Evènements et Informations / News and Events
Botswana launches 3 rd Human Development Report entitled ‘'Harnessing Science and technology for Human development''
Gaborone: 31 March 2005 : Despite its extensive telecommunications infrastructure and one of the highest Internet bandwidths in Africa, Botswana has so far been unable to leverage communications and information technologies to help improve the lives of its people and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the global marketplace. This is the conclusion of the country's third Human Development Report launched today by the Minister of Communication, Science & Technology, Ms Pelonomi Venson; The report entitled “ Harnessing Science and Technology for Human Development” makes the case that human development is intrinsically linked to freedom from poverty and disease and acknowledges that the widening gap between the “haves” and “have nots', both within and across nations is exacerbated by lack of equity in terms of sharing resources. This reports follows the one by Cape verde on the same theme in 2004.
Africa @ WSIS Prepcom2 .-The second meeting of the preparatory committee (PrepCom-2 of the Tunis phase) took place in Geneva, Switzerland from 17 to 25 February 2005. Some issues are yet to be resolved, such as Internet Governance for which the report of the Working Group will be released in July. Also issues related to implementation and follow up mechanisms are still pending and will be tackled during Prepcom3. However the Digital Solidarity Fund has been officially accepted. Africa was represented by 13 Ministers, several Permanent Secretaries and all the Ambassadors accredited in Geneva. In addition each country had an average of 4 delegates during Prepcom2. Prepcom3 will be held from 19 to 30 September 2005. The African position was presented through the Minister of Communication of Ghana, who is President of the WSIS African group. It should be noted that UNDP/BDP coordinated the Task Force on financing mechanisms (TFFM) which was set up by the UN SG as a recommendation of WSIS 1.
Global Information Technology Report 2004-2005.-This report assesses the state of the networked readiness of 104 economies. It is an upd ate of the previous Reports, capturing new insights and best practices and gleaning policy lessons from various... Read the full news item on http://www.iconnect-online.org/News/iconnectnews.2005-03-10.1868910183
GDN's Knowledge Sharing for Development: Africa Regional Program .-As part of its program of supporting the generation and communication of research from developing countries, the Global Development Network (GDN) organized a workshop in Cairo, Egypt from 27 to 28 February 2005 to enhance the knowledge sharing and research dissemination capacity of research institutes and networks in Africa. The workshop brought together people from across the continent who are responsible for communicating the wealth of research knowledge currently being produced in Africa - these included librarians, administrators, information officers, knowledge managers and researchers. More: http://www.bellanet.org
ICTs for Participatory Health and Livelihoods Skills Training is a pilot project designed to harness new digital camera technologies to help cross-border migrants learn basic health and livelihood skills that can improve their well-being even under the harsh realities of stateless migrant experience.URL:
http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/newsletter/article.php?article_id=114
ICTs, Decentralization and Local Governance: Exploring the Potential.-In a context of decentralization, local authorities face increased responsibilities, limited resources, and at times, limited human resource capacity. In such environments, strategic investments in ICTs can really pay off. URL: http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/newsletter/article.php?article_id=117
Mali: Selected Snapshots of 12,000 CLIC Clients .- After 10 months of operation, most of the Community Learning and Information Centers (CLICs) that were established under the dot-ORG pilot funded by USAID/Mali are taking off. Early challenges in building a client base and establishing reliable Internet connections have been overcome, yet other challenges remain ahead. URL:
http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/newsletter/article.php?article_id=113
Internet aids tsunami recovery.-By Michael Coren,CNN .- (CNN) -- The Internet has played an unprecedented role supplying aid, money and information in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunamis. Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/01/05/tech.tsunami/index.html
READINGS ..... READINGS ..... READINGS .....
ICT4D – Connecting people for a better world - A new book from Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) and the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP)
This book aims to make the outstanding wealth of knowledge compiled during the ICT4D Platform of WSIS-I available to a wider audience. It is also intended to stimulate interest and awareness beyond the core ICT circles, and especially to reach those development organisations, which are still skeptical about ICT4D because of its perceived technological focus. More: http://www.globalknowledge.org/ict4d/
e-Readiness Assessment: Is duplication building a knowledge base or wasting resources? CIPESA International ICT Policy Commentary Series, Volume 1, Commentary 2. 14 March 2005
This commentary is part of the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), a programme by bridges.org. This is one of a series intended to spark thinking and dialogue on important issues in the field. These short informative pieces give an overview of an international ICT policy issue relevant to African stakeholders, and stir discussion by presenting strong views and provocative questions. Readers are encouraged to respond to the points raised, via email or in the "comments" box under each commentary on the CIPESA website. More: www.cipesa.org/AfricansCareAboutICTPolicy
Network Readiness Index 2004-2005 Report. (World Economic Forum Global Technology Report)
A total of 104 countries were ranked, including 23 African countries. 15 of the 23 African improved their rankings and 8 regressed in ranking. Most improved was Morocco (up by 10 points); close behind were Tunisia, Kenya and Ghana, each up by 9 points. Most regressed was Tanzania (12 points down), followed by Nigeria (7 points down). More: http://africa.rights.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=21860ne_1&x=31261
Coming soon..
6 – 8 April 2005, “THE AFRICAN BROADBAND REVOLUTION 2005” Overcoming Technical and Financial Barriers to Broadband Deployment in Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa .- The event is organized by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO), and aims to present opportunities for wholesale and retail broadband in Africa, by bringing together key stakeholders with a view to stimulating the uptake of true broadband in Africa. More: http://www.cto.int/abr05/index.php?page=home
12 – 14 April 2005, EU-Africa ICT Sector Partner Promotion Meeting, Dakar, Senegal .-West Africa 2005 will bring together the main stakeholders of the West African ICT sector from the private and public sector, including individual ICT professionals, representatives of small, medium and large enterprises, regulatory bodies, donor and development agencies, West African Ministers of information and communication, members of the scientific community, educational institutions, telecom operators and various ICT associations. A total of 500 visitors are expected to attend the meeting, making it the largest of its kind. More: http://www.optic.sn/RencontreAng/default.html
13 – 14 April 2005, Eighth Meeting of the UN ICT Task Force "Global Forum on Harnessing the Potential of ICTs for Education", Dublin, Ireland .-The Global Forum will explore how ICTs can provide a practical and enabling solution for improving the quality and quantity of education, by bringing together participants from the fields of education, ICTs and development. The Forum will be co-hosted by the Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI). Launched by Mrs. Nane Annan at the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in December 2003, GeSCI works at local, national and international levels, convening and supporting groups as they deliver effective ICT-in-education strategies. More: http://www.unicttaskforce.org/eighthmeeting/
23-28 April 2005.- CODI IV on information as economic resource in Africa .The fourth meeting of the Committee on Development Information (CODI IV) will take place from 23 to 28 April 2005, including pre-meeting workshops, seminars and tutorials. Under the theme of “Information as an Economic Resource”, the meeting will discuss and recommend strategies to ECA and member States for harnessing information for economic growth. Delegates are drawn from national statistics offices, national libraries, archives and documentation centres, information and communications technology agencies, national mapping agencies and other geoinformation management organizations. The draft programme and additional information can be found at the CODI web page: www.uneca.org/codi
31 August – 2 September 2005, Botswana to host the 2 nd World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR).- Dubbed ‘ICT for accelerated development, the Forum will address issues critical to developing countries such as the application of ICT to fight HIV/AIDS, poverty, access to education,empowerment, environment as well as social, ethical and legal consequences of IT. ( www.witfor.org.bw )
ANNONCES ..... ANNOUNCEMENTS .....
*AfrISPA IXP Survey. AfrISPA has an African Internet Exchange Task Force (AFIX-TF) to promote the development of new IXPs
The project is funded by DFID's CATIA programme. AfrISPA intends to have 8-12 new IXPs up and running in Africa by May 2006. The first workshop is planned to take place in April 2005 and 6-10 workshops will be organized over the next 14 months. AfrISPA will provide and fund trainers and equipment, so long as local contacts can ensure a minimum number of participants and provide a venue. A survey is underway to help AfrISPA plan where and when to host this series of workshops. More: http://www.afrispa.org
*GKP publication and stocktaking on ICT4D initiatives for the WSIS and the MDGs
The Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) intends to make a contribution to both the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS - Tunis Phase) and the Millennium+5 Summit in 2005, which will review the world's progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This contribution will be made via ONE publication on "ICTs, MDGs and the Information Society" and will serve as an advocacy tool on the positive role of ICTs in development based on the experiences and initiatives of GKP members. The publication will thus serve to highlight the work of GKP members to global policy makers and ICT4D practitioners. GKP launched a stocktaking exercise, which entails gathering, aggregating, and analyzing information based on members' experiences and initiatives in ICT4D. More: http://www.globalknowledge.org
* Sharing Innovative Experiences; call for nominations
The UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation is inviting nominations for initiatives with successful experiences using knowledge networks to promote the sharing of local knowledge. Selected nom... Read the full news item on http://www.iconnect-online.org/News/iconnectnews.2005-03-31.9434496645
* The Commission for Africa's report
The report is calling for radical changes to the relationship between African countries and the worlds rich nations. But to make this a reality, the rule books on trade, aid and debt must be rewri... Read the full news item on http://www.iconnect-online.org/News/iconnectnews.2005-03-31.7152713350
* Digital Solidarity Fund
A plan for wealthy nations to contribute a digital tax to provide hi-tech tools for poor nations was officially launched in Geneva. Read the full news item on http://www.iconnect-online.org/News/iconnectnews.2005-03-31.3167806589
* Citizen consultations using ICT in Spain
Under the name of ‘Madrid Participa', the City of Madrid has launched a series of citizen consultations using new technologies with the objective of involving citizens in local politics and evaluating the effectiveness of the electronic mechanisms of participation used. The first e-consultation, which took place in June 2004, represented the largest e-participation experience in Spain and one of the largest in Europe to date. Approximately 130,000 citizens of Madrid were consulted on three key issues affecting their district and were allowed to express their opinion through three different voting channels: Internet, mobile phones and short messages (SMS). For more information see www.madridparticipa.org/SiteDefaultPage
* Finalists of the APC HAFKIN PRIZE 2004/5: Recognising community connectivity projects for economic development in Africa
In May, APC will announce the winner of the $7,500 Hafkin Prize. This year's APC Hafkin Prize recognises community initiatives that use the Internet and other digital communication networks to access markets, skills and opportunities to derive real economic benefits. The winner will be selected from the outstanding technology initiatives below. The Hafkin Prize finalists in 2004-5 are BorgouNET/Benin; Bukuku ICT Project/Uganda; Development and Promotion of ICTs in Kenya and Neighbouring Countries; Global Education Partnership - East Africa/Kenya; OKN Mobile Kenya; and Thinkquest Uganda. More: http://www.apc.org/english/hafkin
A selection from the UNDP's ICTD Observatory : UNDP's ICT for Development (ICTD) Observatory keeps an eye on related critical issues for developing countries. If you have information to contribute to the Observatory please submit to nitobserver@sdnp.undp.org or use our web form at http://www.sdnp.undp.org/observatory/userform.html
Cellphones changing African lives at all levels
People at all income levels are using mobile services, either by owning or sharing a phone, while a lack of mains electricity is circumvented by recharging phones with a generator or a car battery. The effort is worth it because in the poorest rural areas cellphones have reduced the need to travel, helped people hunt for jobs, given them more access to business information, and improved their relationships with family and friends by keeping them in contact.
Debate Heats Up Over WIPO Development Agenda
Developing countries and co-sponsors of the development agenda proposal disagree with the establishment of a single body within WIPO to address development. A key aspect of the proposal is a call for systemic change throughout WIPO toward a greater sensitivity to developing country concerns. WIPO is caught in crossfire, as developed countries speaking on behalf of their influential intellectual property-producing industries oppose such a change.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=7561&do=gpage
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