What
is SCAN-ICT?
Scan-ICT is an activity undertaken by
the Research Center for the International Development
(CRDI) in collaboration with the Economic Commission
of the United Nations for Africa (ECA). It is
an ambitious proposal and for a long duration which
aims at mobilizing the supports necessary in order
to create by stages an integrated African capacity
of collection and information management key necessary
to support the increasingly important investment
in information and communication technologies (ICT)
and to help Africa to become a society of information--
a Panafrican observatory/institut of research
which will support the initiatives in progress.
Scan-ICT offers an occasion of creation of capacity
in Africa --, capacity for Africa to act on the
investments in the ICT, to increase the range and
to encourage by it the development of solutions,
applications and contents made in Africa.
Scan-ICT supports the objectives of African Société of
Information Initiative
(AISI), whose mandate
consists
in using communication and information technologies
to accelerate the economic and social development
in Africa. In 1996, the African governments launched
a one 15 years duration initiative in order to
provide to all the inhabitants of Africa connectivity
and the electronic access to information. AISI
constitutes the framework of promotion of this
objective: the initiative aims at carrying out
a coordinated and integrated development of infrastructure
as regards communications, information resources
and human resources for the diffusion of the
information
which will be used for autodeveloppement
of all the Africans from here to 2010. AISI is
set up parallel to a strategic and institutional
framework which evolves constantly and
encourages the partnerships between private and
public sectors. Scan-ICT aims at becoming the resource
of essential information which will direct planning
and the setting up of AISI.
In 1996, the conference of the
ministers in charge of the Development and the
Planning of the economic Commission on Africa (ECA)
established the AISI by adopting resolution 812,
after examination of the document entitled African
Information Society Initiative: Framework
for the construction of an african infrastructure
of information and communication. ECA was charged
to collaborate with partners in order to set up
the initiative in all Africa.
In the context of a programme
of development by stages, the initiative Scan-ICT
proposes to create a African observatory in order
to follow the penetration of the ICT in
Africa, their impact and the effectiveness of their
application. It will act of a resource of information
taking the shape of a single counter intended to
the investors, to the decision makers and for the
experts. The initiative Scan-ICT aims at making
it possible for countries of Africa to join together,
analyze and use the information which they will
need to take part in a numerical world economy.
The activities of the initiative Scan-ICT are divided
into four large shutters.
i. Indicators et comparison points.To follow
the evolution towards an information society
, it is necessary to establish
indicators,
to
fix
points of comparison and to measure
the progress made towards the attack of the
objectives.
ii. Stakes as regards policies.To
extract the maximum of the ICT, policies are needed
aiming at returning the access to ICT easier and
their more effective use. The SCAN-ICT initiative
will help the countries of Africa to work out,
set up and to supervise policies having the
aim of facilitating the access and the use.
iii. Human resources. To take
part in the numerical world economy, the countries
of Africa will need also to train young people
in all kinds of professions related to the field
and to recycle current manpower in order to enable
them to use information technologies. Scan-ICT
will follow the increasing demand for competences
specialized in ICT in Africa and will collaborate
with the teachers and the private sector in the
development of the didactic material and in its
diffusion. Scan-ICT will also seek to support the
use of the ICT to offer courses aiming at transmitting
these specialized competences by means of diasntace
learning.
iv. Applications. To contribute to the development
of Africa, the ICT must not only available but
be also used effectively Scan-ICT will document
the effective applications of the ICT in the businesses
erea, the community development and the social
services, whose education and health, in Africa
and will disseminate information on this subject.
The principal activities of Scan-ICT,
whose functionning will be related with that of
a observatory/institute of research and a network
of collaborators, will consist with:
- To give a progress report on the situation
of the ICT and to regularly follow the
basic activities as regards ICT.
- To develop and to constantly improve
a series of indicators which could be
used to measure the activities related
to the TIC and the progress achieved
in Africa and to direct the investments.
- To work out a strategy of continuous
comparison likely to be implemented to
improve the output of the ICT in Africa.
.
- To conceive series distinct from case
studies aiming showing the optimal practices
and at making known the lessons drawn
from the innovative application of the
TIC in various countries, as well as
very priority sectoral applications in
fields like health, education and electronic
trade.
- To carry out activities of research
and development well targeted in order
to consolidate the capacities of strategic
management as regards development of
policies and investment in the field
of the TIC in Africa.
- To support a strategy of creation
of capacity and to plan the collection,
the up to date behaviour and the durable
diffusion of good information on the
activities related to the TIC in
Africa.
- To support an international technological
survey and to follow the evolution of
the policies and technology to make some
profit to Africa.
- To support the creation of information
and knowledge bases accessible to the
public.
- To create and hold of the regional
centers of collection and data management
in organizations contributing to Scan-ICT
in all Africa.
- To create links with the international
centers placed in organizations like
Bellanet, the World Bank, the IUT,
Francophonie.
- To create constantly new partnerships.
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