- KICTANet - KICTANet

On Education and Technology
by Matunda Nyanchama 05 Mar '10

05 Mar '10

Friends, I am glad to hear that KIE has plans of taking advantage of technology to deliver education to Kenya kids. I am pleased. Question: do we really believe that we would have better education results because of technology? My view is that any improvements (all things constant) with use of technology would be incremental. There are too many things wrong with the Kenyan education system; things that can be fixed with a clear sober assessment of why we are where we are. Education needs to be grounded in what ought to be "Kenyan national values and objectives"; it needs to focus on national priorities and help create a better, productive citizen than just passing examinations. It needs to appreciated the role of women in society, complete with values of equity, especially with respect to access. Indeed, we need to appreciate the key role that gender plays in the national well-being. Kenya's education promises kids jobs at the end of their schooling; but we know that the economy doesn't have the capacity to absorb even the "few" that make it through the system, passing through the examination filters; let alone the many that don't make it through grade 8, 12 and even university. We should instead be entrenching a business culture and risk-taking, and create an environment that nurtures such risk taking and in the process realize goods and services, and hence employment. The Kenyan environment (wrought by greed and corruption) isn't supportive of entrenchment of good national values. For example, what values do we pass to our kids when they watch big men steal money meant for kids' education? What of the fact that teachers, rather than do their jobs, would rather be at the shambas, dukas, matatus, etc. at the expense of doing their work. Contrast today's teacher and those of yesteryear, men and women that would be found in class at 6:00 AM helping kids; and even stay in evening preps to offer extra coaching for those that needed it. Today, .... I don't want to put a damper on the matter of technology and benefits thereof to delivery of education. We just need to place it in perspective. Technology is just one mode of delivery. If the environment, content, values, etc are not right, technology cannot right it. Some of my these views are reflected in this article. Kind regards ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matunda Nyanchama, mnyanchama(a)aganoconsulting.com Agano Consulting Inc.; www.aganoconsulting.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.”- George Bernard Shaw ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This e-mail, including attachments, may be privileged and may contain confidential or proprietary information intended only for the addressee(s). Any other distribution, copying, use, or disclosure is unauthorized and strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and permanently delete the message, including any attachments, without making a copy. Thank you.

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BPO/ITES Centre of Excellence Workshop 4th March 2010, 9 am – 1 pm
by Paul Kukubo 04 Mar '10

04 Mar '10

Dear Lister, v *As an update to the earlier reports please find below and update: * * * *Stakeholder Workshop: Information Technology-Business Process* *Outsourcing (IT-BPO) Centre of Excellence (COE)* * * *Center of Excellence Concept* Given the importance of the IT-BPO sector, for employment of youth in Kenya, the Government of Kenya is keen to take up a focused IT-BPO skills development initiative in close collaboration with the industry. As part of this initiative it is proposed to establish a Center of Excellence (COE) for IT-BPO in partnership with leading Kenyan/Global IT-BPO companies. The Center will impart training to Kenyan trainers in order to prepare them for training a large number of students for employment in the IT-BPO sector. The vision for the Center is that it will eventually become a regional training hub for the IT-BPO sector catering to training needs in the Africa region. It is proposed to invite leading Kenyan and global IT-BPO companies to partner with the COE, which will function as an umbrella institution for industry collaboration on IT-BPO talent development and skills excellence. For co-development of the COE, companies may choose to participate individually or as a consortium to leverage differing strengths (e.g. training companies may partner with leading global BPO providers). Invitation The Workshop is by invitation participating at the workshop in forging the future of the industry. Date: 4th March 2010, 9 am – 1 pm Venue: Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) - Workshop Program: - 0900-0945 Breakfast & Registration - 0945-1000 An overview for the COE for foundational skills for the ITES/BPO industry in Kenya – Rationale, Objectives, Deliverables and the role for all stakeholders –Paul Kukubo (KICTB) - 1000-1015 Skills gaps from the Industry perspective-Esther Muchiri (Chair, Skills Task Force) - 1015-1045 An overview of the ITES/BPO global scenario as well as the COE Framework –Presentation & Discussion-Jonathan De Luzuriaga (Philippines) - 1045-1115 Criteria for selection of an Anchor Institution – Presentation & Discussion – Prof. Tim Waema (University of Nairobi) - 1115-1145 Value proposition of the COE - Jonathan De Luzuriaga - 1145-1245 Discussion/Way Forward- Paul Kukubo (KICTB) - 1300 Lunch *Background and Purpose* * * Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is one of the pillars in the Government of Kenya’s Vision 2030 document. Kenya has developed a policy framework and defined some strategic directions (Kenya ICT Strategy 2006), one of which explicitly focuses on BPO as a key opportunity for realizing the country’s Information Communication and Technology (ICT) objectives. The Kenya Government is clear on improving its position as an ICT destination (regionally and internationally). The lead agency of the Kenya Government in promoting the country as an ICT hub is the Kenya ICT Board with the following objectives: 1. To develop, launch and sustain a globally compelling brand marketing campaign for Kenya ICT 2. To develop and promote competitive ICT industries in Kenya 3. To develop world class Kenyan ICT institutions 4. To increase ICT access, utilization for all Kenyans (become a principle driver in bridging the digital divide) With the above-mentioned objectives in place, Kenya ICT Board through the support of its parent ministry, Ministry of Information & Communication, the World Bank and other partners is tasked to create a Centers of Excellence specifically for the Information Technology – Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry. * * This is for information only and the invatations to relevant attendees among stakeholders have already been sent out. For more iformation contact our Project Manager BPO ITES, Andrew Lewela on alewela(a)ict.go.ke Thank you. Sincerely, Paul Kukubo Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board PO Box 27150 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya 12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960 Fax: +254 20 2211962 Cell: + 254 735 180001 website: www.ict.go.ke skype: kukubopaul googletalk: pkukubo personal blog: www.paulkukubo.co.ke twitter: @pkukubo ____________________ Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment

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- call - Workshop on Internet Governance and Policies @ ICANN meeting in Nairobi, 11-12 March 2010 (RSVP)
by mwende njiraini 03 Mar '10

03 Mar '10

Dear colleagues, DiploFoundation is pleased to invite participants from ACP (Africa-Caribbean-Pacific) Group of States who are attending the ICANN meeting to register for a workshop on Internet Governance (IG) and Policies – “Internet Governance Diplomats”. The workshop will assist participants to grasp the multidisciplinary field of IG (including technical, legal, economic, socio-cultural and developmental aspects) and provide links with the international and regional processes (World Summit on Information Society and Internet Governance Forum). The discussions will also highlight the importance of IG and ICT issues and its effect on national and regional policies. * Time and Location:* March 11th and 12th (announcement and programme attached) Kenyatta International Conference Center, Nairobi * Registration:* Open to all stakeholders from ACP (Africa-Caribbean-Pacific) countries Limited to 30 participants on a first come basis Please send an email with your full name, country of residence, institution and position to: acpinfo(a)diplomacy.edu Deadline for applications: 5 March 2010 The workshop is a first event in a range of activities of the “Capacity Development in ICT Policy and Internet Governance for Africa – Caribbean – Pacific (ACP)” programme of DiploFoundation, with support of the European Commission and Secretariat of the ACP Group of States. For detailed info on this programme, please visit: www.diplomacy.edu/acp Looking forward to cooperating with you, Best regards, Vladimir Radunovic DiploFoundation

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German Court- and Constitutionality of Data Retention Laws
by Leonard Aloo 03 Mar '10

03 Mar '10

This may be of interest to some listers.Regards, Leonard Obura Aloo German high court: law ordering phone, e-mail traffic data retention violates constitution MELISSA EDDY Associated Press Writer 5:23 AM EST, March 2, 2010 BERLIN (AP) — Germany's highest court on Tuesday overturned a law allowing authorities to retain data on telephone calls and e-mail traffic for help in tracking criminal networks. A law ordering data on calls and e-mail exchanges be retained for six months for possible use by criminal authorities violated Germans' constitutional right to private correspondence and must be revised, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled. In its ruling, the court said the law failed to sufficiently balance the need for personal privacy against that for providing security, although it did not rule out data retention in principle. "The disputed instructions neither provided a sufficient level of data security, nor sufficiently limited the possible uses of the data," the court said. Nearly 35,000 Germans had appealed to the court to overturn the law, which stems from a 2006 European Union anti-terrorism directive requiring telecommunications companies to retain phone data and Internet logs for a minimum of six months in case they are needed for criminal investigations. The court upheld the EU directive, saying the problem lay instead with how the German parliament chose to interpret it. Under the German law, which went into effect Jan. 2008, information about all calls from mobile or landline phones was retained for six months, including who called whom, from where and for how long. The following year, that law was expanded to include the data surrounding all contact via e-mail. Although the laws forbid authorities from retaining the contents of either form of communication, they met with fierce opposition from civil rights groups. "Massive amounts of data about German citizens who pose no threat and are not suspects is being retained," Germany's commissioner for data security issues, Peter Schaar, told ARD's morning show. Experts argue the information is crucial to being able to trace crimes involving heavy use of the Internet, including tracking terror networks and pursuing child pornography. _______ Associated Press writer Verena Schmitt-Roschmann contributed to this report. http://www.fox43.com/business/sns-ap-eu-germany-data-retention,0,1005335.st…

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AfTLD and ICANN meeting programmes
by alice 02 Mar '10

02 Mar '10

Dear all, AfTLD meeting is already in process see programme here: http://www.aftld.org/ke2010/index.html ICANN meeting starts on Saturday 6th March ICANN meeting schedule can be found here: http://nbo.icann.org/full-sched best alice

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VANCANCY ANNOUNCEMENT - Project Coordinator
by Edith Adera 01 Mar '10

01 Mar '10

If you know anyone interested, please circulate. Deadline is this Friday (Re-advertised). Edith

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Bloggers Contacts... Please Assist
by Marie-Anne Kinyanjui 01 Mar '10

01 Mar '10

Does anyone have the direct contacts of the following blog owners? * Coldtusker * Kenyanpoet * Rafiki Kenya * Intelligensia * Paula Kahumbu Thanks in advance for your help on this. Regards, Kui DISCLAIMER: The information contained in or accompanying this e-mail is intended for the use of the stated recipient only. It may contain confidential, proprietary or legally privileged information. No confidentiality or privilege is waived or lost by any mistransmission. If you receive this message in error, please immediately delete it and all copies of it from your system, destroy any hard copies of it and notify the sender. You must not, directly or indirectly, use, disclose, distribute, print, or copy any part of this message if you are not the intended recipient. Any views or opinions presented herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Nation Media Group. �To get all breaking news alerts send the word BREAK to 6667 or visit http://mobile.nation.co.ke to read news on your mobile phone.�

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Africa - The Next Tiger?
by Matunda Nyanchama 26 Feb '10

26 Feb '10

This may interest members of this list. Africa - the New Asia ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matunda Nyanchama, mnyanchama(a)aganoconsulting.com Agano Consulting Inc.; www.aganoconsulting.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.”- George Bernard Shaw ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This e-mail, including attachments, may be privileged and may contain confidential or proprietary information intended only for the addressee(s). Any other distribution, copying, use, or disclosure is unauthorized and strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and permanently delete the message, including any attachments, without making a copy. Thank you.

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help choose IGF 2010 logo
by Judy Okite 25 Feb '10

25 Feb '10

Dear Colleagues, at the IGF2010 Facebook page, there is a IGF2010 Logo selection activity taking place and thought I would share this with you just in case its still under way: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=112966&id=160245077254&ref=mf Kind Regards, -- “To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.” Kofi Annan

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Tender for Supply, Installation and Commissioning of Servers, Peripherals and Accessories
by Shem Ochuodho 25 Feb '10

25 Feb '10

Might interest some people. Apologies to those whom it may not concern. For any clarification or further communication, contact the e-addresses in the advert. Rgrds, Shem Shem J. Ochuodho, MSc (Eng), PhD, LLD (Hon) Senior Advisor Ministry of Telecom & Postal Services Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), Juba Kenya Community Abroad (KCA) 2007 Excellence Award Winner AfricaOnline 2005 Industry Pioneer Award Recipient Father of Internet in Kenya (CSK 2000) Cell: +249-955-021-040/+256-477-232025/+254-734-137371 Skype: shem.ochuodho

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