IN THIS ISSUE: Science with Africa related activities; Outcome of CODIST; Latest Findings in Biological Sciences (Global); African Science News; Upcoming Science-related events in Africa; Opinion
This e-newsletter, produced on a quarterly basis provides information and news on the follow-up to the Science with Africa conference, as well as other news items closely related to the themes and objectives of the event.
The African Science to Business Challenge is a pioneering initiative launched by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and RTI International (RTI) aimed at strengthening links between scientific research and business development. [more] Application Form | Deadline: 31st October 2009
The African Union Conmission announced that the African ICT week
(AICTW) will take place from 16th to 22nd of November 2009, which will mark the
commemorattion of Africa's involvement in the Information Society.
This African ICT week answers the desire and the commitment to build a people-centred,
inclusive, and development-oriented information society and inline with the outcome of WSIS, the decisions of the AU CIT Ministerial Conference and relevant AU Summit decisions.
The Oliver Tambo Declaration was adopted by the Extra-Ordinary Meeting of the Conference of African Ministers in charge of Information and Communication Technologies on 5 November 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Pursuant to the Assembly of the Heads of State and governments decision (Assembly/AU/Dec. 232(XII)), the main objective of the meeting was to prepare the 2010 African Union January 2010 Summit on the theme “Information and Communications Technologies in Africa: Challenges and Prospects for Development”.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The UNCTAD Information Economy Report (IER) 2009 was launched today, the 22nd of October at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa. The report was launched in collaboration with the ECA’s ICT, Science and Technology Division (ISTD) at a function attended by the Africa Union Commission (AUC) Human Resources, Science and Technology Division, international media personnel, media institutions in Addis Ababa, statisticians from the Ethiopian National Statistics Office (NSO), academics from the University of Addis Ababa, representatives of IT institutions, representatives from UN Agencies in Ethiopia (WHO and UNDP) and ECA staff. The report takes stock of recent trends with regard to extending connectivity worldwide, monitors developments in enhancing the use of ICTs among enterprises and analyses how international trade in ICT goods and in IT and ICT-enabled services is evolving..
eSADC is a joint United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) initiative.
Twenty-five participants drawn from NICI National Focal Points from eight SADC member States, Southern African Postal Operators’ Association (SAPOA), Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA), Communications Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (CRASA), NEPAD e-Africa Commission, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and e-SADC consultants are attending a two-day technical meeting to launch the e-SADC initiative - a framework for the implementation of the Information Society in the sub-region at the Grand Palm Hotel in Gaborone, Botswana. The member States in attendance are Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia..
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -
A two-week training course on “Measuring ICT Use and Access in Households and Business” opened in Addis Ababa today to build the capacity of African National Statistical Offices (NSOs) in measuring ICTs. The main objective of the training is to strengthen the capacities of the NSOs in the African region to produce national statistics on the access and use of ICT in households and by individuals, as well as on ICT use in business and the ICT sector. The ICT statistics and indicators will allow Governments to elaborate and evaluate their ICT policies for development and to take measures to bridge the digital divide within and between countries.
Twenty participants, comprising managers of community access points, telecentre network leaders, project coordinators and managers of ICT initiatives from eight countries are attending a two-day “Africa Knowledge Network Launch Workshop” at the Royal Mirage Hotel, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The participants are from Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 29 June 2009 (ECA) - A two-day consultative workshop on developing an African Innovation Framework opened in Addis Ababa, today to chart the way towards developing a concrete and “implementable” framework to guide Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) development in the continent. The second objective of the workshop is to focus on the opportunities and challenges for the development of African innovation strategy to complement national, sub-regional and sectoral ICT, Science and Technology policies and strategies.
Addis Ababa, 4 May 2009 (ECA) – Twelve innovative projects from 10 African countries have won the 2009 Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) awards in recognition of achievements that led to changes in the use of ICTs for public service delivery, according to an announcement last Thursday in Addis Ababa by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and its partners, the Governments of Canada and Finland.
As a continuation of the Pre-CODIST events, today the 28th of April 2009, there are four workshops running in parallel; The 1st Follow-up Workshop on WSIS, Tunis+3; Legal and regulatory framework for the Knowledge Economy; ECA - Workshop on Capacity Building on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Africa; and AFREF Workshop: Revamping the implementation Plan.
Africa would need to bring Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to the forefront of its development agenda if it wants to take “advantage of innovations and immense benefits of ICTs”, Hon. Vincent Biruta, President of the Senate of the Republic of Rwanda, remarked here today.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 23 February 2009 – The conference on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) that opens in Kigali, Rwanda from 3 – 5 March, 2009 will provide a unique opportunity for African Parliamentarians to find out how to take advantage of the digital revolution to strengthen democratic participation and accountability, improve effectiveness and efficiency of public service, according to Rwandan Parliamentary sources.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 17 February 2009 – Africa still lags far behind other regions of the world when it comes to digital governance, experts were told during a meeting on Electronic/Mobile Government today.
Addis Ababa
4 December (ECA) – The UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive
Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA),
Mr. Abdoulie Janneh and H. E. Ms. Kirsti Aarnio, the Ambassador of Finland
to Ethiopia, representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland signed
today a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for three million, seven hundred
fifty thousand Euros (€ 3, 750 000) to support cooperation between
the ICT, Science and Technology Division of ECA and Finland on ICT development
in Africa during the period 2008-2010.
The central role of knowledge and innovation in economic growth is widely acknowledged in developed countries. It is evident from these countries that the creation of a knowledge economy and knowledge based industries does not happen in isolation, but is highly correlated with: the general health of the economy.
This recurrent publication discusses the opportunities and challenges that Africa faces in seeking to accelerate science-based sustainable development across the continent. It outlines the specific steps that need be taken to build STI as key elements for overcoming Africa’s chronic and often debilitating development problems.
A new report
on "Global Information Society: a Statistical View" was launched
at the 2008 Global Event on Measuring the Information Society, held from
27 – 29 May 2008 at the Palais des Nations under the direction of
the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, whose members include
UNECA.
The convergence of new services - voice, data, video and broadcast - via
the same digital network holds great promise for the socio-economic development
of the African continent. There are many challenges to overcome, though,
if Africa is to meet the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
goal of "bridging the digital divide by 2015". Africa's nations,
United Nations agencies and regional telecommunications and developmental
organizations are working towards regional integration and the adoption
of regulatory frameworks throughout the continent that foster ICT growth
and convergence.
African
Information Society Initiative
Scan
ICT
National
Information and
Communication Infrastructure
Partnership for ICTs in Africa
ePol-NET
Africa
Committee
on
Development Information
Science & Technology
ICT is revolutionizing our world. One cannot think about life without computers, the Internet, satellites and mobile phones. They're turning our world into a global village. Is Africa being left out of this revolution? This 50 minute presentation highlights how Africa is making inroads into leveraging ICT for the continent's development.
This publication serves to assess the 10 years of the existence of AISI,
which was adopted by ECA as its work programme, and highlights the opportunities
and challenges of the implementation of this framework within the context
of African development.
The report indicates, among other things, that there has been an increase in the collection of ICT data by developing countries but that more such nations need to incorporate ICT statistics into their regular statistical surveys -- that such information is vital for making effective decisions on linking national economies into global information networks and for taking advantage of the opportunities such technologies as the Internet offer for development.
African Science to Business Challenge
Information
and Communication Technology Section
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The UNCTAD Information Economy Report (IER) 2009 was launched today, the 22nd of October at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa. The report was launched in collaboration with the ECA’s ICT, Science and Technology Division (ISTD) at a function attended by the Africa Union Commission (AUC) Human Resources, Science and Technology Division, international media personnel, media institutions in Addis Ababa, statisticians from the Ethiopian National Statistics Office (NSO), academics from the University of Addis Ababa, representatives of IT institutions, representatives from UN Agencies in Ethiopia (WHO and UNDP) and ECA staff. The report takes stock of recent trends with regard to extending connectivity worldwide, monitors developments in enhancing the use of ICTs among enterprises and analyses how international trade in ICT goods and in IT and ICT-enabled services is evolving..
eSADC is a joint United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) initiative.
Twenty-five participants drawn from NICI National Focal Points from eight SADC member States, Southern African Postal Operators’ Association (SAPOA), Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA), Communications Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (CRASA), NEPAD e-Africa Commission, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and e-SADC consultants are attending a two-day technical meeting to launch the e-SADC initiative - a framework for the implementation of the Information Society in the sub-region at the Grand Palm Hotel in Gaborone, Botswana. The member States in attendance are Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.. 
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 29 June 2009 (ECA) - A two-day consultative workshop on developing an African Innovation Framework opened in Addis Ababa, today to chart the way towards developing a concrete and “implementable” framework to guide Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) development in the continent. The second objective of the workshop is to focus on the opportunities and challenges for the development of African innovation strategy to complement national, sub-regional and sectoral ICT, Science and Technology policies and strategies.
ECA
and Finland partner to strengthen ICT policy implementation in Africa
