May 2013 - KICTANet

Welcome
by Gideon 03 May '13

03 May '13

Greetings Dr. Matiangi, I take this opportunity online to welcome you cordially as you await your confirmation. We have seen part of what you have achieved in the past and are confident that you shall be able to continue the good work that has been done by your able predecessors as well as bring in ideas that will catalyze growth of the ICT constituency in Kenya, EastAfrica and the world at large. I also take this opportunity to appreciate Hon. Poghisio for the good work that he has done while in his tenure at the helm of Information and Communication's docket and wish him well in his future endeavors. Kind regards, Gideon Rop DotConnectAfrica ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Thu, May 2, 2013 at 9:48 AM Subject: kictanet Digest, Vol 72, Issue 5 To: Gideon Rop <gideonrop(a)gmail.com> Send kictanet mailing list submissions to kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke You can reach the person managing the list at kictanet-owner(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of kictanet digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: Welcome! (Paul Roy) 2. Re: Can we learn from the French? (Evans Ikua) 3. Re: Can we learn from the French? (Phares Kariuki) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 2 May 2013 09:35:25 +0300 From: Paul Roy <roykoikai(a)gmail.com> To: robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk>, fredmatiangi(a)gmail.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Welcome! Message-ID: <CA+AXev7NO=s4bowTRaRtR_cp=7+XjaCib5cPEa6kmwCqjPFz7w(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Daktari, This is a simple welcome message to you, as we await your confirmation by parliament we would like to urge you to familiarize yourself with this group and the good work your Dr. Ndemo has done under this docket. Wish you all the best in the next steps. regards, Paul Roy. On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 8:50 AM, robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > Hi Daktari, > > I was tempted to say karibu but I realised three issues why that would be > inappropriate > > 1. KICTAnet is like a perpetual bar brawl for which there is no formal > invitation or welcome and the participants are in it for varied reasons > many of each are never verbalised. > 2. Actually your welcome party actually tool place when you your named by > the president, from your email below it seems to have happend in your > absence and the details have been purged from the achieves it might be a > good idea to have them forwarded to you by Dr. Ndemo > 2. You are still a nominee and it is possible that the vetting committee > in parliament might reject your nomination based on a lack of "passion" for > the job as you did not read your speech from an xPAD, you do not have a > bluetooth or NFC ear peice permanently glued to your ear and finally you > have not shared you twitter handle. > > I look forward to engaging with you but most likely your principle > secretaries as we try to remain relevant as the ICT sector (not that the > post for ICT Executive in the counties is position number 10) and hope that > you shall be as tolerant of my dear friend Dr. Ndemo who was the perfect > punching bag on this forum. > > Regards > > Robert Yawe > KAY System Technologies Ltd > Phoenix House, 6th Floor > P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 > Kenya > > Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 > ------------------------------ > *From:* FRED MATIANGI <fredmatiangi(a)gmail.com> > *To:* robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk > *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > *Sent:* Tuesday, 30 April 2013, 6:08 > *Subject:* [kictanet] This week in your outstanding Public Service Career > > Dear Dr. Ndemo, > > I take this early opportunity to wish you all the best in your interview > for the position of Principal Secretary coming up later this week. I very > sincerely hope the Lord will guide you, bless you indeed and see you > continue to succeed. Your service to our nation has been outstanding. Your > performance at the Ministry of Information speaks for itself. I thank you > in my private capacity as a Kenyan citizen and wish you well as a friend > and former colleague at the University of Nairobi. > > I am hesitant to address any issues presumptively at this stage as I > deliberately remain below the radar as expected and patiently await to go > before the vetting committee in Parliament. I am sure that there will be > plenty of opportunities to compare notes and share experiences. I look > forward to learning more from you and others in the this sector and that > together we can make our humble contribution in this part of the journey of > life. > > Fred Matiangi > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/robertyawe%40yahoo.co… > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, > share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do > not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. > > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/roykoikai%40gmail.com > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, > share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do > not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. > -- "Change is slow and gradual. It requires hardwork, a bit of luck, a fair amount of self-sacrifice and a lot of patience." Roy.

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Re: [kictanet] Spain's Extremadura starts switch of 40, 000 government PCs to open source
by meshack emakunat 03 May '13

03 May '13

Think of it as a two pairs of pants one requires a belt and cannot stretch and the other doesn't need any belt coz it got a rubber stretch on the waist ------------------------------ On Thu, May 2, 2013 6:47 AM PDT Evans Ikua wrote: >"The government of Spain's autonomous region of Extremadura has begun the >switch to open source of it desktop PCs. The government expects the >majority of its 40,000 PCs to be migrated this year, the region's CIO >Theodomir Cayetano announced on 18 April. Extremadura estimates that the >move to open source will help save 30 million euro per year." >Read more here: >https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/community/osor/news/spains-extremadura-starts-s… > > > >*My estimation that for every 300 dollars of my tax money that the >Government spends on MS Office licensing, 250 dollars is wasted.* > >-- >*---------------------------------------------------- >Kind Regards, >Evans Ikua,* >lanetconsulting.com, >lpi-eastafrica.org, >ict-innovation.fossfa.net, >Twitter: @ikuae >Cell: +254-722-955831

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Re: [kictanet] kictanet Digest, Vol 72, Issue 8
by Joel Macharia 02 May '13

02 May '13

Brian, Hussein Try Twitter @safaricomltd. I raised a complaint and it seemed to work, for the most part. I've received 3 or 4 messages in the last year or so. Cell +254 712 210 600 Sent from my BlackBerry® -----Original Message----- From: kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sender: "kictanet" <kictanet-bounces+macharia=macharia.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>Date: Thu, 02 May 2013 17:39:12 To: Macharia<macharia(a)macharia.co.ke> Reply-To: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Subject: kictanet Digest, Vol 72, Issue 8 Send kictanet mailing list submissions to kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke You can reach the person managing the list at kictanet-owner(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of kictanet digest..."

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Spain's Extremadura starts switch of 40, 000 government PCs to open source
by Evans Ikua 02 May '13

02 May '13

"The government of Spain's autonomous region of Extremadura has begun the switch to open source of it desktop PCs. The government expects the majority of its 40,000 PCs to be migrated this year, the region's CIO Theodomir Cayetano announced on 18 April. Extremadura estimates that the move to open source will help save 30 million euro per year." Read more here: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/community/osor/news/spains-extremadura-starts-s… *My estimation that for every 300 dollars of my tax money that the Government spends on MS Office licensing, 250 dollars is wasted.* -- *---------------------------------------------------- Kind Regards, Evans Ikua,* lanetconsulting.com, lpi-eastafrica.org, ict-innovation.fossfa.net, Twitter: @ikuae Cell: +254-722-955831

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SPAM/OPT IN/OPT OUT MARKETING FROM THE TELCOS - DEATH BY SMS
by Ali Hussein 02 May '13

02 May '13

Listers If you are like me you must by now be going out of your mind with useless SMS messages from the different players in the Telco sector. Is there some rule somewhere that CCK can dust off and ask them to stop sending these SMSs to 'abused' subscribers like myself. Or at the very least could you at least give us an option to Opt Out of this deluge of useless (in my opinion) SMSs? In my case I am specifically referring to Safaricom. I know that Safaricom has sophisticated Mass Customisation tools and if they use their Analytic Tools they would have known that for a Muslim (assuming in the majority of cases they would make deductions by name usage) a message that reads:- *'Watch Pastor Tim's Sunday Sermon...' * is particularly useless for a Muslim. If I were a Conspiracy Theorist (Luckily I am not. :-)) I may start making assumptions that Safaricom wants to convert me to a Christian. Dear Safaricom, please give me an option to opt out of your SMS deluge.. Death by SMS :-) *Ali Hussein* *CEO, 3mice interactive media ltd* *Partner, Telemedia Africa Ltd * Tel: +254713601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> Blog: www.alyhussein.com Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.

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ICANN News Alert -- Fellowship Application Round Opens for ICANN 48 in Buenos Aires, Argentina
by Alice Munyua 02 May '13

02 May '13

ICANN <http://www.icann.org/> News Alert http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-01may13-en.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fellowship Application Round Opens for ICANN 48 in Buenos Aires, Argentina 1 May 2013 How Do I Apply for the Fellowship Program The Fellowship Program has demonstrated success in its mission to build capacity in the ICANN multi-stakeholder environment through focused interactive engagement between newcomers to ICANN and community members at each of the ICANN meetings. The program seeks to identify members of the Internet community who either have not previously been able to participate in ICANN processes and constituent organizations, or those who require further exposure to the Internet community and its work but cannot travel and attend a meeting without financial support. This outreach program seeks participants from developing regions and countries of the world, in order to help create a broader base of knowledgeable constituents who will become the new voice of experience in their regions and beyond. Applications to become an ICANN Fellow are assessed for each meeting by an independent selection committee. Priority is given to applicants who: meet minimum program requirements; are current residents of developing and least developed nations; and are interested in participating in the ICANN multi-stakeholder process and its supporting organizations, advisory committees or stakeholder groups. An effort will be made to include participants from the African region as it is the site of this ICANN meeting. All confirmed fellowship participants must comply with the terms and conditions of the Fellowship program, as outlined at http://www.icann.org/en/about/participate/fellowships/terms-conditions. As stated within these terms and conditions, ICANN is a California non-profit public benefit corporation and must therefore comply with all the laws and regulations of California and the United States. Fellows are responsible for obtaining all travel visas once accepted into the program. ICANN will purchase tickets for Fellows after all necessary documentation has been obtained and Fellows demonstrate that they have obtained all necessary travel visas. Once all of the requirements for travel are met, the Fellowship program arranges for and covers the costs for airfare and hotel, as well as providing a stipend to assist with some meeting and subsistence costs. The stipend is provided after each selected candidate successfully completes the requirements of the Fellowship program, Recipients will be expected to actively participate in and contribute to ICANN processes during and after the meeting. As always, registration for ICANN's meetings is free for anyone wanting to attend. Find out more » <http://www.icann.org/en/about/participate/fellowships>

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Chipuka Software Developer Certification
by John Matogo 02 May '13

02 May '13

Dear colleagues. See the link below with information on the Chipuka Software Certification. This may be of interest to some of you. http://ilabafrica.ac.ke/index.php/what-we-do/programs/chipuka-certification Do share it with others who may benefit from this information. -- Regards, John Matogo Manager Incubation Centre, @iBizAfrica Strathmore University P.O. Box 59857-00200 Nairobi, KENYA Tel: +254 070 303 4280 (direct line) Personal Mobile:+254 722 813 533 Twitter: @jmatogo LinkedIn: http://tinyurl.com/avcn7qu Web: www.strathmore.edu and http://www.ibizafrica.co.ke/ -- Note: All emails sent from Strathmore University are subject to Strathmore's Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here<http://www.strathmore.edu/aboutus.php?id=184>to read the policy. "Visit our Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/StrathmoreUniversity>Page and Twitter <https://twitter.com/StrathU>Account".

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Will the Trademark Clearinghouse Fulfill its Potential-Will Trademark Owners Even Use it?
by Alice Munyua 02 May '13

02 May '13

By Thomas Barrett ICANN created the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) as a way to streamline the repetitive process forced on trademark owners during the launch of new top-level-domains. With the expected tsunami of hundreds of new TLD's starting later this year, the TMCH should generate a clear benefit for trademark owners who elect to participate in Sunrise and Claims Periods. The side effect of introducing new TLDs is that the legacy TLDs will be making changes to make sure they are competitive against the new TLDs. This means they will be relaxing restrictions and opening up unused namespaces at the second and third-levels. Many of these will follow a Sunrise or Grandfathering process as a way to implement the changes. Already three existing TLDs (one sTLD and two ccTLDs) have announced such policy changes and decided they would like to utilize the TMCH Sunrise tokens for their Sunrise Period. This includes .Jobs, Radio.AM and Radio.FM. Donuts, the largest applicant with over 300 TLD applications, have also indicated they will use the Sunrise token from the TMCH for a universal blocking service called Domain Protected Marks List (DPML). All this is happening before the TMCH has even supported its first new TLD. While ICANN has welcomed the use of TMCH by .Jobs, it remains to be seen if ICANN will also welcome use of the TMCH by ccTLDs. The eventual benefits and viability of the TMCH will hinge on a few factors: • Will trademark owners even use it? • Will the main driver be participation in Sunrise or Claims? • Will other existing TLDs want to use it? Will Trademark Owners Even Use it? It is a given that trying to participate in every future Sunrise Period would overwhelm the budgets of nearly every trademark owner. Every sage legal advisor is counseling that the trademark owner must be ultra-selective about which Sunrise Periods they engage in. On the other hand, a review of the Trademark Agents published on the TMCH website show a good number of law firms have already advanced the TMCH the minimum $15000 required to be an Agent. If this trend continues, then it is a clear indicator that law firms will aggressively market the TMCH to their clients. (Disclosure: My firm, TM.Biz is offering a portal for these Trademark Agents). Will the Main Driver Be Participation in Sunrise or Claims? Trademark Claims provides some protection in every new TLD. But it is for exact matches only and only for the first 90 days. This forces trademark owners to also subscribe to a watching service that catch confusingly similar registrations not caught by the Claims service. I predict trademark owners will elect to do both Claims and watching to ensure they catch domains that might confuse their customers. Will other existing TLDs want to use it? There are actually two parts to the TMCH. The validation service is performed by Deloitte and CHIP. They are issuing Sunrise tokens called Signed-Mark-Data (SMD) files to trademark owners as proof that a trademark has satisfied the requirements for the typical Sunrise Period. The Database Administrator for the TMCH is IBM. They actually help Registries and Registrars operate the Sunrise and Trademark Claims Periods. The validation service initially launched on March 26. The database part is expected to launch in July. But there are applications for just the TMCH Sunrise tokens that do not require IBM to be used. This is because the SMD file is portable. For example, any country-code TLD who decides to change their policies and wanted to conduct a Sunrise Period first, could accept SMD files from trademark owners. Also, any TLD that wanted to accept SMD files for a new Rights Protection Mechanism, as Donuts is planning; also do not need IBM in the process. The .Jobs Sunrise Period The .Jobs TLD has decided to eliminate the current restriction that .Jobs domain names must match company names. This means that product and division names will be eligible for .Jobs. Before this change takes effect, .Jobs will first conduct the Sunrise Period that is designed for new TLDs. .Jobs will utilize both parts of the TMCH. Thus they need to wait for IBM, their Back-end Registry and Registrars all to be operational before they can conduct their Sunrise Period. The Radio Global Domains The .AM and .FM ccTLD's, have long been re-purposed for the Radio industry. They are now introducing new namespaces, called Radio Global Domains, which are designed to target new market segments within the Radio industry. These will be radio.am and radio.fm. Before these changes take place, they will also undergo a Sunrise Period starting May 28. Validation for the Radio Global Domains Sunrise Period will be performed on either trademark data or the Sunrise tokens called Signed-Mark-Data (SMD) files issued by the TMCH. All this is happening without the need for the involvement of IBM, or even for Registrars to support the new protocols required for the new TLD Sunrise Periods. (Disclosure: My firm, TM.Biz will be handling the trademark validation, SMD validation and direct submission of Sunrise registrations to the Registry). It is still an open issue whether the TMCH will be capable of issuing SMD files by May 28 for use by the Radio Global Domains. Or if the TMCH is capable of issuing SMD files by this date, whether ICANN will allow the TMCH to release the SMD files so that the ccTLDs can use them. There are no doubt other ccTLDs that are interested in changing their registration rules and restrictions that might consider holding a Sunrise Period first. I predict that these ccTLDs would be interested in using the SMD files as well, if allowed by ICANN. Additional Rights Protection Mechanisms The largest TLD applicant, Donuts, is also planning to accept SMD files for its universal blocking service called Domain Protected Marks List, or DPML. As applicant of over 300 TLD's, with half of those uncontested, a DPML represents a good value for trademark owners. There may be other applicants that decide to offer new Rights Protection Mechanisms that utilize the SMD file. Hopelessly Optimistic The Trademark Clearinghouse has enormous potential to support the domain name industry. The portability of the SMD files enables many uses that were not originally envisioned by its creators. Certainly, the days of a TLD manually checking trademark databases should be coming to an end with SMD files becoming the new de facto standard for trademark validation. It will be interesting to see how this evolves over time. http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130501_will_the_trademark_clearinghouse_ful… --

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Report on ICANN 46
by Grace Githaiga 01 May '13

01 May '13

>From Africa for the World Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend In this newsletter 1. Introduction 2. GAC topics - GAC Advice 3. Trademark Clearinghouse – an update 4. ZACR and AfTLD MOU signing– a momentous occasion Note from the editor The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) held its 24th meeting in Beijing, Republic of China. This ICANN meeting was the most well attended meeting in the history of ICANN meetings, with the numbers totalling 2600-registered participants. With that said, it was indeed a scramble to get one’s hands on the most sought after commodity at ICANN… the Gala dinner tickets. The dotAfrica team did not attend, alas. The spectacular event was held at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing. This 24th meeting was of great interest to the dotAfrica team, particularly with regard to the much-anticipated GAC Advice, issued for the new gTLDs, and the requirements for the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH). Full reports on these two topics are included below. Overall, the meeting was a success for the dotAfrica team, with many people engaging us on the progress of our application, the dates for the delegation of the .africa gTLD, and so on. The spirited and very exciting debate still continues for .africa and we eagerly anticipate the completion of the initial evaluations. We wish Durban a successful ICANN meeting, and we are sure Africa will make us proud! A full report on the proceedings of the meeting can be downloaded here: https://www.centr.org/CENTR-Report-ICANN46 Until next time... Octavia Kumalo dotAfrica Marketing & PR Manager2. GAC Communiqué - GAC Advice (Alice Munyua) GAC advice on new gTLDs contained in the GAC Beijing communiqué GAC advice represents a consensus position among member states that a particular new gTLD application potentially raises sensitivities, thereby creating strong presumptions that the ICANN Board of Directors should not approve the application. The Beijing meeting Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) communiqué issued on 11 April 2013 was an important one, as ICANN was expecting GAC Advice on new gTLDs, as defined in the Applicant Guidebook. The GAC communiqué serves as the official notification to applicants of GAC Advice and triggers a 21-day response period as per the Applicant Guidebook (Module 3.1). The guidebook states: "If the Board receives GAC Advice on new gTLDs stating that it is the consensus of the GAC that a particular application should not proceed, this will create a strong presumption for the ICANN Board that the application should not be approved. If the Board does not act in accordance with this type of advice, it must provide its rationale for not doing so." Read More 3. Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) - an update (Ed Pascoe) Here are some of the highlights of the meetings and discussions around the TMCH at ICANN Beijing. The pricing for the trademark holders and the ability to pay for the trademarks have been finalised. Everything else is still under development or in discussion. All the TMCH meetings were very well attended and fairly vocal. They have received lots of feedback and objections to some of the proposals so expect some of them to change. In particular IBM are still implementing email notifications of status changes. The SMD has yet to be implemented. The full strawman process is yet to be implemented. The text for rights holders’ notice of domain name registration has yet to be discussed. The TMCH will verify trademarks automatically where they have direct access to a trademark database. Otherwise the rights holder will have to submit trademark documentation. TLD is required to give 30 days’ advance notice of sunrise. It is expected that the first TLD to use the TMCH for sunrise will be .jobs. .jobs was delegated in 2005 but has recently changed its charter and has never had a sunrise period. TMCH are predicting a very short testing phase before it goes live. Some of the changes that have happened to the TMCH in the past few weeks include the following: - The claims notice period has changed from 60 days to 90 days. - The TMCH will provide brand holders with 30 days’ notice prior to the start of any sunrise period. This means that no TLD can start its sunrise without giving prior notice to the TMCH. If the TMCH does not have the resources/bandwidth to process the sunrise period, the TLD will have to delay sunrise until capacity is available. - Brandholders will be able to register up to 50 variants of their marks in the TMCH as long as those variants have been the subject of successful litigation or UDP arbitration in the past. Read More 4. ZACR and AfTLD MoU signing - a momentous occasion AFRICAN INTERNET COLLABORATION RECEIVES BOOST WITH "BEIJING AGREEMENT" A landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the ZA Central Registry (ZACR) and the African Top Level Domains Organisation (AfTLD) at ICANN's 46th Public Meeting in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Dubbed the "Beijing Agreement", the MoU is the foundation of the relationship between AfTLD - the representative of African country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) managers - and ZACR - the registry that is set to be awarded the right to operate the new dotAfrica (.africa) registry by ICANN. The agreement is a culmination of collaboration in existence since 2011 when AfTLD and its members endorsed the ZACR dotAfrica application. The agreement was signed by AfTLD President Dr Paulos Nyirenda, ZACR CEO Neil Dundas and the dotAfrica Steering Committee Chair Mohammed El Bashir. The key deliverable from the MOU is the allocation of a portion of dotAfrica’s surplus revenue for programmes aimed at enhancing African ccTLD capacity as administered by AfTLD. The AfTLD capacity building programme includes technical, policy and regulatory training, workshops and conferences. The investment in AfTLD’s ccTLD programme is not the only key deliverable for the ZACR dotAfrica project. Other key deliverables are African registrar development, African content development and ancillary socio-economic objectives. Read More Remember to follow us on Twitter & on Facebook. Check out our website for daily news: africainonespace.org Until next time ... follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend Copyright © 2013 dotAfrica, All rights reserved. General notices and communications from the dotAfrica SteerCom and Project Team Our mailing address is: dotAfricaCOZA HouseGazelle Close, Corporate ParkMidrand, Gauteng 1685 South Africa Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

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Africa's sexy tech: Death by innovation?
by Gideon 01 May '13

01 May '13

Here is an interesting article by Michelle Atagana http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/30/opinion/africa-innovation-tech-atagana/in… *(CNN)* -- In today's world of catchy buzzwords, a current favorite is "Africa is rising." Africa's tech scene is a soaring firebird and all the techies on the continent will tell you something game-changing is coming and Africans will build it. In case you haven't heard, apparently the next Facebook, Google or Microsoft will come from Africa. That's what the young mavericks are working towards. *In Africa, we worship at the altar of innovation* Innovation is the fountain from which most African entrepreneurs drink -- their raison d'etre. This is hardly surprising on a continent that leapfrogged the tech scene, producing insanely useful mobile solutions. It seems it is only logical that the continent will build the next big thing. [image: Michelle Atagana] Michelle Atagana But innovation has become quite formulaic for the quick-talking 20-somethings just itching to change the world. Just like any formula, it has strict rules: find a problem, build an app to solve it, develop for smartphone and add social integration. Gideon Rop

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