Weekly News Roundup - Africa January 25

Created By: Esther on 24-Jan-2008 11:36 PM

Nigeria's 2020 ICT Action Plan Soon
All is set for the roll out of the final chapters of Nigeria's Information Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) Action Plan by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) which hosted an all-stakeholders' meeting last week in Lagos to articulate views on the draft and forge Nigeria's roadmap to be among the world's 20 leading economies by year 2020.

Limpopo to Implement Wireless Internet
The Limpopo government has undertaken a massive project to install the infrastructure for wireless broadband technology so residents can gain access to internet throughout the province.
The project, which is expected to be completed by March 2010, involves connecting about 6 000 sites around the province, including 4 400 schools and a number of clinics and hospitals situated in some of the more remote areas.

Cameroon: Schools, Councils Receive 1,000 Computers
A US-based organisation, Technology Outreach Project, TOP, in collaboration with the US Montgomery County Public Schools recently donated 1,000 computers to some schools and councils in Cameroon.
Half of the computers will be used in councils in civil registration services while the other half will be used in primary, secondary schools and public offices.The machines are intended to equip multimedia centres, contribute in offering basic training in information technology and be used also as educative resources in primary and secondary schools.


India's greener IT revolution
The man who helped mastermind India's "green revolution" in agriculture in the 1960s is now hoping to do a similar thing for information technology in the country.
MS Swaminathan was one of the key figures in the plan to make India nearly self-sufficient in food through technology which allowed for intensive farming techniques.

'Investing in ICT 'll Reduce Poverty'
In this interview, Special Adviser to Governor Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi of Zamfara State on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Engineer Garba Muhammd bares his mind on the workings of the new directorate of information and Communication Technology as well as the challenges they are facing in promoting the sector. He spoke with Imam Imam

Mobiles linked to disturbed sleep
Using a mobile phone before going to bed could stop you getting a decent night's sleep, research suggests.
The study, funded by mobile phone companies, suggests radiation from the handset can cause insomnia, headaches and confusion.
It may also cut our amount of deep sleep - interfering with the body's ability to refresh itself.

Ethiopia: Agency Says to Boost Country's ICT Distribution
The Ethiopian Information Communication Technology Development Agency (EICTDA) said on Tuesday it was set to reach as many communities in the country as possible in an effort to make them benefit from the fruits of the technology.
The statement was made by agency's Director General Debretsion G/Michael while speaking at a workshop on the distribution of the technology, including the challenges and opportunities.


Broadband Services: Economic and Environmental Benefits
A new report from the American Consumer Institute has calculated the current and future effects that broadband Internet will have on our carbon emissions. The resulting numbers are staggering. In the next 10 years, ACI reports that the world will save roughly 1 BILLION tons of carbon in the next ten years by operating on the Internet.

The invisible computer revolution
If I had told you ten years ago that by the end of 2007 there would be an international network of wirelessly-connected computers throughout the developing world, you might well have said it wasn't possible.
I would probably have said the same, but as it turns out we would have been wrong: it was possible, and it was created, and it continues to expand, not through Non-Governmental Organisations or charity or development grants but through the market, with much of it financed by some of the poorest people on the planet.

Cambodia: KhmerOS selected as one of the two best projects using ICT to improve economic development

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- The KhmerOS/Open Schools Program initiative - a Cambodian collaborative project - was selected as a finalist for the Stockholm Challenge/GKP Award. It was nominated as one of two projects that best use information and communication technology (ICT) to produce economic development. The Sweden-based Stockholm Challenge Award is the most prestigious award evaluating projects that make use of technology to contribute to the advancement of developing countries.
The Khmer Software Initiative (KhmerOS) is based in two simple beliefs: there is no economic development in countries that do not use technology; and, there is no widespread use of technology if it is not available in the language of the country.

 

 

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