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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday.  ISSUE NO 109 SENEGAL’S JOKO CLUBS FIND BIG TRAINING DEMAND FROM ILLITERATE SMALL TRADERS
When Youssou Ndour announced the Joko initiative in Senegal, one of his main messages to the Senegalese population was that the Internet is not just for elite users. In fact, the Joko slogan in Wolof is Joko, nok o bok ­ literally translating as "link up ­ the Internet is for everyone." There was an immediate response from the communities to sign up for Internet training offered at the pilot Joko Clubs. Since two-thirds of the Senegalese population is illiterate, the requests from communities for Joko to offer Internet initiation and access for these "analphabetes" was evident from the outset. In Senegal, the term "analphabete" can encompass a range of literacy levels ­ some can read or write a tribal language, many are trained in Koranic schools and can read some amount of Arabic, and others have numeric capabilities. While the Joko network offers Internet access at minimal cost to local community members as well as a platform for local content development, training became a central Joko activity based on community requirements. The Joko training courses have been developed and certified by El Hadji Diop, Joko’s Education and Pedagogy Director. Prior to Joko, El Hadji Diop was in charge of the computer training at Lycée St-Michel, where he developed and trained students on a wide range of computer related subjects. A broad syllabus of courses are available to meet the wide range of demands ­ from the most basic introductory training to more advanced office skills and on up to web content development and computer maintenance. (A syllabus is available online at http://www.joko.sn/formation). Most of the adults participating in Joko literacy training are "commercants", or tradespeople, seeking computer training that can help them manage their businesses. Merchants and small business owners are usually illiterate, and very often women. Women’s collectives are active in producing a wide range of agricultural products ­ such as dried fish, mangos, peanuts, and other crops varying on a geographic basis. Other women’s collectives create and sell traditional crafts. These collectives are typically a central economic force in their communities ­ their income is often the means by which their families are fed. Male and female, illiterate tradespeople must hire certified accountants to oversee and verify their businesses. To write any letters or summary reports concerning their activities, they must ask for and usually pay for assistance. Most of the adults who have participated in the initial Joko training courses are responsible for managing, accounting or reporting for collective or individual business activities. The Joko training team developed a training approach specifically adapted to the needs of the adult illiterate population, to permit them not only to acquire insight into what the new information technologies can offer, but also give them the ability to select the most useful and immediate skills for their own development. Their usual incentives are to save money and more easily keep track their merchandise. For example, a vendor who buys products in Mauritania and sells them in southern Senegal can use a spreadsheet to automatically calculate stock availability, purchase and sales prices, and overall profits for each product line. But in learning to do these tasks, adult participants are finding themselves unexpectedly on the path to literacy. The training courses designed for analphabetes are presented in French and translated into Wolof, the local language used by the majority of Africans in Senegal. Since the Wolof are the most numerous tribe in Senegal, people belonging to one of the other tribes in the region generally also use Wolof as lingua franca. French is used primarily to communicate with foreigners. A very simple introductory course is presented first in Wolof, explaining what the computer is and how it functions. Function keys are then introduced, to associate a symbol with an active effect on the computer’s operation. Training participants learn, in a hands-on fashion (generally two or three to a computer), that pressing a certain key results in a certain effect on the computer. Once these basics have been understood, the second level of training begins: learning the French alphabet. A large keyboard is painted on the wall of the JokoClub as a teaching tool, and a CD-ROM is used to teach the French alphabet, so that the sound and look of a letter can be learned simultaneously. This enables the participants to master the alphabet quickly. Another locally developed software program helps trainees learn keyboard skills. A sentence appears on their screen, and they copy it underneath. Voice-over explanations of the meaning of the sentences are provided in Wolof (and are being added in other local languages) to improve comprehension. Active assistance from the teachers helps each particular group or individual to learn the basic skills required to manage their own goals. The third level of the course covers arithmetic and calculation using spreadsheets. The training allows participants to: - Navigate and operate computers - Begin to read and write French - Learn to use spreadsheets to calculate and track business proceeds - Use the Internet to send and receive e-mail communications and for research of information. The Joko courses in training illiterates are still in their infancy ­ it’s been just one year since the first pilot course began. Last summer, Joko partnered with the Institute Supérieur d’Entrepreneurship et de Gestion (ISEG), a private educational institute based in Dakar, to provide Joko’s "introduction to computers" course while the Joko facilities were being developed. This "training pilot" was offered free of charge, based on a grant from the Acacia Foundation and computer systems donated by HP. Over 500 youth from the Medina neighborhood of Dakar were taught at ISEG in May, to pave the way for the lauching of the Medina JokoClub. The courses were taught in 18 different classes, with 18-24 students in each class. A group of 336 students met Monday-Thursday, and 246 children, ages 7-13, met Friday-Sunday. The breakdown of these initial courses was as follows: - One class of illiterates, taught in Wolof - One class of beginners, with limited mastery in French, taught in French/Wolof - 15 classes of intermediate-level students who were comfortable with French but beginners at computing - One class advanced students, with good command of French and working knowledge of computer use HIGH LEVEL RESPONSE WITH OVER 1500 ON WAITING LIST The response was overwhelming, and over 1,500 people were on the waiting list by the time this first session ended. At the two pilot JokoClubs, prices for the initiation courses were set at 3000 FCFA initiation fee plus 3000 FCFA for a month of training. The Medina JokoClub reports teaching more than 1,000 new students, including 80 illiterates. Ngoundiane taught more than 1,200 students, 70 analphabetes amongst them. Ngoundiane reports that so many other rural communities have sent delegations to spend a week getting initial computer training that they are considering opening a "bed and breakfast" to accommodate them. These villagers say they feel at ease in a familiar, rural setting‹so unlike the urban environment in Dakar. At the new training center in Thiaroye, an initial 212 students began courses in February 2002. Of these, there are 50 analphabètes who have just received their diplomas. In Kolda, a small town in the southern region of Senegal, 110 students have been in training since February, of which 30 are illiterate. For the younger training participants, more advanced courses are in high demand after the initial training. The number one request is for computer maintenance courses, with webmaster classes right behind. More advanced courses are more expensive, and vary in cost. The Joko training centers are analysing the optimum pricing to be both self-sustaining and broadly accessible. As Joko expands its training facilities, new classes have an even higher proportion of illiterates. Overall, about 15% of new Joko training participants are illiterate. The Joko training staff is keeping watch on their progress to see how many of them remain involved with computers, and to report results in a more formal manner. But even now, it is clear that these disenfranchised men and women, young and old, are finding they can better manage their personal and business affairs using basic computer applications. Many of these same people would have previously said that literacy and educational achievement were beyond their reach, but while learning to use the computers they are gaining basic literacy and math skills without even realizing it. By the time they recognize what they are learning they are well on their way developing new skills, and have been reinforced about their own capabilities for learning and changing their lives. There is a legitimate debate about whether computers should be Œpushed’ on the world’s poorest people. Technology is not food or water, and cannot in itself address the basic health concerns that threaten so many lives. Yet Joko’s experience has been one of Œpull.’ Somehow even the most remote populations are finding out about the Internet, through their expatriate family members and through other media. Justine Whitbread, Oxfam’s Regional Director in West Africa, related a telling experience last year. Oxfam had helped a very remote village dig a clean well for drinking water. At the ceremony to celebrate its completion, they asked the village chief what the next priority for the village would be. "Internet," he responded enthusiastically, showing that even in the most remote districts, there is a pronounced social interest in getting Internet training and access. When pressed, he explained that he believes the Internet is necessary for the future prosperity of his people.
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KENYA: SEVEN PRIVATE FIRMS NOW LICENSED TO USE VSATS The industry regulator, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), has thus far licensed only two public VSAT operators - Telkom Kenya Ltd and Gilat Aldean Africa Ltd - but recently granted licences to another seven,the latest being the Kenyatta University-based African Virtual University (AVU), which was given the nod two weeks ago. Others are Standard Chartered Bank and the global news agency, Reuters. More companies are being encouraged to bid. The monopolistic arrangements that existed have been broken through licensing of competitive private sector operators of VSAT technologies. Unlike Kenya, Internet service providers in Uganda, Tanzania, DRCongo, Ghana, Mozambique and Nigeria, do not rely on public telecommunications operators for their international bandwidth. The state-owned monopoly, Telkom-Kenya Ltd, a regeneration of the inefficient Kenya Post and Telecommunications Corporation, which has routinely been singled out as the biggest impediment to doing business in Kenya, and the regulator, CCK, has maintained a stranglehold on access to Internet and for most Kenyan businesses. (source: The EastAfrican via DigAfrica) ANGOLA-TELECOM ADMITS IT NEEDS TO MODERNIZE EQUIPMENT IN BIE Angola Telecomin central Bie Province needs to modernize its equipment as a means to provide better services to its customers, local director, Abílio Fernando Dias, told Angop last week. The source assured that with new and modern equipment the local branch would better serve the region, but added that to this end, an investment in new equipment is necessary. Abílio Dias admitted that the local Angola telecom service has not been good enough because the telecommunication network was affected by the war. (source: Angop) TUNISIA TELECOM ORDERS BROADBAND AND ORASCOM GETS GSM LICENCE Tunisie Telecom has ordered broadband network from Siemens to supply and start up 23 access networks. The new networks will enable the TT’s customers in all the country’s industrial regions to use flexible communication services from ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) to DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) broadband connections. IC Networks holds the second position worldwide within the broadband sector. The Cairo-based Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) confirmed that it had signed the 15-year license agreement with the Tunisian Government, under which OT’s local subsidiary, OT Tunisia, will operate the country’s second GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) network. OT, a leading telecommunications and Internet services operator in the Middle East, Africa and the Indian sub-continent, won the tender on March 13, 2002, biding at a price of $454 million. The first of two equal installments was deposited in Citibank Tunisia to be transferred to the public Treasury. (source: http://www.menareport.com) MAROC TELECOM SELLS 20 PERCENT OF ITS STAKE IN MAURITEL Morocco’s national telecommunications operator, Maroc Telecom, recently sold 20 percent of its shares, valued at $16 million, in Mauritania’s telecom company Mauritel, to local firm Abdallahi Ould Noueigued (AON), reported Le Calame . The government of Mauritania is now Mauritel’s largest shareholder, with a 46 percent stake in the company. Established in 1960, Mauritel launched Mauritania’s second GSM network in November 2000, and it is serving more that 11,000 subscribers in the two major cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. With a capital of $25.5 million, the company’s 650 employees serve the country’s 2.7 million inhabitants and faces competition only in the cellular market. GATEWAY IP SIGNS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH CLARENT Clarent Corporation, provider of softswitch solutions, last week announced a strategic partnership with Gateway IP, independent international communications company for Africa and the Middle East. Clarent provides high-quality internet telephony (VOIP) technology and it will enable Gateway IP to collect international telephony minutes in London and distribute voice traffic into and out of locations in Africa and the middle East. According to Peter Gbedemah, CEO of Gateway IP:"We are able to deliver better technology, better quality calls and therefore better control of our network, meaning that we have the edge over competitors in the market." More details: http://www.gatewayip.com and http://www.clarent.com TELEMEDICINE PLANNED FOR UGANDA’S RURAL KARAMOJA COMMUNITY A Telemedicine committee has been established to steer development and implementation of Telemedicine for rural Karamoja community, writes Meddie Mayanja. The committee of five is composed of among others Medical Superintendents of Matany and Moroto Hospitals. Malaria, Skin diseases, Lynphoma and gun shot wounds have been ranked top priority among the disease burden of the area.This decision was reached upon at the end of the Information and Technology Training Workshop for Telemedicine development in remote Karamoja community of Moroto (North Eastern Uganda) that was held on 11- 12 May 2002 at Moroto high VSAT School-based Telecenter. The workshop drew participants from the two rural hospitals in the community of Moroto and Matany.The Chief Administrative Officer Moroto district closed the workshop and promised support of his district. Medical officers were trained in the use of the Internet based resources and E- mails (including e-discussion lists) for the improvement of health services delivery.A framework for development of Telemedicine between the community and the national referral hospital -Mulago in Ugandas Capital City/Kampala hundreds kilometers away was elaborated. Medical personnel the Department of Radiology and the Intensive Care Unit of Mulago Hospital have already agreed to support this initiative, which will have an electronic network through Moroto High VSAT School-based Telecenter. The framework will be fine-tuned complete with institutional partnerships in the next few weeks. Telemedicine in Moroto when started will be the first of its kind in a typical rural and isolated area in the history of Uganda. For further information contact: Meddie Mayanja Mayanja@hotmail.com or Anthony Bloome abloome@worldbank.org SCHOOLNET NAMIBIA AND OLD MUTUAL TO LAUNCH INFO RESOURCE CENTRE Schoolnet Namibia and Old Mutual announced that they are to launch a new Information Resource Centre in early June. The Centre will be opened to serve primary, secondary and tertiary education learners and teachers as the primary audience, but will also be open for adult education in the evenings. According to Joris Komen of Schoolnet Namibia it will have "an impressive information technology resource library for IT students, FREE Internet access for school learners and really good cheesecake <grin>, training and helpdesk services". Young school leavers who have volunteered their services to SchoolNet in exchange for skills development, in an incentive scheme for excellence of service.The Old Mutual Foundation is the key private sector partner in the development of this centre, and will provide 10 computers and funding assistance in two phases this year; the first of N$ 100 000 being provided to assist in renovation and improvements at the centre. IN BRIEF - Mozambique´s first Internet Exchange Point (MOZ-IX) went live last week. There are at the moment two ISP´s connected and the remaining are only waiting for the physical links. - A second South African distributor Compucomp has ceased trading. - Tanzania has just published its draft ICT strategy. If you would like to be sent a copy, please send a message saying "I want the Tanzanian ICT strategy" to: info@balancingact-africa.com. - Minister of Communications, Dr. Bello H. Mohammed, will dissolve the current interim board of NITEL and replace it with a new board and "home grown" management teamThe new team will run the national carrier for a transitional period pending the appointment of a management operator. - Intercellular Nigeria Limited, a national digital wireless operator, has said it had deployed satellite to link its three main areas of operations, Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. - With barely eight months after the introduction of GSM services in the countrythe combined subscribers profile of the two pioneer GSM operators in the country, MTN communication and Econet Wireless which have less than 400,000 a few months ago are now almost a million. Econet now has over 450,000 subscribers while MTN has hit the 400,000 mark.
MOBILE PHONE NETWORKS BATTLE FOR CONGO’S MARKET When Africa’s biggest mobile operator Vodacom offered $5 of free airtime to new clients in the Democratic Republic of Congo it sparked a mini-riot. Security guards were called in to break up shoving matches between hundreds of people in the lobby of a flashy Kinshasa hotel, where Vodacom booths had been set up ahead of the launch earlier this month. And when Celtel, currently Congo’s leading provider, cut its rates by 20 percent in anticipation of Vodacom’s launch, traffic shot up and clogged the company’s networks for days.Demand for mobiles is huge in the war-torn central African country and Vodacom Congo will become the eighth network provider. Most arrived in the past 18 months. The former Zaire was the first African country to have mobile phones with the launch of a small, costly network in the mid-1980s, but only about 150,000 of Congo’s 55 million people currently use them. Congo’s state-run fixed network, numbering around 20,000 landlines according to the most recent estimates, is unreliable. Users complain of regular interruptions to services and say numbers can be arbitrarily assigned to new users, making mobiles a more popular option. Executives like Henry Stephan, Vodacom Congo’s chief operating officer, are betting on a surge of new users. "We expect the number of mobile phone users to jump to about 600,000 in the next five years and then reach one million within a decade," Stephan told Reuters. Others estimate the market could reach three million users. Vodacom plans to spend US$370 million in the first year of operations—the largest non-mining investment in Congo’s history according to a report on the country’s telecoms by BMI-TechKnowledge, an African IT and telecoms research house. Under the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who was ousted in 1997, mobiles were the preserve of an elite of barely 20,000 in the former Zaire who paid up to $3 per minute for local calls. "We’ve tried to make phones more accessible to the masses," says Vic Subramanian, marketing manager for Celtel, which serves two thirds of Congo’s users. Industry analysts say that not only can better communications encourage business and drive economic growth, but they also lead to greater democratic freedom in countries like Congo that have known decades of dictatorship. "There is a correlation between mobile communications and the spread of democracy," said Dobek Pater, a senior analyst with BMI-TechKnowledge. "With the war and the constant government hassles it’s a high risk market and a difficult environment to work in.How do you explain to your head office that you have to give 100 free phones to government ministers and their assistants and friends?" said one telecoms official who asked not to be identified. Vodacom is half owned by South Africa’s state-controlled telecoms utility Telkom. Britain’s Vodafone (VOD) owns 31.5 percent of Vodacom, South African group VenFin (VNFJ) holds 13.5 percent and the investment holding company Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCIJ) the remaining five percent. It began its operations in the three major markets in Congo—the capital Kinshasa, the diamond-mining city of Mbuji-Mayi and Lubumbashi, capital of the mineral-rich southeastern province of Katanga. It has plans to roll out into new markets over the coming year, including rebel-held areas like Goma in the east."If we can get it so that people in Goma can talk to people in Kinshasa it will only help bring the country together," said Vodacom’s Stephan. "This country has such potential it’s incredible." (source: Reuters) IN BRIEF - JSE-listed Global Technology Limited today announced that its rights offer had been oversubscribed by 24%. A total of 24 644 234 ordinary shares were offered at an issue price of 80 cents per share. - Chairman and CEO Neil Jacobsohn said Johnnic e-Ventures was now focused on providing learning and business solutions to companies and had dropped its consumer internet operations, which had enabled it to cut its losses. - The government has short-listed four companies to take up a 30 percent equity in the TelOne and NetOne, former Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (PTC) divisions. The winner of the deal will be announced in six weeks time. The government decided to offer a 30 percent shareholding stake in both TelOne and NetOne. - Trading has been suspended in E-Data shares. - Internet banking has failed to deliver as a tool to gain a competitive-edge, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ latest annual banking survey. The survey, which contains the views of executives of 32 domestic and foreign banks operating in SA, says that Internet banking has gained in popularity, with about 582 000 clients signing up last year. - Datamirror has received a major boost in its hostile bid for Idion Technology, with 11% stakeholder Coronation selling out to the Canadian predator.
Simbo Ntiro from Tanzania points out that Ami Mpungwe was not the first South African Ambassador to Tanzania but the first Tanzanian High Commissioner to South Africa in 1994. Ami Mpungwe himself says that the error occurred in the original story in Business Day.
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GAMBIA: DAILY OBSERVER LAUNCHES ITS WEBSITE Last week Gambia’s Daily Observer launched its website to coincide with the company’s 10th anniversary celebration. It will provide the latest news, in-depth analysis on issues of concern to its readership both at home and abroad.Its acting editor-in-chief of the Daily Observer, Momodou Musa Touray said "In order to create the website, my editorial team and myself have spent sleepless nights and frantic days in the past weeks with the IT engineers of Unique Solutions led by Papa Yusupha Njie to successfully create the website." "The website", Mr Touray went on , "has made the work more challenging for us because from now on materials in the paper which will also be available online would have to be even better standard in quality and presentation. (source: The Daily Observer via DigAfrica) SOUTH AFRICA OFFERS NEW WEB SITE FOR TOURISTS The new online marketing tool, www.southafrica.net , unveiled at the Tourism Indaba 2002 in Durban yesterday, will help fast-forward South Africa’s marketing efforts to woo visitors to the southern tip of Africa - eventually putting the country among the premier tourist destinations in the world. The website is geared at an international market seeking information on exotic holiday locations.The national database of products and activities make it a useful asset not only for foreign nationals, but for locals as well. ONE WORLD AND BENTON JOINTLY LAUNCH DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY CHANNEL OneWorld (www.oneworld.net) and Benton Foundation (www.benton.org) have announce the launch of Digital Opportunity Channel (www.digitalopportunity.org), an online community focusing on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for sustainable development.The Web site places a special emphasis on promoting digital opportunity in developing countries. "Developing countries have largely been marginalized in the global dialogue on the benefits and negative impacts of digital technologies," said Kanti Kumar, channel editor. "Digital Opportunity Channel aims to give organizations and community leaders - especially in the South - a platform for their voice to be heard. Channel features include news, campaign actions, success stories, opinion pieces by leading commentators, in-depth analysis and research, events listings, a beginner’s guide to digital divide issues, funding information, email digests and a dedicated search facility on ICT for development. SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS NETWORK (SABN) LAUNCHES NEW PORTAL The SABN portal, which is to be launched on 21 May, is a joint initiative undertaken by the Association of the SADC Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCCI) and the International Trade Centre in Switzerland. The online initiative is seen as important extension of the overall regional SABN project. www.sabusinet.net serves as a permanent networking facility between the trade support institutions in Southern Africa, as well as a means of providing commercial information for would-be investors in the region. As a predominantly trade and industry initiative, the portal is expected to help identify sub-regional business opportunities and promote market development activities. Visitors are encouraged to browse the site, but only registered members have access to the Œmembers area’. Through a Login ID and password, registered members are able to add, remove or edit documents or data. The Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry will officially launch the portal and introduce it to members of the association later this month. IN BRIEF - The first issue of the "Siyanda Update", a monthly newsletter featuring the latest gender mainstreaming resources available on its website http://www.siyanda.org/ - South African Women’sNet has used e-mail and the Web to facilitate networking, lobbying and sharing of information around elections and legislation, among other issues: http://www.womensnet.org.za/ - The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has recently launched an online Africa ICT Policy Monitor website that aims to enable organisations working for human rights, freedom of expression, and progressive government policy to be able to monitor proposed and new legislation and regulation affecting the Internet in their region.
NIGERIA’S SURICH TECHNOLOGIES CANVASSES ELECTRONIC PURSE FOR E-BUSINESS The president of Surich Technologies Nathan Osume has announced that his company has developed an electronic purse, which is known as "Biz Purse", to enable Nigerians pay in Naira for e-business transaction. He told the Daily Trust that his company successfully created an e-commerce web site for Nigerians at www.BizPurse.com during an interview last week in Abuja. He explained that registered members on the web site would be able to make payments after buying goods or services over the Internet.He pointed out it was truly first Nigerian e-commerce website of its kind that was highly secured and encrypted as the best e-business strategies and solutions. He noted that the results of successful e-business strategy could include more timely responses to business opportunities, opening of new markets, improved customer relationships, improved cost controls and purchasing management online systems. He urged all business corporations and government establishments to adopt some or all of the e-business components, and to make their current operations online. "The e-business is not just about using the Internet but is about changing the interaction and methods of working with the supplies, customers or within the organisation by automating the associated processes," he said. "In essence it is trading of goods and services using electronic means." (source: Daily Trust via http://www.allafrica.com)
* Henry Ferreira, newly appointed HP country manager and former Compaq head, says the new company has until the end of May to migrate all the required corporate structures, such as merged departments. This will result in a revision of staff numbers following the placement of key individuals from both companies within the new corporate structure. Final staffing requirements will be decided by the end of June, he says. Jos Nickmans, former HP country manager, says senior management positions were largely decided based on the local market shares held by each company in the relevant product space. Locally, HP employs around 300 people and Compaq around 190, but HP has warned of global post-merger job cuts in the region of 15 000 jobs. He says Jan Booyzen, former group manager for Compaq Enterprise Systems and Services, will head up HP Services, and Zibusiso Sithole, former GM for HP Consumer Business Organisation, will now manage the Imaging and Printing division. The Personal Systems division, comprising PCs, notebooks, handheld devices and embedded technologies, will be led by Dave Reddy, former marketing director at Compaq. Ferreira will head up the local enterprise systems division. Nickmans will head up HP’s worldwide drive to capture government business. HP currently holds 10% market share in this area, and estimates worldwide government contracts to be worth at least $20 billion annually. Ferreira claims that of the top 172 corporate accounts held globally by the new company, HP and Compaq shared revenues equally in only 30 of these accounts. Of the balance of these corporate accounts, half showed a clear preference for Compaq products and the other half for HP products, with customers spending twice as much on one brand as on the other. According to Ferreira, this trend also occurred among major South African corporate accounts. * South African Edward Modisakgosi claims to have invented a security feature that can help mobile phone users combat rampant theft worldwide. He is now in talks to licence it in a variety of countries. Frustrated after losing three mobile phones to thieves, the 37-year-old Modisakgosi took 18 months and used a salvaged computer at his home in Johannesburg to come up with the idea.Modisakgosi said he can place a cellphone owner’s photograph, name and phone number on the background of a phone screen, without interfering with its memory or electrical systems or any other functions. "To install your image on the phone takes 30 minutes and costs R100. The image cannot be erased. To get rid of it, one must destroy the screen, which costs R500, or half the cost of the phone, to replace," he told Reuters. * The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Communications Commission, Enerst Ndukwe, has been elected as chairman of the Administrative Council of African Telecommuni-cations Union (ATU). * A group of experts from various disciplines of Sustainable Development will be answering your questions, as part of the Mandate the Future’s EVENT 2002. The experts include one of Nigeria’s more modest ICT figures Dr Philip Emeagwali, ("cited as one of the most important people of the 20th century", who are we to argue?) To Ask a question go to: http://www.ctrlaltesc.org/index.pl?section=event2002
* The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) invites submissions for authorship in the Knowledge Series, an annual sequence of single-subject, start-up guides on topics in distance education practice and delivery for practitioners. (www.col.org/knowledge <http://www.col.org/knowledge>). Potential topics included in the open call for submissions, 2002: Developing library and information services for distance learning; Establishing copyright procedure in distance education; Institutional collaboration in distance education development and delivery and Open and distance learning policy development (particular reference to dual-mode institutions). The recommended length per guide is 3,000-4,000 words. A standard honorarium is offered for all authorship contracts.Writer’s guidelines are available on request from series editor Grace Chin (gc@telus.net <mailto:gc@telus.net>).
AITEC ANNOUNCES ACT 2002, NAIROBI (5-8 AUGUST) The fourth annual African Computing and Telecommunications Summit, to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, over 5-8 August, is attracting widespread support, with major industry bodies throwing their weight behind what is now established as the continent’s leading ICT event. The theme of this year’s ACT is "Applications and strategies for effective development". The event is being held at the Safari Park Hotel on the outskirts of Nairobi &SHY; providing ideal facilities for an intensive 4-day conference and exhibition with the emphasis on continual dialogue, business meetings and educational input. The event includes eight specialist training workshops ranging in topics from Portal Management to Open Source Software. A range of organizations have committed support for the ACT programme, while others will hold parallel meetings, which coincide with the event. Notable ones will include the East African ICT Forum, which will be co-hosted by the Telecommunications Service Providers of Kenya (TESPOK) and the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK). The Forum will include various constituency-based meetings that will take place during the Summit. Another notable inclusion in the programme is the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), which will host a number of ICT policy discussions that are in their developmental agenda and that can feed into their other programmes. UNECA is expected to champion the policy talks at the Summit in conjunction with other players including Bridges.org, the South African-based ICT policy think-tank funded by South Africa’s dot com millionaire Mark Shuttleworth. In addition, the Summit will include three major Forums for key industry groups: The Telecommunications Operators Forum, the African Regulators Forum (first held at ACT 2000) and the African ISP Forum (first held at last year’s ACT, leading to the launching of the African ISP Association). Kenya Telkom Ltd will co-host the Operators Forum in co-operation with AITEC. And the Regulators Forum will be held under the auspices of the Kenya Communications Commission, who will also be hosting the annual ACT Gala Dinner. The Global VSAT Forum will host two detailed half-day training workshops on VSAT satellite applications in a range of specialist sectors. UUNET Africa is sponsoring the event as official bandwidth supplier and will provide an extensive Internet service for all participants, creating an ACT Hub, which will also include a rendezvous service for delegates to arrange meetings. Safaricom, one of Kenya’s mobile operators, is the official mobile service provider for the event and will offer participants special mobile telephony services at the event. Locally, several other stakeholders will be part of the summit including the Kenya Information Society (KIS), The National Task Force on eCommerce and the Computer Society of Kenya. "We want the summit to be an all-inclusive event where African ICT professionals meet and exchange ideas on how the continent can forge ahead by mobilising ICT for effective development," said, Sean Moroney, Group Chairman of AITEC, the organizers of the event. For more details and to register as a delegate log on to the AITEC web site: www.aitecafrica.com BAMAKO HOSTS PREPARATIONS FOR WORLD SUMMIT ON INFORMATION SOCIETY Representatives of African governments, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector will convene in Bamako, Mali from 26-30 May 2002 under the auspices of Mali’s President Alpha Oumar Konare, for the African regional preparatory conference as part of preparations for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The Bamako 2002 proceedings start from a common digital vision for Africa in the form of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI), launched in May 1996 by the continent’s Ministers of Economic Planning and Development, and later adopted by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit of Heads of State and Government in Yaounde, Cameroon. ECA Executive Secretary, K.Y. Amoako, says the AISI framework "offers African stakeholders a very good basis for evaluating Africa’s role in the Information Society and what the continent can consequently bring to the Information Age". Bamako 2002, he adds, "should encourage Africans to take greater ownership of the information revolution, adapting, adopting and replicating aspects that can enhance their own development and image". The objective of the World Summit on the Information Society is to formulate a common vision and understanding of the global information society. It is expected to adopt a Declaration of Principles and an Action Plan to facilitate the effective growth of the Information Society and to help bridge the digital divide. It is also regarded as an effective means to assist the United Nations in fulfilling the goals of the Millennium Declaration. The Summit will be held in two phases: Geneva from 10 -12 December 2003, and Tunis in 2005, preceded by preparatory meetings - the first of which will be held in Geneva from 1 - 5 July 2002. ECA and a number of partners—the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), UNDP, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and La Francophonie—will be hosting a series of pre-conference workshops at Bamako 2002 from 26 -27th May, on the following themes: - National Information & Communication Infrastructure (NICI) Strategies in Africa (ECA, La Francophonie and UNDP). - African Languages and the Internet, organized by ECA and La Francophonie. - The Media and ICT Forum, organized by GKP, ECA and the SDC. - ICT Financing mechanisms, organized by GKP, ECA and the SDC. - Free Software: The African Stake, organized by La Francophonie and ECA. - The ICT Business Forum organized by GKP, ECA and the SDC. - Evaluation and analysis of ICT impact in Africa by organized by IDRC and ECA. The aim of these workshops is to generate focused proposals and recommendations, to be transmitted to the main conference. Other pre-conference activities include a Civil Society Forum and a workshop on the Law and the Internet. To take part in these workshops and in Bamako 2002, visit http://www.geneva2003.org/bamako2002/ For more on AISI, go to http://www.uneca.org/aisi AFRICAN TELECOM MINISTERIAL NAMES ATU AS NEPAD ICT FOCUS The Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) of the African Telecommunications Union met in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, in Cairo from May 10-12, 2002, chaired by the Minister of Communications of South Africa to discuss ICT issues of importance to the continent. The final communiqué of the meeting recognized the indispensable role of ICT in social and economic development. The Committee recommended to the next ATU Plenipotentiary Conference in Khartoum, September, 2002, that ATU’s structure should reflect and incorporate both telecommunications and IT, enabling it to become the coordinating body for all commissions and committees, which are established or mandated by African states. In preparation for the World Summit on Information Society and other global foras, the Committee identified priority themes to address such as: ICT infrastructure advancement using submarine, terrestrial and satellite technologies is vital to ensure effective interconnectivity between countries, regions and continents. All African countries are encouraged to establish country internet exchanges so as to ensure a continental internet grid that would ensure collective self reliance in internet traffic. In the field of Human Resource Development: The Committee also found the need to develop and undertake a massive e-awareness campaign and the establishment of an e-learning network in Africa. Furthermore,: the MOC invited countries to establish and maintain transparent and open regulatory regimes that will enhance and promote the Information Society from a developmental perspective; and in so doing there is a need to harmonize various regulations and policies on a regional and global level. Additionally, the need for local content development is vital to ensure the universality of benefits of ICTs thus preserving and enriching the cultural and national heritage of nations. Therefore, the committee encouraged the development of local content provision, and the protection of Intellectual Property Rights coupled with methods of technology transfer that guarantee the flow of knowledge at affordable costs within developing nations. Official government information through e-government projects and commercial information through e-commerce are considered valuable content for creating the development. MOC recognized the role of public private partnerships both at the national and international levels. Local Industry Development is a necessary condition for the realization of the information society. In this regard, MOC supports the establishment of an African Business Forum for Communications and Information Technology, which will be a main forum for forging alliances among African ICT business sectors. Egypt has been mandated to take the steps towards establishing this Forum with the view to convening its formative meeting at the periphery of the next ATU Plenipotentiary meeting in Khartoum in September 2002.
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