[UgaBYTES] WEEKLY NEWS ROUND UP- AFRICA (WEEK 33)

[Mwathi Francis]

*Mobile Phones Creating New Opportunities for Activists*
10th August 2009
Increasingly widespread penetration of mobile phones around the world is
creating new opportunities for activists to organize, connect and open
windows to their lives. Innovative use of technologies like short message
service (SMS), video recorders and cameras, coupled with the power of social
networking platforms, represents the new toolbox for activist groups that
want to spread messages and access information. “There are hundreds of
groups that are developing different projects for mobile phones,” said
Katrin Verclas, co-founder of MobileActive.org, an online resource for
activists using mobile technology. MobileActive.org offers a list of
activist groups and nongovernment organizations that use mobile technology,
as well as research and tips on using mobile phones to their fullest
potential. Mobile phones are much more accessible for people in developing
countries where Internet connections may be expensive or nonexistent, or
where the infrastructure may not be able to provide the constant source of
electricity a computer requires. Charged mobile phones can operate for days
without a power source.
http://www.america.gov/st/democracyhr-english/2009/August/20090810095023emffen0.5824243.html

*Innovative Mobile Phone Project Saves Children’s Lives in Africa:USAID
funds RapidSMS malnutrition surveillance in Malawi*
10th August 2009
African children now have a better chance of survival thanks to an
innovative health program begun by American university students and health
care workers in Malawi who use mobile phones to gather timely information on
child growth and malnutrition. The Child Malnutrition Surveillance and
Famine Response project in Malawi, a joint venture of Columbia University in
New York City and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), allows local
health care workers to send height, weight and other information through an
SMS (short message service) text message. A computer receives the predefined
data points and automatically analyzes the information for indications of
child malnutrition.
http://www.america.gov/st/democracyhr-english/2009/August/200908100956271EJrehsiF0.4024774.html

*French ICT firm earmarks 50m rand  investment into South Africa*
13th August 2009
A French ICT firm has earmarked nearly R50-million to fund an investment
into the Western Cape that will see the creation of 36 jobs in the local
economy. Trusted Logic, which specialises in digital security solutions
including mobile payments and e-ticketing, is spending R47.5 million to open
a new subsidiary called Trusted Logic Africa in Cape Town.“The ICT industry
in South Africa currently accounts for roughly 3.0% of GDP and is expected
to remain at those levels until 2013 when it is expected to be worth an
estimated S$13.45-billion,” said Wesgro CEO Angelo Manzoni.
http://www.tradeinvestsa.co.za/news/229680.htm

*Of Telecoms and the Scramble for the Me and Continent*
13th August 2009
While capitalism, it appears, has come off life support another vital change
is being played out: The geographic balance of power is shifting and the
pendulum is in motion anew as the scramble for the telecoms market in Africa
and the Middle East returns to its South-East origins. The telecom network
powerhouses are no longer Telecom, Vodafone or Telenor, but instead Zain
(also know as MTC), STC and Etisalat. If you ask them, the Middle East and
Africa is a reservoir of potential mobile phone, internet and mobile banking
clients begging to be adopted between now and, roughly, 2011.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200908130891.html

*Federal Government of Nigeria to use ICT to curb unemployment *
12th August 2009
The Federal Government is set to declare a total war on unemployment and
joblessness in the country by training unemployed Nigerians in the
application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems and
operations. Minister of Labour and Productivity, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode,
said this yesterday in Abuja while receiving executives of New Horizon
System who are experts in the Information Communication and Technology
industry. He stressed that this will be the first time in the history of
this country when the Federal Government will take a holistic and methodical
approach towards solving the issue of unemployment and joblessness.
http://www.news.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4262:fg-uses-ict-to-curb-unemployment-&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=119
-- 
Francis Mwathi
Support Community Facilitator
UgaBYTES Initiatives (www.ugabytes.org)
Telecentr.org (www.telecentrecommunity.ning.com)
Tel: +256 414 370163
Mob: +256 783 010269
Skype: francis.mwathi
E-Mail: mfrancis at ugabytes.org