Full text of the book. Section
II: Select Annotated Bibliography. Extensive annotations with links
to full text reports. http://www.inasp.info/file/343/information-and-communication-technologies-in-africa-a-review-and-selective-annotated-bibliography-1990-2000.html
The African Regional At Large Organisation is the "online home of the At-Large (individual Internet user community) community for the Africa region, providing news, key resources, and interactive features for information sharing for individuals and end-user groups in the African region interested in ICANN and shaping the future of the Internet. The portal is part of ICANN At-Large’s ongoing effort to be more inclusive and responsive to end-users." http://www.afralo.org/
Discussion list "created to facillitate the exchange and sharing
of information by African Civil Society Organizations on the WSIS Process
and Summit." "This list will be facilitated by Emmanuel Njenga
from APC as elected coordinator of the African Civil Society Caucus content
working group." http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/africa
From the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) to provide
essential national and regional ICT policy information for communication
advocates... Has a discussion list for African ngos, africa-ngos-infosoc.
Features current news on the internet & telecommunications in
Africa, a newsletter,
Chakula, conference reports / papers, policy issues, campaigns
& alerts, African ICT organizations, sources for African ICT
statistics. APC is based in San Francisco, CA. http://africa.rights.apc.org
Its mailing list, Africa-ir-public,
"highlights alerts and features from the ICT Policy Monitor website,
including regular updates on Africa ICT policy,...The mailing list will
also alert users to the availability of exclusive resources on ICT policy
in Africa from the website, as well as the latest developments in African
responses to global, regional and national Internet Rights campaigns."
http://lists.sn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/africa-ir-public
A lates 1990s USAID project (part of the PSGE project) to establish electronic
communication between US and African collaborators. Its goal was to connect
to the internet more than 100 African institutions which work with PSGE.
It was to coordinate with existing e-mail providers such as MANGONET, RIONET,
CGNET. Many full
text reports on the state of the internet in Africa in the late 1990s.
http://www.info.usaid.gov/alnk or http://www.usaid.gov/alnk/
A forum for the exchange of technical information for those running IP
networks on the African continent. http://www.afnog.org/
Africa One
"Africa ONE (Africa Optical NEtwork). "An undersea fiber-optic
cable system that will link the countries of Africa to one another and to
the world." Site has closed. [KF] http://www.africaone.com/
See: BBC
report.
Marra, William C. et al. "Africa ONE: the Africa Optical Network."
IEEE COMMUNICATIONS MAGAZINE v. 34 (Feb. '96) p. 50-7. Full article
available to subscribers of IEEE
Xplore (many universities subscribe).
An internet service provider and online service,
founded by Kenyan engineers, formerly owned by
African Lakes acquired by South African company Telkom SA Ltd., February 2007. http://www.AfricaOnline.com
No longer active. Last messages from 2003. A discussion forum on the use
of Internet technologies in Africa. The list owner is Batsirai Mike Chivhanga,
Comology Ltd. "Comology Ltd. has the control in terms of how the forum
is run and the distribution of the output." http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa_web_content_owner/
Blog of G. Pascal Zachary on African development, political, human rights issues. Other works by Zachary: a profile of Ghana's software entrepreneur, Hermann Chinery-Hesse; Black star: Ghana, information technology and development in Africa (2004); mini dams (microhydros) supplying electricity in Uganda; Global Media and the Development Story (International Food Policy Research Institute, 2007 how to improve media reporting on development). Zachary is a "Professor of Practice at Arizona State University -- working on social dimensions of technology and science, in ASU's Consortium on Science Policy & Outcomes." [KF] http://www.africaworksgpz.com/
African Connection Rally
Site no longer exits. Some information on the Rally can be found through
Google. You can see some of the site through the Internet
Archive Wayback Machine. [KF] Put this URL in their search: http://www.africanconnection.org
South Africa's Posts and Telecommunications Minister, Jay Naidoo drove from
Africa's most northerly point to its southern tip in less than 3 weeks.
He crossed 11 countries from Bizerte in Tunisia to Cape Agulhas in South
Africa. "The rally aims to promote the development of information superhighways
across the continent, highlighting the telecommunication needs and investment
opportunities now being presented by efforts to improve connectivity in
Africa."
"The Forum is expected to result in the adoption of 15-20 country
action plans for the utilization of ICTs to accelerate social and economic
growth." http://www.uneca.org/adf99/
"AfriDNS is Africa's parallel organization to the DNSO of ICANN." Has a directory of domain name authorities, biographical information
on some African internet figures, a table showing growth in African domains
between Jan 1999 and Jan 2000, three lists of African countries arranged
by country code, name and finally from North to South (unverified).
"There is also an AfriDNS mailing list afridns@afnog.org, set up to
allow for collaborative support in dealing with domain issues. To subscribe,
send an email message to majordomo@afnog.org,
with 'subscribe afrdns' (without the quotes) as text in the body of the
message." http://www.afridns.org/
"To stimulate the growth of the ICT sector in South Africa as well as
in the Black ICT environment, ForgeAhead in partnership with the [South Africa]
Department of Communications launched an annual ICT Achievers Award programme."
Based in Rivonia, South Africa. http://www.ictachievers.co.za/home.htm
U.N. Economic Commission for Africa program to build Africa's
information and communications infrastructure, adopted in May 1996. http://www.uneca.org/aisi/
In English and French. Conference for senior personnel who have responsibility
for Internet policy and operation in their countries. Has biographies
of speakers, full
text reports such as overviews of the internet by country. Some reports
are in MS Powerpoint. http://www.itu.int/africainternet2000/
African Internet Development Action Team, AIDAT
This organization is no longer active. Had information on networking in
South Africa up to 1995. The AIDAT Bulletin carried news on web sites and
networking issues. http://www.aidat.org/index-za/
Excellent site for locating African internet service providers. Has a
database searchable by country, organization, city/town of African internet
service providers. Has internet connectivity maps and links to related web
sites. http://www3.sn.apc.org/africa/
The company, headed by Sean Moroney, sponsors computing / telecommunications
conferences in Africa and elsewhere, publishes Computers
in Africa, with selected
articles online, Telecommunications in Africa, and the Africa
Computing and Communications Yearbook which has some full text
articles online such as "Communication in Africa" with statistics
(computers, faxes, cellphones, radios, telephones, etc.), "Africa Goes
Online" by Mike Jensen. Based in the U.K. http://www.aitecafrica.com/
"a non-government, not-for-profit, membership based organization, based in Mauritius to serve African Internet Comunity. AfriNIC is the Regional Registry for Internet Number Resources for Africa." Maintained the AfriNIC WHOIS Data base (with IP address lookups) . Meeting
reports, has a discussion
forum http://www.afrinic.net
An NGO "to promote the development and usage of computing and communication
technologies in Africa, with specific emphasis on Internet Technologies.
The initial focus is on Kenya." Provided the first full internet
access in Kenya. Dr. Shem Ochuodho is the Executive Director. Based in Nairobi.
http://www.arcc.or.ke/
"site dedicated to finding out and showing local rates for mobile phone and internet connections around Africa." Maintained by Erik Hersman, the White African. http://www.africansignals.com/
The ATF provides "consulting services and networking opportunities
for those involved in business and research ventures affecting science and
technology in Africa." They publishes a quarterly, African Technology
Forum. The tables of contents of some back issues are listed. Topics
include business, textiles, health care, manufacturing, telecom, agriculture.
Based at MIT, consists of professionals, students, faculty affiliated with
East Coast educational institutions. http://web.mit.edu/africantech/www/
"AFTLD is a project through which ISO 3166 Country-Code Top-Level
Internet Domain (ccTLD) Registries in the African and Middle East geographical
area intend to co-operate and to engage in concerted action on issues of
common concern. " Has a directory
of all members with administrative and technical contacts and an email
list for ccTLD managers in the African region. [KF] http://www.aftld.org/
Project, formerly led by the World Bank, now independent, to build world-class
degree programs for the education of scientists, technicians,engineers,
business managers, health care providers, and other professionals. "The
AVU will offer university degree programs in science, technology, and medical
fields; noncredit training and seminars; remedial instruction; and electronic
library services." Lectures by professors in the US and Europe will
be sent by satellite to African universities. Participants include the Univ.
of Massachusetts, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Indiana University,
and others. In French, Portuguese, and English. [KF] http://www.avu.org/
Africana-L
Discussion, moderated, of electronic networking and information technology
in Africa. Became a moderated list June 14, 1997 due to numerous unwanted
messages. The messages used to be gated to the Usenet newsgroup - bit.tech.africana
Subscribe: listserver@listserv.cc.wm.edu
In French. "Le projet Africa'nti se propose d'être un observatoire
de l'insertion et de l'impact des technologies de l'information et de la
communication en Afrique." It "est un projet en partenariat entre
organismes de recherche européens et africains." Has the text of the
introduction to the book, Enjeux des technologies de
la communication en Afrique : du téléphone à internet, edited by Annie
Chéneau-Loquay, and Pascal Renaud. (Paris : Karthala ; Talence : Regards,
2000, 402 p.) and a huge directory
of Africa-related information technology sites. http://www.africanti.org/
Afrik-It
Unmoderated list run by the African Network of IT Experts and Professionals
for discussion on telematics in Africa. The list owner is Dr. Clement Dzidonu,
Univ. of Dublin, Trinity College. Subscribe: listserv@IRLEARN.UCD.IE
In French. "organise un concours de création d'entreprise, baptisé
Innova'2000. Cette compétition aura pour but de permettre
aux participants de former des équipes, concevoir des business-plans et
construire des start-ups." Innova 2000 is sponsored by Jeune Afrique
Economie, l'Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques
/ Le Club du Sahel and others. http://www.afriquetandem.com
"provide industry perspective on policy formulation and regulation as it relates
to the Internet industry and to act as an interface with Governmental bodies and
the public at large." Database of internet service providers (and their web sites) by country, Meeting minutes, article about Voice over IP in Africa. Founded in 2001. Based in Sandton, South Africa. [KF] http://www.afrispa.org/
Afro@Digital. A Documentary on the Digital Revolution in
Africa
Twp page article
published 2002 about a 52 minute film directed by Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda
and produced by UNESCO. Gives examples of ICT in Africa such as Senegal's
Metissacana site.. http://www.unesco.org/webworld/news/2002/020613_afrodigital.shtml
Attractive graphic illustrations of African economic, ICT, business facts. Maintained by Ivan Colic, an art director at Ogilvy Cape Town. http://afrographique.tumblr.com/
In French and English. Has abstracts of African
internet initiatives in publishing online, market information, radio,
etc. (also in a database).
Had a discussion (Nov.-Dec. 2000), mainly in French, on information technology
and Africa. The discussions are online as well as summaries. http://www.aftidev.net/
Gambia internet service provider. Offers web hosting, such as forYellowgate
Studios, Gambian music site and Science Notes for Gambia students by Dr.
Paul Matthews, University of Gambia. http://www.airtip.gm/
Internet service providers, the state of telecommuncations
by country, locate internet / web services by type and country, list of
countries with independent regulators, list of countries by number of fixed
lines, list of countries by access costs, list of countries by population.
Site supported by the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in support
of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI). http://paradigm.wn.apc.org/africa/
Very current news from a variety of African news sources.
From the long established Africa News Service, headed by Reed Kramer. http://www.allafrica.com/technology
Published the 1996 print "User's Guide to Electronic Networks in
Africa" (2nd revised ed.) which is no
longer being updated. The print guide has background articles on networking
in Africa. http://www.aaas.org/
"established by Acacia to overcome the limitations of technology on language that prevent most Africans from participating in the digital age" - Martin Benjamin of ANLoc. Their Afrigen project will create locales for 100 African languages. Information on keyboards, fonts, etc. Works with Bisharat, Kamusi Project, Kasahorow and others. http://www.africanlocalisation.net/
"Since 1990, Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has
been working with all sectors of civil society to harness information
and communication technologies (ICTs) in ways that support development
and social justice." http://www.apc.org/
APC offers the APC
Africa Hafkin Communications Prize. The "competition for the
USD$7,500.00 Hafkin prize is open to civil society organisations, government
institutions, educational organisations, community-based groups, networks,
social movements or individuals anywhere in Africa." The Prize honors
the work of Dr. Nancy J. Hafkin. SANGONET, in South Africa, is an APC member.
http://www.apc.org/english/hafkin
In French. "...est une association française à but non lucratif...Elle
est domiciliée à Uzès (département du Gard). Has an office in Ouagadougou,
is working to put information from Burkina Faso online. Has links to sites
about Burkina Faso. http://wwwusers.imaginet.fr/~adis
In French. "pour la promotion de ce secteur et encourage l'apprentissage
des nouvelles technologies de l'information et de la communication en aidant
les djiboutiens......" Created in 2002 "par des jeunes informaticiens
professionnelles." It is "composée de 17 bénévoles,
propose d'apporter une soutien numérique aux structures à
but non lucratif à Djibouti notamment les écoles, associations,
collectivités locales, établissements de santé."
Has Djibouti ICT news. [KF] http://www.adtid.org/
From the OECD, ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and the Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC). Maps, charts, graphs on: transport, telecommunications, the ecologically vulnerable zone of Sahelian countries, cotton, migration, transboundary river basins, languages, Africa-China, oil and gas. Maps can be saved and printed. http://www.atlas-ouestafrique.org/spip.php?rubrique36
Includes - telephone / mobile subscribers, GSM coverage; migration inside and outside Africa.
In French, English. "a non profit organisation founded by young women that works for the empowerment of women and children through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)." Programs on health, the environment, ICTs, etc.. Information on women pygmies, l’Association des Peuples autochtones du Congo (APAC). Based in Brazzaville, Congo. [KF] http://www.azurdev.org/
A free e-newsletter covering African telecoms, internet and computing.
The Editor is Russell Southwood. The latest issue and all previous issues
are on the web site providing a historical record of the internet and telecom
in Africa. To subscribe to the e-newsletter write: info@balancingact-africa.com.
Also publishes reports on the African internet market and ICT entrepreneurship.
Edited by Russell Southwood. http://www.balancingact-africa.com/
"La Rencontre a pour objectif de susciter une forte mobilisation
des décideurs publics et privés en faveur des usages des technologies de
l'information et de la communication (TIC) pour le développement."
http://www.bamako2000.org/
Informal group to "build the connections between people and opportunities in Silicon Valley and Africa." 2010 Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire site. 2009 site. http://www.barcampafrica.org/
Wired magazine article (20 pages) about Barlow's summer 1997
trip to Ghana, Kenya, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Uganda, Congo-Kinshasa, writing
on the computer scene, the internet in Africa, visiting Africa Online offices,
etc. http://www.wired.com/wired/6.01/barlow.html
Batik,
Bulletin d'Analyse sur les Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication
(Dakar)
"The Bellanet Initiative is funded by a consortium of development
assistance agencies committed to working together using Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) in innovative ways to increase their relevance,
effectiveness and efficiency." They sponsor several discussion
lists. Began 1995, based in Canada at the IDRC. The Director is David
Balson. http://www.bellanet.org
Sponsored by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) APC
and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada). Herbet
de Souza (Betinho) was a "visionary Brazilian social activist and exemplary
communicator." "The $7500 US prize is open to non-profit organisations,
community-based groups, coalitions, working groups or social movements anywhere
in the world that have successfully used ICTs as an essential ingredient
in their development work." Nominations are open until January 31,
2000. Instructions and a nomination form are available at: http://www.apc.org/english/betinho
Bisharat, A language,
technology & development initiative
Provides research, advocacy, and networking relating to use of
African languages in software and web content. Focuses on
rural development in West Africa. Has an annotated directory of
sites on language and ICT, African languages, translation software, etc.http://www.bisharat.net
Full text. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1996. Sixteen case
studies, first person accounts, of how information and communication technologies
were introduced into institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Covers CD-ROM,
desktop publishing, electronic networking, and local database development.
The Staff Officer for this project is Wendy White, wwhite@nas.edu
The full text is also available online in the Humanity
Development Library (Antwerp, Belgium). Use the Title A-Z index.
http://books.nap.edu/catalog/5260.html
"an international non-profit organisation with a mission to help
people in developing countries use information and communications technology
(ICT) to improve their lives." Has an IT
Guide to free resources (computers, web hosting, IT tech
help, e-mail accounts, computer training, software. Provides case studies
of projects bridging the digital divide, information "on what
policies are considered relevant to digital divides, .....the kinds of policies
currently in place, and [analysis of] current policy initiatives."
Has volunteer opportunities. Offices in Durbanville, South Africa and Washington,
D.C. http://www.bridges.org/
"BICA 99 is a conference to bring together the experiences of telecentre
practitioners and to assist the development of telecentres through sustainable
partnerships in Africa. The conference will provide an opportunity to hear
what is happening on the ground, to consolidate initiatives and to take
them forward." The conference was a regional feeder event for Global
Knowledge II, the Global Knowledge Partnership conference held late in 1999.
http://www.bica99.org/
"A mailing list for Africans who are computer
geeks, wannabe geeks, or suffer from various forms of geek-envy.
The list is also open to anyone interested in increasing Africa's programming
talent pool, and contribution to the global IT revolution." Maintained
by Katim S. Toura. http://talk.fanafana.com/lists/listinfo/bush-hackers
Information management and internet connectivity for organizations and
companies in Uganda and East Africa. Uses HF radios thru Starcom International.
Costs start at $7,500 for setup plus $100 a month. The Directors are: M.
R. Brew (UK) , K. F. Brew (UK) , G. Bruni (Italy) , C. Musisi , C. D. Wilson
(UK). Contact Gianluca Bruni: brunig@bushnet.net http://www.bushnet.net
"a small research and development team, established to identify opportunities in the local African context using new technologies. Our focus is on agriculture, public internet facilities, internet service provision, and community resource directories."
Based in Accra, Ghana. http://www.busylab.com/
"an international nonprofit organization that 1) creates freely downloadable open-source educational software, and 2) provides free afterschool and summer computer camps for youth and teachers in underserved communities." Programs in Ghana and South Africa. Based in East Palo Alto, California. http://www.campamelia.org
July 6, 2011 article by Campbell. Mentions the study by Judith Asuni of Academic Associates Peaceworks and Jacqueline Farris of the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Foundation on "Tracking Social Media: the Social Media Tracking Centre and the 2011 Nigerian Election." http://blogs.cfr.org/campbell/2011/07/06/technology-social-media-and-nigerias-elections/
Two week discussion, ending March 29, 1996, on the impact of information
and communication technologies on sustainable development. Send in your
thoughts on the use of the internet, radio, TV, satellites, telephones,
remote sensing, GIS for development. Input received will be published on
CIDA's web site. http://www.bvx.ca/ict/
Volunteer effort to "promote the understanding, utilization, and
application of computer and computer communication technology by the worldwide
Cape Verdean community." Part of the Cape Verde Page maintained by
Richard Leary. http://www.umassd.edu/specialprograms/caboverde/cvccp.html
CARI'98, 4e Colloque Africain sur la Recherche en Informatique
/ 4th African Conference on Research in Computer Science
Web site has been removed. Dakar, Senegal conference, October 12
- 15, 1998. The Internet Society sponsored a workshop, in French, 5-10 octobre
in Dakar. http://www.cari98.sn/
Subscription required for access. Chakula is a newsletter of the Association for Progressive Communication's (APC) Africa ICT Policy Monitor. The Africa ICT Policy Monitor aims to mobilise African civil society in ICT policy for sustainable development and social justice. http://lists.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/chakula
This paper discusses how the Y2K problem is likely to affect computerised
library systems.It was presented at the Standing Conference of African National
and University Libraries in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (SCANUL-ECS)
1998. Chisenga is Lecturer, Department of Information and Communication
Studies, University of Namibia. http://www.unam.na/1370/lib-y2k.htm
Extensive directory on all aspects of ICT for development in Africa.
Essential Books, Reports and Articles;
Essential Institutions; Essential Mailing Lists; Essential Portals - Search
engines; Essential Research Centers;
Essential Research Questions on ICT for Development. Full text documents
on policy issues. Links to ICT sites. Has syllabi / reading lists for courses
in information technology offered by Dr. Adam, one of the pioneers of ICT
in Africa. Maintained by Adam's Resource Center for Information Technology
in African Development, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. http://www.citad.org
Information about IT in Developing Countries. Includes links to journals,
conferences, web design issues, an Africa section, etc.. Maintained by Dr.
Robert Davison of the faculty at CUHK. http://www.cityu.edu.hk/is/itdc/itdc.htm
"This site aims to support action, discussion and research on Universal
Access to ICTs, eg.Telecentres and other types of Community
ICT projects in South Africa." Has a database of telecentres,
full text reports (many in MS Word). Includes the report,
Telecentre 2000
by Aki Stavrou and Peter Benjamin which "compares the impact and sustainability
of different models for public access to telecommunications" in South
Africa. Has a Directory
of telecentre projectsthroughout Africa. [KF] http://www.communitysa.org.za/
Electronic edition of Computer Week, with news on information
technology in South Africa. Has a couple of weeks of past issues. http://www.systems.co.za/cweek/index.html
"a non-profit that refurbishes used computers, networks them, and
ships ready-to-set-up labs to non-profit organizations in East
Africa. We work to bridge the international digital divide in an area
that has only 3 computers per 1000 people. We focus on the most disadvantaged
groups-generally women and youth-and organizations working for positive
social development." Statistics compare U.S. and Africa computer access.
http://www.computers4africa.org
Published by African IT Exhibitions & Conferences (AITEC). Offers free
subscriptions to computer professionals. Based in the U.K. http://new.aitecafrica.com/CC_Africa_Magazine
Conference sponsored by Agence de la Francophonie and the govts. of Quebec
and Canada. On the site of l'Agence universitaire
de la Francophonie. http://www.francophonie.org/conference/
ICT Africa."a NEPAD council continental Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) event addressing a wide range of ICT issues in Africa" http://ictafrica.nepadcouncil.org/
Sponsored by the Association for Information Systems (AIS), a professional
organization whose mission is to advance knowledge of how the use of information
technology can lead to improved organizational performance and individual
quality of life. Has two mini-tracks on international issues related
to Africa, Cross-Cultural IS Research and Information Systems and Technology
Issues in Developing Countries. http://coba.usf.edu/amcis2003/index-800x600.htm
World Summit on the Information Society
In English, French, Spanish. Sponsored by the U.N. and International Telecommunication
Union. Held in two phases: in Geneva from 10-12 December 2003
and in Tunis
16 to 18 November 2005. http://www.itu.int/wsis/
Supports affordable connectivity and the development of ICT infrastructure in Africa. "organized by the International Telecommunication Union, the African Union, the World Bank Group and the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development" Launched Oct. 2007 at the Connect Africa Summit. http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/connect/africa/2007/
From IANA, Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority. Also provides links to the administrators of the top-level
domains (org, com, net, edu, etc.). http://www.iana.org/gtld/gtld.htm
Olivier Crepin-Leblond provides
a list of all countries with e-mail access (internet or non-internet e-mail).
Has a history of e-mail access from
1993 based on the FAQs he created and a clickable Africa map
based on the list. http://www.nsrc.org/codes/country-codes.html
In French. Has full text reports (such as Internet au Mali, feasibility
study in phone installation in Burkina villages); its newsletter, Lettre
de CSDPTT, covers telecom, the internet in Africa. Has projects in
Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and other countries and a discussion
forum.[KF] http://www.csdptt.org/
Has annotated directories to international sites on development communication
organizations, radio, electronic networking, telecommunications for
rural development. A service of the TeleCommons
Development Group in collaboration with the Don Snowden Program for Development Communication.
http://www.devmedia.org/
Site listing jobs in international development, information technology
jobs. "DevNetJobs.org is a Voluntary Initiative and aims to cater to
the specific needs of Professionals in ICT, KM and Environment and Development
Field." Based in the U.K. http://www.devnetjobs.org/
Has a history
of Namibia telecommunications (Telecom Namibia, etc.). Dr. Dierks is
former Deputy Minister of the first Ministry of Roads and Transport (later
Mines and Energy) in Namibia (until March 2000). Is now Chairman of Namibia's
Energy Control Board. http://www.klausdierks.com
Mailing list with "updates on Internet & Telecommunications actvities
and progress in Africa as-they-unfold." Sources are African newspapers,
ITWeb (Johannesburg), etc. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/
" a collaborative effort between the United Nations ICT Task Force,
the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP), the United
Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Digital Partners, and Gruppo
CERFE seeking to promote development in Africa......through mobilizing the
technological, entrepreneurial and professional expertise
and resources of the African Diaspora." Agenda
of July 12, 2002 meeting, speakers, case
studies, participants,
etc. http://www.ddn-africa.org
Projects include assistance to cyber cafes and small businesses in Senegal.
"A joint program of the US Department of Commerce, US Department of
State, US Agency for International Development, USA Freedom Corps, and Peace
Corps." Promotes free market based regulatory and legal structures,
places volunteers in businesses and community centers to
provide small businesses and entrepreneurs with ICT skills. Includes a video
& transcript of President Abdoulaye Wade’s Speech
at the Digital Freedom Initiative Announcement, March 2003. [KF] http://www.dfi.gov
"news from around the globe, 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." Search for reports (from International Institute
for Communication and Development (IICD) by country or topic. Report
(from One World, AllAfrica.com) such as - a telecenter in Owerri, Nigeria,
using handheld computers to conduct public health surveys in Ghana, how
wind-up radio helps rural Zambian children with language and other skills,
infrastructural neglect in Nigeria's telecom development. Full text reports
on e-government in developing countries, wireless applications for Africa.
The Channel is a joint initiative of OneWorld
and the Benton Foundation, a Washington-based
non-profit organization. Site maintained by Andy Carvin and Kanti Kumar.
http://www.digitalopportunity.org/
Prepared a report
(May 2001) with recommendations on how the G8 can contribute to bridging
the global digital divide. The final report was presented
to the G8 Summit in Genoa, Italy, July 2001. Members include government,
business (Siemens, Hewlett Packard, Toshiba, etc.), IDRC, One World (U.K.).
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Bank provide
the Secretariat. Documents
include comments from Senegal and Egypt. http://www.dotforce.org/
Nonprofit organization based in Seattle, Washington with chapters in New
York, Silicon Valley, and New Delhi, India. "Digital
Partners for Africa links entrepreneurs from the IT sector in Africa
and the United States to social entrepreneurs and start-ups that are experimenting
with the use of digital technology for health care, literacy, and grassroots
empowerment of the poor." Has issues of its Newsletter
online in Adobe pdf. http://www.digitalpartners.org/
From IANA, Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority. Provides links to the administrators of the top-level
domains (org, com, net, edu, etc.). Also has a directory of country
code administrators. http://www.iana.org/gtld/gtld.htm
NORID, the Norwegian Internet Domain Name Registry, has a list of
sources, by country, for domain name registration. http://www.norid.no/domenenavnbaser/domreg-alpha.html
Information on registering internet domain names for Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville,
Rwanda, and Congo-Kinshasa. Further down the main page are links to information
on registering domain names in South Africa and Uganda. From a Swiss company.
http://www.nic.cd
The Alliance consists of three USAID funded cooperative agreements - 1.
dot-GOV: Promotes policy and regulatory reform, 2. dot-ORG: Extends ICT
access to under-served communities, 3. dot-EDU: Strengthens education. dot-EDU
includes an Educational Exchange with the University of Bamako, Mali. All
three projects work in Rwanda.
http://www.dot-com-alliance.org
Univ. of Manchester, Institute for Development Policy and Management,
Development Informatics:
Working Papers, No. 7, 1999. Includes an educators' guide for use with
individual or group training. http://www.man.ac.uk/idpm/di_wp7.htm
In French. Internet and telephone service provider in Niger. "Dune Télécom est née de la libéralisation du marché des télécommunications au Niger en 2005..." Based in Niamey, Niger. http://www.dune-telecom.com/
East African Internet Association
A non-profit, promotes cooperative electronic communications and networking
in East Africa. Members are electronic service providers in Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda as well as partner networks and interested
individuals.
For more information, send email to: info@eaia.sasa.unon.org
You will receive an automated reply.
The third largest panafrican telecom operator. Started as a Zimbabwe cell
phone company. Now based in South Africa. Its founder, Strive Masiyiwa,
was featured in the Christian Science Monitor, March 1, 2000 as a
young entrepreneur who had "mounted a constitutional legal battle in
the courts of Zimbabwe which led to the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe declaring
the telephone service monopoly unconstitutional." http://www.econetwireless.com/
See also:
the Wired News March 15, 2001 article on Masiyiwa
since leaving Zimbabwe. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,41407,00.html Econet Wireless New Zealand http://www.ewnz.co.nz/
and
NGO "comprised of education and business professionals" Supports school partnerships in South Africa with curriculum development, community building, and philanthropic giving. Present partners are Saint Mark's School, San Rafael, CA, and eSibonisweni Primary, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. History of the NGO. Works with One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and Facing History and Ourselves. Based in Berkeley, California. http://www.big.co.za/eduweavers/
"the largest gathering of eLearning and distance education professionals in Africa" 2010 Conference in Zambia. The 2007 conference in Nairobi, Kenya, had interviews with Faith Macharia, National Director of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), Kenya Chapter; Gladys Muhunyo of Computer Aid International; Dr. Elija Omwenga, Director of ICT Services at the University of Nairobi, Kenya; Mor Seck on Global Development Learning Network; Shafika Isaacs of SchoolNet Africa; Kuzvinetsa Peter Dzvimbo on the African Virtual University. [KF] http://www.elearning-africa.com/
Has full text papers in Adobe PDF format. "A Champion in
Our Midst: Lessons Learned from the Impacts of NGO's Use of the
Internet" by Scott McConnell (in Vol. 2) uses examples from Uganda.
A joint publication of the Universiti Malaysia, Sarawak City; University
of Hong Kong, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, Netherlands; Delft University
of Technology, the Netherlands. http://www.ejisdc.org/
Offers online distance learing (business courses, computer courses,
web design). Owned and operated by E-Academy Ltd, a company based in
Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Co-shareholder is Star Telecom Tanzania Ltd., operators
of Tanzania's largest ISP, based in Dar-es-Salaam. [KF] http://www.elimuimara.com/
In French. "le premier service
de messagerie internet congolaise." Features a "congolais
du mois" (May 2001 was a Congolese artist). Internet in Brazzaville.
http://www.emaila.net/
"...to narrow the technological divide that exists between the modern
and developing regions of the world." "Computer hardware is sourced
from around the world, modified to meet local standards and distributed
through the foundation's network." Works with the U.S. Peace Corps.
Starts with Cote d'Ivoire to create a "model for expansion."
http://www.empoweringminds.org/
enda-synfev (Environnement et Developpement du Tiers-Monde, Synergie Genre
et Developpement) based in Dakar, Senegal seeks to improve the lives of
African women thru programs such as femmes-afrique-info,
an electronic network concerning the rights and health of Francophone African
women. [An IDRC report
by Sophia Huyer includes information on SYNFEV.] http://www.enda.sn/synfev/synfev.htm
Entre tradition orale et nouvelles technologies: ou vont les
mass médias au Sénégal? - Martin Taureg
& Frank Wittmann, Editors.
In French. Full text. Pub. 2004. 172 p. In
pdf. (Arbeitspapiere
(Working Paper, No. 47) of the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Institut
für Ethnologie und Afrika-Studien). On Senegal's newspapers,
also mention of Senegalese radio, television and the internet.
Includes Baba Thiam: Joko L¹histoire d¹un échec [internet
project of Youssou Ndour]. [KF] http://www.ifeas.uni-mainz.de/workingpapers/Arbeitspapiere.html
In English and Kiswahili. Technology non profit, enables civil society organizations to create and maintain their own web sites using mobile phones. Works in Tanzania, partners with the Foundation for Civil Society and Peace Corps Tanzania. Founders include Stanford university engineering graduates and a Tanzania journalist. Based in San Francisco, California. http://envaya.org/
Papers and proceedings on electronic networking, the internet, telmatics
in Africa from a conference of over 200 participants from Africa, Europe,
the Americas. Sponsored by the UNECA, the ITU, and the IDRC. http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Padis/menu_telematics.html
Provides "basic telephony, mobile and Internet and Multimedia services. Provide training, education and research in the field of ICT." Historical background. http://www.ethionet.et/
Assists non-profits and NGOs by producing CD-ROM based learning materials,
designing and managing websites, running training courses (including on-line
courses), and providing support for internet-related work. Specially assists
Southern African human rights organisations. Has a 17 page paper,
in Adobe PDF, on strengthening human rights organizations, a directory
of web sites the Fahamu Open Directory, co-publishes the Kabissa-Fahamu
Newsletter. Based in Oxford, U.K. http://www.fahamu.org/
Special events to promote the internet in mainly Francophone countries.
Describes the Point d'Accès aux Inforoutes
pour la Jeunesse (PAJE) to promote the internet in Gabon and year 2000
activities in each country.
Part of the world wide Internet
Fiesta 2000 supported by the French Ministere des affaires etrangeres.
http://f-i-a.org/
Gael Serandour of the Ecole d'Ingenieur de l'I.N.T. prepared information
on internet, Fidonet, and UUCP connections in Francophone Africa for the
May 1996 South Africa G-7 Conference. Has a connectivity map and table.
http://www-eleves.int-evry.fr/~serandou
FOSSFA supports software that guarantees users the following four freedoms:
The right to access the software source code.
The right to alter and improve the source code.
The right to make copies of the software.
The right to freely distribute the software. http://www.fossfa.org/
Includes case studies from Senegal and Mamelodi, South Africa.
An IDRC/Acacia-commissioned study. June 1998. Also in .zip form, see page:
http://www.idrc.ca/acacia/stcat.htm
"Physical presence in The Gambia is the general rule, but there is
a provision to allow multinational companies to protect their trademark
or name." History,
internet service providers, prices. http://www.nic.gm/
A non-profit assisting businesses in developing countries with information
technology, works with the International Executive Service Corps, IESC.
Read accounts of volunteers' work in Ghana and Rwanda. Volunteers help small
businesses with IT training and computer networks. Founded by Ethan Zuckerman
(founder of Tripod), based in North Adams, Mass. http://www.geekcorps.org/
Full text, in
Adobe pdf. 20 p. Its Annex 1 has Case Study 4: A land licensing and
planning system for Beira City, Mozambique. http://www.gersterconsulting.ch/fs/fs_news_cur.html
The conference will focus on the use of information technology to enhance
the economic, social, cultural, educational development of African countries.
http://www.ghaclad.org/
The discussion list on distance education in Ghana (and Africa) is sponsored
by GhaCLAD (Ghana Computer Literacy & Distance Education Volunteers)
and ProjectSCOPE. The listowner
is Carolyn Manjourides - cmanjourides@projectscope.org
Or contact: Max Freund, mfreund@interport.net
To subscribe send email to: majordomo@igc.org
In the message area put: subscribe ghaclad-scope
Begun by Ghanaians in the U.S. and Ghana to nurture the IT economy in Ghana. Supports a Ghana Technology Park project. Has a non-profit division, the GCG Foundation. http://www.ghanacybergroup.com/
Annual Conference and workshops on eGovernment and ICT for Development. The 4th conference was held 2006, Jan. 31-Feb. 2 in Accra, Ghana. Organized by CTN on behalf of the Ghana Government. ICT for Government brings top government officials from all levels. Full text presentations (in Powerpoint and MS Word) such as ICT in the rural community of Twifo Hemang, Lower Denkyira District (paper by Hon. Abraham Odoom). http://www.techgov.gh
The National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy and
Plan Development Committee was "set up ... to develop
for Ghana an ICT-led Socio-economic Development Policy...."
Reports include Deployment and Exploitation of ICTs in Gov't Ministries
and Public Sector Organizations, E - Readiness Strategy for Ghana, ICT
Policy for Ghana - A Contribution, ICT Policy guidelines for Ministry
of Health, A Draft ICT Policy Statement - Ghana Prisons
Service, Media Policy for Ghana - Ghana Media
Commission. Chaired by Professor Clement Dzidonu. Under the auspices of
UNECA and AISI. http://www.ict.gov.gh/
An institution under Ghana's Ministry of Communications. "The Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (AITI-KACE), Ghana's first Advanced Information Technology Institute works to stimulate the growth of the ICT Sector in ECOWAS. Established in 2003, through a partnership between the Government of Ghana and the Government of India,..." Based in Accra, Ghana. http://www.aiti-kace.com.gh/
Has full text reports, on the internet in Ghana, computer literacy in
Ghana, internet workshops, "Telematics
usage for Ghana's Development" (in Adobe PDF, 73 leaves, Univ.
of Ghana. Institute of Statistical, Social & Economic Research, 1998),
"Implementation of the
Ghana Infodev Project" In Adobe PDF, 43 leaves, 1998), etc. http://www.gncic.org.gh/
"the open source development community provides an environment of
intensive interactive skills development at little explicit cost, which
is particularly useful for local development of skills, especially in economically
disadvantaged regions. Further, this note argues that the controversy
over total costs of ownership (TCO) of free vs. proprietary software
is not applicable to developing countries and other regions with low labour
costs, where the TCO advantage lies with open source, and
the share of licence fees in TCO is much higher than in high labour cost
countries. The note concludes with a table comparing license fees for proprietary
software against GDP per capita for 176 countries." http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_12/ghosh/
Conference, June 2-4, 1998, in Addis Ababa hosted by the U.N. Economic
Commission for Africa. Has a toolkit "to enable decision makers in
African countries to assess the economic impacts to be expected from the
new cable and satellite projects." http://www.un.org/Depts/eca/globalc/index.htm
Managing Editor, Geoffrey Kirkman with Jeffrey Sachs, Klaus Schwab, President
of the World Economic Forum and Peter Cornelius. (New York : Oxford : Oxford
University Press: 2002)
About the 352 p. book. Has the table of contents, some full text
chapter summaries, sample data, 75 country profiles (Mauritius, Nigeria,
South Africa, Zimbabwe), ordering information. The printed book has
a Networked Readiness Index, which ranks 75 countries according to their
capacity to take advantage of ICT networks and 75 Networked Readiness country
profiles. [KF] http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cr/gitrr_030202.html
Promotes access to "knowledge and information as tools of sustainable,
equitable development." Originated out of the Global Knowledge 1997
Toronto conference. Has a lively discussion list on info technology / the
internet in developing countries, publishes a newsletter, Partners.
Its April 2002 Addis Ababa conference has the presentations
online (mainly in Powerpoint). Sponsored by the World Bank, Washington,
D.C. [KF] http://www.globalknowledge.org/
Very useful information for the business traveler or tourist. Has
a section on using modems and appliances. Based on the reference
book of the same name published by World Trade Press, Novato, California.
http://www.globalroadwarrior.com/
Online free seminar "to provide students and other interested individuals
from around the world with the opportunity to learn about and discuss the
emerging information society." One of the projects discussed was "Access
to Namibian Government Libraries" (http://www.natarch.mec.gov.na)
The seminar was run by Profs. Dale Harris (Stanford)
and Björn Pehrson (Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, KTH). http://global.stanford.edu/
A worldwide information and capacity-building network established by the
United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. Has a Global
Urban Indicators Database whose list of cities includes many in Africa.
Includes only city level data and indicators. Statistics are incomplete
for some African cities. [KF] http://www.urbanobservatory.org/indicators/database/
Covers :
Background Data Module: basic demographic, household and income data
Module 1: Socio-economic Development: poverty, employment, health, education
Module 2: Infrastructure networked services including water, sanitation,
electricity and telephones
Module 3: etc.
Has the percent of internet
users in the total population by country, the total number of internet
users, the number of internet service providersper
country, internet country codes.
Also Telephones - Main Lines In Use, Telephones - % Of Population
With Main Lines, Telephones - Mobile Cellular, Telephones - % Of Population
With Mobile Cellular Phones. Globastat is owned by Azer Ibadov. http://globastat.com/
Google activities re Sub-Saharan Africa. Google's digitization work, developer news, student ambassador program, reports - Best Practices for Liberia's Internet Ecosystem. Also Google Jobs in Africa. http://google-africa.blogspot.com/
Find articles and citations to articles on the internet, computers in Africa, telecommunnications, etc. from academic and research journals. http://scholar.google.com/
Blog posts by Rob Stokes, the South African founder of Quirk, an online marketing company. http://www.gottaquirk.com/authors/4/Rob-Stokes
GSM World
The GSM Association is responsible
for the development, deployment and evolution of the GSM cell phone standard,
the standard used in Africa. Has a directory
of GSM operators worldwide, with clickable maps showing GSM
coverage in Africa (select Coverage). Based in Dublin, Ireland
and London, UK. http://www.gsmworld.com/
Internet service provider for Tanzania, based in Dar-es-Salaam. Offers
email via satellite, chat rooms, etc. Hosts web sites for companies. http://www.raha.com/
Heeks, Richard, "Building Software Industries in Africa"
"This 2,000-word paper looks at different strategies for the development
of African software industries: export market- vs. domestic market-orientation;
software services vs. software packages. It draws conclusions about the
most viable strategy, about the current constraints to development of these
industries, and about the need for government policy action." An ASCII
version of this paper is available. Heeks is at the Univ. of Manchester.
To receive a copy via email, send the message: Software Africa
to: richard.heeks@man.ac.uk
Company offering web site design and maintenance. Established in 1996 by Elou Marre. Based in Houston, Texas, Canada and Senegal. http://www.highimpacts.com/
"the writings and experiences of [African] students and resulting recommendations for concrete policy actions to help 1) expand university access in Africa, 2) strengthen university education and training, and 3) retain university graduates. Interviews with African students in math and science. Linke to country sources about African education. The state of computer and internet access. Economics of Higher Education: National Income and Spending. Education exchanges. [KF] http://www.arp.harvard.edu/AfricaHigherEducation/
"An annual continent-wide conference looking at all aspects of new
media in Africa. Sponsors include the South African Broadcasting Corporation
(SABC) and the Journalism & Media Studies Department, Rhodes University.
http://www.highwayafrica.ru.ac.za/
African media organisation with current ICT news by African journalists on ICT and information society issues. Publications include Youth Speak (newsletter of the 2007 Johannesburg World Summit on Media and Children). "The Highway Africa News Agency content is free to use provided you register on our site and link back to our site." http://hana.ru.ac.za/
Full text of a Feb. 1997 study for the IDRC of "African women's
use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). This includes
issues of access, the benefits African women experience and can expect to
experience from ICTs, and the role they can and do play in the production
and dissemination of information." Includes case studies. http://www.idrc.ca/acacia/outputs/womenicts.html
Nigerian internet service provider based in Lagos. "Africa Limited
is an associate to Nigeria's second International carrier- MOTOPHONE [second
to NITEL]. INCA obtained an Internet License in 1997 from the Nigerian Communications
Commission." http://www.hyperia.com
Offers web site development, mobile and e business consulting. Has daily
tech news from AllAfrica.com and CNet. Based in Alexandria, Virginia. http://www.i3afri.com
"a quarterly web, paper and email service that aims to raise awareness
in the wider African development community regarding the possibilities offered
by ICTs in development." Published by the U. N. Economic
Commission for Africa (ECA) and the International Institute for Communication
and Development (IICD)." http://www.uneca.org/aisi/iconnectafrica/
Full text articles such as - Gender and the Information Revolution in
Africa, Local languages and software development in Ethiopia, Local health
content in Nigeria blends tradition and science.
On ICTs as a tool for sustainable growth and development. A joint venture
of AITEC GHANA, International Institute for Communication and Development
(IICD) and IICD’s local partners. Has an ICT profile of Ghana, Newsletter
articles. [KF] http://www.iconnectghana.org/
Ethiopian magazine on information and communications technology. Selected
full text articles online. Issues have "news analysis, product, and
company profiles, feature articles, and regular columns analyzing the latest
technology trends," links to related sites, Ethiopian
technical colleges, Ethiopian ICT
companies, ICT government
& academic organizations. [KF] http://www.ictfocus.net/
A World Bank grant program for "innovative use of information technolgoy".
It "shares world-wide experience with and disseminates best practices
to governments and key decision-makers, both public and private, on the
economic development potential of communications and information systems.
infoDev channels policy advice and other technical assistance to governments
in emerging economies on privatization, private entry and competition, and
on improving the policy, regulatory and business environment for investors
in communications and information systems. infoDev conducts feasibility
and pre-investment studies and prepares experimental applications in communications
and information systems." http://www.infodev.org/
Uganda's first online internet service, uses satellite connectivity through
a Avon, Colorado company, NSN Network Services. INFOMAIL, P. O. Box 11468,
Kampala, Uganda, Fax: 256-41-236256. http://imul.com/
Many links to programs, projects, organizations and documents on information
systems and technology in developing countries. Maintained by Mike Kabjian
http://members.aol.com/kabjian/itindev.htm
Formerly ORSTOM. IRD is the long established research organization funded
by the French govt. Includes information on RIO,
Réseau Intertropical d'Ordinateurs their electronic networking initiative.
http://www.ird.fr/
Private computer training. Is registered with the Directorate of Industrial Training (Kenya). Microsoft, Cisco training. Bachelor's degree in computing and internet systems. Based in Nairobi, Kenya. http://www.iat.co.ke/
Provides international satellite communications services to Africa. Over
45 African countries
use INTELSAT for Internet service. Use their search
to locate articles on Africa. Based in Washington, D.C. http://www.intelsat.int/
Ghana internet service provider. The company is wholly owned by individuals
who are Ghanaians or of Ghanaian descent. Was shut down in 2000 by the government
for providing voice over IP (VOIP). Based in Baltimore, Maryland and in
Achimota - Dome, in the Ga-South Constituency, Ghana. [KF] http://www.idngh.com/
Sponsors a Southern Africa Connectivity Project. Southern Africa Connectivity Project
"designed to help identify an effective strategy for the promotion
of Internet connectivity in the Southern African (SADC) region...".
Includes an - Interim Report [120 KB] on a Pilot Project into the Use of
Cell-data for Connectivity to Two Rural Schools in South Africa, by Yorke
Rodda.
Connectivity Project: http://www.idrc.org.za/connectsa
Main Page: http://www.idrc.org.za
"assists developing countries to utilise...information and communication
technologies (ICTs)..." Projects in education, the environment, health,
e-commerce, telecentres in Africa. Has full
text accounts on the internet and computers in Africa. Has an E-Journal
with full text articles on Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, WorldSpace's
Health Channel, etc. Has a monthly e-mail bulletin. The Institute was established
by the Netherlands Minister for Development Co-operation in 1997 and is
based at The Hague, Netherlands. [KF] http://www.iicd.org/
The University of the Western Cape (UWC), in 2004, received a R3.7 million
grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada
for the establishment of a network of African universities to build Free
Software for use in Higher Education on the Continent. http://www.iosn.net/education/news/idrc-higher-education-africa
"The primary objective of the internet.org.za project is to assist
in the development of the regulatory environment" in South Africa's
internet access industry. It is producing a Blue Paper on a suggested regulatory
framework for the internet industry to be presented to the South African
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, SATRA. The site has overviews
of the South African internet industry, information on mailing lists
related to the South African internet industry, etc. Maintained by Anthony
Brooks. http://www.internet.org.za/main.html
Organization for ISP's in South Africa. Includes their "Complaint
regarding Telkom's Activities in the Internet Service Provision Industry."
http://www.ispa.org.za
Established in 1991 the Internet Society
is "the international organization for global coordination and cooperation
on the Internet..." The African Regional Bureau has a chapter directory. Holds annual Network Training Workshops for Countries
in the Early Stages of Internet Internetworking and a Developing Countries
Networking Symposium. See the INET
1997 African Symposium for full text papers. http://www.isoc.org/
The Jon B. Postel Award was presented to Dr. Nii Quaynor, professor of computer science at the University of Cape-Coast, Ghana, at the 70th IETF in Vancouver, Canada, on 5 December 2007.
A non-profit, founded 2000, "dedicated to promoting the use of the
Internet for research, communication and collaboration." The Mauritius
Chapter of the internaitonal Internet Society.
Based in Pointe Aux Sables, Mauritius. http://www.isoc-mu.org
In French. ISOC Senegal is the Senegal chapter of the international Internet
Society. Includes a history of the internet in Senegal, activities,
workshops. http://www.isoc.sn/
"ISOC.SL was officially chartered by the Global Internet Society (www.isoc.org) in April, 2007." The Partners section links to Sierra Leone ICT companies and NGOs. http://www.isoc.sl/
The Internet Society is "the international organization for global
coordination and cooperation on the Internet..." The chapter site includes
"Namespace in South Africa. Who should be in charge of domains in South
Africa?" http://www.isoc.org.za
In English and Arabic. Maintains the Sudan Country Code Top Level Domain ".SD" Registry. Provides "leadership in addressing key issues about the roles and uses of Internet." Lists the domain name categories with prices. Based in Khartoum. [KF] http://www.isoc.sd
In French. Web site for the Togo chapter of the Internet Society. Most sections of the site are open to members only. Based in Lomé, Togo. http://www.isoc.tg/home/
"an international non-profit organization that supports open
media worldwide." Has an Africa
section. Its Southern
Africa Telecommunications Policy and Regulatory Support Project works
to " to harmonize a common framework of telecommunications
policies, regulations and procedures. Offices in Arcata, California
and New York city. [KF] http://www.internews.org/
Edited by: David Lush and Helliate Rushwaya. Executive Editor: Fackson
Banda. (114 pages. Panos Southern Africa, 2000) Full text is online. Has
case studies of Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia,
Zanzibar, Zimbabwe. http://www.panos.org.zm/Into%20the%20Void.htm
Non-profit, supports ICT entrepreneurs in Africa and elsewhere. Created a phone which uses a stationery bicycle to generate electricity and a wireless Internet radio. Make VoIP phone calls in areas without electricity and phone lines. Organization founded by a former network engineer, Mark Summer. The device was tested 2005 in Uganda. Articles about Inveneo. Based in San Francisco. http://www.inveneo.org/
Internet roaming provided by i-Pass Alliance can provide
email, for the cost of a local phone call, while one is traveling in Africa.
Your internet service provider must be a partner
of i-Pass Alliance. Their partners include BBN and UUNET. A Feb. 1997
article from Boardwatch magazine discusses this service. Thanks
to Jeff Cochrane for this information. http://www.ipass.com
ICT Research Cooperation between Europe and Africa. Report (11 pages in PDF) of an eHealth 2005 workshop. "a collaborative initiative between IIMC International Information Management Corporation Limited (“IIMC”, Ireland), Commonwealth Network of Information Technology for Development (“COMNET-IT”, Malta), ICT Policy Implementation Technical Unit (“UTICT”, Mozambique) of the ICT Policy Commission (CPInfo), the Meraka Institute of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (“CSIR”, South Africa), and Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (“COSTECH”, Tanzania). Maintained by IIMC International Information Management Corporation Ltd., Dublin, Ireland. http://www.IST-Africa.org
"IT news, Telecom news and Mobile news from an African perspective." "aggregates technology and telecoms news relevant to Africa’s development." The publisher is Abby Wakama. Based in Gauteng, South Africa. http://www.itnewsafrica.com/
Chapter 13, Sub-Saharan Africa. 17 pp. from the UNESCO
World Communication and Information Report 1999-2000. Full
text, in Adobe PDF. The UNESCO report includes "Arab countries"
by A. M. Hallouda and A. Ghonaimy, "Evolution of the Internet"
by R. E. Kahn, a Statistical Annex, etc. [KF] http://www.unesco.org/webworld/wcir/en/report.html
Site for the African non-profit sector to promote networking, coalition-building
and information exchange. Has a directory of African NGOs by country. It
provides African non-profits free web space, domain hosting, publications,
and workshops. Has an e-mail newsletter. http://www.kabissa.org/
Sierra Leone is introducing the Internet in its educational institutions
in the year 2002. This article discusses some of the prospects and challenges
that the Internet will bring to these institutions. "John Abdul Kargbo
is in the Institute of Library, Archives, and Information Studies at the
University of Sierra Leone." http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_3/kargbo/
Kci-net
A discussion group on the transfer of technology (esp. computer technology)
to Kenya. To subscribe, send e-mail to: listmgr@africaonline.com
In the message area, put: subscribe kci-net
Regulates telecommunications services, postal service, fixed and mobile phone operations, internet service providers, radio & TV. License fees, speeches, contact addresses, etc. [KF] http://www.cck.go.ke/
Non-profit in charge of registration for the .ke domain. Use the whois
to locate domain owners. The .ke top level domain was originally administered
by Dr. Shem Ochuodho of ARCC and by Randy Bush (technical contact). Based
in Nairobi. http://www.kenic.or.ke/
"KIXP allows Kenyan Internet Service Providers to easily exchange
traffic within Kenya, while improving connectivity and services for their
customers. KIXP is run and operated by the Telecommunication Service Providers
of Kenya (TESPOK)." Has the full text of the Kenya Communications Act,
1998.
Online edition of the print magazine. Published by Raytom Information
Services, Nairobi. News on the internet in Kenya, feature articles such
as "How the web has changed Kenya," directory
of Kenyan internet service providers, articles on useful Kenyan web
sites, links to Kenyan sites. http://www.netwatch.co.ke/
Information and communications technology (esp. mobile technology) for conservation in developing countries, emphasizing low-cost, grassroots, sustainable solutions. Work in Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, Uganda and Mozambique. Includes the report, Mobile Phones: an Appropriate Tool for Conservation & Development ? (17 p. in PDF), and Ken Banks blog. Ken Banks is Managing Director. http://www.kiwanja.net
Has a draft version of a case study (55 pages) by Korver (while at the
Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen) on the development of e-mail and the internet
in Mozambique from its beginning until the end of 1997. Includes interviews
from the Mozambique study. Also case studies on Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau.
http://members.tripod.com/~gambuzino/csindex.htm
A USAID five-year $15 million project to connect up to 20 African countries
to the Internet. Also called the Africa GII Gateway Project.
One of the goals is to create an Internet service provider industry. As
of spring 1996 the focus was on end user applications for sustainable development
activities. http://www.info.usaid.gov/regions/afr/leland/ Leland Initiative in Mozambique
- http://www.leland-mz.org/
Broadband internet service provider in Sierra Leone. "Uses satellite-linked pre Wi-Max infrastructure." Offers internet telephony. The owner is Limeline (Sierra Leone) Limited. http://www.limeline.sl
Launched 24th February 2005 "to provide Africa
women with a forum where
they can share and grow within the FOSS [Free and Open Source Software] movement."
It is the African chapter of LinuxChix.
Co-founded by Anna Badimo and Dorcas Muthoni. http://www.africalinuxchix.org/
Has a list of companies or individuals who offer commercial support and
solutions for Linux in South Africa, discussion lists, links to related
groups such as the UCT Linux Enthusiasts Group. http://www.linux.org.za/main.html
In French. On information technology in Benin and Africa. Reports on the
internet in Benin, links to related sites. Designed to assist ITC development
in Benin and Africa. Includes Lohento's memoire, "Radioscopie de
la connexion du Bénin à l'internet"; the Annex includes
"Chronologie de l'évolution de l'internet au Bénin." [KF] http://www.beninnet.mailme.org/
http://www.iafric.net/benin/
In French. Older site; see new site above. A 1997 memoire de fin d'etudes
en sciences de l'information for the Universite Nationale du Benin. Describes
use of the internet in Benin, present projects. Research has been updated
to 2000. Has a chronology of the evolution of the internet in Benin and
a bibliography. http://www.beninnet.mailme.org/
Lund, Helen - Bridging the Gap? Access to Internet and E-mail
within Universities in Developing Commonwealth Countries
PC Review is a supplement to the South African newspaper, Mail
& Guardian. Includes Arthur Goldstuck's column, Webfeet
on new internet resources, helpful PC and Mac info for the average user,
an extensive collection of past articles on computers, a discussion forum
on South African technology and other topics. Includes stories not in the
printed edition.
http://www.mg.co.za/mg/pc/pcrevie1.htm
Making Broadband Accessible for All
62 pages in PDF. Moving the Debate Forward. Policy Paper Series • Number 12 • May 2011. On Kenya, East Africa. http://www.vodafone.com/content/index/about/about_us/policy/policy_papers.html
Malawi internet service provider, offers web hosting, runs a Blantyre
internet cafe. Links to Malawi
education sites, travel
sites including a restaurant guide, link to the Oanda currency converter,
etc. http://mipa.malawi.net/
Malawi internet service provider. "...a UNDP funded Malawi Government
Programme executed by the National Research Council of Malawi to assist
with development of Internet and Information Services with emphasis on sustainable
development" Hosts discussion lists such as ecoagric, ecological,
agriculture mailing list, a civil society list, etc. Target group: development
agencies, research and extension workers, natural resources managers, organic
farmers etc.) Offers training, e-mail, web hosting. News on telecom developments
in Malawi. http://www.sdnp.org.mw/
Computer "Consulting, Web Site Design, Custom Made PCs, and Tutoring for personal, small and midsize businesses, from metro cities in Georgia, in New York City, and metro cities in Mali-West Africa." Based in Marietta, Georgia (US). http://www.malinfotech.com
In French. News on information and communication technology in Mali,
directory of internet service providers, reports and interviews. Part of
Afribone Mali. http://www.mali-ntic.com/
"The Markle Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) have kicked off the Global
Digital Opportunity Initiative (GDOI) to assist developing nations with
pro bono expertise and resources." They begin work in Bolivia, Tanzania
and Mozambique. http://www.markle.org/
Basic statistics, Full text reports - Report on Demand in IT Sector
(2001-2005), Mauritius: The Singapore of Africa?, speeches of the Minister,
etc. Based in Port Louis. [KF] http://ncb.intnet.mu/medrc/index.htm or http://economicdevelopment.gov.mu/
An international technology policy and management consulting company on
e-business and e-government, works with the U.N. Published a report "Risk
E-Business: Seizing the Opportunity of Global E-Readiness" (Aug.
2000, 24 pp.) rating countries re their connectivity, tech leadership, info
tech security, human capital and business climate. It included 6 African
countries. [KF] http://www.mcconnellinternational.com/
McCormick, Patricia K. - Internet Access in Africa: a Critical Review of Public Policy Issues
Conducts surveys on the South African internet industry, has a guide to
internet service providers in Africa, links to related sites. Headed by
Arthur Goldstuck. http://www.mediaafrica.co.za/
Bi-weekly email newsletter with news and commentary on South African internet
developments in advertising, marketing, and publishing. Subscribe through
their web site. Is part of Arthur Goldstuck's iStrategy, a weekly
online magazine covering internet strategy, based in South Africa. http://www.mediatoolbox.co.za
News on the mining and telecommunications industry, mainly South
Africa but covers Southern Africa. Includes company profiles, conferences,
business leader profiles, cartoons. Based in Bedfordview, South Africa.
[KF] http://www.miningweekly.co.za/
Study to evaluate the use of the Internet at the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria. In the online newsletter, First Monday, Volume 14, Number 3, 2 March 2009. http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2301/2118
In Portuguese. Annotated directory of web sites about Mozambique. Includes
the internet
in Mozambique. Maintained by Wim Neeleman. http://www.tropical.co.mz/~wim/moclinks.html
The report concentrates on Eastern and Southern Africa. The Acrobat pdf
version has charts. Published July 1997 by Mureithi, formerly senior manager
in International Relations at the Kenya Posts and Telecommunication Corp.,
now Director of Summit Strategies, Nairobi. http://ifla.inist.fr/VI/5/op/udtop7/udtop7.htm
Nairobi-based internet service provider. Its Kenya Information Centre
hosts a Directory of Business
and travel/tourism information. Owned by Kenyans. http://www.nbnet.co.ke
In Somali. A Somali telecommunications company, GSM mobile service, internet
service provider, provides local dial-up service, offers 24-hour unlimited
access. Based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. http://www.nationlink-somalia.com/
News on telecommunications in Africa. From Marek Enterprise, Inc.,
a northern Virginia-based information services firm focused on Africa. Its
President is Edward S. Marek. http://www.marekinc.com/BusBriefsTelecom.html
"a non-partisan non-profit project coordinated by Human Emancipation Lead Project. The project goal is to involve Nigerians with mobile phones to monitor the forth coming Nigerian presidential election through SMS to ensure impartial elections." Used technology from kiwanja. See article from Pambazuka News, May 16, 2007. http://www.mobilemonitors.org/
A major site for information
on electronic networking in Africa, run by Randy Bush, John
Klensin, Steven Huter, Michael Downhill. "The NSRC works in collaboration
with the Advanced Network Technology Center (ANTC) at the University of
Oregon to provide pro bono technical and engineering assistance to international
networking initiatives providing access to the public Internet, especially
to academic/research organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)."
http://www.nsrc.org/
NGONET's objectives are improving communication with the North
at the lowest cost for NGOs, enabling NGOs to distribute their own
information, and enabling them to co-operate on a local and regional basis.
International : http://www.ngo-net.org/
"Initiated by the six Nigerian universities that are grantees of the Carnegie Corporation and MacArthur Foundation, the Nigeria ICT Forum of Partnership Institutions (the Forum) has a mission to develop the internal capacity of Nigerian higher education institutions." Hosts ngNOG, Nigerian Network Operators Group - "a forum for cooperation and the exchange of technical information between operators of Internet-connected networks in Nigeria." Based in Abuja, Nigeria. http://www.forum.org.ng/
"a non Governmental organisation with the mission statement of promoting
and facilitating full access to the Internet in Nigeria." http://www.nig.org.ng/
A student organization at Stanford University founded in 1998. Their Accelerated
Educational Technology Initiative (AETI) collects and ships used and new
computer equipment and software to Nigerian educational institutions. http://www.stanford.edu/group/NS-ERO
"is the Regulatory Authority for the telecommunications industry
in Nigeria." Has the text of the Telecom Act, a directory of telecom
/ internet providers, information on the Afrinet 1999 and 2000 conferences.
http://www.ncc.gov.ng
"Technology consulting firm for Nigerian businesses. NiTech consultants
source and procure technology products and services, staff and manage special
projects, provide training and support, and develop e-commerce and web-based
applications." Houston company founded by two Nigerians. http://www.nitechconsulting.com/
At the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill Hotel, Washington, D.C. Will
discuss case studies and real-life experiences on providing telecommunications
service in rural areas. For: Policy makers, regulators, telecommunications
company employees, NGOs, community development groups, bilateral and multilateral
donors, and others. http://www.ntca.org/intl/index.html
African ICT developments. Articles, statistics, internet-related maps, country information. Began in 2009 by Tim Katlic Based in California. http://www.oafrica.com/
"a Common Initiative Group established in 1997 to acquire,
develop and provide quality Computer Literacy Training, as well as provide
Documentation and Telecommunication Services to the public." Cybercafe, sells
cell phones. Based in Kumbo, Cameroon. http://www.officeprogroup.com
On The Internet(Reston, VA). Internet and Emerging Nations. Special Issue
2001
Project initiated by Nicholas Negroponte to provide low-cost laptop PCs for children in developing countries. Nigeria is one of the first countries. "OLPC has created the XO laptop at a very low cost,... It has been designed explicitly for children of the elementary classes (ages 6-12)." See also the OLPC Wik.i http://www.laptop.org/
Information and Media and ICT for development. "OneWorld Africa is part of the international network of OneWorld that aims to Bring together a network of people and groups working for human rights and sustainable development from across the globe." http://africa.oneworld.net
Produced a free Office software suite in Swahili, "Jambo
OpenOffice". The suite is based on OpenOffice;
the Swahili project was led by Alberto
Escudero. They
also produced a Swahili version of Tux Paint, a popular free and open source drawing
program for children; its called TuKsi
Koti la Rangi. Is also producing a Swahili IT glossary.
Open Swahili Localization Project: http://www.kilinux.org
Jambo Open Office:
http://www.o.ne.tz
In French and English. An NGO created in 1998 to promote development thru
ICT (Information and Communication Technologies). Has the full text of its
e-newsletter, Orit@ Its first President is Ken Lohento and it is
a member of the ANAIS network.
Based in Cotonou, Benin. [KF]
In French. "OSIRIS se propose de produire des analyses, d'informer
et de sensibiliser sur tous les sujets qui sont en relation avec l'utilisation
et l'appropriation des technologies de l'information et de la communication
au Sénégal." Publishes a free e-newsletter, BATIK, Bulletin
d'Analyse sur les Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication,
"qui traite de l'actualité des TIC au Sénégal." Has full text
reports. http://www.osiris.sn
Includes its Newsletter, from 1993, and the 1995 African Telematics Symposium (Addis Ababa).
http://www.uneca.org/eca_resources/Major_ECA_Websites/padis/Default.htm
See also the PADIS
information at UPenn - Papers from the 1995 African Telematics conference
in Addis Ababa, information on CABECA, the PADIS initiative to provide electronic
connectivity in Africa. Material made available by Julie Sisskind and Ali
Dinar.
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Padis/menu_padis.html
In English and French. Wiki on African writing systems, profiles of African languages, ICT and localisation situations of all countries of Africa, sources for fonts, keyboards, language maps, legislation, country ICT profiles. Supported by the IDRC, Kabissa, and Bisharat. http://www.panafril10n.org/
In English and Spanish.
Full text article of 24 pages. Discusses internet growth in Africa, rural
access, phone and computer access, role of development assistance, rural
education in South Africa, the African Virtual University, HealthNet/SatelLife's
role, etc. (Panos Media Briefing No. 28 April 1998). [KF] http://www.panos.org.uk/briefing/interpov.htm
Full text article (1995) by the Panos Institute (London) on the opportunities
and perils of the internet for developing countries. (Panos Media Briefing
No. 16 / October 1995). http://www.panos.org.uk/briefing/internet.htm
The Bandwidth Consortium of four major U.S. foundations, the African Virtual University (AVU), 11 African universities and two higher education organizations work with satellite service provider, Intelsat, "to bring vastly expanded Internet bandwidth capacity and capability, at approximately one-third the cost, to academic institutions on the continent."
Full text of Securing
the Linchpin: ICT for Teaching, Learning, and Research, a Workshop
for African Universities 2002. The Grants Database provides information
about information and communication technologies grants by country, grantee, donor, amount, duration, purpose of grant, and keywords
on grants received from the Partnership members: Carnegie Corporation of
New York, the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Rockefeller
Foundation. Based at New York University, New York city. [KF] http://www.foundation-partnership.org
Sponsored by the Don Snowden Program for Development Communication Rural
Extension Studies, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada to improve
telecommunications for participatory rural development in Canadian and international
contexts.
The conference has two components:
A two day face-to-face conference on October 26 and 27, 1998 on the campus
of the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
A free online pre-conference located at http://www.snowden.org
from October 1 to 21, 1998 provides "opportunities
to discuss
past, present and future uses of communication technology in rural
areas." http://www.snowden.org/conference/index.cfm
"The primary mission of the Asante Akim Multipurpose Community Telecentre
is to bring the benefits of the information and communication technologies
to rural communities in Ghana." Video clips of a girls' festival,
kente and adinkra symbols, people and panoramas of the village (need
to move your cursor), photographs of a community forum. "On
August 4, 2001, the village launched the first solar-powered telecentre,
the Asante Akim Multipurpose Community Telecentre (AAMCT), in Ghana."
Includes graphic images of health problems. The village has an 8-room
bed and breakfast inn. A project of the Ghana Computer Literacy &
Distance Education, Inc. (GhaCLAD), Greenstar,
and the village. http://www.Patriensa.com
12 page article by Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Trevor Harmon. Through
the U.S. govt. sponsored Digital Freedom Initiative 100 volunteers
will assist small businesses in Senegal. If the project is successful,
it will be expanded to 20 other countries. On the state of computer technology
in West Africa as of early 2003. http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/2013080.html
Larry Press, Professor of Computer Information Systems, California State
University, Dominguez Hills has on his site many full-text articles on Networking
in Developing Nations including Africa
at INET, a report on the Internet Society's 1997 African Networking
Symposium. [See also Papers
from the Symposium.] There are links to articles on networking in African countries. He was Editor of GNET, an archive
and journal on computer networks in lesser-developed nations and is Editor
of the Developing Nations section, of OnTheInternet, pub. by the
Internet Society. http://som.csudh.edu/fac/lpress/
The Project, begun in 1998 by the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller
Foundation, awards grants for the use of technology to improve the dissemination
of African information. Includes web sites of grantees. The latest project
will be a directory of African information in digitized form. Its director
is Lisbeth Levey. http://www.piac.org/
Examples of projects -
Wired for Information:
Putting the Internet to Good Use in Africa - lists internet guides in
Arabic, French, Portuguese, has a directory of research oriented web
sites
In French. "une initiative de l’AAUL (Association africaine des Utilisateurs de Logiciels Libres) et de l’OIF (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie) à travers son Institut de la Francophonie Numérique." Workshops in Linux administration, etc. http://rall.logiciels-libres.org/
Systems integrator, provides enterprise-wide ICT solutions and services. "Founded in 1985, Resourcery has grown to a staff strength of over 100 professionals with offices in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt". http://www.resourcery.com/
"...enables outstanding technologists to use their vision and talent
to build information and communications technology solutions that empower
developing world communities." http://reuters.stanford.edu/
Based in Pisa, Italy, "initiated in 1992 as a framework for UNESCO's
support for African co-operation to promote academic and public sector computer
networking... RINAF started with support from Italy, and complementary assistance
from the Netherlands and the Republic of Korea and UNESCO's Regular Programme.
Today, RINAF is the framework of all UNESCO's telematics support activity
for development in Africa..." http://www.unesco.org/webworld/build_info/rinaf.html
Organization which provides electronic connectivity in Francophone Africa.
Articles on the internet in Africa, etc. Under the French government funded
Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement,
Paris. http://www.rio.net/
Edited by Lisbeth A. Levey and Stacey Young. Developed by the Project
for Information Access and Connectivity (PIAC). (Johannesburg, South Africa:
Zann Hoad Sharp Sharp Media (Pty) Ltd., 2002.). Full text of a book
on the history of the internet in Africa, with a timeline
(and maps). Covers the role of African NGOs, especially SANGONET,
a photo essay (includes community radio in Mozambique, women's enterprises),
African content on the web including from the Diaspora, ICT in
African universities, ICT funding in Africa, accounts of the beginnings
of the internet in Africa by some of its pioneers. [KF] http://www.piac.org/rowing_upstream/
The Southern African NGO Network provides Website Design, Hosting, Database
Design for civil society organizations. Offers internet training, information
communication technology (ICT) strategic planning, linux local area network
setup. Based in Johannesburg. http://sn.apc.org/corporate/index.shtml
A non-profit, based in Massachusetts, which provides an electronic network
for health professionals in Africa and other countries. Has 16 locations
in Africa. Their services include e-mail, discussion forums, publications,
exchange programs.
E-mail: info@usa.healthnet.org http://www.healthnet.org
"SchoolNet Namibia's objective is to provide appropriate computer
technology and Internet access to ALL schools in Namibia." Has a Schools
Database of educational institutions. They received the 2002
APC Africa Hafkin Communications Prize for people-centred information
and communications technology (ICT) policy. http://www.schoolnet.na
Science / health / IT news and articles, opinion pieces (from print
sources) on Sub-Saharan Africa. "sponsored by Nature
and Science in association with the Third World Academy of Sciences.
It is published with the financial support of the UK Department for International
Development, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and
the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, Canada." http://www.scidev.net/
Articles on USAID's projects in Africa on governance, economic growth,
agriculture, information technology, the environment, education, health,
humanitarian assistance. Quarterly published by the Office of Sustainable
Development, Bureau for Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development.
http://www.usaid.gov/regions/afr/abic/sdindex.htm
Company will provide the first undersea fibre optic cable connecting Eastern Africa to South Africa, Europe and India. The less expensive faster internet connection replaces expensive satellite internet access. Connects Djibouti, Kampala, Kigali, Mombasa, Maputo, Egypt, Tanzania, Madagascar to India (Mumbai) and Europe (France). 75% funded by African investors, 25% U.S. Work was delayed by Somali pirate activity. Based in Mauritius. http://www.seacom.mu
Full text report. 32 pages. In
pdf. (Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and Information Resources,
2004.) 2002 Project to provide free Internet access to six Cape Town, South
Africa public libraries in disadvantaged areas.The report describes the
impact on the lives of Cape Town residents. The Project received the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award 2003. [KF] http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub125abst.html
Has a report, "NGOs and ICTs use in Republic of Congo"
by Sylvie Niombo Ngouémé, published May 2003, 9 pages. Covers
telecom, internet service costs, infrastructure with respect to NGOs in
the Congo. In
Adobe pdf. "The SSRC is an independent, nonprofit organization.
Based in New York City." http://www.ssrc.org/programs/itic/tcsdocs/
Software technical support company. Originally S.O.F.T. Company Ltd. Established in 1991 by Hermann Chinery-Hesse and Joe Jackson. Based in Accra, Ghana. http://softtribe.com/
Blog of software developer/consultant, Guido Sohne. Articles on the African software industry, open source in Ghana, etc .
Maintained by Guido Sohne. [KF] http://sohne.net/
SONATEL (Societe Nationale des Telecommunications du Senegal) is the national
Senegal telecommunications company and provides telephone and telex services.
http://www.sonatel.senet.net
The NITF, formed November 1995, will provide policy options to ensure
the development of all the people of South Africa and works to develop an
information technology policy for a democratic South Africa. Site has the
Jan. 1996 conference paper by the Dept. of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology.
http://www.systems.co.za/nitpf/welcome.html
A project by Dr. Jonathan Miller, Centre for Information Systems, Univ.
of Cape Town to compile statistics on the internet in South Africa http://www.cis.uct.ac.za/survey/
The program is under the auspices of the SATCC of the SADC, it is funded
by USAID. The RTR helps businesses wishing to enter the telecom market.
It's site has figures for 1990-1993 for network statistics, economic indicators,
telecom financials, etc. HTTP://rtr.worldweb.net:80/
"Station Africa is a Seychelles International Business company with
an operational base in South Africa, controlling various telecommunication
subsidiary companies throughout Africa. Station Africa is a service provider
for INMARSAT, IRIDIUM and V-SAT services, as well as agent principal for
Thrane & Thrane hardware for sub-Saharan Africa." Based in South
Africa and the Netherlands. http://www.stationafrica.com/
A look at sustainable
ICT activities by NGOs. Site funded by the U. K. Department for International
Development (DFID), developed by Gamos Ltd and Big World (UK Charity). http://www.sustainableicts.org/index.htm
Case studies included - Deniva, a case study
of how ICTs can enhance existing networking activities among NGOs inUganda. http://www.sustainableICTs.org/ Digital Village,
case study of a telecentre in Soweto, South Africa, one of
the oldest telecentres in Africa. Gobal Voices, Kenyan
communities using video to increase awareness among government and
their fellow community of the community needs. Kuminfo, use of
GIS for natural resource management in Ghana. UDS, how Uganda
Development Services set up centres which offer access to ICTs and training
services for small business.
"We provide professional web hosting services to ISPs and
Internet consultants in Africa. Tangaza was designed to assist
small-to-medium sized African companies." Based in Mauritius. Works
with Comtrends "an American company who offers advanced Internet services
to ISPs around the world. Based in Atlanta Georgia, Comtrends operates the
servers and network that are the backbone of Tangaza's service." http://www.tangaza.com
TanzaNET Ltd. is an Internet Service Provider based in Dar es Salaam which
hosts the Java internet cafe where
one can set up an email account. They plan to produce a travel
online magazine and a business
online magazine. http://www.tanza.net
"International Online Journal of Technologies for the Advancement
of Knowledge and Learning." Pub. by Knowledge Enterprise, Inc., in
collaboration with UNESCO, OECD and Global Information Infrastructure Commission
(GIIC). Free registration.
1st issue includes "Ghana: Networking for Local Development...."
on telecenters in Ghana. http://www.TechKnowLogia.org
"TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes)." See also Africa: Blogging TEDS Global, by Benin Mwangi. Ted Africa 2008 was canceled. http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/49
In English, French, Spanish. News about telecentres world wide. Use the Search box to find information by country or topic. http://community.telecentre.org/
Telecentre and cybercafe. "One of the only rural cybercafes in Tanzania,
based in Kilosa, Morogoro Region. Services include telephone, IP telephone,
Internet, fax, photocopy, messaging, word processing, desktop publishing,
secretarial services, Internet & computer training, digital photos, and
scanning. The
service generates profits through making many villagers capable of earning
more money and enhancing their livelihoods." Owned by Mark Farahani.
http://www.kilosaruralservices.com
"the national telecommunications operator, established in August 1992 and wholly owned by the Government of the Republic of Namibia. Telecom Namibia is functioning as a commercialised company and as a subsidiary of its parent company, Namibia Post and Telecom Holdings Limited." Phone tariff costs. List of locations with wifi (mainly hotels). http://www.telecom.na/
Has some full text papers from "Partnerships
and Participation in Telecommunication for Rural Development: ....October
1998 Conference." Examples:
Tunde Adegbola, "Nigeria Infocommunes:
Blending Modern Information and Communications Technologies with Traditional
Practice"
Frank Tulus, "ACACIA: Communities and the Information
Society in Africa"
Esme Modisane (Project Manager), "South
Africa Community-based Access to Information and Communication Technologies"
Bruce Lusignan, "Rural Telecommunication Projects
of Stanford University's Communication Satellite Planning Center" http://www.telecommons.com/
Has access to documents: Ghana - Rural Stakeholder Consultations and Rapid
Market Assessment for Expanded Rural Telecommunication System (1998)
NGOs and Internet Use in Uganda: Who Benefits?
(1999)
Article in English with graphics (95K) by Michiel Hegener, a journalist
specializing in telecommunications (esp. satellite). Lots of information
about internet/telecom developments in Africa (in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Burkina
Faso, RASCOM project, Africa One of AT & T). The article originally
appeared in Nov. 1995 in a Dutch weekly, Vrij Nederland.http://som.csudh.edu/cis/lpress/devnat/general/africa.htm
Blog by Emeka Okafor on Africa's young entrepreneurs, technology for development
in Africa, development successes and failures. "A view of Africa and
Africans with a focus on entrepreneurship,technology,practical remedies
and other self sustaining activities." Links to related sites. [KF]
http://www.timbuktuchronicles.blogspot.com/
Titan has a "50 percent ownership position in an African-based telecommunications
company, AFRONETWORK," (in Benin), which will build a satellite-based
telephone system in Benin. Use their Search to locate articles on Benin.
Based in San Diego, CA. http://www.titan.com/
Once you register, you have free access to articles on telecommunications.
Has a keyword search which includes the current and past issues of Communications
Week International (London) and Communications
International (London). http://www.totaltele.com/
26 pages paper located on the Virtual Institute
of Information, a non-profit research facility on telecommunications,
computing and the mass media. Based at Columbia University, New York City.
http://www.vii.org/papers/tyler.htm
"CE is a broadband wireless network initiative that will transform 100 Nigerian universities into digital campuses by connecting them to each other and to the world. The digital campuses will serve as hubs for digital cities whose success will fuel a regional rollout." Initiated by Nam Mokwunye, a 2007 Reuters Digital Vision Fellow, Stanford University, California. http://udcnigeria.com/
Non-profit working to reduce the digital divide especially for rural areas.
Developed software for telecentres. Works with other Uganda
NGOs. Has a 2003, 26 page draft report, Rural ICT Utilisation in Tanzania Empirical Findings from Kasulu, Magu, and Sengerema,
by Olaf Nielinger (in PDF). Working to set up an African HELPNET (international African help
desk). Based in Kampala, Uganda. [KF] http://www.ugabytes.org/
Information on applying ICT technologies to governance.
Has country replies to a questionnaire on topics such as
"Government Launched Initiatives To Promote The Use Of Informatics
And Telematics In Government And Public Service," percentage of the
population witn access to a telephone at home, Does your
country regulate electronic data with Copyright Legislation,
What proportion of government departments have access to the Internet, etc.
Has media / ICT statistics. Compare replies to each question by country
and compare statistics such as the cost of a local call.
A joint UNESCO & COMNET-IT Research Project. [KF] http://www.comnet.mt:8080/unesco/
UNESCO's activities in the field of communication and information technology.Workhops
on ICT for Africa, UNESCO films on the internet in Africa. http://portal.unesco.org/ci/ev.php?URL_ID=1295&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201&reload=1037296894
In French and English. "Réseau pluridisciplinaire de recherche, d'Ingénieur
sociale et de partenariat pour le bien-être socio-économique des populations
et le développement durable en Afrique." Information on Cameroon, photographs,
articles (on the internet in Cameroun, the cybercafe). UREDS runs
a cybercafe in Yaounde. http://UREDS.com
"...initiative to kick-start networking in developing countries...Initially
launched in 12 pilot countries in 1992...the SDNP currently offers assistance
in establishing connectivity to national networks and the Internet, content
provision and aggregation, and user training in 40 developing nations and
36 small island developing states." Describes programs in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Togo.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/
A draft survey of Information Policy in Africa by Marius Francisco for
the UN ECA. Covers the history and current state of information technology
and computerization in Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Cote d'Ivoire, Madagascar,
Tanzania, Senegal. http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/ECA/infrmtks.html
NICI
Indicators provide statistics on the Telecommunications sector, ICT
networking, Telephone and cellular penetration by country, Internet Connectivity
by Country. Has brief
Country Profiles and National Information and Communications
Infrastructure (NICI) Policies for countries, such as the Nigerian
National Policy for Information Technology (Full text, in
Adobe pdf. 59 p.) [KF] http://www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/
Established to help bridge the global digital divide. Has a Regional
Network for Africa - "An African
Stakeholders Network (ASN) has been launched to ensure that United
Nations-efforts to bridge the digital divide in Africa are better co-ordinated,
more inclusive...." Has full text documents of ICT developments in
Africa. http://www.unicttaskforce.org/
A global volunteer programme aimed at bridging the digital divide between
the industrialized and the developing world. Includes reports, cyberfacts
on the digital divide. http://www.unites.org/
United States. Congress. House. Committee on International Relations.
Subcommittee on Africa. Bridging the information technology divide in Africa : hearing before
the Subcommittee on Africa of the
Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, One Hundred
Seventh Congress, first
session, May 16, 2001.
Washington : U.S. G.P.O. 2001. 35 p. [KF] http://www.house.gov/international_relations/afhear.htm
Speakers included Mr. Lane Smith [USAID Leland Initiative], Gail Ifshin,
Ph.D.[Discovery Channel],
Ernest Wilson, Ph.D. [Univ. of Maryland], Mr. Noah A. Samara [Worldspace
Corp.], Christine Hemrick [Cisco Systems]. Hearing
Transcript E (.TXT format)
Hearing transcript (PDF
- 149 kb, 39 p. takes a long time to download)
"a public-private partnership that recruits high tech volunteers
for short term projects worldwide. The GTC works with companies, individuals,
and organizations who are willing to volunteer their time, expertise and
resources to help spread the social and economic benefits of access to information
technology." Seeks volunteers for projects in Kenya, Nigeria, Swaziland,
Zimbabwe. "...while the program has had little trouble finding experts
to volunteer their time, getting equipment is more of a challenge...."
- N.Y.Times, Jan. 4, 2000, article Jeri Clausing.. http://www.globaltechcorps.org/
Has the full text on-line of ICTs and Higher Education in Africa; see under PHEA Educational Technology Initiative. Chapters on Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda. Information covered can include telecom structure, mobile phones, electrical power, radio and TV stations, ICT access and costs, ICT policy, telecentres. http://www.cet.uct.ac.za/
Regional centre for information technology training,
research and advisory services. Offers M.Sci., M.Phil., and Ph.D. degrees,
workshops, seminars. Includes a list
of Masters degree projects and Phd Theses. Courses in record management,
internet publishing, software and information systems project management,
business information systems design and applications, CDS/ISIS, etc. Based
in Ibadan, Nigeria. [KF] http://www.arcisng.net/
Cliff Missen from the University of Iowa spent September 1998 through
July 1999 at the University of Jos as a Fulbright Scholar, teaching about
computers, networking, and the Internet. His project assisted "with
establishing Internet connectivity, setting up the university's first local
area network, training technicians, and teaching about multimedia while
digitizing materials for the World Wide Web." http://www.widernet.org/josproject/
Has summaries and the full text of a Working Paper, "Information
Management, IT and Government Transformation: Innovative Approaches in the
new South Africa." http://www.man.ac.uk/idpm/idpm_dp.htm#rural_wp
Full text reports in html, Adobe PDF, Wordperfect. Example - "Information
and Communication Technologies, Poverty and Development" by Richard
Heeks http://www.man.ac.uk/idpm/idpm_dp.htm#devinf_wp
An open source platform that "allows anyone to gather distributed data via SMS, email or web and visualize it on a map or timeline." Using user-generated reports and Google Maps, Ushahidi created a map showing citizen generated crisis information after the post-election violence in Kenya." Now used in many countries including for Haiti earthquake relief. Created by Kenyans. http://www.ushahidi.com/
Has full text of the book on the Jutastat
site. Difficult to read online. (2nd ed. Kenwyn [South Africa] : Juta &
Co., 2000. 292 p.) Guide to the legal ramifications of information technology.
D.P. van der Merwe is Professor in the Department of Criminal Law at Unisa.
http://www.jutastat.com/
Blog about high-tech mobile and web technology change in Africa. By Erik Hersman who grew up in Kenya and Sudan, now lives in Kenya. Hersman is also an editor for AfriGadget about low-tech ingenuity and microentrepreneurs in Africa. http://whiteafrican.com/
"The WiderNet Project is a service program at the University of Iowa that works to improve digital communication in developing countries. Our current focus is in Africa and our closest ties and connections are with Nigerian universities. The WiderNet Project focuses on the improvement of educational communication systems in Africa by providing faculty and students with access to computers, email, and the Internet." http://www.widernet.org/"
The eGranary Digital Library provides millions of digital educational resources to institutions lacking adequate Internet access. Through a process of garnering permissions, copying Web sites, and delivering them to intranet Web servers INSIDE our partner institutions in developing countries, we deliver millions of multimedia documents that can be instantly accessed by patrons over their local area networks at no cost." http://www.widernet.org/digitallibrary/
Literature review which seeks to answer the question, "What is the impact
of globalized information and communications technology and services on
the politics and society of developing countries, especially on the issues
of conflict and cooperation?" Part of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund Project
on World Security. 44 p. Paper in Adobe pdf format. [KF] http://www.rbf.org/pws
"une SARL fondée en 1997, née du regroupement d’informaticiens
sénégalais et suisse associant les meilleures compétences techniques en
architecture client/serveur, mainframe et réseaux." http://www.wininfo.sn/
Find articles and citations to articles on the internet and computers in Africa from academic and research journals. Export citations to BibTeX and Endnote. About Windows Live. From Microsoft. http://academic.live.com/
Supports the use of open source software for educational purposes. Based at the University of Education Winneba, Ghana. See also OpenGhana. http://www.wilugghana.org/
World Bank and Govt. of Canada June 1997 conference, Knowledge for Development
in the Information Age, to harness information as tools for sustainable/equitable
development. Has a Virtual Conference
web site and a discussion list. To join, send email to: majordomo@mail.edc.org
Leave the Subject area blank. In the Message area put: subscribe GKD97
Do not include your name. http://www.globalknowledge.org/
The Canadian International Development Agency also sponsors a discussion
list for the conference, Village Well: http://www.villagewell.gk97.gc.ca/well97_e.htm
July 2004 "Powerpoint" report (49 p. in PDF). "which regions of the world will be the most economically successful in the 21st century, ...... many scholars and pundits believe those regions will be the ones that can most successfully attract the so-called "knowledge" areas, such as information technology, nanotechnology, and a host of other fields." http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/117324/TanzaniaBenchmarkingAssessment72104.pdf
"We collect working computers which are too often discarded and place
them with educational organisations in Africa [18 countries], Asia, and
Latin America." Based in Hull, Massachusetts. http://www.worldcomputerexchange.org/
Its Clearinghouse is a large database of Africa-related and other projects.
Its goal is to help projects find partners, financial resources, technical
advice. Search for projects by region, country. Covers approximately 600
projects worldwide, about 50 projects are added every month. Includes a
directory of related digital divide sites. Has a free e-newsletter. http://www.digitaldividend.org/index.htm
"Based in Washington D.C., the Worldspace Enterprise was founded
in 1990 to provide direct satellite delivery of digital audio communications
services to the emerging and undeserved markets of the world, including
Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East . By the
end of the decade, Worldspace will have three satellites in orbit to transmit
information, education and entertainment programming to a service area that
includes over 4.6 billion people." http://www.worldspace.com/
In French. The DRC and information and communication technology. Documents
preparatory to the 2005 World Summit
on the Information Society conference. http://wsisdrc.gn.apc.org/
Ranks university web sites world-wide, including the top African university web sites. "The "Webometrics Ranking of World Universities" is an initiative of the Cybermetrics Lab, a research group belonging to the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), the largest public research body in Spain." Based in Madrid, Spain. http://www.webometrics.info/
Site on using the internet for research in the humanities and social sciences
for South Africans.Also information on writing research
proposals, evaluating information, etc. Prepared by the Centre for Science
Development (HSRC) and Infolit, a project of the Adamastor Trust. http://www.nrf.ac.za/yenza/
"a charitable company that is committed to promote the use of
Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in development by disadvantaged
young people and other members of the community, first in Zimbabwe
and throughout Africa." Established by Batsirai Mike Chivhanga. http://www.youngruddinternational.org/
In French. Internet service provider, web host, web design, network management, GIS, database expertise, and other information and communications technology services. Founded by Sylvain ZONGO who established the first internet connection to Burkina Faso. . Based in Ouagadougou. http://www.zcp.bf/
© 1994-2011 The Board of Trustees of the Leland