Press Release No. 30/1997

Attn all: Please Find below Recommendations from Participants in the UNDP/ECA East Africa Seminar on the Internet, Held from 13-15 October 1997

I. Policy Issues

1. The Seminar recommended that the implementation of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) should be done at the country level, mainly through the organization of high level policy awareness campaigns and the development of national information and communication policies and plans.

2. In view of the important role UNDP has to play in implementing the various African initiatives, UNDP country offices should be made aware of national and regional information and communication technology plans and programmes and should be substantively involved in Internet activities.

3. Liberalization of the telecommunication sector should be undertaken with full involvement of all the stakeholders at the national level.

4. UNDP and ECA should revise the list of countries selected in the framework of the Africa Internet Initiative (AII) project based on the readiness and ability of countries to make counterpart funding available whether Leland Initiative selected country or not.

5. In order to enter the twenty first century with the correct vision and good will, the participants encourage the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to continue to encourage African Member States to enhance and promote Internet connectivity, in accordance with the OAU Declaration on AISI adopted at the Yaounde Summit in 1996, by strengthening communication and information infrastructures with a view to promote a culture of peace, tolerance and the well-being of all the people of Africa.

6. In view of the generalized liberalization of the telecommunication sector, the participants recommend that African countries set up a rural telecommunication development fund or incentives to encourage Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to develop information infrastructures in rural and remote areas.

II. Connectivity and Services

1. Participants acknowledge with thanks the various UNDP programmes such as the Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP) and the AII and recommend that in implementing the above projects, emphasis should be put on content development, training of technicians and connectivity of rural areas.

2. Access to information via the internet should be made possible through nationwide connections of universities, institutions of higher learning, secondary schools, community centres and rural areas. Development of community and rural telecentres are recommended.

3. Participants recommended development of national and/or sectoral Intranet to enable exchange of information and knowledge at the national level.

4. Support to African ISPs should be provided by UNDP and ECA to develop local capacities and boost development of value added services.

5. Training centres of excellence should be developed at national and subregional levels using existing infrastructure such as universities and schools of technology and telecommunication.

6. Training on the use of Internet services for the business community is recommended to make them aware of the potentials of electronic commerce. In this regard, it is also recommended that regional studies be undertaken in cooperation with the economic communities and partners to determine modalities and assess anticipated socio-economic impact of electronic commerce in Africa.

III. Regional cooperation

In order to avoid wastage of resources and facilitate exchange of information in the subregion, operators and service providers are requested to develop cooperative arrangements towards establishment of subregional Internet backbone.