- KICTANet - KICTANet

Fw: [Catia_team] FW: Consumer report
by alice＠apc.org 25 May '06

25 May '06

FYI ----- Original Message ----- From: "Claire Sibthorpe" <claire(a)catia.ws> To: "Lists: Catia_team" <Catia_team(a)catia.ws> Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 7:30 PM Subject: [Catia_team] FW: Consumer report >A report from Balancing Act (funded by IDRC) on consumer activity in the > Internet and telecoms sector which may be of interest: > > http://www.afridigital.net/downloads/IDRCconsumerdftV2.doc > > Claire > > > > _______________________________________________ > Catia_team mailing list > Catia_team(a)catia.ws > http://catia.eyecon.co.za/mailman/listinfo/catia_team

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News from IGF mtg in Geneva: CALL 4 PAPERS
by Wainaina Mungai 25 May '06

25 May '06

FYI: ------ Message transféré De : Robin Gross <robin(a)ipjustice.org> Société : IP Justice Répondre à : <plenary(a)wsis-cs.org> Date : Thu, 25 May 2006 03:20:43 -0700 Friends, Some news from the IGF Advisory Group meeting in Geneva: The 30 Oct. - 2 Nov. 2006 inaugural meeting of Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Athens will have a lot of opportunities for discussions on a wide variety of Internet governance topics. This is my call for participation from civil society for contributions to help shape this meeting in a positive way. The four main themes for the Athens meeting are: * 1. OPENNESS* - Free flow of information, ideas, and access to knowledge * 2. SECURITY* - Building trust online - Protecting users from spam, phishing, viruses - Maintain security while protecting privacy * 3. DIVERSITY* - Multilingualism including IDN and promoting local content - Respecting geographical diversity * 4. ACCESS* - Internet connectivity, policies and costs The agenda and schedule is shaping-up as follows: http://www.intgovforum.org/table.htm A call for papers has been issued on these 4 main themes and I'd like to encourage people to make submissions. *THE PLENARY SESSIONS AND WORKSHOPS AT THE ATHENS MEETING WILL BE BASED ON THE CONTENT OF THESE SUBMISSIONS. * So, please, contribute to this process and help to shape this meeting in a positive way by submitting papers to the IGF. The deadline is 15 July 2006 for your submission to influence how the event is programmed. Here are the details: http://www.intgovforum.org/athens_outline.htm Additionally, there are two over-arching themes that should be taken in consideration in each issue that the IGF discusses: (i) development / capacity building, and (ii) civil liberties / human rights. I would suggest contributions on some possible (in no way exhaustive) sub-issues within these 4 main themes of openness, security, diversity, and access: 1. OPENNESS: - Freedom of expression rights - Free flow of information - Access to knowledge - Impact of intellectual property rights to free expression and free flow of info - Promotion of accessible public domain - Government censorship on Internet - Corporate censorship on Internet - Impact of technological protection measures and anti-circumvention laws on free flow of information - Impact of software patents on freedom of expression 2. SECURITY - building trust online, protecting users from spam, phishing, viruses, maintain security while protecting privacy: - Civil liberties concerns from government surveillance programs - Privacy rights and consumer trust of Internet - Role of free and open source software in promoting information security - Impact on freedom of expression from spam and content filtering - Publication of WHOIS database on Internet and privacy and consumer trust 3. DIVERSITY - multilinguism through IDN, local content, and geographical diversity: - Ability of ICANN to meet needs of international Internet community - Role of Creative Commons licenses to promote local content - Ability of non-proprietary development and licensing schemes to meet local needs 4. ACCESS - Internet connectivity, policies and costs: - Open standards - Interoperability of technology - Role of free and open source software to provide access I hope you will consider making a contribution to this dialogue. Please let me know if you have any questions. Be sure to check out the IGF website for many more details: http://www.intgovforum.org/index.htm Thank you, Robin _______________________________________________ Plenary mailing list Plenary(a)wsis-cs.org http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/plenary --- Wainaina Mungai http://www.madeinkenya.org SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

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President Directs for a Digitization Campaign
by Bill Kagai 25 May '06

25 May '06

Source - http://www.statehousekenya.go.ke/ SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. MWAI KIBAKI, C.G.H., M.P., PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE SAFARICOM HOUSE AT SAFARICOM HOUSE, WESTLANDS, NAIROBI ON 24TH MAY, 2006 Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to join you on this occasion of the official opening of Safaricom House, the new home to one of Kenya's largest corporate organizations. I take this opportunity to commend the Board of Directors and staff of Safaricom Limited for the exemplary manner in which they have managed the company. Today, Safaricom is one of the largest mobile phone services company in the region. Apart from directly employing about 900 people, Safaricom indirectly employs thousands of Kenyans in related fields, ranging from mobile phone support services to mobile phone stalls and calling booths across the country. Moreover, the company is now one of the leading taxpayers in the country, and attained the second position in the ranking of distinguished taxpayers in the last financial year. Ladies and Gentlemen, As you are aware, access to knowledge, information and communication is crucial to the development of any country today. By enabling people to communicate and interact, despite large physical distances, mobile communication has brought important changes in work practices and lifestyles. Indeed, investment in Information and Communication Technology infrastructure and development of appropriate human skills is key to ensuring the competitiveness of our country in the unfolding global digital society. It is for this reason that my Government created the Ministry of Information and Communications. This ministry is charged with the responsibility of managing two inter-related sub-sectors namely, Information and Broadcasting, and Information and Communication Technology. These sub-sectors are crucial catalysts to the growth of other sectors of the economy and are therefore expected to contribute immensely to economic recovery and wealth creation. The Government, through the Ministry of Information and Communications, is undertaking a wide range of measures aimed at developing the ICT sector in the country. These measures include, the liberalization of the information and communication sector, that has opened the way for numerous players to compete in providing services to wananchi. We are also carrying out human resource development for industry and investment in the necessary infrastructure such as the Very Small Aperture Technology. We are encouraging the growth of ICT because of its enormous potential to absorb our young people into gainful employment. Today, Information and Communication Technology is one of the fastest growing sectors in Kenya. The sector is providing investment and employment opportunities to a large number of Kenyans and consequently contributing to our national objective of poverty reduction. Mobile telephony has grown remarkably, with the number of mobile telephone lines increasing from 15,000 six years ago to the current 5.5 million. A few years ago, access to telephone services was a major problem for many Kenyans who had to walk long distances to the nearest public phone. With mobile telephony spreading to the rural areas, more Kenyans are benefiting from the rapid growth of mobile phone services taking place in our country. Today, many Kenyans are able to communicate easily and carry out their economic activities more effectively. Truly, the convergence in telecommunications is rapidly transforming our society into an information and communication society. It is encouraging to note that this growth has provided a reliable form of communication to rural communities thereby enabling our farmers to find markets for their produce. The mobile phone is today no longer a status symbol of the urban elite, but a vital tool of modern day communication. In spite of this progress, however, there is still room for continued growth and expansion of the ICT sector in the country. My government is putting in place an enabling environment to ensure expansion of the sector, which is expected to stimulate further economic growth. Indeed, the aim of my government is to create a modern and efficient telecommunications infrastructure in order to position Kenya as a hub of industrial, commercial, financial and ICT services in the region. To achieve this objective, we target to improve tele-density in rural and urban areas. We should expand our mobile telephone penetration from the current 18 percent of our population to 32 percent. Plans are also underway to expand the Internet bandwidth, to increase speeds in data processing and data transfer. Measures are also in place to implement a rural telecommunications programme that will cover all districts in the country in order to bring services closer to the people. We have achieved substantial progress in liberalizing the telecommunications industry. What Kenyans now expect is to reap the full benefits of these achievements in terms of cheaper telephone services and increased access. Indeed, while opening the outsourcing strategy conference in February this year, I announced the removal of duty on all computers and computer accessories as we continue our efforts of making Kenya a regional service centre. We must now move more boldly towards achieving the goal of making Kenya a leading technology centre. In this regard, I am directing the Ministry of Information and Communication and other related ministries to start a digitization campaign. The campaign should focus its strategies on how to reduce transaction costs, enhance local content and create employment opportunities for our youth. In addition, the Government will continue carrying out reforms in the sector, including restructuring of critical departments and parastatals. As part of this commitment, and as I announced three months ago, the Government has approved the restructuring of Telkom Kenya. Under this arrangement, 9 percent of Telkom's shareholding in Safaricom will be sold to finance the restructuring programme. The sale of Telkom shares through an Initial Public Offering is expected to be concluded by April 2007. In addition to this, the expansion and modernization of telecommunications services is on-going with the laying of a fiber optic network between Nairobi and Mombasa. I am also optimistic that both the government and private sector will find a way to fast track the laying of the undersea fibre optic cable. This project is crucial in order to further reduce the cost of connectivity in this country and the region. It will also enable us compete effectively as a regional telecommunications hub. I appeal to all parties involved in this project to resolve any outstanding issues speedily and to begin implementation of the project which will herald a new dawn in the area of telecommunications in our region. I also encourage investors to join hands with the Government in developing the ICT sector throughout the country. Indeed, there is vast investment potential in ICT, especially in the rural areas where tele-density remains unacceptably low. Investors should view the existing untapped potential as an investment and business opportunity, which should be fully exploited. I encourage mobile phone operators to deploy new technologies in rural areas in order to increase accessibility to internet. In particular, wireless broadband has both the potential and capability of providing communications connectivity to schools, government offices at the district and divisional levels, as well as offices for other rural-based organizations. As I conclude my remarks, I wish to commend the Safaricom Foundation, for it's support to a wide range of projects in health, education, culture, sports and the environment. I encourage you to continue ploughing back some of your profits into worthwhile social causes. With these remarks, ladies and gentlemen, it is now my pleasure to declare Safaricom House officially open. Thank you and God bless you. -- -- With Kind Regards, Bildad Kagai MD - Circuits & Packets Communications Ltd Content & Training Partner - JKUAT E-Government Academy Suite B2, Tetu Apartments, State House Avenue P. O. Box 20311 - 00200 Nairobi, Kenya Tel. 254 20 2728332 Fax. 254 20 2726965 Cell. 254 722 379409 URL. www.circuitspackets.co.ke URL. egov.jkuat.ac.ke

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Microsoft tries pay-as-you-go approach for Windows PCs
by Dorcas Muthoni 24 May '06

24 May '06

'While Microsoft's Windows operating system and software is popular worldwide, its relatively high price puts it out of the financial reach of many in the developing world. As a result, pirated copies of Windows and Office are endemic in some parts of the world, with the percentage of PCs running pirated software approaching 90 percent in some countries. Microsoft is trying a novel approach to deal with the problem of affordability: a pay-as-you-go model. Dubbed FlexGo, the plan operates much like a prepaid cellular phone. Consumers buy a FlexGo computer running Windows XP Home at a reduced price from a retailer, along with some prepaid access cards. Under the FlexGo model, usage is timed. As PC usage reaches a predefined limit, the computer goes into a limited-access state until more time is added. Users can add more time by purchasing scratch-off prepaid cards and entering the numeric code contained on the card onto the PC. The process repeats until the PC's owner has purchased a predefined amount of time on the PC. Once that occurs, all usage restrictions are lifted as the user now owns the PC outright. Microsoft has conducted a trial of the model in Brazil over the past year. FlexGo PCs were sold through the popular Brazilian retailer Magazine Luiza; all users needed to get one was a small down payment. The program proved to be very popular with Brazilian consumers, and Magazine Luiza reported that sales more than doubled. Of those who bought PCs using Microsoft's pay-as-you-go model, 31 percent said that they would not have purchased them had the FlexGo option not been possible. Because of the initiative's success in Brazil, FlexGo will be rolled out in Mexico, India, China, and Russia in upcoming months.' http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060522-6881.html 'Technically, FlexGo requires a PC that can measure its operating hours and contains mechanisms to block further operation after the time paid for has been used up. In this blocked operating mode, customers will only be able to purchase additional time from the provider. Microsoft is also providing software tools to measure and manage the operating hours.' http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/73411

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Apologies for Spam!
by alice＠apc.org 23 May '06

23 May '06

Dear List members, We would like to apologise for the recent barrage of Spam on this mailing list. The problem has not been fixed. Apologies for any inconveniences caused. best regards alice

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Re: Apologies for Spam!
by alice＠apc.org 23 May '06

23 May '06

Dear all Please forgive the typo....The problem has been fixed and apologies once more for inconveniences caused. alice ----- Original Message ----- From: <alice(a)apc.org> To: "Kenya ICT Policy - kictanet" <kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 9:29 PM Subject: Apologies for Spam! > Dear List members, > > We would like to apologise for the recent barrage of Spam on this mailing > list. > The problem has not been fixed. > Apologies for any inconveniences caused. > best regards > alice >

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Call for Applications - Community of Trainers event: ICT4D Materials Development
by Dorcas Muthoni 23 May '06

23 May '06

FYI ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: *Saskia Harmsen* <sharmsen(a)iicd.org <mailto:sharmsen@iicd.org>> Date: 18-May-2006 12:46 Subject: [iicdtrainers] Call for Applications - Community of Trainers event: ICT4D Materials Development To: IICD Train-the-Trainer Online Forum <iicdtrainers(a)dgroups.org <mailto:iicdtrainers@dgroups.org>> Dear training partners and colleagues, Please find attached the invitation for the first ITO Community of Trainers workshop, looking to bring together (Anglophone Africa) ICT4D and communication trainers with valuable experience in adapting and localising training materials. IICD's intention is to build on your collective experience with implementing and training ICT4D over the past years, to extract and harvest this unique expertise and to build it into itrainonline/MMTK Train-the-Trainer modules and other knowledge products. *Please do complete this Call for Applications if you would like to contribute to this effort, and/or forward the Call for Applications to other trainers that you think would be interested. * *The deadline for application is June 1^st . * The workshop will take place in Lusaka, Zambia from July 18-21, 2006 (Tuesday – Friday). On the Saturday, we will additionally organise a networking event around ICT4D training and capacity building with a larger group of Zambian stakeholders and institutions to 'launch' the itrainonline.org <http://itrainonline.org> Community of Trainers. Should you have any further queries or suggestions, please do let me know! With best wishes, On behalf of IICD and the itrainonline.org <http://itrainonline.org> partnership, Saskia Harmsen _______________________________________________ Africasource2-l mailing list Africasource2-l(a)lists.tacticaltech.org http://lists.tacticaltech.org/mailman/listinfo/africasource2-l

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notoriously peacefully
by Jessie Burns 23 May '06

23 May '06

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Media and Communications officer vacancy at IISD
by alice＠apc.org 22 May '06

22 May '06

Hallo all > > An opening at one of APC's partner organisations. International > Institute for Sustainable Development, IISD - in Winnipeg, Canada. > > Anriette > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> We have an opening for a Media and Communications Officer at IISD. >> Attached please find the advertisement for the position -- details >> are posted on our website at >> http://www.iisd.org/about/employment.asp. >> >> Media and Communications Officer. Full time position at the >> International Institute for Sustainable Development >> >> Responsible for the coordination of the Institute's Influencing >> Strategies, media relations, writing articles and promotional >> materials and development of new communications products as needed. >> >> Qualifications: Three to five years' experience with media relations >> and communications strategies, plain language writing skills, a >> substantive knowledge of sustainable development issues, and a >> university degree are required. Fluency in French, workshop >> facilitation skills and international work experience in the fields >> of environment or international development would be considered >> assets. >> >> Candidates must have appropriate employment authorization to work in >> Canada. Although we appreciate receiving all applications, only >> those candidates we wish to interview will be contacted. >> >> Closing date is June 2 2006. >> >> Thanks >> Heather >> >> Heather Creech >> Director, Knowledge Communications >> International Institute for Sustainable Development >> Winnipeg, Canada >> 1-204-958-7735 >> http://www.iisd.org >> > > > > ------------------------------------------------------ > Anriette Esterhuysen, Executive Director > Association for Progressive Communications > anriette(a)apc.org > http://www.apc.org > PO Box 29755, Melville, South Africa. 2109 > Tel. 27 11 726 1692 > Fax 27 11 726 1692 > > > ======================================= > APC Forum is a meeting place for the APC community - people and > institutions who are or have been involved in collaboration with > APC, and share the APC vision - a world in which all people have easy, > equal and affordable access to the creative potential of information and > communication technologies (ICTs) to improve their lives and create more > democratic and egalitarian societies. > > _______________________________________________ > apc.forum mailing list > apc.forum(a)lists.apc.org > http://lists.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/apc.forum

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breakup nineteen
by Guy Gagnon 21 May '06

21 May '06

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