text:
Hosted by Ericsson,
the first Networked Society Forum (NEST Forum) took place in Hong
Kong from Nov. 11-13. Leaders and authorities, from the ICT industry
and governments, gathered at NEST to discuss how ICT could be
utilized to accelerate education and learning for everyone, every
where. It's a pity that the proceedings of the forum didn't get much
attention in Saudi Arabia, because many of the topics presented were
extremely relevant to the debate on how to enhance education here in
the Kingdom.
Consider these points on education and
UNESCO and UNICEF report that almost 70
million children are out of school globally, with millions more
leaving school early without acquiring the knowledge and skills that
are crucial for a decent livelihood, and about 800 million adults
lacking basic literacy skills. In the US, one out of four high school
students never graduates.
Doubling the broadband speed of an
economy increases GDP by 0.3 percent, according to research conducted
by Ericsson, Arthur D. Little and the University of Chalmers. The
same research found that for every 1,000 broadband connections, 80
new Internet jobs are created. For every ten percent of mobile
broadband penetration, an economy adds one percent sustainable GDP.
An October 2011 report from the UN's
Broadband Commission for Digital Development found that 30 percent of
people worldwide are Internet users. In developed countries, around
half the population has mobile broadband and about a quarter has
fixed (wired) broadband. In developing countries, however, the
figures are a small fraction of these, at 5.4 percent for mobile
broadband and 4.4 percent for fixed (estimated, end 2010).
Online education is growing. The Khan
Academy is the largest free online school in the world, with one
million students a month viewing 100 200,000 videos per day on
YouTube. According to iNACOL, Chinas first online school was
created in 1996; today it has expanded to more than 200 online
schools with enrollments exceeding 600,000 students.
One of those who has put forward ideas
which are in opposition to conventional education methods is
Newcastle University Professor Sugata Mitra. He has been conducting
experiments with several models of self-teaching, through his
Hole-in-the-Wall project (www.hole-in-the-wall.com), as well as
through experiments with Self-Organized Learning Environments
(SOLEs). Having succeeded in helping Tamil-speaking children teach
themselves the basic concepts of biotechnology in English, and
without teacher assistance Mitra is openly challenging the wisdom
of education that requires a teacher to stand in the front of a
classroom to share knowledge.
Mitra is a leading proponent of
Minimally Invasive Education (MIE). At NEST he advised that if we
are evaluating students based on their ability to memorize basic
facts, as we often have in the past, then we are teaching yet another
skill that computers have made practically useless. Instead, we need
to reconsider the aims of our education and assessment methods
(Source: Arab News)Further details
The State intends to
expand Internet coverage in the country.
Seek greater efficiency to offer more services to citizens online.
How many times did
you use a cell phone in the last two days? How many times have you
consulted some information, the management made or communicated with
someone via the Internet? There is no doubt that information and
communication technologies (ICTs) have become necessary tools for our
daily work. Currently, many state and private institutions offer
electronic services that allow their users to perform several
actions, proceedings or payments through its web pages. Many people
can get rid of long queues, paperwork and other delays, with only a
few clicks.
Also, there are
more public entities that make intensive use of ICT. An example is
the Peruvian Government Portal (www.peru.gob.pe), which has become a
reference site and access to public entities. Through it, you can
access to the Standard Transparency Portal, in which all entities of
public administration are shown in a standardized manner to the
citizens, being in charge of updating the institutions themselves.
Another innovation
is the implementation of the Platform for Interoperability of the
State (PIDE), which provides to the citizens public services and the
electronic exchange of data via Internet and mobile telephony.
However, these
advantages of technological progress cannot be still enjoyed by a
sector of Peru because the digital gap (the difference between people
who have Internet access even those without access to a computer) is
still high.
According to the
company of Advance Computer Technology Corporation of Peru, the
computer penetration rate is 12 per 100 inhabitants, while the
regional average is 20, and in some countries reaches 30. But to
achieve that goal, they must first reduce the digital gap in the
country. Thus, it was decided to invest in overhead fiber optic
network for the rapidly growing information and increase
communication radio cell. "Multiply the capacity of fiber optics
for many people to communicate at high speed".
About a month ago,
the government announced the State Interoperability Platform (PIDE),
which will provide to the citizens with public services and the
electronic exchange of data via Internet and mobile telephony.
The Government has
plans to expand broadband services to remote areas of the country.
Vice President of Infrastructure of the Corporación Andina de
Fomento (CAF), Antonio Juan Sosa, shows that the authorities of Peru
requested support to achieve this goal. They said that Boadband
projects do not require much investments and CAF could initially
provide 50 million dollars which what they can do a lot.
(Source: El Peruano Newspaper)Further details
With the
participation of about 1,200 public school teachers in Colombia,
started the 4 th National Meeting of Teachers Digital Education".
The inaugural event was in charge of the
ICT Minister, Diego Molano Vega, the Education Minister Maria
Fernanda Campo, Minister of Telecommunications of Ecuador, Jaime
Guerrero and the Director of Computers for Schools, Martha
As part of the
event, which seeks to socialize the educational experiences with the
use of technologies, the ICT Minister said that with the program
Vive Digital they could increase the use of the Internet in the
In pursuit of this
objective, the ICT Ministry reduced the prize of computers. In the
case of the lower strata they are also working to lower financing
costs of acquiring computer equipment. On the other hand, they expect
to reach more than 800,000 computers for poor children in colleges or
"Teachers are transformers and
builders of dreams that will allow young people to learn these new
technologies and be digital educators", said ICT Minister Diego
Molano Vega.
The Minister also
said that if there are more services on the Internet, the
infrastructure is used more and the price is lower, allowing more
parents to connect and then have more number of users. The goal for
2014 is that all Colombians have, at least, one connectivity solution
thanks to modern information superhighway.
Meanwhile the Education Minister, Maria
Fernanda Campo, said that ICT is key to reduce dropout rates, taking
into account that the numbers are very high and occur mainly in
public institutions of the most remote areas.
As part of the
event, Martha Cunningham, executive director of Computers for
Schools program, announced that technology tools, innovation,
skills development and digital content, contribute to the reduction
of digital gaps. With this she means that new technologies help to
improve education and enable the convergence of different materials
on a computer.
Also, she showed very important
information. According to a study by the Universidad de los Andes,
where teachers and students have greater access to technology,
educational dropout rates decrease by 4%, and the ICFES score
increase by 2%. Also, they said that the possibility of entering
higher education increases by 5.1%, and improve by 4.6% on the income
of the workforce.
(Source: Mintic Colombia)Further details
The ICT in Agriculture e-Sourcebook is
intended to offer agriculture and other development practitioners a
set of tested solutions, good practices, and methodologies, along
with promising applications, that enable them to leverage ICT and
harness innovation for more effective agricultural and rural
development outcomes. The sourcebook brings together thematic notes
and over 200 case studies from all over the world into a single
easy-to-use compilation for those working in the agricultural sector.
Access to Full
ICT in agriculture News)
The demand for higher education has accelerated worldwide. Between
1999 and 2008, the number of students enrolled in higher education
institutions (HEIs) increased by 65 million, with much of the growth
being seen in East Asia and the Pacific. In fact, the global demand
for higher education is predicted to expand from less than 100
million students in 2000 to over 250 million in 2025.
The prevalence of information and communication
technology (ICT) and the impact it has made in all aspects of our
lives are compelling reasons for HEIs to try to capitalize on 21st
century tools and technologies to address 21st
century issues and challenges. This has motivated some HEIs in taking
the lead to reshape the landscape of their educational systems as
well as teaching and learning practices. Over time, the number of
universities embracing new technologies to conduct the business of
education is expected to soar. However, many HEIs may require
guidance and assistance in their change process to minimize their
teething problems, reduce costs, utilize appropriate technology and
tools, and engage staff with proper knowledge and skills.
UNESCO Bangkok coordinated a research study to document the use of
ICT for higher education in the Asia and Pacific region in 2009 with
the support of the Japanese Funds-in-Trust. Targeted at Ministry of
Education officials and specialists responsible for higher education,
administrators and faculty members of HEIs, and higher education and
ICT providers, the objective of the study was to increase
understanding of how ICT can be used to:
design and develop curricular contents;
deliver higher education programmes and courses;
enhance the learning process; and
increase the efficiency of the administration and management of
educational systems.
Seven case studies from Australia, Hong Kong-Special Administrative
Region of China, India, Peoples Republic of China, Republic of
Korea and Singapore were commissioned to focus on three main areas:
open and distance learning; blended learning; and administration and
In all the cases discussed in this publication, ICT is used not only
for the delivery of lectures and materials, but also for
administration and management purposes. It is clear that
administrative functions such as student registration, grades, course
schedules and even staffing evaluation, have benefitted from the use
of ICT. The chapters on the Hong Kong University and the Indian
Institute of Management, Calcutta, focused specifically on
administration and management issues, albeit under highly different
conditions and perspectives. They provide an interesting contrast but
also reveal several areas of similarity regardless of their starting
points or resources available.
(Source: UNESCO)Further details
One of the factors said to have
retarded education development in Tanzania is the lack of teachers, qualified
teachers for that matter. There is no doubt about the efforts by the government
in trying to raise the standard of education and ensuring that all Tanzanians
have access to education.
Many schools have been built in
recent times almost throughout the country, but many of these schools lack
teachers. Schools situated in the remote areas of the country where
transportation is a problem are most affected by the lack of teachers because
some of the teachers show reluctance in reporting to such areas.
The government has elaborate plans and strategies of producing as many teachers
of different grades to be distributed to primary, secondary and institutes of
higher learning as possible. The government has also specific plans of ensuring
that all necessary teaching aids like books, libraries and laboratories in
order to make the education wholesome.
But the biggest challenge facing
the sector is whether the teachers are not redundant in the wake of improved
technical and technological advancement. It is now common knowledge that
technological development in Information and Communication (ICT) has permeated
almost every area in life.
And information and communication
technology use in education is making enormous headways in improving quality
and access to education. It has further been shown that the use of ICT in
education can help improve memory retention, increase motivation and generally
deepen understanding.
Information and communication
technology can be used to promote collaborative learning including role
playing, group problem solving activities and articulated projects. It is
promoting new approaches to working and learning, and new ways of interacting.
The issue is on the long term impact of ICT on the teaching and learning
Though researchers are confirming
that ICT changes the nature of motivation to learn, other issues raised at this
point is what kind of competence and skills will teachers really need to
acquire to be effective in an ICT based learning environment? There is an
on-going debate on whether teachers are becoming redundant as a consequence of
the use of ICT in education or whether a teacher-less classroom is simply a
The system is
fairly simple. A user registers for mobile phone banking with their service
provider and is given a mobile "e-wallet" - an application on their
SIM card that is linked to their phone number.
When the user wants to pay for services or transfer money to
someone they simply have to go to an agent and pay the desired amount, which is
loaded onto the "e-wallet". The payment is made and the recipient can
withdraw the money from an agent. There are various agents affiliated with the
mobile service providers across the country, making the service easily
accessible to those in rural areas.
It is a convenient system that no longer limits the womens
movements. Thelma Nare, and the women in her co-operative make regular
trips to Bulawayo to sell produce, like Mopani worms. This means that they miss
paying their monthly subscriptions.
Mobile network
giant Econet Wireless,
which has five million subscribers, introduced the service in September and
was quickly followed by its competitors, the government-owned NetOne and Telecel.
These service providers have affiliated agents throughout
the country, which include the Zimbabwe Post Office, supermarkets and stores
where people like Nare can access their funds."I was in the city and was
told about the use of mobile phones to transfer money. When I told the other
women in my money club, it seemed to be the answer to our problems", she
The model is
borrowed from Kenyas pioneering M-Pesa, which has experienced phenomenal
growth from 20,000 users at its launch in 2007 to an estimated 14 million this
Girlie Moyo,
40, another member of Nares money club said that in the past the women had to
gather under a tree to make physical contributions. Now, the convenience of the
mobile transfers means "we can co-ordinate our contributions without
concerns about distance".
While money
transfer services sprouted across the country in the aftermath of the mass
exodus of Zimbabweans to work across the world, the "bureaux de
change" remained in the cities. So those in the rural areas were forced to
rely upon undependable and expensive cross-border transporters who demand up to
20 percent of the total amount being sent.
Far away from the concept of
Innovation that someone can find in Silicon Valley, where,
usually this term is associated with the commercialization of new
products, or improved processes and more efficient. The paradox of
this dominant model is that even the most celebrated innovations,
most popular, are those that solve problems that do not exist yet,
and therefore create needs that until now they did not have.
It is very tempting to speculate that,
since this problem happens in other continent, African innovations do
not concern us and should be ignored. Big mistake: first, because
these problems exist, and second, because it is associated with a
market of more than one billion people (fastest growing), and
finally, because innovations in Africa may prove extremely useful
Taking the case of credit cards. Hardly
changed since the fifties of last century! If executives from Visa,
MasterCard, American Express and others would make life easier, they
should hear the case in Africa.
For any of these titans of the economy
would be a surprise the appearance of "M-Pesa" in Kenya: a
platform that opens new horizons for the circulation of money which
could be used like a inspiration. It is not, as was believed, of a
banking system, but a technology that lets people transfer money
between phones. The difference is radical: it does not require a bank
Just the lack of innovative credit
instruments left Kenyans. "Four years ago, when we launched
M-Pesa [Pesa means money in Swahili, and M-Pesa mobile money], only a
small fraction of the population had a bank account, and is expensive
to open" said Waceke Mbugua, Safaricom.co.ke responsible for
marketing, the first mobile operator in Kenya and the project
"A large number of people live in
big cities and send money each week to their families who live in
other provinces. A lack of access to the banking system should take
themselves or rely on the stack of bills that they sent with the
driver when they go to their families` hometown".
Launched as a pilot project in March
2007 (thanks to Vodafone's investment and support from the Danish
Government), the service now has 15 million users, 80% of the base of
Safaricom, which holds 75% of voice market in the country. Even more
impressive: "The funds that now flow through M-Pesa equivalent
to 25% of GDP", said Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, an economist at the
company. Most of the transactions made in half a U.S. dollar. He
adds: "From the beginning, our service has transferred 11,500
million dollars. There are no interests or loans, and transactions
are made instantly. Rarely money available remains intact over a
(Source: El País Newspaper)Further details
Six-country study
examined use and public perceptions of libraries in Ethiopia, Ghana,
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe; most see libraries primarily
for educational purposes but recognize potential for much more.
New research on
people's perceptions of public libraries in Africa demonstrates that
awareness of public libraries is high and a majority view libraries
as very important to both communities and individuals. Library users
and non-users, librarians, library officials and government decision
makers alike view public libraries primarily for educational purposes
(90% across all groups), however a range of other information
services are emerging in libraries, including Information and
Communications Technology (ICT), that have the potential to help meet
community development needs.
The six-country
study found a significant majority of all respondents (80%) believe
the biggest benefit that public libraries offer is the opportunity to
learn and to develop new skills. A growing number of people view
libraries as a source for national and local news and information on
important topics including agriculture, health and employment. Public
library users and government officials view libraries as "essential
to them personally and to the greater community".
agrees that public libraries are essential. But more awareness and
support is needed for library services that go beyond providing books
and places for study", said Monika Elbert, senior policy advisor
at EIFL and lead on the research project. "Access to knowledge
is critical for development and public libraries are uniquely
positioned to provide ICT-enabled information services that will
contribute to countries' medium and long-term development plans.
Libraries are a hub where, for example, at-risk youth can access
computers and learn new technology skills for the 21st century,
unemployed people can learn job-seeking skills and farmers can find
valuable information about new farming methods-all of which are key
strands of community development".
In addition to
raising awareness of the information services libraries provide, the
research shows that there is a strong demand for more technology
resources. Among library users, only 14 percent report using
computers or the Internet at public libraries. A lack of computers is
one of the primary reasons library users (37%) and the local
authorities that operate libraries (53%) report being dissatisfied
with library services. Non-users say they would be motivated to use
libraries if more access to online content was available (29%) or if
there were more computers in general (24%). A significant majority of
librarians (72%) would like to see more funding invested in
technologies to meet community needs.
(Source: All Africa
News)Further details
After more than ten years of
support for a people-centered approach to embedding modern ICTs within Poverty
Alleviation Programs, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
has reviewed project reports, study program evaluation and meta-evaluations, in
order to distil lessons learned on how ICTs can really help to improve development
cooperation programmes and more particularly to enhance voice and
accountability programs.
The purpose of this paper is to
provide a tool box for operational units at SDC, its partners and external
parties. It should inform about how to use ICT strategically (in combination
with old media) for improving development processes. It aims at strengthening
the effectiveness both in classical development programmes and in governance
related programmes, i.e. enhancing democratization and making the voices of the
poor and marginalized heard as major tools for achieving poverty reduction.
The Manual/Tool box is based on
former evaluative studies on ICT for Development, programme evaluations,
experiences of Non Governmental
Organisations (NGOs) and cientific literature on how ICTs can and have effectively
contributed to better participation, specially by the poor and marginalized.
This body of experience was complemented with current knowledge on journalism,
media and communication mainly within developing countries.
The paper starts with a few
clarifications on concepts and definitions moving on to explain their current
knowledge (and its deficiencies) on ICTs in development. It then list major
insights on how to use ICTs in combination with old media and tailor effort for
different topics and target groups. Finally, they invite operational units to
look at the practical opportunities to use ICT s and media within different
Access to Full Report
Girl Hub Rwanda on
Wednesday launched Ni Nyampinga, a new girl-focused magazine and radio show,
so as to empower teenage girls. Girl Hub is
a joint venture between the Nike Foundation and the UK Department for
International Development (DFID) to ensure that girls in developing countries
are involved in the design and implementation of policies and programs that
affect them.
Thornley, brand manager for Girl Hubs Rwanda office, explained that the
project is designed to provide adolescent girls with tools that will enable
them to exploit their potential while strengthening self-belief and make good
decisions for themselves.
Ni Nyaminga is about
fostering a culture for girls that gives them the space, time and tools needed
to experience their teenage years in the most positive way, Thornley
explained. We believe the magazine and the radio programs will be great
motivators for girls, give them greater voice, while also having a positive
impact on their parents and brothers.
added that the new platform for Rwandan teenage girls will be connecting them
with other girls by offering them role model stories and advice to share
experiences and inspire them with great ideas for future improvement. The
bi-monthly magazine will cover topics such as Rwandan culture, health, English,
development and economic empowerment, while the weekly radio program will be
hosted by a team of Rwandan girl journalists who will make shows about issues
that matter most to them and their peers.
platforms will prompt audiences for feedback and input through social media,
mobile and suggestion boxes in the community, encouraging girls to connect with
Ni Nyampinga,
each other and decision makers, mentioned the platform designers.
The magazine
will initially be freely distributed in Kigali as well as the Northern and
Southern provinces at the end of November, and nationwide in early 2012; while
commencing November 26, the radio show will be broadcast on five radio stations
Girl Hubs
Rwanda office is part of initiative already operating in Ethiopia and the north
of Nigeria among other countries so as to unleash the Girl Effect offering
the chance to grow into healthy mothers, active citizens and educated members
of their societies and transform their families, communities and nations along
the way.
The Rwanda Focus News Paper)Further Details
This comes at a time
when broadband access in East Africa is still low, with the typical
speeds yet to match those in the developed
world. The broadband targets cover, affordability, policy,
connectivity and general up-take, all of which are pegged on a
four-year timeline, with the ITU measuring each country's progress
First, the UN commission -- which met
recently at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom
World, 2011, summit in Geneva -- expects countries to have a national
broadband plan or strategy or to include broadband in their universal
The second target deals with connecting
broadband to homes, with 40 per cent of households in developing
countries having Internet access by 2015.
There is yet another target for
affordable broadband. By 2015, broadband services should be made
affordable in developing countries through adequate regulation and
market forces.
The final target set by the UN
commission is getting people on-line, with an expected Internet
penetration of 50 per cent in developing countries and 60 per cent
Before the arrival of submarine cables
at the East African coastline, the region relied solely on satellite
connectivity for Internet access.
This had various demerits stemming from
bandwidth availability, speed, cost and subsequent uptake.
This technically
eclipsed the region from the digital world. Arrival of the three
major submarine cables has opened up the region to the Web, but
challenges still abound. Key among these is bottlenecks in the last
mile infrastructure and pricing.
notwithstanding, Dr Hamadoun Toure, ITU secretary general, said: The
targets are ambitious but achievable, given political will and
commitment by governments, working in partnership with the private
sector. Also, in a press release, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon
said: "By working together to apply technology to real-world
issues, you will enable information and communication technologies to
be a catalyst for social, economic and sustainable development. You
will help us accelerate towards the Millennium Development Goals".
(Source: All Africa News)Further details
The ability to utilize social media, mobile devices and the Internet
more freely in the workplace is a key factor for young professionals and
college students when it comes to deciding which job offer to accept,
finds a new study which adds that this may be a greater factor than
According to the report released by Cisco
Systems, an open work environment that accomodates social media, device choice flexibility as well as demands to work remotely is
important to future generations in the workforce. Mobile networking, device
flexibility and the blending of personal and work
lifestyles have become key components of a work environment and
culture that are increasingily important in determining which companies will
land the next wave of industry talent, the networking giant said.
The study found that about 33 percent of college
students and young employees under the ages of 30 said they would prioritize
social media freedom, device flexibility and work mobility over salary in
accepting a job offer. This indicated that the expectations and priorities
of the next generation of the global workforce would not focus only on monetary
More than two in five college students and young
employees, or 40 percent and 45 percent, respectively, added that they
would accept a lower-paying job that had more flexibility when it came to
device choice, social media access and mobility than a higher-paying job with
less flexibility. Some 56 percent of college students also indicated that if
they encountered a company that banned access to social media, they would
either not accept the job offer or would join the organization but find a
way to cirucumvent such corporate policies.
The survey also found that the days of single device
ownership were over as more than three out of every four employees carried
multiple devices such as a laptop and smartphone, or multiple phones, and
computers. Sine 33 percent used at least three devices for work.
The event,
which was held in Geneva from 24-27 October, has brought the brightest
minds and most influential leaders together to debate the key issues that will
shape the future of an industry that now pervades virtually every field of
human endeavour.
A vibrant
opening ceremony sponsored by China Mobile, the worlds largest mobile operator
with over 600 million subscribers, featured President Ali Bongo of Gabon;
Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji; Igor Shchegolev,
Minister of Communications and Mass Media, Russian Federation; Doris Leuthard,
Head of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and
Communications, Switzerland; Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Saud Al-Thani,
Chairman, Qatar Telecom; Jianzhou Wang, Chairman, China Mobile; and Dr Hamadoun
Touré, Secretary-General, ITU.
Dr Touré
noted how, for the first time in ITU Telecoms 40-year history, tens of
thousands of people from around the world were joining the event using the full
range of connected technologies. The event, he said, was a genuine
conversation reflecting the concerns, dreams and visions, not just of people physically
present at the event but of those all around the world following the event
remotely from their homes, offices, schools, and through a network of 100,000 telecentres around the world.
The official
ceremony was followed by a more informal event celebration in the OpenSpace
arena, where participants heard from additional dignitaries including Mark
Muller, Conseiller dEtat, Geneva; Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director,
UN Population Fund (UNFPA); and Mohamed Khalfan Al Qamzi, Chairman of the Board
of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the United Arab
The United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development says the rapid increase in mobile
phone deployment in Zimbabwe has created business opportunities for small and
medium-scale entrepreneurs in the country.
In its
information economy report for 2011, UNCTAD said such entrepreneurs are able to
conduct electronic business or e-business as 59 percent of Zimbabweans have
access to mobile phones compared with only about 5 percent in 2005.
penetration, though still below the average of 77 percent in developing
economies, is playing a critical role in boosting micro and small enterprises
in Zimbabwe, UNCTAD said. It noted that there is a gender gap in mobile phone
ownership in the developing world with 300 million fewer women than men owning
mobile devices.
and Communications Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa told VOA that e-business
has become a key component in reviving Zimbabwes economy and creating business
opportunities for smaller players.
commentator Rejoice Ngwenya said that while many small-scale entrepreneurs are
doing business over mobile phones, mobile service quality remain an issue.
is need for service providers to improve services in order to create more
opportunities for small-scale businesses", Ngwenya said.
The report
said that as mobile phones are the main ICT tool used by micro-enterprises and
SMEs in low-income countries, these trends reinforce the likelihood that mobile
networks will be their main way of accessing the Internet in the near future.
Africa, where 84 million mobile handsets are already capable of using the
Internet, 7 out of 10 are expected to be Internet-enabled by 2014", the
report said.
(Source: Voice of America News)
Further details
In the 10 months since the organization
TeleSehat opened a second pilot telemedicine center in the Pakistani
city of Gujar Khan, more than 3,000 patients have been treated. Such
numbers point to the great potential of telemedicine to bridge the
healthcare divide in Pakistan.
Due to an insufficient healthcare
budget, a shortage of good doctors, and poor, ill-equipped public
hospitals, Pakistan is unable to provide all its citizens with even
basic healthcare services. Given the sheer lack of healthcare
facilities in remote villages, villagers suffering with serious
illnesses and health emergencies often have no other option but to
travel extensive distances into the main cities. As the cost of
traveling is prohibitive for many who survive on meager incomes,
these villagers either rack up great debts or forego medical
attention entirely.
Closing the healthcare gap between
those who live near medical facilities and those who do not was the
impetus behind TeleSehat (Sehat is Urdu for Health). Asad
Karim (also the CEO of a local technology firm, Comcept) and Syed
Mahmood Hussain launched TeleSehat in the summer of 2008. They
founded the organization to establish telemedicine centers to deliver
healthcare to Pakistanis living in inaccessible locations.
Telemedicine is not a completely new
concept to Pakistan, and certain projects have been quite noteworthy.
Launched in 2001, the Tele-Health Programme, for instance, was the
countrys first telemedicine initiative. Jaroka Tele-healthcare,
Sehat First and TeleDoctor, all similar local telemedicine
initiatives, soon followed.
But the question remains: Can
telemedicine prove successful in a country like
Pakistan?Telemedicine is the only hope for countries like
Pakistan, insists TeleSehats head of business development,
Nabeel Ahmad Malik. However, this can only prove successful if the
service delivery model is designed in a way that it suits all the
stakeholders, which includes hospitals, doctors, TeleSehat itself,
the local population and the respective government.
(Source: AudienceScapes)Further details
The first UNESCO publication to be made available on
the OER Platform is the UNESCO Model Curricula for Journalism
Education. The Curricula has been very successfully adapted by more
than 60 university journalism schools in over 50 countries. They
have agreements with the journalism schools of the Polytechnic of
Namibia and the University of Namibia to share their adaptations of
the UNESCO curricula as OERs on the Platform.
By persuading and
assisting additional journalism schools to share their adapted
curricula in OER format on the Platform, they
provide the professor, curricula developer, or quality assurance
assessor looking to develop their own curricula with an unparalleled
opportunity to easily and intuitively select and compare curricula
from near-by or international institutions, in their own language.
They are then able to easily, legally, and freely copy the
content closest to their requirements to adapt to their local
UNESCO will continue to upload new
publications to the Platform. For 2012, work has commenced on the
UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Curricula from the
Communication and Information Sector and the General History of
Africa Curricula from the Culture Sector.
Special guests at the OER Platform
launch include Dr. Tjama Tjivikua, Rector of the Polytechnic of
Namibia and Mr Edwin Tjiramba of the University of Namibia.
The Platform was developed with a Free
and Open Source Software (FOSS) framework by the University of
Witwatersrand, South Africa within the Africa Virtual Open
Initiatives and Resources (AVOIR) Consortium comprising of 11 African
The UNESCO/Commonwealth
of Learning Policy Guidelines for OER in Higher Education was
also launched on Tuesday 1 November by the UNESCO Director-General
and Sir John Daniel, President and CEO of the Commonwealth of
The Launch will be live-streamed on the
The Twitter hashtag for the Launch is:
Technology giants discuss ICT
trends across classrooms and why the United Arabic Emirates (UAE) is leading. The complete
digitization of curricula and the integration of Microsoft's Kinect technology
are but a few emerging trends global technology giants expect to see manifest
in Middle East classrooms.
and communication technology (ICT) in education was the basis for last week's
BETT Middle East exhibition in Abu Dhabi, where Gulf News caught up with
officials from Hewlett Packard (HP) and Microsoft to discuss forthcoming trends
in education.
discussions I've had I think we will see an increase of the digitization of
course content with more curricula and books being stored in clouds", said
Antoine Barre, vice-president of HP Personal Systems Group for Middle East and
Africa. "A second trend I see is ICT will no longer be placed next to or
complementary to educational pedagogy but instead emerge within it as the two
merge together".
He said
course content will develop in a way that will allow for the integration of
multimedia technology in order to facilitate student understanding, an example
of which could be the ability for students to simulate complete chemistry
experiments on their computing devices.
third trend I see is increased mobility as students will have their educational
data available to them everywhere through any type of device, laptop, tablet or
smartphone", he said. "I think this will enable students to be more
efficient in how they find answers to whatever questions they have in life
I think this goes beyond the scope of academic training".
Azza Al
Shinnawy, Public Sector Education Lead at Microsoft, said educational
institutions in the UAE, whether schools or universities, are indeed expanding
their scope of ICT into education. "The
[ICT] expansion is happening at various levels depending on the leeway of
freedoms, but the wave is coming at different strengths in both the public and
private education sectors", she said.
are probably the most ready and exposed as we talk ICT outside education, but
they are in the best position to absorb what comes up in the classroom". She added,
however, that although some teachers are ready to embrace the ICT wave, more
effort still needs to be exerted when it comes to teacher training. "Traditional
teaching methods need to converge with 21st century teaching and learning".
Both Microsoft and HP are working closely with the Abu Dhabi Education Council
with regard to teacher training and other initiatives.
(Source: Gulf News)
Almost everyone in this village
in central India has a complaint. Electricity comes only three hours a day. The
road has potholes. Widows pensions arrive late. The school lunch program often
runs low on food.
Villagers say they send letters,
call a government complaint line and wait outside officials offices for help,
but never get a response. All our complaints go into a blind well of the
government, said Mukesh Chandravanshi, 30, a farmer.
Now a simple cellphone
text-messaging program is providing a more direct line of communication between
villagers and the government. Developed by activists, local officials and an
information technology company, the system ensures that complaints are
immediately acknowledged and that residents regularly receive updates on how
and when their problems will be resolved.
Launched in two districts in two
states, the system decreases the chances that a problem will be ignored by
holding officials accountable, according to its developers. Such technology
does not guarantee a solution, but it can transform the relationship between
citizens and the government in a bloated bureaucracy beset with corruption and apathy,
analysts say.
pocket in the village has a mobile phone nowadays. If we can turn this into a
direct pipeline to the government, we will have the power to complain and be
heard, Shafique Khan, a field coordinator for the program, called Samadhan, or
resolution, said as he demonstrated how to use it to villagers sitting under a
tamarind tree.
Samadhan, people can go to a Web site to see where most problems and delays
occur and assess the performance of officials in those areas. The data can be
used to identify systemic bottlenecks in the governments delivery of services.
This month,
the program which was supported by the U.N. Millennium Development Goals
campaign has received 530 complaints through text messages, such as my water
handpump is not working, health worker is absent and the village bridge has
collapsed in the rain.
groups and IT companies are increasingly using crowdsourcing technology to help
make the government more efficient, empower people and even mobilize protesters. The ubiquitous
cellphone, with about 750 million users in India, and open-source Internet
platforms are being deployed to ensure that trash is picked up on time, to
track bribes and to help people learn English, find jobs and report incidents
of sexual harassment on the streets.
(Source: The Washington Post)
Through I trust
in ICT, the ICT Ministry through its Digital Experience Plan seeks
to promote the use of ICT, and zero tolerance for child pornography,
sex tourism.
To do so, they will
have different reporting platforms such as website, interactive
lectures for the education community around the country, social
networking, music and cultural events for the community in general.
"The Living
Digital Plan has also a component of safe and responsible use of ICT.
Through this initiative we will combat child pornography and child
abuse in the network. We will be absolutely relentless in the
protection of minors on the web", said ICT Minister Diego Molano
"I trust in
ICT" (en TIC confío) will have a stand located in Hall 6 of
Corferias in the Expociencia, the attendees will learn about the
goals and objectives of the strategy, interacting with various
technological devices such as tablets, computers and video games, and
share their experiences regarding the use of ICT.
For new and more
updates on this strategy, visit www.mintic.gov.co, virtual
communities and the hashtag in twitter: # EnTICconfio.
(Source: MINTIC Colombia)Further details
His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday
stressed the importance of ICT tools in improving the quality of
healthcare services.
Referring to the e-Health Programme
Hakeem launched at Prince Hamzah Public Hospital on Friday, the
King credited the successful implementation of the programme in part
to Jordans broadband capacity.
He also acknowledged the support of
Cisco Systems, noting that the company first came to Jordan in 2002
to help the Kingdom improve its education sector.
His Majesty made the remarks during a
special roundtable session on the sidelines of the World Economic
Forum meeting to inaugurate the first healthcare ICT taskforce, with
the participation of Cisco executives and experts from local ICT
Addressing the participants, King
Abdullah noted that forming a healthcare ICT taskforce would help in
empowering Jordans ICT companies and promoting them locally,
regionally and internationally, in addition to providing job
opportunities for Jordanians, and promoting and strengthening the
countrys health services
Speaking at the opening of the session,
Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers noted that the ICT sector in
Jordan is witnessing impressive growth, pointing out that the number
of ICT companies in the country grew from 20 in 2003 to 450 this
Meanwhile, Mohammad Tahboub, chairman
of the Information Technology Association of Jordan-inj@j, noted that
the taskforce will be focused on achieving multiple objectives,
including rapidly replicating the Hakeem programme nationwide and
positioning Jordan as a regional hub for ICT solutions in the
healthcare sector.
The Healthcare ICT task force is an
initiative of int@j, the King Abdullah Fund for Development, Cisco,
and local partners.
Also at the roundtable session, the
King presented Chambers with Al Hussein Decoration for Distinguished
Contribution of the First Degree in recognition of his efforts to
strengthen Jordans education and ICT sectors.
(Source: Jordan Times)Further details
Deputy Executive
Secretary of CEPAL, Antonio Prado, considered the event to be held
until Thursday, will contribute to the creation of an independent
regional broadband market and, that will allow the expansion of
information and communications technology.
The meeting was attended
by national policy makers on the issue of Argentina, Chile, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru.
According to the
Regional Centre for Broadband, between April 2010 and April of this
year there was a significant improvement in the availability of the
Internet service, since the price was reduced on average 37% of one
megabyte per second.
However, the service
rate remains almost five times higher in Latin America and the
Caribbean, compared with the average price of industrialized
(Source: UN News)Further details
ITU is calling on
schoolchildren across the world to join
a global metaconference
at ITU
Telecom World 2011
(24-27 October, Geneva, Switzerland) on how technology can be
harnessed to solve socio-economic problems and accelerate progress
toward the Millennium Development Goals.
Students and teachers are encouraged to sign up
their schools or classes and send in their ideas, prototypes and
innovations in areas where technology could be harnessed to:
alleviate poverty and hunger
improve education
address gender inequality
make sure everyone has access to health care
protect our environment
improve the lives of disabled people
close the gap between the developed and
developing world
Students are asked to consider
burning questions such as how can we close the gap between rich and
poor? How can we make
disabled peoples lives easier?
Or how can we improve
education for all?
Ideas and prototypes will be shown to the more than 5,000 influential
delegates expected to attend the event, including Heads of
State/Heads of Government, industry CEOs, technology gurus, digital
innovators and delegations from students home countries.
As well as the chance to influence key ICT
decision makers, taking part in the metaconference can provide
teachers and students with a valuable real-world context in core
curriculum areas such as history, geography and mathematics.
Ideas will also form a key part of the ITU
Telecom World 2011 Manifesto for a Connected World, a collaborative
vision that will be developed out of the event focused on how
connected technologies can make citizens happier, healthier, safer
and smarter.
Those unable to attend in person will be able
to follow the action as it unfolds from wherever they are in the
world via live video streams. They will also be encouraged to network
and share ideas beforehand, participate remotely in workshops and
feed into key discussions as they take place.
Children are our future and
deserve the opportunity to have their voices heard. Were delighted
that the power of technology will enable children everywhere to join
the discussion and share ideas and innovations alongside global
leaders, said Dr Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General.
(Source: ITU
Newsroom)Further details
Technology can be used to
spur business growth in developing countries, a UN agency says. The
Internet, computers and mobile phones facilitate banking services and
improve access to market information.
Information and communication
technology (ICT) enables private sector growth in developing
countries, according to report published Wednesday by the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The African ICT sector is
growing rapidly. Last year, there were close to 500 million mobile
phone subscribers. But there are wide disparities across the African
continent. In 2010, less than one in 10 Ethiopians had a mobile phone
compared to more than seven in 10 Ghanaians, according to the
International Telecommunications Union. This year, Ghana was
reclassified by the World Bank as a lower middle income economy.
Despite Ghana's high mobile
phone usage, ICT has yet to make a substantial contribution to the
country's private sector development, according to the World Bank. It
estimates 80 percent of the business sector is informal.
"The IT revolution [in
Africa] is enabling smaller farmers to have access to information
which they didn't have earlier, but not much has changed for larger
companies," said Sebastian Kahlfeld, a senior fund manager at
DWS Investments, Deutsche Bank's investment arm.
Mobile phones in particular
are enabling access to services like banking and information,
according Sebastien Dessus, the World Bank's lead economist for
Ghana. "In theory, [ICT] can play a role in enlarging markets
because access to information improves and transaction costs are
reduced," he noted.
Farmers now use mobile phones
to obtain market information on the latest prices for their crops. In
Ghana, cashew nut farmers can use a phone application to compare
trader bid prices. And since 2008, the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange
has granted farmers access to real-time information via text
messages, electronic display boards and a website.
Kenya's mobile banking
system, M-Pesa is bringing banking services to millions. The service
has 20,000 agents in the country compared to 400 for the largest
bank, according to UNCTAD ICT analysis chief Tobjoern Fredriksson.
Apart from providing banking
services, ICT has also helped create employment for thousands since
it was launched in 2007. The service, which was developed for
person-to-person transactions, is now being used by small
entrepreneurs to carry out payments, Fredriksson said.
But technology is not
only good for enlarging the market and empowering small-scale
businesses, it can also be used to fight corruption, according to
UNCTAD. ICT improves transparency and accountability, said Johan
Hellstroem, a researcher at Swedish Program for ICT in Developing
Regions. "The very presence of mobile phones decreases
corruption and secret activities because it leaves footprints and
audit trails", he added.
Corruption is third leading
constraint to doing business in a country after electricity and tax
rates, according to a 2010 World Bank survey.
Crowdsourcing techniques like
Kenya's Ushahidi can be used to report incidents of bribes or
corruption. Similar initiatives are springing up all over Africa;
with stopthebribe in Nigeria, and No bakshish in Cameroon. Through
such initiatives and global ones like bribespot and corruption
tracker, ICT is empowering people to take a stance against
corruption, according to Transparency International (TI).
(Source: Deutsche
Welle News)Further details
Specifically, the National Primary
Healthcare Development Agency, an agency under the Health Ministry in
Nigeria responsible for development and strengthening of primary
healthcare nationwide, was formed to support the promotion and
sustainability of high quality primary healthcare system and achieve
the Millennium Development Goals relating to the health sector.
Alongside efforts by the World Health
Organization and the various UN agencies that deal with
health-related issues to improve the healthcare delivery system,
concerted efforts are being made to reduce the differential access to
technology of the developed and the developing world.
It is at the convergence of health and
technology that eHealth initiatives evolved, creating an
unprecedented opportunity to improve access to services and
innovations. So what is the way out? Enter the mobile health
(mHealth) initiative.
Stakeholders at a recent mobile health
(mHealth) workshop put together by MTN Nigeria, voted in favor of
adoption of the mobile healthcare system. Already, a United Nations
report notes that this system has capacity to help meet four of the
eight Millennium Development Goals, MDGs. Basically, mHealth broadly
encompasses the use of mobile telecommunications devices and
multimedia technologies as they are integrated within increasingly
mobile and wireless healthcare delivery system.
In order words, it is the practice of
medical and public healthcare supported by a mobile device, including
the use of voice, data and SMS. By adopting mHealth in the healthcare
delivery system, many more people, will potentially be reached and
the health of the people and communities will be greatly enhanced.
This approach is particularly important
due to the rapid adoption of mobile phone technology in developing
countries. While mHealth has matured in industrialised nations, the
field is still evolving in a developing country such as Nigeria. But
argument for it is strong. As mobile technology grows, more and more
people acquire mobile phones and other mobile devices, making them
part of their everyday lives.
It then becomes easier for medical
personnel to interact with them and provide health services, obtain
health information to aid their researches and make it easy for them
to provide the right medical solutions to health challenges in remote
(Source: Vanguard NewsPaper)Further details
The Report shows that the potential of
leveraging information and communication technologies (ICTs) to
develop the private sector is far from fully exploited. It finds that
many national and donor strategies related to PSD currently fail to
take adequate account of the ICT potential, which has greatly
expanded thanks to changes in the global ICT landscape. The Report
then makes policy recommendations on how to remedy this situation.
The Information Economy Report 2011 identifies
four facets of the ICT-PSD interface and argues that policy
interventions should take into account this holistic approach.
ICT infrastructure as a factor in the investment climate.
use as a factor to improve the performance of the private sector.
ICT producing sector as a strategic component of the private sector.
ICT use as a component of interventions aimed at facilitating PSD.
In these areas, UNCTAD makes several policy
recommendations, such as:
To take a comprehensive and systematic approach when integrating the
ICT dimension into PSD strategies in developing countries.
continue to extend affordable and relevant connectivity to locations
with poor ICT infrastructure.
adopt regulatory frameworks aiming to improve confidence in the use
of technologies and their applications.
include ICT modules in business skills´ training programmes.
harness mobile money services to meet the needs of MSEs and to make
financial markets more inclusive.
use ICT tools to reduce the cost of doing business, and to help MSEs
bring goods and services to domestic and international markets.
To develop Donor Guidelines to ensure that the ICT potential is
fully harnessed in their PSD strategies.
The Information Economy
Report 2011
explores various options and examples of interventions by national
governments and their development partners related to the four facets
of the interface between ICTs and PSD. Among
the cases cited are:
Customs automation in Madagascar and Liberia and reforms to
streamline business registration procedures in the Philippines, as a
means to provide a more conducive business environment.
to increase the number and quality of entrepreneurial and ICT skills
in Egypt, Singapore, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Panama as a means to
promote the development of human resources.
and promoting the development of mobile money applications in
Africa, as a means to enhance financial inclusiveness and open up
business opportunities for micro- and small enterprises.
case of ICT freelancers in Bangladesh, as an example of existing
opportunities to find low-skilled employment in the ICT producing
The use of ICTs to support women entrepreneurs in developing
countries, as a means to overcome the existing gender gap in
available digital opportunities.
In the Statistical Annex of the Report UNCTAD
presents among other things new data on ICT use by enterprises of
different size and in various industries.
(Source: UNCTAD)Full Report
As a country with 9 different
languages identified as being commonly used, communication strategies
need to vary from district to district. The survey shows that
nation-wide, the language most commonly considered a respondents
mother tongue is Mambae, with 24%, while three others Makasae,
Tetum, and Kemak are accounting for at least 10%. Despite this,
Tetum and Indonesian are identified as the two languages most used by
the literate population to read and Tetum is the language that most
respondents indicate they can speak well.
Mobile phones are also of
growing importance to ICT and development in Timor-Leste. The
survey shows that since 2006, mobile phone ownership has grown by 600
percent, making it the fastest growing communications tool in
Timor-Leste. Although radio is still the highest reaching form
of media and 16 percent of the population is still without access to
any form of media, the use of text messaging for promotions and
campaigns is growing in popularity around the country. The
greatest barriers to use going forward are the cost of mobile phone
services and simply the cost of purchasing a mobile phone.
These barriers, at least at face value, seem much easier to break
than issues of lack of knowledge or lack of coverage in an area.
Read the Full Report(Source: AudienceScapes)
We must remember
that it is not peoples disability that makes it impossible
for them to use certain technologies.
It is the fact
that whoever created the products and services did not take into
account the notion that people are individuals with differing
abilities and preferences, she said in her keynote address at the
launching of a web accessibility seminar. Fatimah said it is vital
that those who design, build, sell and use online information
services or products must understand the impacts on disabled and
older people.
She stated that the Malaysian
Disability Act 2008 has made it mandatory for the government and
providers of information and communication technology to make their
systems accessible to the disabled without any additional costs.
Our focus here is
website accessibility. The federal and state governments have made
web accessibility as one of the mandatory criteria in government
portals and websites, she added.
According to her, the state government
has a web template that complies with the web accessibility
requirements to benefit a wider range of citizens.
The three-day seminar is held to
highlight the importance of making websites accessible to people with
visual disabilities.
It is organised by the state
government, Sarawak Society for the Blind, Sarawak Information
Systems Sdn Bhd (Sains) and National Council for the Blind Malaysia
My message to all those who have
registered for the workshop, learn as much as possible and develop
your websites, services or products that are usable by all.
I hope the
organisers, especially Sains being the ICT total solution provider of
the state government, can work closely with my ministry to promote
web accessibility at national and international levels in the
future, she said.
Also present at the seminar were NCBM
president Datuk S. Kulasegaran, Sains CEO Datuk Teo Tien Hiong,
Sarawak Society for the Blind president Dr Hsiung Kwo Yen and Chief
Ministers Department ICT Unit director William Patrick Nyigor.
(Source: Borneo Post)Further details
"This years
International Day of Rural Women falls at a time of heightened awareness of the
important contribution women are making to social progress.[...] I call on all
partners to recognize the contribution of rural women to our world, and to help
them do even more for our shared future", said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The first
International Day of Rural Women was observed on 15 October 2008. This new
international day, established by the General Assembly in its resolution 62/136
of 18 December 2007, recognizes the critical role and contribution of rural
women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural
development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.
Rural women
play a critical role in the rural economies of both developed and developing
countries. In most parts of the developing world they participate in crop
production and livestock care, provide food, water and fuel for their families,
and engage in off-farm activities to diversify their families livelihoods. In
addition, they carry out vital functions in caring for children, older persons
and the sick.
The theme
for the 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (27
February 9 March, 2012) is: "The empowerment of rural women and their
role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges".
(Source: United Nations Organization)
The National Strategy
"Women Have Rights", which leads the Ministry of
Information and Communications Technologies (MINTIC), the
Presidential Office for Equality for Women, the Presidential Agency
for Social Action and International Cooperation with the support of
the Integral Program Against Gender Violence Fund of the United
Nations and Spain for the achievement of Millennium Development
Goals, aims to help to reduce all forms of violence against women and
especially against women in situations of displacement.
In its first phase "Women
Have Rights" has been proposed change processes for the State
and society and take the new legal environment (Law 1257 and Order
092 from 2008) as an opportunity to move towards a life free of
violence against women, clearly establishing responsibilities and
protocols of care for women victims of gender violence and
This meeting will allow,
through socialization of experiences of mayors, governors and
organizations, that officially have joined to the strategy, joint
actions between the different territories and the national level,
setting goals and challenges to the process of territorial
sustainability of the strategy in the light of the election of new
departmental and municipal governments and define the guidelines for
the construction of the Action Plan 2012.
Also, on October 14
has been set to perform with the participants of the workshop the
meeting of Spokespersons of the Act 1257, developed by the Ministry
of ICT in agreement with the Foundation Women, Art and Life (MAVI) in
different regions of the country.
workshop which is implemented with the video transformation
methodology for the appropriation of the law by public officers,
media and various organizations so, will become spokespeople for
their achievements in various scenarios.
(Source: Mintic
Colombia)Further details
Mrs. Johnson, according to
a statement from the ministry at the weekend, said that the ministry
would accelerate the roll-out of broadband infrastructure to increase
broadband penetration from 6% to 12% by 2015.
She emphasized that
the ministry will promote and support initiatives that will increase
the contribution of ICT from its current 3.5% to 5% of GDP by 2015.
(The Indian ICT sector recognized globally currently contributes 6%
to the nation's GDP).
She added that the
ministry will promote software development and local software
innovation by setting up ICT Parks/Digital Havens (equipped with
physical/service infrastructure; proximity and access to skilled
human capital etc.) and promoting investment in skills required to
drive the industry.
She said that the
ministry will bridge the internal digital divide in the country by
increasing access to ICTs in rural areas and amongst marginalized
groups and segments of the population.
The minister emphasized
that the ministry will ensure that there is increased adoption of ICT
by the Nigerian population by initiating programmes that allow
businesses and citizens to access government Information via ICTs.
(Source: All Africa News)
renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs visited rural villages in sub-Saharan Africa
in 2005, he saw impoverished communities with poor drinking water,
feast-and-famine crop cycles and rampant malaria infections. What he didn't see
was mobile phones.
mobile phone ownership is perhaps 30% of households and cell phone coverage is
widespread", said Sachs, director of the United Nations Millennium
Villages Project, which focuses on improving 14 rural villages across 10
African countries as a model for wider prosperity in the region.
The advent
of the mobile society may have brought convenience and a cultural
sea change to the U.S. and Europe, but in the poorest regions of the world,
affordable mobile phone access has caused a quantum leap in services -- like
calling for medical help, sending a quick letter to loved ones or starting a
savings account -- that Americans and Europeans have taken for granted for
generations, analysts say.
cell phone is the single most transformative technology for development",
said Sachs, head of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and author of
the 2005 book "The End of Poverty".
is almost equated with isolation in many places of the world. Poverty results
from the lack of access to markets, to emergency health services, access to
education, the ability to take advantage of government services and so on",
Sachs said. "What the mobile phone -- and more generally IT technology --
is ending is that kind of isolation in all its different varieties".
From 2005 to
2010, cell phone use tripled in the developing world to nearly 4 billion mobile
subscriptions, according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
Nowhere was the growth faster than in Africa, which saw mobile use grow more
than 400% during that time frame, according to ITU. That means more money -- a
2006 University of Michigan study found that every 10% increase in cell phone
penetration grows the local economy by 0.6%.
The simple
ability to make a phone call has far-reaching economic consequences, Sachs
said. "Places where traditionally, people would
walk livestock for a week or two without knowing what kind of price they'll
fetch -- should they go to Khartoum, Nairobi or Port Saeed? Now they can call
ahead and find out where to get the best price", Sachs said.
(Source: CNN
A spokesman for the
local mayor told EFE that the ICT classroom, which is located in
Peru, in Kawachi School, was opened last week and "marks a new
era for Los Olivos district because it is the beginning of its
conversion into a digital city ".
The classroom has
been implemented with twenty computers and a video projector, all
connected to an interactive whiteboard.
For the full
implementation of this project, they have 90 km of Optical Fiber,
with the aim of connecting to 60,000 homes in Los Olivos with
schools, police stations, municipal offices, medical centers and
It also provides access to
the database of the district, "without interference, high
quality and speed in a sort of gigantic Intranet".
The ICT classroom
mark the beginning of the installation of 33 points of
interconnection, through Fiber Optics, with the database located in a
resort town prepared for the technological research, job training and
It is planned that
the complex will be the centerpiece of the "Telematic District
Network ", a large data network capacity with computer servers,
similar to financial and telephone companies.
Various institutions
in Los Olivos are going to connect to the
Network gradually, which will let exchange information and share a
number of resources, in addition to providing high quality services
to its users", said the spokesman of EFE.
(Source: RPP News)Further details
The Head of ICT at Rwanda
Development Board (RDB), Patrick Nyirishema, has said that the
establishment of a Carnegie Mellon University campus in Rwanda is a
big boost to the development of ICT in the country.
In an interview with The
New Times, he said that the introduction of the campus that will
focus on ICT courses is a very exciting development.
The particular engagement we have
with the university is focused on ICT although it is a fully fledged
institution with many other disciplines back in the USA, he said.
Carnegie Mellon, a top US
varsity, will establish and operate an academic program in Kigali,
initially offering a Master of Science in ICT program, starting from
next year.
With a history of
excellence in higher education and as a global leader in
technological innovation, Carnegie Mellon is the first U.S research
institution offering degrees in Africa with an in-country presence.
Nyirishima pointed out
that the whole vision is to bring in a world class type of a
university to fast track the process of scaling up the standard of
ICT education in the country.
It will help us in achieving the
vision President Paul Kagame has set of making Rwanda an ICT hub in
the region, he said.
He asserted that the
institution will bring in a very high level of expertise in some of
the priority areas within the ICT sector which will contribute
towards making Rwanda an investment destination for big international
While the new
Carnegie Mellon Rwanda program is open to students worldwide, the
program will primarily target students from the East African
Community with preference given to Rwandan citizens.
(Source: The New Times -
The Acting
Country Manager of the World Bank has said that lack of access to low price and
high quality telecommunications services is one of the factors that presently
limit the potential of Liberia to create jobs, expand production of goods and
services, and trade competitively with the rest of the world. Coleen Littlejohn
pointed out that poor telecommunications services in Liberia are the major
obstacle to the social and economic development of the country. The World Bank
Executive made these comments recently at the launch of the West Africa
Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (WARCIP-Liberia) Project.
The official
launch of the WARCIP-Liberia Project was held at the Golden Gate Hotel in
Paynesville, outside Monrovia.The
WARCIP-Liberia Project is as a result of a US$25.6 million loan given to the
Liberian government the World Bank
According to
Littlejohn, the lack of access to an international submarine cable, coupled
with the absence of national connectivity backbone has resulted in low
bandwidth and high price of Internet service, something which she said prevents
Liberia from benefiting from advanced Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) enabled applications.
indicated that the connection of the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine
cable represents a unique opportunity for Liberia, which has missed out on
earlier opportunities to connect to existing global submarine fiber cable
project proposes an integrated approach to improve connectivity in Liberia by
providing access to the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable and
creating an enabling environment and institutional strengthening to support for
private sector participation in Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
infrastructure," she stated.
Project recognizes that the creation of a competitive, enabling environment in
the sector is a prerequisite for affordable connectivity and ensuring an open
and non-discriminatory access to capacity. Results in many countries show that
this translates into improved connectivity and lower prices of communications
services" she said.
further, she pointed out that the project will in the near future
"dramatically" bring down communication costs.
(Source: All
Africa News paper)
Many women across Africa,
South Asia and the Middle
East have the ideas and ambition needed to become successful
entrepreneurs but are held back by barriers such as lack of access to business
skills, technology, networks and finance.
In response, the Cherie Blair Foundation for
Women has developed an innovative solution that combines mentoring with
technology to offer cross-border support to women entrepreneurs in developing
and emerging markets. In collaboration with Google, the Foundation built a
virtual community for women entrepreneurs to support each other and receive
online mentoring and business advice.
The programme began with a 12-month pilot
phase to test the new online platform and determine best practice. Following a
positive independent evaluation, the Foundation is now continuing to expand its
reach in order to support increasing numbers of women around the globe.
Founder, Cherie Blair
says, "Our mentees are women with great entrepreneurial potential, and our
mentors give them a vital boost by providing them with the extra advice and
support they need".
They were the first women
to win the prize since Kenyas Wangari Maathai, who died last
month, was named as the laureate in 2004.
Most of the recipients in
the awards 110-year history have been men and Fridays decision
seemed designed to give impetus to the cause for womens rights
around the world.
We cannot achieve
democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same
opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of
society, said the citation read by Thorbjorn Jagland, a former
Norwegian prime minister who heads the Oslo-based Nobel committee
that chooses the winner of the $1.5 million prize.
In a subsequent
interview, he described the prize as a very important signal to
women all over the world.
Mrs. Johnson Sirleaf
is nearing the end of a heated re-election campaign and Monrovia, the
Liberian capital, saw her opponents join a big rally before
Tuesdays vote. Mr. Jagland said the election had not influenced
the committees decision, calling the ballot there a domestic
consideration. Analysts in Liberia have described the presidents
re-election prospects as uncertain, although Fridays announcement
from Oslo could change that. But the Nobel committees decision
underscored the gap between local perceptions of her it is not
hard to find critics of the president in Liberia and the view
from abroad.
In Yemen on Friday,
Ms. Karman, 32, sat in a tent where she has been living since
February as part of the sit-in organized to press demands for change.
This is the victory of our peaceful revolution,
she said. I am so happy and I give this award to all of the youth
and all of the women across the Arab world, in Egypt, in Tunisia.
(Source: The New York
Times)Further details
EA has been using
FrontlineSMS in Chad and Niger since late 2009. They produce six
radio programs in these two countries and, for each show, listeners
can send text messages to a dedicated telephone number, which is
toll-free in Niger. The radio stations receive messages from
thousands of listeners, some in response to questions posed on the
radio program and others sharing their views and commentary on the
programs. During an 18-month period 1,119 messages were received in
Chad and 2,330 messages were received in Niger.
In Chad, Equal
Access produces a youth radio show titled Chabab Al Haye (Youth
Alive) which uses a presenter-led chat show format to discuss
peaceful ways of addressing grievances, tolerance, livelihoods
information and problem solving. Listeners can send in feedback
through our FrontlineSMS system asking questions, such as this young
listener who texted:
I lived for a
little while in the North, and I noticed that tribalism still exists
there. The young people from the North and South avoid relating to
one another. How do we get past this behavior?
Questions and
comments like this one can be featured on this radio programs and
discussed, helping youth from all reaches of the country feel
included in the conversation.
Perhaps most
importantly, they use FrontlineSMS to create interaction with the
radio programs and include listener feedback in the programs, to show
listeners that they are being heard. In closed communities, or those
struggling with violence or intolerance, the act of engaging in an
interactive dialogue via a mass communications platform such as a
radio can help people feel engaged and included.
In Niger during the
pre-election period running up to the peaceful and democratic
transition from a military junta to an elected civilian
administration, radio listeners around the country were able to
express their views about positions and candidates through SMS
messages in response to the radio programs.
The messages contributed to a more open and inclusive debate because
audiences were able to connect to program producers directly through
a toll-free SMS message line.
(Source: National
Geographic Daily News)Further details
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu,
Minister of Communication on Monday observed that government has made
giant strides in transforming the country into a modern
information-rich and knowledge based society in terms of Information,
Communication and Technology (ICT) development.
He said the benefits
of ICT could be applied to facilitate socio-economic development to
bring enormous benefits to Ghanaians. Government therefore,
remained committed to promote digital literacy in the country to
ensure that the people reap full benefits of ICT usage.
Mr. Iddrisu made the
observation when the Ministry of Communication took its turn on the
Meet-the-Press series organised by the Ministry of Information. It is
a platform that enables ministries and other public agencies to
inform the public on the strides made in governance.
Mr. Iddrisu said the
mandate of the Ministry is to build a people centred, inclusive and
development-oriented information and knowledge society where everyone
could create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge to
enable individuals and communities achieve their full potential of
promoting sustainable development.
In this regard,
we are proud of the enormous growth in the ICT sector; and we have
made humble but significant strides to transform Ghana into a modern
information-rich and knowledge based society where the benefits of
ICT can be applied to facilitate socio-economic development, he
Mr. Iddrisu said the
communication sector this year witnessed significant growth and
transformation, which also expanded in scope as well as technological
advancement. This was recognized by the International
Telecommunication Union where the country had been touted as of the
fastest growing ICT industry in the developing world.
Mr. Iddrisu said
within the framework of governments development agenda to provide
transparent and accountable governance, strong economy for real jobs,
investing in people and expanding infrastructure for growth, the
Ministry is situating ICT as prime enabler and facilitator to provide
the necessary tools for good governance.
(Source: Ghana News
Agency)Further details
The Digital
Cities11 Conference at ITU Telecom World 2011 (Geneva,
Switzerland, 24-27 October) will focus on the trends shaping global
city development, and ask city mayors, leading urban developers and
experts in the provision of essential public services for their views
on the opportunities and solutions offered by information and
communications technologies (ICTs).
The conference, supported by
Alcatel-Lucent, will focus on how the public and private sectors can
come together to design and develop the next generation of urban
living. Participants will also address connected urban development
and how next-generation networks can enhance socio-economic
development, increase the health and well-being of urban citizens and
enable environmental sustainability.
Panel discussions and
workshops will include mayors from the worlds major cities,
together with digital innovators, utility experts, industry CEOs and
city planning and transport specialists. Top-level speakers and
participants include: Gabrielle Gauthey, EVP, Public Affairs,
Alcatel-Lucent; Kim Seang-tae, President, National Information
Society Agency, Advisor to the President of Korea; Wim Elfrink, Chief
Globalization Officer, Cisco; Suvi Linden, former Minister of
Communications, Finland and Special Envoy to the Broadband Commission
for Digital Development; Peter Pitsch, Director Communications
Policy, Intel Corporation; and Juan Sabines Guerrero, Governor of
Our planet will soon
be home to seven billion people. As cities demand more and more from
our industry and city dwellers account for half of the worlds
population, the time is right for a dedicated conference within the
ITU Telecom World event that drives high-level debate and generates
key insights into the connected and digital future of urban life,
said ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré.
The Digital Cities
Conference is specifically designed to be the focal point for
informed and defining debate on the future of urban digital
development, commented Ben Verwaayen, CEO, Alcatel-Lucent, Given
the pace at which people are embracing digital life, it is becoming
ever more crucial that the industry connects and integrates city
infrastructure and services with technologies that will help ensure
the sustainability of cities, and improve life, work and well-being
for their residents.
Highlights of the Digital
Cities11 Conference include plenary sessions examining areas such
Collaboration in
fostering sustainable, next-generation city life, and the need for
cities to embrace new urban design, strong metropolitan governance,
and innovative infrastructure investment models.
The best ways to
optimize resources smartly, to increase quality of life for
citizens. How can citizens become better involved in designing and
scoping out the future of their own digital cities?
(Source: ITU Newsroom)Further details
New application allows deaf, hard-of-hearing
and speech-disabled customers to make calls from virtually anywhere,
anytime on Android-powered devices.
Today announced the availability of Sprint Mobile IP
Relay, empowering thousands of users in the deaf and hard-of-hearing
communities and people with speech disabilities to communicate by
phone anywhere and anytime. Sprint Mobile IP Relay, the companys
latest enhancement to its Sprint Relays IP portfolio, is a free
application that can be downloaded from the Android Market onto
select Android devices.
Features and capabilities:
Make and receive
relay-facilitated mobile calls on Sprint devices running on Android
OS 2.1 or higher
Save conversations
during or after they are completed
Provide Spanish language relay
Adjust font
size/colors and background colors
Access phones
contact list, call history, and live Sprint Relay Customer Service
Make 911 emergency calls
Available on
Sprint 3G, Sprint 4G and WiFi networks.
A unique 10-digit
number is required to access and use the Sprint® Mobile IP
application on Sprint Android devices. To register, go to
This is another
offer from Sprint Relay that breaks down communications barriers for
those who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities,
said Mike Ellis, director-Sprint Relay Services. With Mobile IP
Relay, users can have unlimited access to relay services wherever
their wireless device coverage is available.
Ellis added that earlier
in the year, Sprint Relay introduced another unique offering for
Relay users called Sprint Relay ID -- a bundle of applications,
links, tips, icons, widgets and wallpapers on Sprint ID-capable
Android devices. The bundle includes voice mail transcripts, visual
and vibrating alerts and readable captions available in a single
download. The launch of Sprint Relay ID marked the first time a
wireless carrier developed multiple applications in one package for
the needs of the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.
For its innovation
and industry-leading customer service, Sprint Relay services were
recently lauded with third-party awards and endorsements. The Paisley
Group National Relay TTY Performance Index ranked Sprint Relay
highest in customer care and speed of service. Sprint Relay also
earned ABILITY Magazines Best Practices Award for its relay
service and its spirit of inclusion, both in the workplace and in
the consumer marketplace.
Sprint now provides
relay service to 32 states and the federal government, in addition to
New Zealand and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Sprint also provides
Captioned Telephone CapTel services to 31 states and the
federal government.
(Source: Sprint News)
The classroom that was delivered to the community of Riohacha will allow
to deaf, blind and deafblind people access to Internet Services,
training in basic computer concepts and use of computers, as well as
intelligent machine of reading Braille telelupa and lines, promoting
their access, use and ownership of ICT and guaranteeing the right to
information and communication on equal terms. The ICT Ministry spent $
160 million for this project. The new classroom was presented on
Thursday 29 September.
The classrooms of
technology for people with sensory disabilities are part of the ICT
policy ownership developing by the ICT
Ministry and Surcoe. This initiative is included in the Technology
Plan Vive Digital, which aims to expand the use and
appropriation of the Internet in the country and move from 2.2
million to 8.8 million connections in 2014. This new room was
provided to the community of Riohacha on Thursday September 29 at the
Library Almirante Padilla.
"The opening of
this new room will allow the community of
Riohacha with sensory disabilities and their family access to
technology. Access to ICTs must be for everyone, to make technology
part of the life of Colombians, said ICT Minister, Diego Molano
Vega. The hall will provide free training in basic use of
computers, office tools and Internet browsing. Also, these rooms will
feature with equipments such as Braille printers that will enable
blind people to read texts and computer applications that will enable
users to listen to type in documents and texts on the Internet.
The delivery of this
new classroom is part of the project Conectando
Sentidos that seeks that the technology world will be within
people with sensory disabilities and their families, promoting social
inclusion and equal opportunities through the use of technology
Information and communications technology (ICT).
(Source: MINTIC
The ExxonMobil Foundation
today announced a $1.5 million grant for research into how mobile
phone technology can enhance womens economic opportunities and
entrepreneurship in the developing world. The grant to the Cherie
Blair Foundation for Women will be highlighted at the 2011 Clinton
Global Initiative Annual Meeting.
The study, to be conducted in
Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia, aims to
identify various mobile services that can help women entrepreneurs
enhance their businesses, and what barriers exist to expanding access
to these services.
We know that mobile
technology has great potential for placing women in low-income
countries on a higher economic trajectory, said Cherie Blair,
founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.
Mobile phone use
doesn't just help women earn more money, it can also bring great
benefits to businesses and therefore to the wider economy as well.
Mobile phone services are
often cited as a significant tool in economic development. There are
300 million fewer female than male subscribers worldwide, and a woman
is 21 percent less likely to own a phone than a man in low- and
middle-income countries.
Studies like this
will help us understand how technology can best support women in the
developing world", said Suzanne M. McCarron, president of the
ExxonMobil Foundation. Success of women entrepreneurs is vital to
building strong communities. Expanding the use of mobile technology
for women will help raise living standards, leading to more
prosperity for them, their families and their countries.
"Our research
shows that technology can be transformative for women, if we engage
them in the process", said Sarah Degnan Kambou, president of the
International Center for Research on Women. "This partnership
does that and will help take women entrepreneurs farther and faster,
as a result".
(Source: Financial Post)
More than 1500
people in the Ancash region will have
access to mobile services and the Internet through the program
Comunicaciones de la Cuenca Ancash, signed on 23 September
2011, between the Antamina Mining Fund and Telefonica.
Antamina Mining Fund
and Telefonica initiated a project that
allows access to mobile and Internet services in the districts of:
San Pedro de Chana, Huacchis and San Marcos. To this end,
Telefonica will implement two mobile phone base stations, which will
benefit 11 towns of Yanacancha Mining Camp, among which are: Cambio
90, Vistoso, Ayash Huaripampa, Ayas Pichiu, San Cristóbal de Tambo,
Centro Pichiu, Huancayoc, Puca Puca, Huishllag, Cashapatac y Atash.
Also it will provide coverage to hospitals, police stations, medical
centers and institutions that benefit to local population.
Also, the Antamina mining
company through its association Antamina (Mining Fund) will provide
Mobile Internet to 30 schools which will have internet services for
five years.
Guillermo Checa,
Vice President of Business Segment of Telefonica, expressed great
satisfaction over the agreement that will provide telecommunications
access to more Peruvian in Ancash region. "In Telefónica, we
have been conducting several initiatives aimed at promoting digital
inclusion through telecommunications, helping to improve the quality
of life of most people and this is a sample of it", he said.
(Source: Telefonica del Peru)
In accordance
with its multi-year programme of work for 2010-2014, the Commission on the
Status of Women (CSW) will consider The empowerment of rural women and their
role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges' as
its priority theme during its fifty-sixth session in 2012.
In order to
contribute to a fuller understanding of the issue and to assist the Commission
in its deliberations, the UN Women) in collaboration with the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) will convene an Expert
Group Meeting (EGM) on Enabling rural women's economic empowerment:
institutions, opportunities and participation' from 20-23 September 2011 in
Accra, Ghana.
The EGM will
explore a wide range of strategies that can enhance the economic empowerment of
rural women, and will focus on the following critical areas:
See further Information here
(Source: UN Women)
The United Nations
must leverage the power of information and communications technology
(ICT) to the fullest in its response to political, economic and
environmental challenges and to improve the delivery of its services,
says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Addressing a meeting at UN
Headquarters on public-private partnership for ICT, Mr. Ban stressed
that the world body must make the fullest possible use of ICTs in
achieving its development goals and other important objectives.
We already do a
great deal, but we know we can do more
much more, he said.
The Secretary-General
noted that ICTs can help strengthen disaster risk reduction as well
as the UNs response when disasters do happen. Other important
activities from reporting on repression and human rights abuses
and monitoring ecosystems to delivering public services, especially
in health and education can all be made more effective through
The UN itself can benefit
from development in this area, thereby heightening performance while
increasing accountability, he added.
Mr. Ban said that the UN
has made significant progress in using ICTs to improve the delivery
of its services since the establishment of the UN ICT strategy in
2009, and it was done largely within existing resources. The ICT
strategy is comprised of a vision, a management framework and three
strategic programmes.
Yet the time has
now come when we need additional financial and other support if we
are to achieve truly high-impact and better results, he stated,
adding that this is where the public-private partnership on ICT can
play a critical role.
It can provide
sound strategic guidance as well as resources for leveraging ICT to
build a better world, said Mr. Ban.
At the same time,
I am convinced that your involvement will have a significant positive
impact for your own organizations. Contributing to global well-being
will further reinforce your position as socially responsible citizens
of the world, doing their part to advance the human condition.
(Source: UN News Centre)
Gender equality matters in
its own right but is also smart economics: Countries that create
better opportunities and conditions for women and girls can raise
productivity, improve outcomes for children, make institutions more
representative, and advance development prospects for all, says a new
World Bank flagship report.
The World
Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development details
big strides in narrowing gender gaps but shows that disparities
remain in many areas. The worst disparity is the rate at which girls
and women die relative to men in developing countries: Globally,
excess female mortality after birth and missing girls at birth
account for an estimated 3.9 million women each year in low- and
middle-income countries. About two-fifths are never born due to a
preference for sons, a sixth die in early childhood, and over a third
die in their reproductive years. These losses are growing in
Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in countries hard-hit by HIV/AIDS.
need to achieve gender equality, said World Bank Group
President Robert B. Zoellick. Over the past five years, the
World Bank Group has provided $65 billion to support girls
education, womens health, and womens access to credit, land,
agricultural services, jobs, and infrastructure. This has been
important work, but it has not been enough or central enough to what
we do. Going forward, the World Bank Group will mainstream our
gender work and find other ways to move the agenda forward to capture
the full potential of half the worlds population.
The report cites
examples of how countries could gain by addressing disparities
between men and women:
· Ensuring
equal access and treatment for women farmers would increase maize
yields by 11 to 16 percent in Malawi and by 17 percent in Ghana.
· Improving womens
access to agricultural inputs in Burkina Faso would increase total
household agricultural production by about 6 percent, with no
additional resourcessimply by reallocating resources such as
fertilizer and labor from men to women.
· The Food
and Agriculture Organization estimates that equal access to resources
for female farmers could increase agricultural output in developing
countries by as much as 2.5 to 4 percent.
· Eliminating
barriers that prevent women from working in certain occupations or
sectors would have similar positive effects, reducing the
productivity gap between male and female workers by one-third to
one-half and increasing output per worker by 3 to 25 percent across a
range of countries.
Blocking women
and girls from getting the skills and earnings to succeed in a
globalized world is not only wrong, but also economically harmful,
said Justin Yifu Lin, World Bank Chief Economist and Senior
Vice-President, Development Economics. Sharing the fruits of
growth and globalization equally between men and women is essential
to meeting key development goals.
A multilingual
project funded by the European Union (EU) today began its journey on
the Internet at www.poliglotti4.eu website
with the ambition to collect and disseminate best practice on
language policy and language teaching.
Poliglotti4.eu is an
initiative to promote multilingualism in Europe, the result of the
deliberations of the EU Civil Society Platform driven by the European
Commission in 2009.
This portal will
provide to policy makers, teachers,
students and civil society organizations a set of tools for
benchmarking and improvement of activities in the field of education
and learning, said in a statement the Multilingualism Observatory
(EUNIC). Specifically, collect and display information about
motivation and goals of multilingualism in various sectors of civil
society as well as on best practices and tools for development.
The project is aimed
at students and language teachers, social services and public and
civil society, as well as those responsible for the development of
multilingualism policy.
For now, the web
page navigation is possible in English and, later, it will be in
French and German, although public input through social networks can
ride in any language.
(Source: ABC News)
© Copyright 2017, International Telecommunication Union
The information presented within this blog comes from various organizations around the world. ITU encourages users to seek more detailed information from the original source through the links provided.
Links to third-party websites are provided for the convenience of all users. The ITU is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content on these third-party websites. ITU does not offer any guarantee in that regard nor does ITU endorse the third-party organizations, their sites or content.