- KICTANet - KICTANet

IDG Connect – Bitcoin offered only a moment of reprieve for crisis-stricken Venezuela
by Ali Hussein 15 Apr '17

15 Apr '17

Listers As the Venezuelan crisis deepens, more people are struggling with necessities like food and electricity. Food shortages have even led to soldiers cracking down on bakeries using too much wheat. Now up to 81% of Venezuelans are living in income poverty. In the midst of this economic crisis, Venezuela’s currency, the bolivar, has been in steep decline and inflation has skyrocketed. The drop in oil prices in 2014 and ineffective policies have led to chaos, sending the economy into freefall with protesters taking to the streets to demand the resignation of President Nicolas Maduro. Read on:- http://www.idgconnect.com/blog-abstract/25907/bitcoin-offered-moment-reprie… Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad

1 0

Values, biases automated
by S.M. Muraya 14 Apr '17

14 Apr '17

While we Africans argue, politic, loot, fail to fund our own innovation, other cultures document, automate their values, biases.. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/13/ai-programs-exhibit-raci… And the AI system was more likely to associate European American names with pleasant words such as “gift” or “happy”, while African American names were more commonly associated with unpleasant words. The findings suggest that algorithms have acquired the same biases that lead people (in the UK and US, at least) to match pleasant words and white faces in implicit association tests. These biases can have a profound impact on human behaviour. One previous study showed that an identical CV is 50% more likely to result in an interview invitation if the candidate’s name is European American than if it is African American. The latest results suggest that algorithms, unless explicitly programmed to address this, will be riddled with the same social prejudices.

2 1

IGF 2017 Call for Workshop Proposals
by Ilishebo Michael 14 Apr '17

14 Apr '17

*All stakeholders* are invited to submit proposals to hold workshops at the forthcoming IGF, which will be held in *Geneva, Switzerland, on 18-21 December 2017.* The proposed overarching theme for this year's annual meeting is* 'Shape Your Digital Future!'*, emphasizing both the IGF's participatory mechanisms and a forward-looking approach to the Internet governance discussion. The sub-themes for the meeting will be determined in part by the workshop proposals received, with proposers *writing in their own thematic tags.*Tags on new and emerging issues, such as 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Work in the Digital Age', 'Law Enforcement & Encryption', etc., are particularly welcome. *Pre-existing tags* to choose from include but are not limited to, Internet of Things; Internet Economy; Policies Enabling Access; Cybersecurity; Human Rights Online; Gender Issues; and Digital Literacy; among many others. All resources, including *the workshop proposal form*, and *guidelines* and *tips* for submitting proposals, can be found below. *The deadline for submission is Wednesday, 3 May 2017 23:59 UTC-11.* **First-time workshop proposers in particular are encouraged to read through this brief manual <https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/index.php?q=filedepot_download/441…> for FAQs, tips and links to all IGF workshop resources. * **All workshop proposers and future workshop speakers should consider joining the 'IGF 2017 Speaker-Session Collaboration Space' <https://groups.google.com/forum/#%21forum/igf-2017-speaker-session-collabor…>, a forum for exchanging ideas and seeking out new collaborators.* http://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/igf-2017-call-for-workshop-… *Michael L. Ilishebo,* *Kitwe, Zambia* *Social Media Handles* *Twitter: @ilishebo* *Skype: michael.ilishebo* *"walk a mile,for a while,with a smile"*

1 0

What was that thing again about China and Privacy?
by Moses Karanja 13 Apr '17

13 Apr '17

A new report by CitizenLab details how Chinese authorities censor chats using keywords and images on WeChat and Weibo. https://citizenlab.org/2017/04/we-cant-chat-709-crackdown-discussions-block… -Moses -- Moses Karanja

1 0

China emerges as digital rights champion with new info privacy law
by Nanjira Sambuli 13 Apr '17

13 Apr '17

What times we live in. China emerging as a Data privacy champion https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/04/11/china_emerges_as_digital_rights_ch… Regards, Nanjira. Sent on the move.

3 3

Modern "Free Trade" Agreements and Internet Governance Negotiations
by Nanjira Sambuli 13 Apr '17

13 Apr '17

Been following this domain recently, and as they say, ni kufyam! https://www.cigionline.org/articles/modern-free-trade-agreements-are-not-ab… <https://www.cigionline.org/articles/modern-free-trade-agreements-are-not-ab…> Regards, Nanjira www.nanjira.com <http://www.nanjira.com/> About.Me <http://about.me/ninanjira> | Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/ninanjira> | LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/nanjira> | Skype <http://hatscripts.com/addskype?nanjirasambuli> IM: +254722481566, +1(857)498-8934 (WhatsApp | Telegram | iMessage) PGP: 1DBE1F47A6878B0D

1 0

Talk to Safaricom: Asanteni and some pics
by Grace Githaiga 13 Apr '17

13 Apr '17

Good morning Listers On behalf of the organizing team, we wish to express our gratitude to all of you who attended the face to face ‘Talk to Safaricom’ meet up. It was a pleasure to finally get to meet some of you face to face. We thank Safaricom and in particular Steve Chege and his team for the sponsorship, and appreciated the opportunity to discuss issues that had not been discussed during the online engagement. Some of you raised some hard questions! We trust that Safaricom will take on board our suggestions in their strategic direction. To get a feel of how things were, please check out some shots as captured by photography team among them Daniel Muniu, who was one of our participants at the 1st Kenya School of Internet Governance (KeSIG) 2016. https://www.flickr.com/photos/149878027@N06/sets/72157679956498042/ Once again, thank you and looking forward to seeing you during the Kenya Internet Governance Forum (KIGF) on July 6, 2017. Best regards Githaiga, Grace Co-Convenor Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) Twitter:@ggithaiga Tel: 254722701495 Skype: gracegithaiga Alternate email: ggithaiga(a)hotmail.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracegithaiga www.kictanet.or.ke "Change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged and come together to demand it. I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change – but in yours"---Barrack Obama.

2 1

Re: [kictanet] China emerges as digital rights champion with new info privacy law
by Mark Kipyegon 13 Apr '17

13 Apr '17

The Chinese are not saints when it comes to civil rights. It's even noted in the linked article. 'But China's long history of censoring the internet, placing the entire country behind a firewall, placing restrictions on foreign companies, and undertaking widespread surveillance of internet communication – as well as the intimidation and prosecution of anyone who is deemed to be a threat to the state – means that the measures are ominous rather than purely protective.' On 13 Apr 2017, at 09:25, "kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet-request@lists.kictanet.or.ke>" <kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet-request@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> wrote: After years of going through the Imperial narrative that China is the evil, despite Snowden and Wikileakes.. Following... On Apr 12, 2017 9:33 PM, "Nanjira Sambuli via kictanet" < kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> wrote: What times we live in. China emerging as a Data privacy champion https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/04/11/china_emerges_as_ digital_rights_champion_with_new_data_law/

1 0

Kenya's Tech Hub Gets a Makeover
by Ali Hussein 13 Apr '17

13 Apr '17

Listers Interesting article. NAIROBI, Kenya After a decade of buzz that brought bold headlines but few profits, Kenya's "Silicon Savannah" technology hub is retooling to put income before activism. A homegrown African tech community is rising in this city: bootstrapped but profitable businesses using technology and the internet to solve commercial problems connecting the biggest names in tech and finance. Read on:- http://news.morningstar.com/all/dow-jones/us-markets/201704112073/kenyas-te… Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad

3 2

Interesting Internet Anti-shutdown policy draft floated at AFRINIC PDWG
by Mwendwa Kivuva 12 Apr '17

12 Apr '17

An interesting policy on anti-Internet shutdown which the authors think is "Draconian" in nature has been floated at the AFRINIC Policy Development Working Group. The draft policy says 13.0 Internet shutdown order by governments An internet shutdown is deemed to have occurred when it can be proved that there was an attempt, failed or successful, to restrict access to the internet to a segment of the population irrespective of the provider or access medium that they utilize. 13.1 In the event of an internet shutdown performed at the order of a government that is either total or partial: a) For a period of 12 months following the end of the shutdown – AFRINIC will allocate no resources to the government of the countryThis also applies to all government owned entities and entities that have direct provable relationships with said government. b) In the event of a transfer policy existing, AFRINIC shall not assist or participate in any transfers to any of the entities above. c) All sub-allocations of space within said country involving the referred to entities shall equally cease for a period of 12 months. Published in this link https://afrinic.net/en/community/policy-development/policy-proposals/2061-a… Regards ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya twitter.com/lordmwesh

5 6