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News Archive 2006 |
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Workshop
on legal framework for e-commerce and an harmonized legal framework
for ICT in West Africa, 19 - 20 December 2006,
Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso
 The
ECOWAS strategic medium term plan 2004-2007 was developed to
enable Member States take up the challenges for the realization
of the NEPAD objectives, and those contained in the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).
More
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Annual
Meeting of the Vth African Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC-5)
12-14 December 2006
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
more
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 African
Union Ministerial Conference on Communications & Information
Technology (CIT)
18-19 November 2006
Cairo, Egypt
more
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PICTA
Bulletin, Number 58, November 2006!
 GKP
Feature: Exploring the Benefits of Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships
(MSPs) .....IDRC grant to ICT4D lab project in Morocco ......IICD’s
corporate identity: a new way to go .....IICD celebrates its
tenth anniversary .....The African youth deliberate on ICTs
and entrepreneurship ...“African Youth Speak on the
Information Society” – a new publication from
ECA ......Rwandan Cabinet Approves Second NICI policy and
plan ......SADC Ambassadors build their ICT skills .......Regional
e-Government Framework for the East African Community (EAC)
Approved ...... ...
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Regional
e-Government Framework for the East African Community (EAC)
Approved
 The
East African Community (EAC) Council of Ministers approved
the Regional e-Government Framework for EAC at its 13th meeting
which ended on 29 November 2006. The EAC Regional e-Government
Framework was developed with assistance provided under the
Global ePolicy Resource Network (ePol-NET), funded by the
Government of Canada, and the Cooperation on ICTs with the
Government of Finland. Canada's ePolicy Resource Centre (CePRC)
also greatly participated in the development of the e-Government
Framework through the provision of Canada's expertise as well
as training and sharing of experiences with members of the
Secretariat and the Interim Working Group on e-Government.
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SADC
Ambassadors build their ICT skills
 A
3-day training workshop on Information Society issues and
hands-on ICT skills development is underway for SADC ambassadors
at ECA’s Southern Africa Regional Office in Lusaka.
The programme aims to introduce the ambassadors to the overall
African Information Society Initiative (AISI) framework and
the activities underway in the southern Africa region with
respect to ICT for accelerated socio-economic development.
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The
African youth deliberate on ICTs and entrepreneurship
 Over
100 youth delegates from all over Africa deliberated on ICT
& Youth entrepreneurship during the ADF V Breakout Session,
which was held on 16th November 2006 organised by the ICT,
Science and Technology Division. During the session, participants
discussed best practices in using ICTs as a tool to promote
youth initiatives and leadership and to foster broader economic
development process. Participants shared a number of exciting
and innovative ideas and activities undertaken by African
youth in the areas of entrepreneurship, ICT and Youth-led
social enterprises as well as job creation.
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ADF
V: eSkills for Youth Entrepreneurship
More
than 55 African youth, representing all of ECA's member States
participated in a one day intensive skills building programme
on Blogging and e-commerce at the Information Technology Centre
for Africa (ITCA). The training was offered to the youth here
to attend the ADF was an effort to provide basic understanding
of the links between ICT and enterprise development.
For
more information please visit the ADF V website: http://www.uneca.org/adf/
More
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Rwandan
Cabinet Approves Second NICI policy and plan
 Rwanda
is one country on the continent that has made progress in
developing an all-encompassing ICT-led social and economic
development framework, based on the ECA-led African Information
Society Initiative (AISI). Rwanda with the assistance of ECA
began formulating its first ICT policy in 1998, championed
by President Paul Kagame. This is part of a series of documents,
spanning the 20 years required to realize Rwanda’s Vision
2020.
More
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“African
Youth Speak on the Information Society”
 In
its effort to ensure the participation of all stakeholders
in Information Society development, the ICT and Science Technology
Division (ISTD) has been engaged in supporting and mobilising
African Youth in the implementation of the AISI through their
national and regional Youth networks.
More
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PICTA
Bulletin, Number 57, October 2006!
GKP
Launches e-Bulletin Service for Members .....ICT Policy and
Regulation workshop concludes in Dakar .....ICT 4ALL Forum,
Tunis+1: ICT Investment in Africa......Stakeholders’
strategic meetings on networking and partnership for building
the Information Society in Uganda .....Africa participates
in the Canadian Government Technology Exhibition and Conference
(GTEC) for the second year .....First session of the Internet
Governance Forum (IGF) ....Government of Ghana to adopt e-Governance
programmes ......Libya to provide laptops to all schoolchildren
.....Rwanda:
Landlocked Country May Soon Become Top ICT Hub in Africa ...
More
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Africa
participates in the Canadian Government Technology Exhibition
and Conference (GTEC) for the second year
 The
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in collaboration with
the Canadian ePolicy Resource Centre (CePRC) and under the
Global ePolicy Resource Network (ePol-NET), facilitated the
participation of over 54 e-Government and ICT Policy makers
from 25 African countries in the Canadian Government Technology
Exhibition and Conference Week (GTEC) 2006. GTEC Week, which
has just concluded, was held from 23 – 27 October 2006
in Ottawa, Canada.
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ICT
Policy and Regulation workshop concludes in Dakar
 As
a follow up to the World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS), ECA, the Canadian e-Policy Resource Centre (CEPRC),
the e-Policy Resource Network (ePol-NET), NetTel@Africa network
and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)
in collaboration with the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications
and New Technologies of Sénégal, convened from
16-19 October 2006 in Dakar a workshop under the theme "Development
and implementation of ICT policies in Africa : Strengthening
the capacity of stakeholders". The workshop, which was
mainly targeted to French-speaking African countries was the
second of a series of four seminars being held in various
sub-regions of Africa.
More
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PICTA
Bulletin, Number 56, September 2006!
Sustainability
cases show that ICTs can enhance development .....ICTs for
agricultural livelihoods: Impact and lessons learned from
IICD supported activities ......GKP’s 3rd Global Knowledge
Conference (GK III) ......African Journalists receive Information
Society awards ......“Africa on the Road to Athens”
.....Sub-regional ICT strategy for Central Africa underway
......ICT4D media Campaign launched in the Gambia .....ARAPKE
discussed at the Digital Solidarity Agency (DSA) meeting
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African
Journalists receive Information Society awards
 ECA
and its partners will award deserving African journalists
for reporting on the effective use of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) in development on the continent. The awards
ceremony will be held during the annual Highway Africa Conference
taking place September in Grahamstown, South Africa. The conference,
to be held from 11-15th September is host to more than 500
journalists from over 40 countries and is dubbed "the
biggest annual media event in Africa".
More
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PICTA
Bulletin, Number 55, August 2006!
infoDev
begins survey and capacity building activities in Africa,
the Caribbean and the Pacific focusing on ICT use in education
......Integration of ICT in the National Development Planning
Framework of Uganda .....African telecom company supports
ICT development projects in Africa ....Call for working together
for long-term sustainability .....Swaziland Cabinet approve
the NICI policy ....2006 AISI Media Awards .....ITCA/ISTD
Capacity building for Ethiopian Customs Authority on Automated
System for Customs Data .....Knowledge Networks through ICT
access points for disadvantaged communities ......
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Cabinet
approves NICI Policy in Kingdom of Swaziland
 The
Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland last week approved
the NICI policy, submitted to Cabinet by the Minister of Tourism,
Environment & Communications, Ms Thandi F. Shongwe. The
NICI process started in May 2004, when the Government requested
technical and financial support from ECA to develop an inclusive
National Information and Communication Infrastructure Policy
and plan for the country to address .....
More
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ITCA/DISD
Capacity building for Ethiopian Customs Authority on Automated
System for Customs Data
 ECA's
Information Technology Centre for Africa (ITCA) through the
Development Information Services Division (DISD) has launched
the final training module in the first phase of the series
of capacity building activities for officials of the Ethiopian
Customs Authority.
More
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PICTA
Bulletin, Number 54, July 2006!
GKP
Africa & MENA regional workshop....IICD: Monitoring and
evaluating together ...ITU: International steps taken to build
global Information Society - United Nations agencies to coordinate
implementation of WSIS Plan of Action ....Bellanet at the
first Open Curriculum meeting .....Sierra Leone Validates
the NICI Policy and Plans .......Mid-term review meeting of
e-commerce project in North Africa .....Training course prepares
Africa for the UN Internet Governance Forum ... Workshop on
“Harnessing the ICT Potential in Ethiopia” ....Ethiopia:
FOSS policy workshop ....
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African
CSOs Speak on the World Summit on the Information Society
 The
African Civil Society have engaged in the World Summit on
the Information
Society (WSIS) in a resolute manner. From its early stages,
when the notion of ICT for development was only a nascent
idea to the very last days of the second phase of the Summit,
the profi le of the African Civil Society has been transformed,
making them serious partners in building Africa’s Information
Society. In this publication, African CSOs share the basic
knowledge that they have acquired in the WSIS process and
present capital issues, fundamental questions in building
a people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented Information
Society.
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Sierra
Leone Validates the NICI Policy and Plans
 About
70 participants drawn from sectors ministries, departments,
agencies, NGOs, media, civil society representatives attended
the National Information & Communication Infrastructure
(NICI) Policy validation workshop organized by the NICI core
group in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa
(ECA) on 30 June - 2 July 2006 in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
More
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PICTA
Bulletin, Number 53, June 2006!
SchoolNet
Africa moves Secretariat to Senegal ......EASSY Declaration
signed by Southern and Eastern Africa Ministers .......Reflections
on the GKP international Forum 2006 ......GKP Strategy 2010
Programme Framework Information Release ......Global alliance
outlines work to solve information technology needs of the
poor .......Harambee and AYIN study launched ... ECA organizes
a training course on Internet Governance for African policymakers
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ECA
organizes a training course on Internet Governance for African
Policymakers
 The
debate on Internet Governance, especially regarding “who
owns the Internet” gained momentum in the late 1990s
when the Internet became popular, giving rise to its use beyond
universities and research institutions.
The
controversy increased during the first phase of the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) when debates pointed
to the need to enhance the role of all key stakeholders in
making the Internet a development tool and a global public
good. In this context, a number of developing countries called
for the need to re-examine the issue of who governs the Internet.
More
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Editors
and media house directors to hold Information Society workshop
The
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in collaboration with
the Government of Cameroun, the Central African ECA Subregional
Office, the Media School of the University of Yaounde II and
Ecole Supérieure des Sciences et Techniques de l’Information
et de la Communication (ESSTIC) will hold a workshop on the
theme, ‘Involving editors and directors of media houses
in building the Information Society,’ from 28-30 June
2006 in Yaounde, Cameroun.
More
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2006
AISI Media Awards Announced!
 The
deadline for application to the 2006 AISI Media Awards is
15 August 2006. The Award winners will be announced in September
2006. The AISI Media Awards were introduced in 2003 to encourage
more informed coverage of the information society and ICT
for development issues in Africa as part of ECA’s Information
Society Outreach and Communication Programme. The Awards are
aimed at individual journalists and media institutions based
in Africa that are “promoting journalism which contributes
to a better understanding of the information society in Africa.
More
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African
Private Sector to hold Information Society workshop
ECA
in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Tunisia,
Elgazala Technoparc and Softopia Technopark of Japan are holding
a workshop on ‘Involving the African Private Sector
in building the Information Society’ from 8-9 June 2006
in Tunis.
More
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PICTA
Bulletin, Number 52, May 2006!
GKP
launches the virtual “Beyond Tunis: Flightplan”
.....First World Information Society Day highlights the need
for e-security ....ITU announces results of global survey
and launches cybersecurity gateway on World Telecommunication
Day 2006.....NEPAD: e-Africa Youth Programme established.....Digital
Opportunity Channel celebrates its fourth birthday .....
More
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ECA@WSIS:
A report on ECA activities during the World Summit on the
Information Society
 On
21 December 2001, the United Nations General Assembly adopted
Resolution 56/183 on the organization of a World Summit on
the Information Society (WSIS), recognizing “the urgent
need to harness the potential of knowledge and technology
for promoting the goals of the United Nations Millennium Declaration,
and to find effective and innovative ways to put this potential
at the service of development for all”.
More
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Empowering
Journalists for building an Inclusive Information Society
in Rwanda
 A
2-day workshop was held for Journalists in Rwanda to create
awareness and indepth understanding of the 2 phases of Rwanda's
National Information and Communication Infrastracture (NICI).
Held from 18-19 May 2006, in Kigali the workshop brought together
approximately sixty participants who included government officials,
MPs, youth and civil society groups. A Rwanda ICT4D media
network was launched at the end of the workshop. The network's
first short-term activity is a media campaign aimed at publicizing
and popularizing ICT4D in relation to the second (implementation)
stage of Rwanda's NICI process. Emphasis will also be placed
on ICT usage in Rwanda and the efforts in place to upscale
ICT as a tool for development.
More
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Empowering
Africa through e-learning
 The
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) will host the first International
Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training
from May 24-26 2006 in the UN Conference Centre. The Conference
is being organized in partnership with the Government of Ethiopia’s
Capacity Building Ministry, the Canadian ePolicy Resource
Centre (Epol-Net) and the European Commission under the theme
“Empowering Africa through Learning.”
More
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First
World Information Society Day highlights the need for e-security
 The
first World Information Society day was observed on 17th May
2006 to mark the inception of the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU) in 1865, over 140 years ago. According to ITU,
the intention of commemorating World Information Society Day
is to focus global attention on extending the enormous benefits
of the digital revolution in information and communication
technologies (ICTs) to all humanity.
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The
Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) holds validation
workshop on Information System
 The
Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) convened a
validation workshop on the development of an Inter-University
Information System platform from 3-4 May 2006 at Makere University,
in Kampala, Uganda. This activity falls within the framework
of the ECA VarsityNet programme that provides IUCEA with support
to enhance R&D capacity on information society issues
in African higher education institutions.
More
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EAC
holds workshops on Cyber Laws and e-Justice, and Information
Security
 The
East African Community (EAC) convened two consultative workshops
on Cyber laws and e-Justice and on Information Security from
25 - 28 April 2006 in Kampala, Uganda. The workshops were
organized as a follow-up to the recommendation of the second
e-Government stakeholders meeting held in June 2005 in Nairobi,
Kenya, where cyber laws and e-Justice were identified as key
cross-cutting issues that need to be in place for the successful
implementation of e-Government applications in East Africa.
More
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PICTA
Bulletin, Number 51, April 2006!
Walter
Fust Returned as Chair of GKP EXCOMM for 2006/2007.....Invigorating
the ICT- educational sector .....Learning to working together:
civil society, the private sector and ICT advocacy in Africa
......ECA commended at AU African ICT Ministers Meeting in
Cairo .....News Agencies building an inclusive Information
Society in Africa ......ECA hosts meeting on Cartography and
Remote Sensing ......WSIS follow-up conference urges better
use of government information ......The EAC workshops on Cyber
Laws and e-Justice, and Information Security ...... .....
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 ECA
commended at AU African ICT Ministers Meeting in Cairo
On behalf
of member states and stakeholders, ECA presented over 80 project
proposals to experts ahead of a meeting of African ICT ministers
in Egypt. The presentation focused on implementation of the
African Regional Action Plan on the Knowledge Economy (ARAPKE)
which has been adopted by the African Union as Africa 's roadmap
on ICT for development over the next 10 years.
More
>
More
on the Meeting > |
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PICTA
Bulletin, Number 50, March 2006!
ePolNet
Forum on ICTs, Trade and Economic Growth ......e-Payment a
Challenge for Africa ....Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP)
Launches the Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) ....UNESCO
opens online platform for planning multi-stakeholder implementation
of WSIS Plan of Action......Swazi MPs prepare for new role
in the Information Society .....
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Ghana
launches Scan-ICT Phase II
 Scan-ICT
Phase II has been launched at a national workshop held in
Accra, Ghana in March. The event organized by the Ghana Statistics
Service (GSS) and the International Institute for Information
Technology (INIIT) in collaboration with ECA, aimed at adopting
a working methodology for implementing Scan-ICT, identifying
ICT indicators for Ghana, creating awareness on the need for
measuring ICT4D at national, regional, and international level,
sharing information and knowledge on ICT data collection exercise
in the various socio-economic sectors, and putting in place
the necessary institutional arrangements for the implementation
of the project. Over sixty participants attended from government
including the ministry of communications, academia, private
sector, and international organizations such as UNCTAD.
More
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Media
Training Workshop opens at ECA
 A
one-week regional media training for trainers workshop opened
Monday 20 March at the Economic Commission for Africa's head
office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The workshop will train trainers
working on media-related courses in institutions of higher
learning and journalists on the role ICTs can play in the
development of African countries and share country experiences.
More
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e-Payment
a Challenge for Africa
Electronic means of payment, otherwise known as e-payment,
though practiced in some countries such as South Africa, Tunisia
and Egypt faces uphill challenges in Africa.
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Forum
on ICTs, Trade and Economic Growth
14
- 16 March 2006, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
 The
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is organizing a Forum
on ICTs, Trade and Economic Growth under the auspices of the
Africa Node of the Global ePolicy Resource Network (ePol-NET)
and in partnership with the Canadian ePolicy Resource Centre
(CePRC) from 14-16 March 2006 at the United Nations Conference
Centre (UNCC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The
Forum will uniquely combine learning, expertise sharing (South-South
and North-South), interactive dialogue, networking and business
matching and be used as a launch pad for the African ICTs,
Trade and Economic Growth Initiative.
Media
Advisory >
Forum
website > |
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Ethiopia
to establish e-health strategy
 A
two-day “ICT for Health” workshop, held from 9
to 10 March 2006 at the UN Conference Centre in Addis Ababa
concluded with a set of recommendations on the “immediate
need for developing and formulating a national e-Health strategy
for Ethiopia”. The strategy will serve as the basis
for coordinating and streamlining the various initiatives
underway in this sector.
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Meeting
to propose strategy for Ethiopia's ehealth programme
The Economic Commission for Africa, in collaboration with
the Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC), the Ethiopian
ICT Development Agency (EICTDA) and the Ministry of Health
are holding a workshop from 9-10 March, 2006 on ICTs and Health
aimed at laying the foundations for the introduction of a
comprehensive eHealth strategy and programme for Ethiopia.
More
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Meeting
reinforces the use of Free and Open Source Software to accelerate
MDGs in Africa
 Approximately
200 participants drawn from the Free and Open Source Software
(FOSS) community, industry players from all over Africa and
the Diaspora, government officials, international organizations,
private sector and civil society actors attended the IDLELO2
FOSS Conference on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
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PICTA
Bulletin, Number 49, February 2006!
Launching
the African ICTs, Trade and Economic Growth Initiative.....World
experts discuss the establishment of the Internet Governance
Forum in Geneva....ECOWAS experts adopt a draft Information
Society Declaration.....Togo launches the NICI process............
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World
experts discuss the establishment of the Internet Governance
Forum in Geneva
At
the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS), delegates decided to maintain existing arrangements
for Internet Governance and stressed the need for a transparent,
democratic, and multilateral process with the participation
of government, private sector, civil society and international
organizations. In this regard, the Summit invited UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan to convene by the second quarter of 2006 a new
forum, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), to act as a neutral
process for multi-stakeholder dialogue on Internet policy
issues. Initial
consultations on the establishment of the IGF were held in
Geneva from 16-17 February 2006. 300 participants representing
government, civil society, private sector and international
organizations met to discuss the IGF's scope of work, themes
and priorities, as well as aspects relating to its structure
and functioning.
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ECOWAS
experts adopt a draft Information Society Declaration
 Representatives
of ECOWAS countries met in Lome (Togo) from 31st January to
2 February 2006 to review progress made in ICT Policy development
and implementation in the West African sub-region taking into
account the various regional and global ICT frameworks such
as the African Information Society Initiative (AISI), NEPAD
and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
More
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Togo
launches the NICI process
 Approximately
98 participants from the Office of the President, Cabinet
of the Prime Minister, various government ministries and departments,
the private sector, parliamentarians, academia, NGOs and international
organizations attended the launch of the National Information
and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) process in Togo on
3 February 2006. The workshop, which was coordinated by the
Ministry of Communications and Civic Training, evolved around
the following issues: stakes and opportunities of the Information
Society; the NICI process; engendering the NICI process; and,
Togo and the Information Society, among others.
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PICTA
Bulletin, Number 48, January 2006!
Scan-ICT
launched in The Gambia, Cameroon and Mauritius.......Achieving
affordable bandwidth in West and Central Africa.....IICD receives
renewed support from the Dutch government.....Swaziland validates
its ICT Policy......ECA and IDEP go virtual to address African
training needs......
More
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Swaziland
validates its ICT Policy
About
50 participants drawn from government, private sector, civil
society, international and regional organizations (SADC) attended
the NICI Policy validation workshop organized by the ECA on
the 26th of January 2006 in Mbabane, Swaziland. This workshop
presented participants with an opportunity to critique the
Kingdom of Swaziland’s ICT Policy whose drafting was
coordinated by ECA as part of its technical assistance under
the auspices of the AISI with financial assistance from the
Government of Finland.
More
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ECA
and IDEP go virtual to address African training needs
The
UN Institute for Development and Economic Planning (IDEP)
and ECA’s Development Information Services Division
have joined forces to develop a virtual learning academy to
be referred to as the African Virtual Learning Academy (AvLAC.org).
More
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Scan-ICT
phase II kicks off in Mauritius
 Over
30 participants drawn from government, private sector and
civil society organizations attended the launch of Scan-ICT
Phase II at a workshop jointly organized by the ECA and the
Central Statistics Office of Mauritius on 23 January 2006
in Port Louis, Mauritius.
More
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Scan-ICT
Cameroon launched
 The
Scan-ICT Cameroon was launched at a workshop which was organised
from 5 to 6 January 2006 at the Ecole Natonale Supérieure
des Postes et Telecommunication (ENSPT) in Yaoundé,
Cameroon. About one hundred participants participated in the
workshop including 60 data enumerators from all Cameroonian
provinces and 10 provincial delegates of the Minister of Posts
and Telecommunications.
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