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Google Zawadi Africa Scholarship
by Robert Alai 08 Dec '08

08 Dec '08

Google Zawadi Africa Scholarship As part of Google ongoing commitments to supporting education in Africa and to diversifying the engineering talent pool, they are encouraging African women to pursue careers in computer science and technology. Google has partnered with the Zawadi Africa Educational Fund to grant five Kenyan women full scholarships to complete degrees in computer science, computer engineering and/or ICT. The Google Zawadi Scholars will pursue studies at top universities in Kenyaand South Africa, and they'll each have the support of a Google engineering mentor. *Selection criteria include:* Excellent academics Extracurricular involvement Leadership potential and financial need. * Contacts:* Zawadi Africa Educational Fund P.O. Box 541046 Cincinnati OH45244 Tel: 513-289-8315 Fax: 513-624-6766 Email: info [at] zawadiafrica. org <http://zawadiafrica.org/> The scholarship is offered every yaer.

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Kenyans embrace moving money by text message
by Mike Theuri 07 Dec '08

07 Dec '08

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-kenya-phones_bddec07,0,7…

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Vitriol in cyberspace - Brian M Longwe: Moderation Alert!!
by Odhiambo Washington 05 Dec '08

05 Dec '08

Hello members, It's my feeling that none of us can exercise the powers of Director of Immigration (whatever the title is), or even the Minister for Immigration. If anyone feels Brian is NOT Kenyan, then the right people to sort that out would be the govt, not KICTANet. I believe we all remember the purpose for which we are members of KICTANet and I am sure it has nothing to do with sorting out citizenship issues. Let KICTANet list be what it was conceived for. If there is anyone who feels deeply aggrieved by Brian's nationality, they can address it elsewhere, rather than waste time with it on this list. Let's put it this way.... I am going to apply the moderation bit on any poster who insists on discussing this issue. My action might be seen to be draconian but it will save us the agony of discussing non-issues. -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "Okay guys. This is Kenya. You pay taxes because you feel philanthropic, unlike our MPs!" -- Kenneth Marende, Speaker, 10th Parilament.

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IGF 2008 Highlights
by mwende njiraini 05 Dec '08

05 Dec '08

Following our recent online discussions on Internet governance issues in Kenya, the Kenya IGF and East African IGF; you may wish to follow the discussion currently ongoing at the global IGF 2008 in Hyderabad India at http://www.intgovforum.org. Below are highlights from workshops I attended on Day 1 December 3rd): *0930-1100 hrs Workshop 43: Legal aspects of governance critical internet Policy issues of public relevance* *1st presentation* The issues on that have legal implications include: • internet security intellectual property rights, infringement, privacy and protection mechanisms • IP domain name protection, conflicts arising out of data and content ownership privacy therefore increasing role of P2P in growth of internet 2 • Consumer status and rights in relation to e-commerce cross border and domestic online trade • Telecom issue viz backbone deployment and interconnection costs • Freedom of expression – the extent of censorship and control on online content There is need for capacity building to create meaningful participation of individual and SMEs as well as increasing connectivity through building IXPs and local content development The question was raised as to whether there a need of alternative institutional mechanism. The salient features of the MOU between ICANN and the department of commerce (DoC) include: - The affirmation of the role of private sector leadership - The role of DoC in ensuring transparency and accountability and effective GAC participation - Ensure accountability and publish by-laws and strategic and operational plans - Agreement can be terminated in 120 days The MOU has been criticized because of the following reasons: - US governmental control on root server administration - Inconsistent with WSIS principle where no single government should have a pre-eminent role - Domain name allocation policies need better development - IPv4 address allocation have been imbalanced need to ensure IPv6 address allocation does not suffer the same effects -This assertion was however refuted as IP addresses allocation based on need. The need for prudent management and keeping barriers low for the transition to IPv6 was emphasised. To overcome this WGIG proposed 4 models: - Global policy council - Intenational internet council with leading government role to fulfil the ICANN/IANA functions - GAC to be strengthened with enhanced coordination function - Replace US govt role by general internet council or with world ICANN (in lieu of GAC) The common features of these models were the overwhelming government lead and the presupposition of the possibility of international treaties. During the discussion the viability of these models was questioned given that speed is of essence in the management of internet resources. It normally takes a long time to negotiate international agreements; including treaties instead a set of principles should be endorsed. The speaker recommended on the management of critical internet infrastructure should take into consideration the following • Treatment of technical resources of the internet and global economic, social and legal aspects arising out the internet should be at par • The development and implementation of polices and standards and solutions to various internet issues should be done in a coordinated manner for example telecommunication standard development is done in a hierarchical and predictable way. • New structure would be a supreme authority over internet In conclusion the speaker asked: Does the internet as we know it need to be altered radically? Should the status quo be maintained? Should a Red Cross model of recognition by international community states be given to an international entity like ITU, INTELSAT. However fundamental change is not necessary as failure has not been identified. *My comment*: this presentation was descriptive and despite the fact that an alternative model was proposed the principles, mechanisms that would need to be put in place in order to make it work were not discussed *2nd presentation* The next speaker spoke about the ccTLDs in latin Amercia which are broadly organised into two main groups: non-governmental and governmental organisations. A contribution from the floor however clarified that the Brazilian ccTLD is a multi-stakeholder – coordinated by government – but on a day by day basis operates as a non-governmental organisation. The Indian ccTLD is managed by government and private sector – sovereign interest taken care of through government representation. The rules and regulations under which the institutions that manage the ccTLDs are managed determinate legal framework under which they operate. Consequently ccTLDs are regulated under national law while ICANN regulates gTLDs – The possibility of self regulation is based on the assumption that private sector would act in the public interest. In the discussions some felt that there was need for increased attention of government in the management of ccTLDs – as it was critical infrastructure while on the other hand other felt that there was the risk of excessive regulation with increased involvement of government. *1130 -1200 hrs Workshop 36: Strategies to prevent and fight child pornography in developing countries* Child pornography in Brazil has grown out of the popularity of social networking. However the main challenge has been issues related to jurisdiction as content is resident in ISP based in the USA and trans-national ISPs like Yahoo, Microsoft and Google which have branches in strategic markets and have tailored the services for these markets in terms of language and content. Brazil was therefore unable to deal with serious offences related to content – specifically child pornography - committed by Brazilians using Brazilian IP addresses. The government has been able to sign an agreement with Google to fight child pornography on Google's orkut social network. The following are consideration taken in drawing up the agreement 1. Which criteria should be used to define the ability of a particular country to legislate over and sanction conducts committed on the internet? - Where the data is located? - International law principles (territoriality or nationality) shall be used to define the sovereignty of a state regarding – cyber space – which is a network of networks - Define some reasonable standard – for example managed by Brazilians and is local content and local language - Access points in Brazil, harmful conduct felt in the country – taken obligation under international law to take offence – country of origin approach would force thousands of users to unfamiliar rules and travel – offence under human rights therefore apply local legislation 2. It is legitimate to enforce the conduct of local office –as it impracticable to send legal request to the US. New tools have been implement that have reduced number of images uploaded and increase in number of reported cases- subject to investigation. It was inspiring to listen to parliamentarian talk about the need to have legislators engaged in the process as they ultimately pass the laws. I appreciated the fact that in there is great cooperation between the parliament, government, police, civil society and private sector. The main challenges are: • Lack of awareness and participation by parliamentarians who are critical in the formulation of legislation • how to obligate ISPs to provide information without infringing on freedom of expression and privacy, • what criteria should be used to deal with these offences • the creation of awareness of ISPs in developing countries of the need for judicial cooperation as well as social initiatives to deal with cyber crime. • Insufficient infrastructure to deal with this issue – law enforcement does not have the human resources and technology • Material produced to fight child pornography are not evaluated – they should be inline with the demand *My comment*: I would have like to know if initiatives have reduced offences, what is the success rate registered in prosecution, ability of the law enforcement and judicial system to deal with offences. There was no mention of where initiatives had been launched to fight child pornography on the financial front. *1530-1700 Workshop 45: Opening to diversity and competition of the DNS system* There were 3 presentations in this session: - *1st presentation* - alternate DNS system used in library systems - *2nd presentation* - implementation of security in the Handle system - *3rd presentation –* discussed the Net4D Net4D- provides the technical solution to the political concern on the control of root servers. Net4D networks enable the following: • Empower the second generation of the web: the semantic web. • Multi-stakeholder governance of DNS • Net4D classes should be open and interoperable DNS 1.0 – was a monopoly of ICANN web 1.0 html with USA parentage and English only while DNS 2.0 is open allowing for competition including inter alia: • Net4D semantic web • Open coherent approach to linguistic diversity • Allow technological innovation with value added services Concern was however raised on the: • Investment/implementation cost required to implementation of different DNS systems depending on the BIND implemented and root servers enabled • relinquishing of the political control of root servers • Value to end users • Awareness and understanding of the issues by different stakeholders necessary – delivered in a way that they can understand *My comment*: the session was technical – I hope the techies on the mailing list can help us understand the governance issues associated with the introduction of DNS competition and the impact on developing countries :)! Kind regards mwende

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Satement by Brian Longwe from Panel on Access in Main Session of Internet Governance Forum, Hyderabad, India 3rd Dec 2008
by Brian Longwe 05 Dec '08

05 Dec '08

Brian Munyao Longwe – Main Session on Access (Development Perspective) Traditionally teledensity has been used as a measure of access or the extent to which communication technologies have pervaded a community. In the past Africa as a region has recorded extremely low fixed-line teledensity of below 1% that is less than 1 line per 100 people. Believe it or not this is still the case! However, when one incorporates mobile lines in a teledensity analysis - the results are not only incredible, they are amazing. as of 2007, Africa's mobile teledensity stood at an impressive 23% or 23 lines per 100 people. There was a recorded growth in mobile users from 128 million in 2006 to over 215 million subscribers by 2007. This represents an annual growth of over 46%. We have just heard that India's mobile network is growing at an incredible rate of over 10 million new connections per month! Given the fact that most operators around Africa have rolled out GPRS/EDGE coverage across most of their networks as well as deployment of 3G access across their larger markets it is entirely feasible that mobile, not broadband may present the opportunity for increased access for developing countries. MOBILE and not BROADBAND is the silver bullet. Another key element crucial to the growth of access in developing countries is a suitable environment for the dispersion of relevant content and applications that meet the day to day needs of the populace. Internet Exchange Points are the primary critical ingredient needed to create these conditions. By keeping all locally originated and requested traffic local, Internet exchange points serve a crucial role in enhancing the user experience, lowering operational costs and providing a suitable framework for the growth and development of the Internet in general. While many developing countries have adopted policies and regulations that encourage and promote competition in the mobile sectors, which has resulted in continued growth in the numbers of users, the establishment of IXPs has received a relatively low priority - despite the significant impact that such simple infrastructure presents to the community. Access enhances the interface between government and the citizen at a transactional level. The Kenya Revenue Authority last year suggested that the Kenya Internet Exchange Point receive "critical infrastructure" status with 24-hour armed guard due to the fact that 100% of all import/export declarations and documentation transit the IXP via the revenue authority's web-based platform. Going back to mobile, Safaricom, a Kenyan mobile operator introduced a money transfer service called M-Pesa less than two years ago. M-Pesa now has over 4 million subscribers (within 1 year - the service signed up more users than Kenya's entire banking industry signed up within a century!) Safaricom reported that over half a Billion US dollar had been transacted over the platform within less than 18 months. Key policy lesson? The financial services and communications regulator in Kenya decided not to subject m-pesa to punitive obligations through treatment as a bank but rather chose to perceive m-pesa a non-bank payment service. That decision has today affected and continues to affect millions of lives. Regulators can either promote innovation, access & development or hinder it. In East Africa communications regulators have completely opened up the communications sector; fully liberalizing every area, but providing structure through unified licensing regime that separates facilities, services and content In Kenya this has spurred investments of over half a Billion USD over the past 2 years. Key stakeholder lesson: relevant content drives demand - Safaricom's m-pesa met a basic and everyday need, this has driven the increased use of their mobile platform by touching the lives & livelihoods of both urban & rural citizens. -- Brian Munyao Longwe e-mail: blongwe(a)gmail.com cell: + 254 722 518 744 blog : http://zinjlog.blogspot.com meta-blog: http://mashilingi.blogspot.com

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1ST GLOBAL BUSINESS INCUBATION DAY
by caroline＠kekobi.or.ke 05 Dec '08

05 Dec '08

Greetings!! It is with pleasure that I introduce to you the Business Incubation Association of Kenya (BIAK), an umbrella body of business incubators in Kenya whose vision it is to be the leading authority in the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship through business incubation. Business Incubation Association of Kenya (BIAK) is holding the first ever global celebration of entrepreneurship advancement through Business Incubation, which is scheduled to take place on 8th December 2008 at the KIRDI grounds, South C campus, from 8.00am to 5.00pm. For more information please see attached; 1. Invitation letter 2. Event schedule 3. Symposium registration form 4. Exhibition space booking form Best regards Caroline A. Aoll Operations Manager Kenya Kountry Business Incubator trading as KeKoBI Enterprises Ltd. ... supported by The World Bank Group's Information for Development Program (infoDev) 13th Floor, National Bank Building, Harambee Avenue P.O. Box 54438-00200 Nairobi Kenya Tel: 254-20-2214170 / 020 3596089 Cell Phone: (254)722738267 Email: caroline(a)kekobi.or.ke Website: www.kekobi.or.ke

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Looking for information - but only from that know ...
by Gakuru Alex 04 Dec '08

04 Dec '08

Dear busy people, Excuse my interruption to your days busy work schedule. I am looking for a confirmation of unbelievable news just heard. I hear that there is a primary school with a very kind headmaster. He takes time and consults the pupils on how to run that school. The teachers so well behaved, they bow in respect to the pupils. Maths, sciences, and all those difficult subjects not taught there. At the school dispensary, only sweet medicines are prescribed. Told that primary school is a kids paradise -a dream-come-true! I do not have more information other than what I've stated above. if have information please share, but if not, spare our bandwidth. Sincere regards, Alex Gakuru

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Entryism according to some dictionaries
by aki 04 Dec '08

04 Dec '08

*The net has some interesting views on this, something that came to mind while reading world politics a while back.. * **** *Entryism* is a political tactic in which an organisation or group enters a larger organisation in an attempt to gain recruits, gain influence or to take control of the larger organisations' structure. This technique is commonly used by groups from the far left or right of the political spectrum to enter more centrist institutions. This is experienced more frequently in arenas where opportunities for political activity at the fringes is limited, such as two party/majoritarian systems rather than in multiparty/proportional systems where the cost of entry into the political system is lower. Organisations which are the subject of entryism often react by attempting either to marginalise or expel the pratagonists.

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Mobile vs Broadband?
by Brian Longwe 04 Dec '08

04 Dec '08

THanks for the input Eric - but I beg to differ. Today you can obtain 5-7Mbps on a 3G-capable mobile phone (tested in Kenya on Safaricom's network by Aki & the local tech group Skunkworks). EDGE network can offer up to about 470Kbps. If we take the generally accepted parameters for broadband as anything above 512Kbps then we can actually argue that mobile IS broadband - when 3G and EDGE capabilities are available. This issue has actually been taken up by the W3C consortium and they have recognised the huge disruption potential that the mobile phenomenon in Africa has to usher in a new era of human/computer/network interface - to this end they are holding an even in Mozambique in April 2009 aimed at bringing together thought leaders, technologists, policy makers etc to take a better look at the subject. The future is bright! Brian On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 10:41 PM, <emko(a)internetresearch.com.gh> wrote: > Dear Brian and all, > > While i totally agree with you on the mobile success and how it propels > Africa to the forefront, i would caution that we need to move beyond that > and see the need for broadband in African homes and offices as a basic > utility in the knowledge economy. > > Sometimes the temptation to be caught in your success can blind you from > engaging new frontiers. Lets not get caught in semantics because MOBILE is > mobile and BROADBAND is broadband, if the later gets delivered through > mobile platforms then fine but the elements are different. It is important > to keep in mind also that broadband can come in many forms and we should > be open to exploring the whole grail. > > You are right on spot with content and the need for local, national, > regional and Africa wide interconnectedness. > > Eric here > > > > > Brian Munyao Longwe – Main Session on Access (Development Perspective) > > > > Traditionally teledensity has been used as a measure of access or the > > extent > > to which communication technologies have pervaded a community. > > > > In the past Africa as a region has recorded extremely low fixed-line > > teledensity of below 1% that is less than 1 line per 100 people. Believe > > it > > or not this is still the case! > > > > However, when one incorporates mobile lines in a teledensity analysis - > > the > > results are not only incredible, they are amazing. as of 2007, Africa's > > mobile teledensity stood at an impressive 23% or 23 lines per 100 people. > > There was a recorded growth in mobile users from 128 million in 2006 to > > over > > 215 million subscribers by 2007. This represents an annual growth of over > > 46%. We have just heard that India's mobile network is growing at an > > incredible rate of over 10 million new connections per month! > > > > Given the fact that most operators around Africa have rolled out > GPRS/EDGE > > coverage across most of their networks as well as deployment of 3G access > > across their larger markets it is entirely feasible that mobile, not > > broadband may present the opportunity for increased access for developing > > countries. MOBILE and not BROADBAND is the silver bullet. > > > > Another key element crucial to the growth of access in developing > > countries > > is a suitable environment for the dispersion of relevant content and > > applications that meet the day to day needs of the populace. Internet > > Exchange Points are the primary critical ingredient needed to create > these > > conditions. By keeping all locally originated and requested traffic > local, > > Internet exchange points serve a crucial role in enhancing the user > > experience, lowering operational costs and providing a suitable framework > > for the growth and development of the Internet in general. > > > > While many developing countries have adopted policies and regulations > that > > encourage and promote competition in the mobile sectors, which has > > resulted > > in continued growth in the numbers of users, the establishment of IXPs > has > > received a relatively low priority - despite the significant impact that > > such simple infrastructure presents to the community. > > > > Access enhances the interface between government and the citizen at a > > transactional level. The Kenya Revenue Authority last year suggested that > > the Kenya Internet Exchange Point receive "critical infrastructure" > status > > with 24-hour armed guard due to the fact that 100% of all import/export > > declarations and documentation transit the IXP via the revenue > authority's > > web-based platform. > > > > Going back to mobile, Safaricom, a Kenyan mobile operator introduced a > > money > > transfer service called M-Pesa less than two years ago. M-Pesa now has > > over > > 4 million subscribers (within 1 year - the service signed up more users > > than > > Kenya's entire banking industry signed up within a century!) Safaricom > > reported that over half a Billion US dollar had been transacted over the > > platform within less than 18 months. > > > > Key policy lesson? The financial services and communications regulator in > > Kenya decided not to subject m-pesa to punitive obligations through > > treatment as a bank but rather chose to perceive m-pesa a non-bank > payment > > service. That decision has today affected and continues to affect > millions > > of lives. Regulators can either promote innovation, access & development > > or > > hinder it. > > > > In East Africa communications regulators have completely opened up the > > communications sector; fully liberalizing every area, but providing > > structure through unified licensing regime that separates facilities, > > services and content In Kenya this has spurred investments of over half a > > Billion USD over the past 2 years. > > > > Key stakeholder lesson: relevant content drives demand - Safaricom's > > m-pesa > > met a basic and everyday need, this has driven the increased use of their > > mobile platform by touching the lives & livelihoods of both urban & rural > > citizens. > > > > > > -- > > Brian Munyao Longwe > > e-mail: blongwe(a)gmail.com > > cell: + 254 722 518 744 > > blog : http://zinjlog.blogspot.com > > meta-blog: http://mashilingi.blogspot.com > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > This message was sent to: emko(a)internetresearch.com.gh > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/emko%40internetresearc… > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: blongwe(a)gmail.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com > -- Brian Munyao Longwe e-mail: blongwe(a)gmail.com cell: + 254 722 518 744 blog : http://zinjlog.blogspot.com meta-blog: http://mashilingi.blogspot.com

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Statement made by Alice Munyua at the opening session of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) taking place in India 3-6th December 2008
by alice＠apc.org 04 Dec '08

04 Dec '08

Dear all Below the statment i presented at the IGF opening session this afternoon. best alice ------------- Statement by Alice Munyua at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) taking place in India 3-6th December 2008 Good afternoon, Chairman your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests,Ladies, Gentlemen, and remote participants. ---------------------------------------------------------- We wish to thank India for hosting the third IGF and to extend its sympathy and condolences over the recent acts of terrorism experienced in Mumbai. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The WSIS Society underscored the need for Multi-stakeholder processes initiated at the national, regional, and international levels to discuss and collaborate on the expansion and diffusion of the Internet as a means to support development efforts to achieve internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals. It was in this regard that Kenya organized and hosted the First East African Internet Governance Forum (EAIGF) from the 10 to 12 November, 2008. The forums main theme was: Opening the Internet Governance Debate in East Africa; Thinking globally, acting locally. It was a follow up to national Internet Governance Forums (IGFs) held in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda in September and October 2008, to identify local priority issues in the respective East African countries. The national IG issues were then used as a building block for the regional Internet Governance Forum (EAIGF). The forum was attended by approximately 180 stakeholders drawn from the business, civil society, media, academia, internet users, government, and general public. It was the first of its kind in the Africa region and was initiated from the realization that there was a need to address the limited participation by African stakeholders on global internet governance debates and processes and the need to ensure effective and meaningful contribution to global ICT policymaking. It was organised through a collaborative partnership between various government institutions from the region, private sector, civil society, media and international partners. Some of the priority issues and recommendations identified by the EAIGF meeting are: Universal affordable Access (not from an incremental approach that focuses on creating more consumers rather looking at creating entrepreneurship opportunities, allowing for creativity, innovation that would by extension translate into social, economic, cultural and political benefits for all) Capacity and skills development Management of critical internet resources, including transition from IPv4 to IPv6 and more clarity and improved mutual collaboration on red legation of country code top level domains..Specifically dot UG and dot RW Cyber crime, security and privacy (creating a national and regional framework, which would involve setting national and regional computer emergency readiness team and computer security incident response team among other strategies Development of national and regional Internet exchange points The MSP model is important to us in the EA region and it has worked so far in terms of ICT policy and regulatory process. So it is crucial that we continue to work with all stakeholders giving them an equal footing in not only this IGF process but others as well. Finally, the EAIGF will be an annual event with the second one taking in Tanzania in 2009, prior to the Cairo IGF. For more information about the EAIGF, Visit: www.eaigf.or.ke. Thank you for your kind attention.

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