[UgaBYTES] WEEKLY NEWS ROUND UP-AFRICA (WEEK 19)

[Mwathi Francis]

*DEVELOPMENT: Make Use of African Skills*

4th May 2009



The theme of the third biennial Knowledge Management Africa (KMA)
conference, which opened Monday in the capital of Senegal, is lofty -
"knowledge to reposition Africa in the world economy". But the aim is more
down-to-earth: to find ways to apply vital information to the basic question
of improving the lives of Africa's people.



KMA is an initiative of the Development Bank of South Africa, which seeks to
build networks that facilitate the sharing and use of knowledge across
Africa. This takes place via an online hub linking five regional chapters on
the continent - each chapter has a particular focus; the West African hub
focuses on technologies for development for example - as well as regular
conferences and meetings.



"Networking takes place at the continental level, through KMA chapters," Dr
Snowy Khoza, the initiative's chairperson, told IPS ahead of the conference
opening. "Individual members can request or respond to issues by posting
them online. Conferences create an environment for interaction at a personal
level."

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46720





*World IT conference: World Bank, experts worry over vision 2020 bottlenecks
*

6th May 2009



As  the World IT conference  organised recently  by  Information Technology
(Industry) Association of Nigeria,( ITAN ),  tagged ADIPEND 2009 conference
which ended successfully  in Abuja drew to a close,  World Bank and
stakeholders in the Nigerian Information Communications were worried saying
that vision  2020 may be derailed except perennial  power problem, IT
education  and broadband internet access were given priority attention in
the national polity. From the attainment of e-learning, e-health,
e-commerce, speaker after speaker who spoke during the capacity building
conference noted with pessimism that Nigeria may not get the expected result
in its quest to survive the 21st century knowledge society given the   current
IT infrastructure in the country.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/content/view/35128/51/





*Information Bees to Promote Rural Development in Rwanda*

7th May 2009



The ICT department of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB/IT), in
collaboration with the nonprofit organization One Global Economy, is to set
up a web portal, Rwanda Beehive, aimed at disseminating information to the
communities across the country, especially those in rural areas. "Rwanda
Beehive is set to address individual and household issues through access to
the internet, training of local communities on the use of the internet as
well as getting more from the information on the Beehive website," explains
Moustapha Mourad, the president of One Global Economy.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200905070807.html





*Ugandan IT firm wins sh220m global award*

7th May 2009



Maendeleo Foundation, a Ugandan information technology (IT) company has won
the Inspire Empower Challenge Award worth $100,000 (about sh220m) for
operating a mobile solar computer classroom (MSCC). Eric Morrow, the
executive director, said the foundation won the award for introducing
computers to local schools, many of which lack electricity. Morrow said the
mobile classroom visits the same schools every week and trains more than 100
students to operate Windows-based computers and use the Internet. “The goal
of MSCC is to provide students new opportunities in information technology
and open doors to better paying jobs.”  He said the solar-powered
computer-lab-on-wheels had been operating in Uganda for the past year. “We
have taught about 1,300 and over 100 teachers,” Morrow said.

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/220/680515



*Final Link in Fibre-Optic Network Inaugurated in Mozambique*

6th May 2009



With the inauguration on Wednesday of a fibre-optic link to Lichinga,
capital of the northernmost province of Niassa, the Mozambican state-owned
telecommunications company, TDM, has completed the construction of its
National Transmission Backbone. Lichinga is now linked by fibre-optic cable
to the other provincial capitals and has access to speedier and more
efficient communication services.  According to TDM, installing the
fibre-optic connections, using terrestrial and undersea cables, has cost
about 58.2 million euros (77.3 million US dollars). TDM regards this as one
of the largest and most important telecommunications undertakings in the
history of independent Mozambique, which will integrate the country into the
global information society. Now that the fibre-optic network covers all the
provincial capitals, the next phase is to set up alternative routes that
guarantee the flow of traffic, if there is any cut or breakdown in the main
network.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200905061016.html




-- 
Francis Mwathi
Support Community Facilitator
UgaBYTES Initiatives (www.ugabytes.org)
Telecentr.org (www.telecentrecommunity.ning.com)
Tel: +256 414 370163
Mob: +256 752 995063
Skype: francis.mwathi
E-Mail: mfrancis at ugabytes.org