of the South African Economy from an Industrial Economy to an
Information based Knowledge Economy will be driven through ten
main pillars. The pillars and priority focus areas further serve
as a guideline for the provinces to develop their Provincial
ISAD Models. The National Institutional Mechanism under development
is aligned to the current structures of government, and Information
Society initiatives across the three tiers of Government i.e.
National, Provincial and Local. More: Rodwyn.Grewan@pnc.gov.za
Zambia
launches ICT Policy
The Zambian Government has finally launched the national Information
Communication Technology (ICT) policy. President Mwanawasa,
at the launch said the national ICT policy would mainly address
the development of three sectors namely telecommunications,
information technology and broadcasting which were important
pillars for general growth of Zambia’s economy and to
bridge the digital divide amongst Zambians. President Mwanawasa
said bridging the digital divide amongst Zambians would entail
transforming Zambia into an economy based on information and
knowledge supported by consistent development of and pervasive
access to ICT by all citizens by 2030. More: http://www.times.co.zm/
5
– 6 April 2007, Research and Development in the Information
Society: Identifying Information Society socio-economic impact
Indicators in Tunisia, Tunis, Tunisia
ECA,
in collaboration with the Government of Tunisia through the
National Statistic Council and the Academia Research Network
(ARN) working on Information Society Indicators will jointly
organise a forum on: “The Information Society socio-economic
impact indicators and the Knowledge Economy". The ECA ARN
team working on the Information Society indicators is examining
socio-economic impact indicators in the Information Society
by using Tunisia as a case study. So far, the team has successfully
established a collaboration framework with existing statistics
bodies including, the National Statistics Council, the National
Institute of Statistics, the Statistics Training Institution
and other specialised bodies and has successfully identified
for a pilot phase a core group of socio-economic impact indicators.
The workshop aims at reviewing the work of the research team
and provide an implementation framework. The national Council
of Statistics will use this opportunity to launch a permanent
group of statisticians and ICT experts to coordinate the Tunisian
Knowledge Economy’s continuous data collection, analysis
and dissemination process. More: Thierry Amoussougbo (tamoussougbo@uneca.org).
11
– 13 April 2007, Knowledge Management Capacity for African
Research Institutes and Networks: Western Africa Workshop, Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso
The Global Development Network (GDN) in cooperation with the
Centre d'analyse des Politiques Economiques et Sociales (CAPES),
African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and the World Bank
Institute (WBI), is organizing the 3rd in its series of sub-regional
workshops across Sub-Saharan Africa entitled "Knowledge
Management Capacity for African Research Institutes and Networks:
Western Africa Workshop". Representatives of government,
non-profit, private and university-based African research institutes
and networks were invited for the workshop. The workshop aims
at strengthening the operations of West African research institutes
and networks by exposing them to knowledge management concepts,
tools and approaches, and helping them to develop Action Plans
to enhance their organizational capacity. This workshop comes
as a follow-up to previous workshops held in Cairo, Egypt in
February 2005, in Kampala, Uganda in June 2006, and in Johannesburg,
South Africa in November 2006. More: http://www.gdnet.org/middle.php?oid=1177
23
– 26 April 2007, First International Conference on Research
Challenges in Information Science, Ouarzazate, Morocco
The First International Conference on Research Challenges in
Information
Science (RCIS) aims at providing an international forum for
scientists, researchers, engineers and developers from a wide
range of information science areas to exchange ideas and approaches
in this evolving field. More: http://www.farcampus.com/rcis/index.php
23
– 26 April 2007, Combating Cybercrime in the SADC Region,
Cape Town, South Africa
Organised by the Centre of Specialisation in Public Administration
and Management (CESPAM), this four-day Executive Training Programme
will deal with issues and good practices necessitated by the
rise of cybercrime. These include the legal infrastructure to
regulate the safe flow of information and secure transacting;
specific provisions to deter cybercrime; computer forensics
to ascertain criminal responsibility and – more important
– to prevent crime; issues of security; best practice
in systems management and standards; governance of the Internet;
capacity-building within the policing, judicial and IT-support
functions for managing this new socio-economic phenomenon; and
combating the rise of cybercrime. The event is sponsored by
the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany through its
aid agency (GTZ). More: http://www.cespam.net
24
– 26 April 2007, Digital Africa (DA07) - The 5th Annual
Digital Africa Summit, Cape Town, South Africa
The Digital Africa Summit is an opportunity for all those involved
in the state of ICT in Africa to come together and discuss,
dissect and demystify the issues surrounding ICT. Now in its
fifth year, The Digital Africa Summit (DA) has developed into
the place for executive level delegates to discuss their issues
with solution providers and consultants. More: http://www.worldsummits.com
29
April – 5 May 2007, The Fifth Meeting of the Committee
on Development Information (CODI V), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The Committee on Development Information (CODI) is one of the
seven subsidiary bodies of the ECA, providing ECA with policy
and technical guidance for the sub-programme "Harnessing
Information for Development". The theme of CODI V is “Employment
and the Knowledge Economy in Africa”. The meeting will
explore the institutional foundations and policy dimensions
of employment in the Knowledge Economy, and illuminate fundamental
policy choices that member States have to make in developing
or enhancing knowledge-centric employment in African economies.
Reports and discussions will focus on the following sub-themes:
a) ICT and the Knowledge Economy: innovation, productivity and
expansion of opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment,
b) Enhancement of employability through access to information
and knowledge in libraries and other information services, c)
Geo-information dimensions of employment policies in the Knowledge
Economy, d) Indicators and measurement challenges in Employment
and the Knowledge Economy; and e) Employment in the information
sectors, including ICT industries, geomatics and information
services. More: http://www.uneca.org/codi/
Part of the IST-Africa Initiative, which is supported by the
European Commission under the Information Society Technologies
(IST) Programme, dubbed as IST-Africa 2007 is the second in
an Annual Conference Series bringing together delegates from
leading commercial, government & research organisations,
to bridge the Digital Divide by sharing knowledge, experiences,
lessons learnt & good practice. Hosted by the Government
of Mozambique and technically co-sponsored by the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), IST-Africa 2007
focuses on Applied IST research in the areas of ICT for Networked
Enterprise, Infrastructure, ICT for Environmental Risk Management,
eGovernment and eDemocracy, Technology Enhanced Learning and
Skills, ICT for Inclusion, eHealth and International Cooperation.
More: http://www.ist-africa.org/conference2007
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) infrastructure 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 potential advanced
telecommunication technologies offer for the benefit of Africa.
More: http://www.elearning-africa.com
In this report, IICD presents and evaluates an e-governance
programme 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
ICTs. 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, IICD
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/DistrictNetUganda
"Knowledge,
Power and Dissent" – a new publication from UNESCO
The publication subtitled "Critical Perspectives on Higher
Education and Research in Knowledge Society", explores
the relationship between the knowledge society and higher education.
As part of the Education on the Move series, it seeks an understanding
of how to ensure sustainable human development. More: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=23840&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Programme
Design for Regional Capacity Building in Africa: The case of
CATIA (Catalysing Access to ICT in Africa)
This paper discusses challenges faced by the CATIA programme.
It also presents general lessons learned that could be applied
to the planning and implementing of any complex programme, particularly
those seeking to build regional capacity in Africa. More: http://www.catia.ws/
Archives:
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