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.
ICT
Best Practices Forum for West and Central Africa
Microsoft,
in collaboration with the Government of Burkina Faso, the African
Development Bank, and the United Nations Economic Commission
for Africa, is organising the ICT Best Practices Forum for West
and Central Africa, scheduled to take place from 7 to 9 June
2007 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The Regional ICT Best Practices
Fora will serve as a practical way for high-level officials
from the different regions in Africa to share their own specific
experiences and demonstrate practical examples of successful
technology solutions in their respective countries. It will
also allow for such solutions to be more easily replicated (particularly
given the skills shortfall in the region), and encourage an
increase in technology investment overall. More: http://www.ictbestpractices.net/
Hivos
and IICD extend partnership
On 26 April 2007, the International Institute for Communication
and Development (IICD) and Hivos extended their partnership
for a period of four years. Creating practical and sustainable
solutions in developing countries that connect people and enable
them to benefit from ICT is the goal of IICD and is one of the
main themes for Hivos. The cooperation between Hivos and IICD,
which started in 1999, has been extended until the year 2010.
The partnership includes a total amount of 1.8 million Euro
for the next four years. The combined activities of Hivos (www.hivos.nl)
and IICD (www.iicd.org) will mainly
focus on two countries, namely Ecuador and Uganda. The programme
in Uganda is aimed towards developing and implementing an e-society
model in which local non-governmental organisations and local
governments are able to cooperate with one another more efficiently.
More: http://www.iicd.org
Gender
& e-Government Workshop to be held in Maputo, Mozambique
The workshop, which is scheduled to take place from 28 –
30 May 2007, is organised by the ECA, under the framework of
the Global ePolicy Resource Network (ePol-NET), in cooperation
with the Mozambican Ministry of Science and Technology, and
with the support of the Canadian ePolicy Resource Centre (CePRC)
and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA).
The main objective of the workshop is to encourage dialogue
among ICT and gender experts in countries with the aim of analysing
and evaluating the efforts put in place by African countries
to mainstream gender in national ICT policies, include a gender
dimension in e-Government policies and programmes that address
the specific needs of African women. It will also try to define
a plan of action with the view of introducing and reinforcing
the capacities of gender experts in the implementation of ICT
policies and sectoral e-Government strategies with a gender
dimension. This workshop is the second workshop in a series.
The first one, for Francophone countries, was held in Tunis,
Tunisia from 19 to 21 June 2006. More: Eskedar Nega (enega@uneca.org).
ECA,
SDC, and GKP organise African preparatory meeting to GK III
on “Knowledge and Access”
The meeting, scheduled to take place in Ouagadougou, Burkina
Faso from 5 - 6 June 2007, will provide an opportunity for GKP
Africa members as well a other stakeholders committed to promote
information and knowledge for development in the Continent to
debate on issues such as: market opportunities, knowledge as
a public good, language and culture, inclusive solutions for
women and youth, innovative technologies, etc. It is also expected
that such an event will better prepare Africa to the global
conference so that ICT4D and knowledge development activities
in the continent can be showcased. A total of 80 to 100 participants
are expected to attend, including ICT4D focal points, GKPA members,
journalists, and policy makers. More: Eskedar Nega (enega@uneca.org).
The
fifth Committee on Development Information (CODI-V)
The CODI-V meeting ended with a call on African governments
to urgently create jobs in the information and knowledge society.
A final report, adopted by participants at the meeting, noted
that information and knowledge had emerged as fundamental economic
resources and a factor of global competitiveness. “Lack
of access to, and utilization of, information and knowledge
are in this context, a source of poverty,” the report
said. “The only way out of Africa's predicament is to
quickly achieve the goal of becoming a key player in the Information
and Knowledge Society.” The CODI-V meeting, hosted by
the ECA from 1-4 May, had as its central theme “ Employment
and the Knowledge Economy in Africa”. Four sub-committees
looked deeper into the issue from the perspective of statistical
data, geoinformation, libraries, and ICTs. African governments
were urged to promote a culture of entrepreneurship and ensure
the “buy-in” of the knowledge economy, particularly
on the part of workers and employers who are most affected by
the changes created by information technology. More: http://www.uneca.org/codi/codi5.htm
African
government innovation in information technology rewarded
Twelve innovative projects taking Africa forward in the field
of information technology were rewarded for their enterprise
at a glittering ceremony in Addis Ababa on May 1st. The first
ever Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) awards were handed
out by the main sponsors of the event, the ECA and the Canadian
government, in recognition of achievements that have led to
changes at national, regional or provincial level. The awards
fell into four categories: public service delivery to citizens
or communities; improved health services through the use of
ICTs; improved educational services through the use of ICT;
and Public Private Partnership in economic and financial e-services
delivery. Additionally, the judges – leading African experts
in information technology – presented special awards for
endeavours that did not fall into the categories but were nevertheless
considered worthy of recognition. The winning projects were
from Angola, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco,
Rwanda, and Senegal. More: http://www.uneca.org/tiga/
E-commerce
the way forward for Africa, new book says
A new book, launched by the ECA, seeks to underline the importance
of the burgeoning electronic and mobile commerce industry for
Africa's economic development. The book, ‘African E-Markets:
Information and Economic Development', is the second in a series
issued by the Committee on Development Information (CODI) whose
annual meeting took place from 1 – 4 May 2007 in Addis
Ababa. It is co-published by ECA, International Books and the
Centre for African Studies in Copenhagen. The book notes that
ICT has unleashed a massive, cost-effective way of doing business.
ICT accelerates the movement of goods, services, ideas and people,
which fuels the globalisation process. Therefore the power of
information to stimulate Africa's economic potential cannot
be underestimated. The publication looks at the role of issues
such as the enabling environment, e-economics, the stakeholders
and data in assessing the implications for economic growth,
meeting the Millennium Development Goals and poverty reduction.
Launching the publication, Aida Opoku-Mensah who heads ECA's
ICT and Science and Technology Division, noted that it was written
completely from an African perspective by African experts. She
said it was aimed at practitioners and teachers. (Free limited
copies are available to readers in Africa. Email your request
to ecapubs@uneca.org,
otherwise it can be ordered at www.amazon.com). More: http://www.uneca.org/eca_resources/news/2007/070503emarkets.htm
OTHER NEWS .....
OTHER NEWS .....
OTHER NEWS .....
A
report on rural connectivity in Tanzania: options and challenges
This report looks at the options and challenges faced with regard
to connectivity in Tanzania and gives an overview of types of
connectivity available. Although rural connectivity is feasible
in all areas of Tanzania, there are several challenges: The
issue of last mile infrastructure, the cost of service, the
‘appropriateness’ of the type of services available
and the support and sustainability of the service. The report
was originally produced at the occasion of the SWOPnet/IICD
workshop on rural connectivity, Tanzania, May 2006. More: http://www.iicd.org/articles/RuralConnectivityTanzania
Nigeria's
First Internet Exchange Ready
Nigeria's first Internet eXchange Point IXP, the result of the
collaboration between the Nigerian Communications Commission
(NCC) and the Internet Service Providers (ISPs), is ready for
operation. A statement disclosed that the IXPs which is located
in Lagos, Nigeria is set for commissioning and will be managed
by private sector stakeholders on a not-for-profit basis. At
the conclusion of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS)
held in Tunis in 2005, the need for an IXP for Nigeria became
vital. President Olusegun Obasanjo put his weight behind encouraging
the establishment of an IXP for Nigeria. This led to the Minister
of Communications being issued a directive by the presidency
to ensure the establishment of a Nigerian IXP within the shortest
possible time. The aim of building a Nigerian IXP is to keep
and interchange local Internet traffic such as e-mail, download
of local website content, etc, within Nigeria and allow only
international traffic to be exchanged at points outside Nigeria.
More: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/
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
10
– 11 May 2007, GK3 International Advisory Panel (IAP)
Meeting, Lausanne, Switzerland
The GK3 International Advisory Panel (IAP) meets to advise GKP
on the programme development for the 3rd Global Knowledge Conference
(GK3), GKP's Event on the Future. More: http://www.globalknowledge.org
22
– 24 May 2007, 2nd SMEs Forum - "Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises in the Arab Region: Opportunities & Challenges,
Tunis, Republic of Tunisia
Organised by SME Centre in cooperation with Ministry of Employment
and Professional Integration of Youth – Tunisia. The Micro,
Small & Medium Enterprises Forum aims at, exploring the
new methods and techniques in developing Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSMEs) on one hand, and identifying the Role of
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the Chambers of Commerce
& Industry in developing the MSMEs on the other hand. Moreover,
this Forum aims at highlighting the Role of Human Recourses
in credit decisions. The forum will provide the participants
with new methods and techniques in developing (MSMEs). More:
http://www.aabfs.org/EB/SME2/Sme/EnIndex.htm
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 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
30
May – 1 June 2007, 10th Year Anniversary, AITEC Uganda:
ICT Conference & Exhibition, Kampala, Uganda
Organised by AITEC Uganda, the exhibition will provide a platform
for the country’s growing population of ICT users in government
and the private sector to assess latest technologies and the
services offered by vendors and service providers. Over the
two days of the exhibition an Enterprise Solutions Showcase
will provide a presentation facility for exhibiting companies
to showcase their hardware and software products, services and
solutions. More: http://new.aitecafrica.com/?q=node/561
4
– 5 June 2007, East African Telecentre Leaders Forum (EA-TLF),
Nairobi, Kenya
The theme of this third Forum is "Promoting ICT For Rural
Development: Meeting The Movement Challenges". The Forum
will be co-hosted in Kenya by UgaBYTES and Kenya Network of
Telecentres (KenTel) in the Kenya district of Siayi. For online
sessions of the event (14th - 25th May), subscribe to the UgaBYTES
mailing list at http://www.ugabytes.org
or http://ugabytes.org/mailman/listinfo/ugabytes_ugabytes.org
The event is planned to run in two phases: online and face-to-face
sessions. The EA-TLF is an event organised twice a year, with
rotating venues within the sub region, and focusing on different
themes. It is part of the global framework of Telecentre.org
(www.telecentre.org), which includes gatherings that are focused
on facilitated learning and sharing of ideas and solutions among
telecentre practitioners. More: http://www.ugabytes.org
11
– 13 June 2007, Conference on Knowledge Management as
an Enabler of Change and Innovation in Africa, Cairo, Egypt
The Global Development Network has for the past year, as part
of a program focusing on Africa, organized workshops for research
institutes and think tanks on Knowledge Management for Organizational
Capacity. Much has been learned about the constraints and opportunities
faced by research institutes in developing knowledge and disseminating
it to policymakers and others who can benefit. The planned KM
conference is designed to share lessons about these experiences
to a larger audience and to more systematically examine the
impact of KM within organizations and how KM is being used in
specific sectoral areas. More: Sherine Ghoneim (sghoneim@gdnet.org).
ECA and its partners are pleased to announce the 2007 AISI Media
Awards. The deadline for the 2007 AISI Media Awards programme
is 15th August 2007. Entries can be made in the following categories:
1) The AISI-SDC-GKP Media Awards 2007 – Radio, Print,
Television/Video, and Multimedia/Web Media; focusing on “Emerging
People”, “Emerging Technologies”, and “Emerging
Markets” in Africa, 2) The AISI-IDRC Media Awards: Reporting
on ICT Research and Innovation as well as Reporting on ICT Policy,
and 3) The AISI-IICD Media Award on Local Content Applications,
and Local Conten More: http://www.uneca.org/aisi/mediaaward.htm
The
Stockholm Challenge GKP Awards 2007 - a new initiative
The Stockholm Challenge GKP Awards 2007 is a parallel initiative
to the Stockholm Challenge 2008. The prizes in the new award
will go to projects that demonstrate exemplary and innovative
Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships in four Stockholm Challenge Award
categories: Education, Culture, Economic Development and Public
Administration. The Stockholm Challenge GKP Award 2007 winners
will be celebrated both in Kuala Lumpur and in Stockholm. Twelve
finalists, three from each of the four contested categories,
will be sponsored to attend the 3rd Global Knowledge Conference
- An Event On The Future (GK3) in Kuala Lumpur in December 2007.
All other applicants for the Stockholm Challenge GKP Awards
2007 are also invited to participate. Their conference fee to
attend GK3 will be waived although travel and accommodation
for the event will be at their own expense. More: http://gkp.stockholmchallenge.se
World
Bank online MDG atlas
The World Bank's new online atlas of Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) is out. It is a neat application offering a visualisation
of the MDGs and letting you explore the maps of key indicators
for each of the eight goals. The atlas intends to make a wide
range of data for over 200 economies easily accessible. Available
in English, French and Spanish. More: http://devdata.worldbank.org/atlas-mdg/
Archives:
(Note:
All documents are in PDF) To view PDF files, download the Adobe
Adobe
Acrobat Reader.
