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[Fwd: [Security Forum] AFR0W00T HACKERS CONVENTION, CALL FOR PAPERS PLANNED BY NSPKENYA]
by chuks Jonia 06 Jul '09

06 Jul '09

Hi Members We are inviting InfoSec members as we take Exploitation tools on steroids up the highways of Nairobi, in a Hacker Convention this August. More Discussions at Security forums/Mailists, Link for Archives: http://lists.my.co.ke/pipermail/security/2009-July/thread.html See you there soon. ./Chuks -- -- Gichuki John Ndirangu, C.E.H , C.P.T.P, O.S.C.P I.T Security Analyst and Penetration Tester infosigmer(a)inbox.com {FORUM}http://lists.my.co.ke/pipermail/security/ http://nspkenya.blogspot.com/ http://chuksjonia.blogspot.com/ http://www.kamongo.co.ke/

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Re: [kictanet] Fw: RE: One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses
by Walubengo J 05 Jul '09

05 Jul '09

Alex, Is this what Americans call "friendly-fire"? I just hope I wont end up being classified as "collateral damage"... But I have to admit I like the bit where you had to go to the US to get data about a Kenyan Project! walu. nb: Meanwhile you should consider a career change and work for the NSIS (intelligence espionage and covert operations ;-) --- On Sat, 7/4/09, Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fw: RE: One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Date: Saturday, July 4, 2009, 6:15 PM Eunice, Consumer public watchdog role of public offices is called for by the ICT Policy. 9.6 (c) "Consumers and users will be expected to participate in ensuring continued review of Government policy in accordance with technological and consumer trends." I put it that Ndemo and Eunice are playing around with words to conceal and “manage” public perception of what they are actually implementing all while giving lip service support to FOSS, if not using every evidence and opportunity they get to attempt to discredit FOSS and its local ICT entrepreneurs. Ndemo and the Board actually got shs 320 million from the World Bank for proprietary software licenses and surrounding expenses for their projects."Licenses, the management system and the rudimentary data warehouse are estimated at US$4 million" The World Bank required ICT policy (also on software) to be followed. It was not followed and Ndemo's statement “What each party (Proprietary or OSS) does should not concern policy” is thus null and void. Why did they not also have a provision for Open Source Software on the funding proposals? Eunice has questioned my credibility I am therefore providing indisputable evidence-right to reply candidly giving my defense at this public court - interpret below document reference in this context. Excuse me for not sending it onlist but you may also ask the World Bank, if you want. Courtesy of US Freedom of Information Act (governs World Bank information) on 31 July, 2008, I requested and was directed to the complete “KENYA TRANSPARENCY & COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT (TCIP/CIP 1)” dated 5 March, 2007. Which I read and observed its stated terms of use: “This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization. ” ----excerpt----- 25.TCIP contribution to connect Government. TCIP will fund the following: The internal LAN connections in two buildings which are shared with government offices (NSSF and Utalii House) along with their connections to the fiber optics network to serve five small Ministries. This is estimated cost US$1 million. The enterprise software licenses for government staff and the document management system for government records will be procured and deployed in a manner consistent with the standards and guidelines specified in the Government’s I C T policy, along with the hardware required for storage o f the data. Licenses, the management system and the rudimentary data warehouse are estimated at US$4 million. The project will also fund the software and hardware required for the IP Platform and the Network Operations Center, also in a manner consistent with the standards and guidelines specified in the Government’s I C T policy. This subcomponent i s estimated at US$7 million. Furthermore, TCIP will fund the training, change management and capacity building which will enable the government to take full advantage o f the internal systems and to ensure that they are professionally deployed and maintained. Considerable resources are required, on the order o f US$4 million. 26.Leveraging other sources of finance. Other development partners have indicated their willingness to fund the National Data Center and the Disaster Recovery Center; it should be noted that success o f the Government o f Kenya’s communication network is contingent on secured funding for all elements described above. 27. T U P Component 2d - Support to the Digital Village initiative – US$lO million TCIP will support the scaling-up of successfully piloted Digital Village initiative. Digital villages are e-centers that provide a suite o f services to the public via computers connected to the internet, digital cameras, printers, fax machines and other communication infrastructure. These services include, but are not limited to: e-mail and internet access; e-banking (e.g., money transfer services such as Posta Pay); eGovernment (e.g., police abstract forms, tax returns, P3 forms, and driving license applications); e- business (e.g., franchised postal and courier services); e-learning; e-health; e-markets (e.g., agricultural commodity pricing and exchange); and e-monitoring (e.g., real-time local level monitoring of development funds and projects). Pilot Digital Villages are run by private entrepreneurs who obtained training in business and information technology from a certified program. This component will support the Government over 3 years to roll out and scale up the successfully piloted Digital Village initiative which aims at providing internet access and e-services at the grassroots level via public-private partnerships. 28.TCIP support to include training, a grant facility, I T support, and internet connectivity. The provision o f training programs in business and information technology from a certified program will be supported by the project (US$2 million). Prospective entrepreneurs who have obtained certification will be eligible to apply for a Digital Village development loan from a revolving fund: the Digital Village Fund (DVF). The project will contribute US$4 million to the Government funded DVF over a three year period in 3 installments. Although initially envisaged as a grant facility, the DVF could be structured as a revolving fund (the funds allocated to each entrepreneur would be repayable into the DVF over a 3 year period). These funds received by the entrepreneurs will be used to finance set-up costs and the required infrastructure (computers, printers, software etc). The grant facility will be managed by the ICT Board Grant Manager and will follow the governance and disbursement mechanisms set in the Grants Operational Manual (the manual will be formulated as part o f the technical assistance activity specified in l(c) above). Over the first 3 years the project will support the provision o f IT support to Digital Villages (US$2 million) and finance internet connectivity (US$2 million) which are critical to support the incubation o f the initiative and ensure sustainability. Overall it i s expected this project component will support the establishment of 300 Digital Villages over a 3 year period. -- end citation -- Conclusions: 1.Digital Villages funding need not be 'loans' to the entrepreneurs since as 'grants' was provided for. What was the rationale used by the ICT board to decide all Digital Villages funds should be loaned to the entrepreneurs and persons with disabilities? (In as much as it was also provided for) 2. We appreciate the power of Freedom of Information law. 3. I highly doubt Dr. Ndemo's commitment to our Freedom of Information law legislation. 4.It is not proper for the PS to lay claim on “A good policy levels the play ground.” 5.'Problem solving postponement' routine while the PPDA, 2005 law is in place? “That is why we need the procurement rules change to give everybody an equal chance.” is a mere 'perception management' path/decoy. 6.Elsewhere, we strongly differ on ethics as regards Public Office use to promote private interests and own gain. The PS now reportedly appears Safaricom (private mobico) television commercials and obviously “he received something.” He responds saying that he sees nothing wrong with that, “apologies for what?” he asks. 7.If you want to know what local technical community feels of the current ICT leadership in government, a local mailing member recently wrote “Ideas and issues should be floated regularly and resoundingly so that at the end of the day there are no excuses why in some countries you can receive almost all services online while here we fondly believe 'download and print' is e-government. 8.Perhaps the 2006 ICT Policy may have erred in professing Kenya had automagically found High Level ICT leadership and calling for it to be “protected” . Previous ICT Policy drafts lamented absence of high level leadership. 9.Processes and leaderships that suppress (irrepressible) truths only serve to entrench public resentment of government culminating to disasters like early last year's. We should work hard to avoid their repeat.. Above document refers to 300 digital villages and up until Eunice's message the ICT Board training materials developed were proprietary software-base, none were on FOSS. I hope for specific responses to all above issues raised. Gakuru On Fri, Jul 3, 2009 at 9:15 AM, <eunicekariuki(a)ict.go.ke> wrote: > Dear Alex, > I am not sure why you got your information about the ICT board having rolled out 300 digital Villages with proprietary software from these are not fact based. > > When that time comes, the entrepreneurs will be free to procure whichever computer brands with whichever operating systems they prefer they feel will enable them operate the digital villages. > > This is why the board is training entrepreneurs who will be capable of making prudent business decisions on their own. > > After the training they will apply for grants from the board, through an agency, with which to procure what they need to be able to run their digital villages. > > I believe Dr Ndemo clarified the government policy and Sang raised pertinent issues to chew on. > > It would be good to comment on issues based on facts. > > Ek > > > > , because the board has > Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Zain Kenya > > -----Original Message----- > From: Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com> > > Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:34:24 > To: <eunicekariuki(a)ict.go.ke> > Cc: <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fw: RE: One subject, > varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses > > > It is not and in fact the law reinforces it. But while Section 34 of > the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2005 is very clear on > procurement, public officials continually break this law by choosing > to purchase proprietary software. Those in the know say that savings > on proprietary licences, in one year alone, are enough to bring > elevate 1 district's ICT to the level Nairobi enjoys. What motivates > government procurement officials to insist on spending public funds on > proprietary software? > > Also consider the case of ICT Board 300+ "digital villages" all rolled > out on proprietary software. This means those entrepreneuers will > every year pay Operating syetem and surrounding sofwtare licences ad > infinitum. Talk of unnecessary cost burdens... > > Despite local Open Source Software community calling on the ICT Board > to inform and train them on the abundantly available FOSS options. > > Over to Uhuru Kenyatta and treasury public expenditure cost-saving officials... > --- > > "Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta Thursday directed the Public > Procurement Oversight Authority - PPOA to develop guidelines that will > ensure that procurement of public goods and services is done > transparently while safeguarding public funds from misuse. > > Uhuru who addressed a news conference immediately after reading the > budget estimates to parliament, said the Public Procurement Oversight > Authority has to ensure transparency among government departments that > deal with procurement." > <http://www.kbc.co.ke/story.asp?ID=57928 > > regards, > > Alex > > On Tue, Jun 30, 2009 at 8:02 AM, Mwololo Tim<timwololo(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> Listers, >> >> Our 2006 national ICT policy is silent on open source software (OSS). As we >> think of a review of this policy, which according to me is due due to a >> number of issues (Vision 2030, BPO, and many other developments), we should >> think seriously about a section on OSS policy. >> >> tim mwololo >> >> >> On 6/29/09, Evans Ikua <ikua(a)lpakenya.org> wrote: >>> >>> There is also Camara Kenya (the local office of camara.ie) that has done >>> tremendous work in the area of putting hardware in schools, both Primary and >>> Secondary, installing open source software, supporting them, and training >>> the teachers. This in a short period of time. >>> >>> Their work has mainly been in the coast region but they are also getting >>> into the hinterland. They have about 150 volunteers from Ireland who have >>> just come in and they will conduct trainings for about a month. >>> >>> They have equipped schools in the whole of Lamu island, and many schools >>> at the coast. >>> >>> They are achieving much more by using FOSS as a computer installed with >>> Linux gives much more to a student as opposed to one installed with Windows. >>> Because they are not spending a penny on software licenses, they are able to >>> supply like twice the number of PCs than if they were to have the schools >>> buy licenses. >>> >>> Ikua >>> >>> -- >>> Evans Ikua >>> Linux Professional Association of Kenya >>> Tel: +254-20-2250381, Cell: +254-722 955 831 >>> Eagle House, 2nd Floor >>> Kimathi Street, Opp. Corner House >>> www.lpakenya.org >>> >>> >>> Quoting Walubengo J <jwalu(a)yahoo.com>: >>> >>>> forwarded--- On Thu, 6/25/09, Emmanuel Khisa >>>> <emmanuel.khisa(a)kadet.co.ke> wrote: >>>> >>>> From: Emmanuel Khisa <emmanuel.khisa(a)kadet.co.ke> >>>> Subject: RE: [kictanet] One subject,varying quality - We lack an >>>> accreditation system for ICT courses >>>> To: "'Walubengo J'" <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> >>>> Date: Thursday, June 25, 2009, 10:11 AM >>>> >>>> And Project Discovery Kenya has been able to train more that 200 primary >>>> school teachers over the last five years in conjunction with Institute of >>>> Software technologies...I also know that similar training went on in Yala >>>> Division last April for Primary school teachers in the division organised >>>> by >>>> the Computers for Schools. >>>> On the subject of lack of adequate professors, I will leave that to >>>> Academicians and those keen on interrogating academics, I however would >>>> like >>>> the ICT training to move from over concentration with the academics and >>>> more >>>> to the more handson...more like incubator based learning approach...While >>>> the Far East economies have good universities, they still put more >>>> premium >>>> on handson skills...It is sad that even our graduate engineers let alone >>>> IT >>>> graduates (who by the way take a lot of flack) cannot invent or think >>>> outside the box...I mean no invention ever comes out of these highly >>>> restricted courses yet only a select few universities dare to venture >>>> into... >>>> >>>> The answer in my opinion lies in building skills that are more practical >>>> and >>>> focussed on creating entrepreneural opportunities. >>>> >>>> Rgds, >>>> >>>> Manu >>>> >>>> "New opinions are always suspected and usually opposed, without any other >>>> reason but because they are not already common." >>>> P Before printing, think about the Environment and your responsibilities >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: kictanet-bounces+emmanuel.khisa=kadet.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>> [mailto:kictanet-bounces+emmanuel.khisa=kadet.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] >>>> On >>>> Behalf Of Walubengo J >>>> Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 8:41 AM >>>> To: emmanuel.khisa(a)kadet.co.ke >>>> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions >>>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] One subject,varying quality - We lack an >>>> accreditation system for ICT courses >>>> >>>> >>>> I agree that something is happening within the High-School teaching >>>> fraternity. Last April, Multimedia University College trained 80 high >>>> school >>>> headteachers from Samburu and I think Transmara Districts, giving them >>>> basic >>>> ICT skills...am aware Strathmore University, IAT etc also do such >>>> trainings >>>> regularly...It may not be enough, but its definitely a good kick in the >>>> right direction. >>>> >>>> As for the University Level IT faculty staff. Unfortunately the >>>> statistics >>>> are likely to be true. You can count the number of IT Professors in this >>>> country on your three fingers ;-) >>>> >>>> walu. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> --- On Wed, 6/24/09, Barnabas K. Sang <bksang(a)education.go.ke> wrote: >>>> >>>>> From: Barnabas K. Sang <bksang(a)education.go.ke> >>>>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We lack an >>>> >>>> accreditation system for ICT courses >>>>> >>>>> To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com >>>>> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >>>>> Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 11:32 PM >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Betty, >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Thanks for your response on the article >>>>> mentioned below. Will go >>>>> through it and perhaps respond on key issues raised, which >>>>> ICT in Education has >>>>> already done or planned. I hope it will minimize fears all >>>>> of us have or may be >>>>> persuaded to think all is totally misplaced and lost. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ?ICT Integration? is currently Ministry >>>>> of Education focus, and >>>>> steps already put in place are expected to make Kenya >>>>> improve both teaching and >>>>> learning environment, with better education ?products? >>>>> across all levels. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Kind regards >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> B. K. Sang >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> From: >>>>> kictanet-bounces+bksang=education.go.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>>> [mailto:kictanet-bounces+bksang=education.go.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] >>>>> On >>>>> Behalf Of Betty Ogange >>>>> >>>>> Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 4:31 PM >>>>> >>>>> To: Barnabas K. Sang >>>>> >>>>> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions >>>>> >>>>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality >>>>> - We lack an >>>>> accreditation system for ICT courses >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Hallo David, >>>>> Last week there was furore in this forum >>>>> about media >>>>> misrepresentation of the Kenyan situation. The article >>>>> that you make >>>>> reference to in today?s Standard (24.06.09) may be >>>>> accurate in the areas that >>>>> you have highlighted. However, I wish to take issue with >>>>> a few points raised >>>>> in the article. >>>> >>>> http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144017693&cid=316 >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ?Unlike other academic fields, very >>>>> little has been done >>>>> to train most teachers in ICT skills. Currently, no >>>>> primary teacher training >>>>> college offers comprehensive pre-service training in >>>>> information technology.? >>>>> >>>>> Anyone with a modest interest in education in >>>>> Kenya would not >>>>> miss something as obvious as a subject in the national >>>>> curriculum when reporting >>>>> in a national daily. Prior to the year 2004, a few >>>>> colleges had ICT skills >>>>> courses for pre-service teachers based on in-house >>>>> curricula that were >>>>> independently developed by each college. The Primary >>>>> Teacher Education (PTE) >>>>> ICT curriculum developed by the Kenya Institute of >>>>> Education has been in >>>>> force since the year 2004 and ICT is taught as a >>>>> compulsory subject in all >>>>> primary teacher training colleges. It is examined >>>>> internally at the end of >>>>> the first year and all students must pass in the subject, >>>>> among other >>>>> subjects, in order to proceed to second year. There are >>>>> several >>>>> implementation hitches in this programme arising from the >>>>> fact that ICT is >>>>> being taught as a discrete subject in the curriculum and >>>>> has yet to be >>>>> mainstreamed in the other subjects in the PTE curriculum. >>>>> The debate around >>>>> ICT- pedagogy integration in education and how to >>>>> operationalise it right >>>>> from curriculum development to classroom level >>>>> implementation continues in >>>>> the education circles. >>>>> >>>>> ?In-service training is often >>>>> provided by trainers who >>>>> are just barely literate in >>>>> computers? >>>>> >>>>> In my knowledge, this has happened especially >>>>> in instances when >>>>> some hardware providers ?dangle? teacher training as >>>>> an additional offer to >>>>> the institution. TTCs used to hire ICT technicians to >>>>> teach the course, but >>>>> in the last 2 years, the Teacher Service Commission has >>>>> posted trained >>>>> lecturers of ICT to a number of TTCs. There have also >>>>> been some highly >>>>> professional training offered to college lecturers by >>>>> Microsoft (in >>>>> conjunction with the Institute of Advanced Technology - >>>>> IAT) and the Kenya >>>>> Technical Teachers College. Computers for Schools Kenya >>>>> and the Nepad >>>>> e-schools teacher training programmes have also reached >>>>> teachers in selected >>>>> secondary schools. Lack of co-ordination (as with the >>>>> rest of the ICT >>>>> initiatives in Kenya ), lack of clear training targets >>>>> and time-lines have >>>>> compromised continuity and impact of some of these >>>>> training programmes. >>>>> >>>>> ?The >>>>> entire ICT education is in tatters? >>>>> An interesting analogy there. But I see a >>>>> sector that is struggling >>>>> with what some scholars in educational reform have called >>>>> an ?implementation >>>>> dip? ? that for a number of reasons things normally >>>>> tend to get worse before >>>>> they can get better. There are lots of difficulties in >>>>> implementing large >>>>> scale ICT initiatives in the education sector world over. >>>>> In our country, >>>>> there have been positive efforts by the Ministry of >>>>> Education, the KIE and a >>>>> number of stakeholders in education, and these do count. >>>>> On the other hand, >>>>> there has been the tendency (by education leaders) >>>>> towards elaborate policy >>>>> documents, ?ICT networks? and trust funds whose >>>>> mandates remain >>>>> indeterminate. All these need to be researched and >>>>> accurately presented. >>>>> >>>>> Accurate reporting by the media and objective >>>>> analysis of both >>>>> the positives and difficulties are important in helping >>>>> the public target >>>>> their attention and effort. Besides the inaccuracies, the >>>>> use of expressions >>>>> such as ?in tatters? ?the situation is bad?, >>>>> ?alarmed professionals? >>>>> ?obsolete hardware? to describe ICT in education in >>>>> Kenya sounds to me fairly >>>>> sensational. >>>>> >>>>> Betty >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> --- On Wed, 6/24/09, David Otwoma >>>>> <otwomad(a)gmail.com> >>>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> From: David Otwoma <otwomad(a)gmail.com> >>>>> >>>>> Subject: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We >>>>> lack an accreditation >>>>> system for ICT courses >>>>> >>>>> To: ogange(a)yahoo.com >>>>> >>>>> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" >>>>> <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >>>>> >>>>> Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 9:32 AM >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> .....universities >>>>> offer many degrees but their quality and market demand >>>>> differ...... >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Although >>>>> nearly all universities offer degrees, only the >>>>> University of Nairobi, Jomo >>>>> Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and >>>>> Strathmore have >>>>> Master?s programmes and only UON and Jkuat teach at >>>>> doctoral level. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> There >>>>> is a diminishing number of staff with PhDs in ICT >>>>> departments. According to >>>>> Prof Rodrigues, UoN has the highest number of full-time >>>>> lecturers with PhDs >>>>> in ICT that stands at eight of 18, while Jkuat has three >>>>> of six, which is the >>>>> same number for Strathmore. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Kenyatta >>>>> University has nine full-time but none of them have a PhD >>>>> or an equivalent >>>>> qualification, while none of the Kabarak?s eight >>>>> lecturers have a PhD. Two of >>>>> six of United States International University has >>>>> doctoral degrees. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Many >>>>> lecturers have no experience as ICT professionals as >>>>> engineers, software >>>>> developers or in the emerging area of computer and >>>>> network security. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> See >>>> >>>> >>>> http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144017693&cid=316& >>>>> >>>>> for full story >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> >>>>> David Otwoma, >>>>> >>>>> Chief Science Secretary, >>>>> >>>>> National Council for Science and Technology, >>>>> >>>>> Utalii House 9th Floor, >>>>> >>>>> Mobile tel: +254 722 141771, >>>>> >>>>> Office tel: +254 (0)20 2346915, >>>>> >>>>> P. O. Box 5687 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya >>>>> >>>>> email: otwomad(a)gmail.com & otwoma(a)ncst.go.ke >>>>> >>>>> www.ncst.go.ke >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -----Inline Attachment Follows----- >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> >>>>> kictanet mailing list >>>>> >>>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>>> >>>>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> This message was sent to: ogange(a)yahoo.com >>>>> >>>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>> >>>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ogange%40yahoo.com >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -----Inline Attachment Follows----- >>>>> >>>>>_______________________________________________ >>>>> kictanet mailing list >>>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>>> >>>>> This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com >>>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>> >>>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>_______________________________________________ >>>> kictanet mailing list >>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>> >>>> This message was sent to: emmanuel.khisa(a)kadet.co.ke >>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>> >>>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/emmanuel.khisa%40kadet. >>>> co.ke >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>> kictanet mailing list >>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> >>> This message was sent to: timwololo(a)gmail.com >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/timwololo%40gmail.com >> >> >>_______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> This message was sent to: alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alexgakuru.lists%40gma… >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: eunicekariuki(a)ict.go.ke > Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/eunicekariuki%40ict.go… > -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com

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Quotations Invited: ICT standards web portal
by Gakuru Alex 03 Jul '09

03 Jul '09

Local Software Developers/ICT Solution providers, You are hereby invited to submit quotations for the provision of: 1. Open Source website Content Management System (CMS) services 2. Open Source website Document Management System (DMS) services Your quotation should include, among others, CMS: a) customisation costs, b) cost of template, c) deployment costs d) cost of training 4 persons (administrator and 3 users) e) post installation & training support costs f) etc.. DMS: a) customisation costs, b) cost of template, c) deployment costs d) cost of training 4 persons (administrator and 3 users) e) post installation & training support costs f) etc.. If you feel that you can offer above ICT services please send your quotations by email to the undersigned addressed to: Alex Gakuru, The Chairman, Working Group, SC 34 Technical Committee(TC), Kenya Bureau of Standards email: gakuru(a)gmail.com

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(US) Government launches website to track IT spending
by Christopher Kiagiri 02 Jul '09

02 Jul '09

Remember last month when Obama's CIO announced data.gov (which has already grown from 47 data sets to over 100,000)? ... Well, VK didn't stop there. Now there's USAspending.gov (details below). http://www.washingtonpost.com/<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/30/AR200906300…> wp-dyn/content/article/2009/<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/30/AR200906300…> 06/30/AR2009063001370.html?<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/30/AR200906300…> hpid=moreheadlines<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/30/AR200906300…> Government Launches Web Site to Track IT Spending By Kim Hart<http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/articles/kim+hart/> Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, June 30, 2009; 10:29 AM NEW YORK, June 30 -- Vivek Kundra, the federal chief information officer, on Tuesday announced a new Web site designed to track more than $70 billion in government information technology spending, showing all contracts held by major firms within every agency. The revamped site, USAspending.gov <http://usaspending.gov/>, was launched early this morning, and Kundra unveiled it at the Personal Democracy Forum conference on technology and politics. The site shows detailed information about whether IT contracts are being monitored and budgets being met. "Everyone knows there have been spectacular failures when it comes to technology investments," Kundra said. "Now for the first time the entire country can see how we're spending money and give us input." The site is the latest effort by Kundra and the Office of Management and Budget to make data about the government's projects and performance visible to the public. Citizens and Web developers can parse the data, combine it with other data sets and publish the results on Web feeds or their Facebook profiles. The data also show which contracts were won through a competitive process or in a no-bid method, which has been criticized by good-government advocates for excluding firms from business opportunities. Each prime contractor is listed as well as the status of that project; sub-contractors are not yet shown on the site. Last month, Kundra launched Data.gov <http://data.gov/>, a repository for data feeds that are publicly available but often hard to find. The site started with 47 data sets. Kundra said there are now more than 100,000. Kundra's announcement was met with cheers and a standing ovation from the Twittering crowd at a Lincoln Center auditorium. The launch fulfills one of the promises Kundra made to Congress, in which he pledged to develop a new way of monitoring federal technology spending by the end of June. Launching a site that makes spending practices open to the public met some opposition from the agencies' chief information officers and government contractors, some of whom were nervous about letting citizens who aren't familiar with the contracting process and technology needs of the government judge the spending decisions. Kundra said he met with every agency and dozens of company executives over the past six weeks. "I talked to the CIO Council and saw the data change overnight," Kundra said. "It was cleaned up immediately when people realized it was going to be made public." A federal report last year found that $30 billion worth of IT projects were not going smoothly or were in danger of failing. Kundra pointed to a $6 million project to use wireless devices in gathering information for the U.S. Census. After two years, it was deemed unsuccessful and census takers reverted to using the old paper-based system. "We've seen this with system after system," he said. "Vendors over-promise and budgets have run away in terms of excessive spending. We're trying to provide you with the tools to let American people show us a better way." Because the data change frequently as IT contracts change, the feeds run the risk of containing inaccuracies. Maintaining and updating the databases is also labor-intensive and some agencies say the initiative creates an enormous workload for them. "There is a good chance you'll go through this and find places where the data is wrong, and that's okay," said Macon Phillips, new media director for the White House. "I'd rather have this up and out there than not at all."

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Re: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses
by Bill Kagai 01 Jul '09

01 Jul '09

Tim, et al, Am overcome by acute nostalgia when FOSS is mentioned because we chased policy agenda from the Economic Commission of Africa in Addis to Tunis via Geneva in the corridors of International Telecommunication Union under the auspices of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) between 2004-2006. But the lesson that made me finally see the light was triggered by the post election violence in January 2008 when a company am associated with was contracted by NPWJ and KNCHR to document evidence. Browse through the attached pdf document, you will realize there is actually no crisis in technology deployed and that it does not matter what technology is deployed during crisis. An ICC judge Benard Lavigne, now a prosecutor in Toulouse used this database and told us it was miles ahead of what they use at ICC. Am also waiting for my day with the prosecutor albeit for totally different reasons that could also fatten my wallet in due course....(life is good). Bill On Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 5:02 PM, Mwololo Tim<timwololo(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Dr. Ndemo, > > I hear you loud and clear. I know the debate can be quite heated for many > reasons. It would be nice to have the procurement rules and any other > instrument of government to be silent on this issue. I only wish the people > were neutral! > > Sang has a very important point, which may need a guided discussion. > > Mwololo > > > On 7/1/09, bitange(a)jambo.co.ke <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> wrote: >> >> Prof. Waema, >> A good policy levels the play ground. What each party (Proprietary or >> OSS) does should not concern policy. That is why we need the procurement >> rules change to give everybody an equal chance. >> >> >> Ndemo. >> >> >> >> >> >> > Bwana Sang, >> > >> > You have a point. We do not have strong OSS champions, especially in the >> > public sector - at least not as powerful as the evangilists for >> > proprietary >> > software. This situation is not helped by a non-committal policy. Let me >> > chew over how we can change things. >> > >> > Mwololo >> > >> > >> > On 6/30/09, Barnabas K. Sang <bksang(a)education.go.ke> wrote: >> >> >> >> Tim, >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> I agree with you to some extent, that we all need revision of the >> >> current >> >> ICT Policy to accommodate the key issues Kenya currently is focusing >> >> on. >> >> On >> >> OSS, I still doubt capacity of “*OSS Champions*” on the issue having >> >> observed in the past one year, how an opportunity to have 210 secondary >> >> schools each equipped with 25 PCs and use both proprietary software and >> >> OSS >> >> (Funds provided for) progressed. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> To date, no OSS proponents have brought any concept on how MOE can >> >> facilitate the adoption and use of OSS. There are some brilliant OSS >> >> solutions, particularly supporting teaching and learning (animated >> >> content >> >> -> good for illustrations of difficult concepts in some subjects) and >> >> development of content for use by all education and training >> >> stakeholders >> >> (teachers, students, parents and researchers). >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> I would like to acknowledge existence of sufficient leadership (policy >> >> and >> >> managers) to support modernization of education (ICT integration to >> >> teaching >> >> and learning). We may not have all necessary capacity yet for >> >> decision-makers to guide the process, but in partnership with all >> >> stakeholders, I believe OSS will definitely find a niche in the whole >> >> ICT >> >> integration exercise being spearheaded by MOE. Perhaps people like >> >> yourself >> >> and others in this network, could enlightened us on how OSS could be >> >> part of >> >> ICT integration efforts at an early stage as possible. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Kind Regards >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> B. K. Sang >> >> >> >> >>

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Re: [kictanet] shaping history - the revolution of the fibre
by Walubengo J 01 Jul '09

01 Jul '09

good qtn MM. In some forums, they are saying the President was duped again - and officially opened another "blank". We need to know when or if this new pipe is now pumping packets/data. And I dont think such data falls under the (in?) famous " Official secrecy Act"... walu. --- On Fri, 6/26/09, Muriuki Mureithi <mureithi(a)summitstrategies.co.ke> wrote: From: Muriuki Mureithi <mureithi(a)summitstrategies.co.ke> Subject: [kictanet] shaping history - the revolution of the fibre To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Friday, June 26, 2009, 4:40 PM Hi history was made on 12th June when the fibre landed - and it threatens to open up the region like the railway did in 1900's... Special congrats to Dr Bitange Ndemo and all those who contributed to this revolution . the ict terrain will never be the same again -EVER the next step is the light and the byte. when will the first byte land here on the fibre? cheers Muriuki Mureithi _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com

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[Fwd: [ISOC] Now accepting applications [ISOC Fellowship to the IETF]]
by alice 01 Jul '09

01 Jul '09

Dear Colleagues, The Internet Society has announced that it is seeking applications for the next round of the ISOC Fellowship to the IETF program. The program offers engineers from developing countries fellowships that fund the cost of attending an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) meeting. As you know, the IETF is the Internet's premier standards-making body, responsible for the development of protocols used in IP-based networks. IETF participants represent an international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers involved in the technical operation of the Internet and the continuing evolution of Internet architecture. Fellowships will be awarded through a competitive application process. The Internet Society is currently accepting fellowship applications for the next two IETF meetings: * IETF 76 being held in Hiroshima, Japan, 8-13 November 2009 * IETF 77 being held in Anaheim, USA, 21-26 March 2010 Up to six fellowships will be awarded for each IETF meeting. Full details on the ISOC Fellowship to the IETF, including how to apply, are located on the ISOC website at : http://www.isoc.org/educpillar/fellowship Fellowship applications for both IETF meetings are due by 31 July 2009. The Internet Society formally launched the ISOC Fellowship to the IETF program in January 2007 after successfully piloting the program during 2006 at IETF 66 in Montreal and IETF 67 in San Diego. Forty seven individuals from 29 countries have participated in the program since its inception. I encourage you to pass information about this program to individuals involved in your regional operators' groups that have a keen interest in the Internet standardisation activities of the IETF. You also may consider being a reference for the applicant. If you have questions, please do not hesiate to contact Connie Kendig <kendig(a)isoc.org> or Mirjam Kuehne <mir(a)isoc.org>. Kind Regards, Connie J Kendig ISOC _______________________________________________ Isoc-members-announce mailing list Isoc-members-announce(a)elists.isoc.org http://elists.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/isoc-members-announce

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Re: [kictanet] Fw: RE: One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses
by John Kariuki 30 Jun '09

30 Jun '09

Tim, Please look at the ICT Policy of 2006 again and you will find that it is not silent on Open Source Software. I am sure other listers can confirm this. Eng. J.N. Kariuki. --- On Tue, 30/6/09, Mwololo Tim <timwololo(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: Mwololo Tim <timwololo(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fw: RE: One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses To: ngethe.kariuki2007(a)yahoo.co.uk Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Tuesday, 30 June, 2009, 6:02 AM Listers, Our 2006 national ICT policy is silent on open source software (OSS). As we think of a review of this policy, which according to me is due due to a number of issues (Vision 2030, BPO, and many other developments), we should think seriously about a section on OSS policy. tim mwololo On 6/29/09, Evans Ikua <ikua(a)lpakenya.org> wrote: There is also Camara Kenya (the local office of camara.ie) that has done tremendous work in the area of putting hardware in schools, both Primary and Secondary, installing open source software, supporting them, and training the teachers. This in a short period of time. Their work has mainly been in the coast region but they are also getting into the hinterland. They have about 150 volunteers from Ireland who have just come in and they will conduct trainings for about a month. They have equipped schools in the whole of Lamu island, and many schools at the coast. They are achieving much more by using FOSS as a computer installed with Linux gives much more to a student as opposed to one installed with Windows. Because they are not spending a penny on software licenses, they are able to supply like twice the number of PCs than if they were to have the schools buy licenses. Ikua -- Evans Ikua Linux Professional Association of Kenya Tel: +254-20-2250381, Cell: +254-722 955 831 Eagle House, 2nd Floor Kimathi Street, Opp. Corner House www.lpakenya.org Quoting Walubengo J <jwalu(a)yahoo.com>: forwarded--- On Thu, 6/25/09, Emmanuel Khisa <emmanuel.khisa(a)kadet.co.ke> wrote: From: Emmanuel Khisa <emmanuel.khisa(a)kadet.co.ke> Subject: RE: [kictanet] One subject,varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses To: "'Walubengo J'" <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> Date: Thursday, June 25, 2009, 10:11 AM And Project Discovery Kenya has been able to train more that 200 primary school teachers over the last five years in conjunction with Institute of Software technologies...I also know that similar training went on in Yala Division last April for Primary school teachers in the division organised by the Computers for Schools. On the subject of lack of adequate professors, I will leave that to Academicians and those keen on interrogating academics, I however would like the ICT training to move from over concentration with the academics and more to the more handson...more like incubator based learning approach...While the Far East economies have good universities, they still put more premium on handson skills...It is sad that even our graduate engineers let alone IT graduates (who by the way take a lot of flack) cannot invent or think outside the box...I mean no invention ever comes out of these highly restricted courses yet only a select few universities dare to venture into... The answer in my opinion lies in building skills that are more practical and focussed on creating entrepreneural opportunities. Rgds, Manu "New opinions are always suspected and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common." P Before printing, think about the Environment and your responsibilities -----Original Message----- From: kictanet-bounces+emmanuel.khisa=kadet.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+emmanuel.khisa=kadet.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Walubengo J Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 8:41 AM To: emmanuel.khisa(a)kadet.co.ke Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] One subject,varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses I agree that something is happening within the High-School teaching fraternity. Last April, Multimedia University College trained 80 high school headteachers from Samburu and I think Transmara Districts, giving them basic ICT skills...am aware Strathmore University, IAT etc also do such trainings regularly...It may not be enough, but its definitely a good kick in the right direction. As for the University Level IT faculty staff. Unfortunately the statistics are likely to be true. You can count the number of IT Professors in this country on your three fingers ;-) walu. --- On Wed, 6/24/09, Barnabas K. Sang <bksang(a)education.go.ke> wrote: From: Barnabas K. Sang <bksang(a)education.go.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 11:32 PM Betty, Thanks for your response on the article mentioned below. Will go through it and perhaps respond on key issues raised, which ICT in Education has already done or planned. I hope it will minimize fears all of us have or may be persuaded to think all is totally misplaced and lost. ?ICT Integration? is currently Ministry of Education focus, and steps already put in place are expected to make Kenya improve both teaching and learning environment, with better education ?products? across all levels. Kind regards B. K. Sang From: kictanet-bounces+bksang=education.go.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+bksang=education.go.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Betty Ogange Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 4:31 PM To: Barnabas K. Sang Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses Hallo David, Last week there was furore in this forum about media misrepresentation of the Kenyan situation. The article that you make reference to in today?s Standard (24.06.09) may be accurate in the areas that you have highlighted. However, I wish to take issue with a few points raised in the article. http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144017693&cid=316 ?Unlike other academic fields, very little has been done to train most teachers in ICT skills. Currently, no primary teacher training college offers comprehensive pre-service training in information technology.? Anyone with a modest interest in education in Kenya would not miss something as obvious as a subject in the national curriculum when reporting in a national daily. Prior to the year 2004, a few colleges had ICT skills courses for pre-service teachers based on in-house curricula that were independently developed by each college. The Primary Teacher Education (PTE) ICT curriculum developed by the Kenya Institute of Education has been in force since the year 2004 and ICT is taught as a compulsory subject in all primary teacher training colleges. It is examined internally at the end of the first year and all students must pass in the subject, among other subjects, in order to proceed to second year. There are several implementation hitches in this programme arising from the fact that ICT is being taught as a discrete subject in the curriculum and has yet to be mainstreamed in the other subjects in the PTE curriculum. The debate around ICT- pedagogy integration in education and how to operationalise it right from curriculum development to classroom level implementation continues in the education circles. ?In-service training is often provided by trainers who are just barely literate in computers? In my knowledge, this has happened especially in instances when some hardware providers ?dangle? teacher training as an additional offer to the institution. TTCs used to hire ICT technicians to teach the course, but in the last 2 years, the Teacher Service Commission has posted trained lecturers of ICT to a number of TTCs. There have also been some highly professional training offered to college lecturers by Microsoft (in conjunction with the Institute of Advanced Technology - IAT) and the Kenya Technical Teachers College. Computers for Schools Kenya and the Nepad e-schools teacher training programmes have also reached teachers in selected secondary schools. Lack of co-ordination (as with the rest of the ICT initiatives in Kenya ), lack of clear training targets and time-lines have compromised continuity and impact of some of these training programmes. ?The entire ICT education is in tatters? An interesting analogy there. But I see a sector that is struggling with what some scholars in educational reform have called an ?implementation dip? ? that for a number of reasons things normally tend to get worse before they can get better. There are lots of difficulties in implementing large scale ICT initiatives in the education sector world over. In our country, there have been positive efforts by the Ministry of Education, the KIE and a number of stakeholders in education, and these do count. On the other hand, there has been the tendency (by education leaders) towards elaborate policy documents, ?ICT networks? and trust funds whose mandates remain indeterminate. All these need to be researched and accurately presented. Accurate reporting by the media and objective analysis of both the positives and difficulties are important in helping the public target their attention and effort. Besides the inaccuracies, the use of expressions such as ?in tatters? ?the situation is bad?, ?alarmed professionals? ?obsolete hardware? to describe ICT in education in Kenya sounds to me fairly sensational. Betty --- On Wed, 6/24/09, David Otwoma <otwomad(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: David Otwoma <otwomad(a)gmail.com> Subject: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses To: ogange(a)yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 9:32 AM .....universities offer many degrees but their quality and market demand differ...... Although nearly all universities offer degrees, only the University of Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and Strathmore have Master?s programmes and only UON and Jkuat teach at doctoral level. There is a diminishing number of staff with PhDs in ICT departments. According to Prof Rodrigues, UoN has the highest number of full-time lecturers with PhDs in ICT that stands at eight of 18, while Jkuat has three of six, which is the same number for Strathmore. Kenyatta University has nine full-time but none of them have a PhD or an equivalent qualification, while none of the Kabarak?s eight lecturers have a PhD. Two of six of United States International University has doctoral degrees. Many lecturers have no experience as ICT professionals as engineers, software developers or in the emerging area of computer and network security. See http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144017693&cid=316& for full story -- David Otwoma, Chief Science Secretary, National Council for Science and Technology, Utalii House 9th Floor, Mobile tel: +254 722 141771, Office tel: +254 (0)20 2346915, P. O. Box 5687 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya email: otwomad(a)gmail.com & otwoma(a)ncst.go.ke www.ncst.go.ke -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: ogange(a)yahoo.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ogange%40yahoo.com -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: emmanuel.khisa(a)kadet.co.ke Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/emmanuel.khisa%40kadet. co.ke _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: timwololo(a)gmail.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/timwololo%40gmail.com -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: ngethe.kariuki2007(a)yahoo.co.uk Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngethe.kariuki2007%40y…

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BPO Study Stakeholder's Workshop: REMINDER
by munyiva ngea 30 Jun '09

30 Jun '09

Dear Listeners, Please remember that the BPO Study titled 'Development of a Business Process Outsourcing Industry in Kenya: Critical Success Factors',that was funded by the International Development Research Centre(IDRC)and conducted by The School of Computing and Informatics, University of Nairobi, in collaboration with the Kenya BPO & Contact Centre Society and the Kenya ICT Board ,will be holding a stakeholder's workshop tomorrow *Wednesday 1st July at Kenyatta International Conference Center(KICC) from 8.30 am to 1.00 pm.* Please email your confirmation of attendance to: munyiva(a)uonbi.ac.ke <http://mail.uonbi.ac.ke/src/compose.php?send_to=munyiva%40uonbi.ac.ke>. We look forward to interacting and exchanging ideas with you at the workshop. Please find attached the program for the event. Yours Faithfully, Ms. Munyiva Ngea, Project Assistant On behalf of: Prof. Timothy Mwololo Waema BPO Research Project Team Leader

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One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses
by David Otwoma 29 Jun '09

29 Jun '09

.....universities offer many degrees but their quality and market demand differ...... Although nearly all universities offer degrees, only the University of Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and Strathmore have Master’s programmes and only UON and Jkuat teach at doctoral level. There is a diminishing number of staff with PhDs in ICT departments. According to Prof Rodrigues, UoN has the highest number of full-time lecturers with PhDs in ICT that stands at eight of 18, while Jkuat has three of six, which is the same number for Strathmore. Kenyatta University has nine full-time but none of them have a PhD or an equivalent qualification, while none of the Kabarak’s eight lecturers have a PhD. Two of six of United States International University has doctoral degrees. Many lecturers have no experience as ICT professionals as engineers, software developers or in the emerging area of computer and network security. See http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144017693&cid=316&<http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144017693&cid=316> for full story -- David Otwoma, Chief Science Secretary, National Council for Science and Technology, Utalii House 9th Floor, Mobile tel: +254 722 141771, Office tel: +254 (0)20 2346915, P. O. Box 5687 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya email: otwomad(a)gmail.com & otwoma(a)ncst.go.ke www.ncst.go.ke

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shaping history - the revolution of the fibre
by Muriuki Mureithi 26 Jun '09

26 Jun '09

Hi history was made on 12th June when the fibre landed - and it threatens to open up the region like the railway did in 1900's... Special congrats to Dr Bitange Ndemo and all those who contributed to this revolution . the ict terrain will never be the same again -EVER the next step is the light and the byte. when will the first byte land here on the fibre? cheers Muriuki Mureithi

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Financial Times story on pirates disrupting broadband and north-south tensions in Sudan
by Peres Were 25 Jun '09

25 Jun '09

Story below is in the Financial Times.... Somali pirates blamed for broadband delay* *By Barney Jopson in Nairobi * *459 words* *25 June 2009* *(c) 2009 The Financial Times Limited.* Somali pirates have claimed a new victim by disrupting the laying of an undersea fibre optic cable that has promised to end east Africa's isolation as the last region of the world not connected to the global broadband network. The managers of Seacom, a $600m project owned by private investors, said on Wednesday that its cable would not come into service until July 23 - nearly a month later than planned - because pirate activity off the coast of Somalia had delayed the work of its cable-laying contractor. Tyco Telecommunications, the contractor and part of Tyco Electronics, was forced to suspend its cable-laying around the Horn of Africa so it could revise its security plans and beef up protection for its ships following the latest surge in pirate activity in April and May. Piracy from Somalia has been on the rise since last August, resulting in dozens of ships and hundreds and crew members being taken hostage, millions of dollars in ransoms, and severe disruption to commercial shipping. Wednesday's announcement from Seacom marked the first time the pirates have disrupted east Africa's faltering efforts to end its dependence on satellite internet links, which are slow, unreliable and often prohibitively expensive. Brian Herlihy, chief executive of Seacom, which is based in Mauritius, said he was "frustrated" by what he called the "pirate-induced delay". He and Tyco would not comment on whether they had received specific information that Tyco ships were on a pirate hit list. So far no cable-laying ships have been attacked, but the ships contracted by Seacom were huge - needing to carry up to 6,000km of fibre optic cable - and vulnerable to pirate attack because they moved so slowly. "Cable-laying ships would be prime targets," said Pottengal Mukundan, director of the International Maritime Bureau in London. "They're very slow when they're laying the cables and they really can't get away." Maritime experts said some ships using the waters off Somalia had beefed up anti-pirate security by employing armed guards from private security companies while others had hired armed patrol boats to escort them. Tyco declined to comment on its security procedures. Mr Herlihy said the laying of the cable, which will connect the east Africa portion of Seacom to Mumbai, had been completed in the past few days. The delay had not been announced until the job was finished to avoid putting the ships in further danger. The Seacom cable will link South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia to India and Europe. A separate project led by the Kenyan government called Teams will connect Kenya to the United Arab Emirates. * West redoubles efforts to keep Sudan peace* *By Barney Jopson in Nairobi and Daniel Dombey in Washington * *670 words* *25 June 2009* *(c) 2009 The Financial Times Limited* The US and its western allies have embarked on a surge of diplomatic activity in an effort to prevent the long civil war between north and south Sudan from reigniting. Fighting between southern rebels and successive Khartoum regimes stretched over five decades and in its second phase caused an estimated 2m deaths. It ended with the 2005 deal, the comprehensive peace agreement, that the then Bush administration saw as one of its proudest foreign policy achievements. But there is rising concern that the deal could fall apart because Khartoum's commitment to it has been patchy, several key implementation deadlines have been missed and the semi-autonomous southern government says it is rearming in readiness for a possible war for independence. An international meeting held by the Obama administration in Washington this week sought to renew commitment to the deal, which gave the mainly Christian south partial autonomy from the Arab-led north and promised a referendum on southern independence in 2011. "It's not hard to see the path toward an escalation and collision, we all know the dangers," John Kerry, chairman of the senate foreign relations committee told the representatives of 33 countries and organisations who came to the event. The meeting included the National Congress party, which forms the core of president Omar al-Bashir's Khartoum regime, and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, the rulers of the south who as rebels were fighting for a fairer share of wealth and power. In a statement on Tuesday all the participants reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the peace deal "in good faith and in a timely fashion", including the referendum on self-determination that should occur no later than January 9 2011. The north and the south also agreed to accept as binding an arbitration ruling due next month on where their border cuts through the oil-rich Abyei region. But many analysts remain doubtful that the deal can be put back on track. "Khartoum has no desire to implement the CPA and has shown an impressive capacity to undermine it," said Robert Muggah, research director of the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey. The current regime could be pushed out of power if free and fair elections were held as envisaged and it could lose access to the lucrative oil fields of the south if the region's people vote to secede in 2011, he said. Privately many western diplomats say that their countries paid insufficient attention to the risk of the north-south war reigniting, partly because of the much greater focus on the separate Darfur conflict. They also acknowledge that they have limited leverage over Khartoum and place hopes on pressure from China, which is alarmed by the prospect of its multi-million dollar investments in Sudan's oil industry being damaged by another war. Liu Guijin, China's special envoy to Sudan, attended the meeting in Washington. Sudan has already delayed parliamentary and presidential elections until next year. Washington fears such delays could reduce confidence in the south that the independence referendum itself will be held on time or at all. "We only have 164 days until the national election in February of 2010, and we only have 403 working days until the referenda in January 2011, so time is urgent," Scott Gration, president Barack Obama's personal envoy to Sudan, told the conference. Mr Muggah said that the inexperienced and under-resourced government of the south was committed to the CPA and had "everything to lose" if it was not implemented. "But it has comparatively little capacity to execute key aspects of the agreement, much less deliver equitable governance and protection for southerners." Last week Yasir Arman, deputy secretary-general of the SPLM, accused Khartoum of arming militias that have been involved in a surge of inter-ethnic fighting in borders areas of the south this year, a charge the north denies. ----- End forwarded message ----- with best regards, barney* Somali pirates blamed for broadband delay* *By Barney Jopson in Nairobi * *459 words* *25 June 2009* *(c) 2009 The Financial Times Limited.* Somali pirates have claimed a new victim by disrupting the laying of an undersea fibre optic cable that has promised to end east Africa's isolation as the last region of the world not connected to the global broadband network. The managers of Seacom, a $600m project owned by private investors, said on Wednesday that its cable would not come into service until July 23 - nearly a month later than planned - because pirate activity off the coast of Somalia had delayed the work of its cable-laying contractor. Tyco Telecommunications, the contractor and part of Tyco Electronics, was forced to suspend its cable-laying around the Horn of Africa so it could revise its security plans and beef up protection for its ships following the latest surge in pirate activity in April and May. Piracy from Somalia has been on the rise since last August, resulting in dozens of ships and hundreds and crew members being taken hostage, millions of dollars in ransoms, and severe disruption to commercial shipping. Wednesday's announcement from Seacom marked the first time the pirates have disrupted east Africa's faltering efforts to end its dependence on satellite internet links, which are slow, unreliable and often prohibitively expensive. Brian Herlihy, chief executive of Seacom, which is based in Mauritius, said he was "frustrated" by what he called the "pirate-induced delay". He and Tyco would not comment on whether they had received specific information that Tyco ships were on a pirate hit list. So far no cable-laying ships have been attacked, but the ships contracted by Seacom were huge - needing to carry up to 6,000km of fibre optic cable - and vulnerable to pirate attack because they moved so slowly. "Cable-laying ships would be prime targets," said Pottengal Mukundan, director of the International Maritime Bureau in London. "They're very slow when they're laying the cables and they really can't get away." Maritime experts said some ships using the waters off Somalia had beefed up anti-pirate security by employing armed guards from private security companies while others had hired armed patrol boats to escort them. Tyco declined to comment on its security procedures. Mr Herlihy said the laying of the cable, which will connect the east Africa portion of Seacom to Mumbai, had been completed in the past few days. The delay had not been announced until the job was finished to avoid putting the ships in further danger. The Seacom cable will link South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia to India and Europe. A separate project led by the Kenyan government called Teams will connect Kenya to the United Arab Emirates. * West redoubles efforts to keep Sudan peace* *By Barney Jopson in Nairobi and Daniel Dombey in Washington * *670 words* *25 June 2009* *(c) 2009 The Financial Times Limited* The US and its western allies have embarked on a surge of diplomatic activity in an effort to prevent the long civil war between north and south Sudan from reigniting. Fighting between southern rebels and successive Khartoum regimes stretched over five decades and in its second phase caused an estimated 2m deaths. It ended with the 2005 deal, the comprehensive peace agreement, that the then Bush administration saw as one of its proudest foreign policy achievements. But there is rising concern that the deal could fall apart because Khartoum's commitment to it has been patchy, several key implementation deadlines have been missed and the semi-autonomous southern government says it is rearming in readiness for a possible war for independence. An international meeting held by the Obama administration in Washington this week sought to renew commitment to the deal, which gave the mainly Christian south partial autonomy from the Arab-led north and promised a referendum on southern independence in 2011. "It's not hard to see the path toward an escalation and collision, we all know the dangers," John Kerry, chairman of the senate foreign relations committee told the representatives of 33 countries and organisations who came to the event. The meeting included the National Congress party, which forms the core of president Omar al-Bashir's Khartoum regime, and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, the rulers of the south who as rebels were fighting for a fairer share of wealth and power. In a statement on Tuesday all the participants reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the peace deal "in good faith and in a timely fashion", including the referendum on self-determination that should occur no later than January 9 2011. The north and the south also agreed to accept as binding an arbitration ruling due next month on where their border cuts through the oil-rich Abyei region. But many analysts remain doubtful that the deal can be put back on track. "Khartoum has no desire to implement the CPA and has shown an impressive capacity to undermine it," said Robert Muggah, research director of the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey. The current regime could be pushed out of power if free and fair elections were held as envisaged and it could lose access to the lucrative oil fields of the south if the region's people vote to secede in 2011, he said. Privately many western diplomats say that their countries paid insufficient attention to the risk of the north-south war reigniting, partly because of the much greater focus on the separate Darfur conflict. They also acknowledge that they have limited leverage over Khartoum and place hopes on pressure from China, which is alarmed by the prospect of its multi-million dollar investments in Sudan's oil industry being damaged by another war. Liu Guijin, China's special envoy to Sudan, attended the meeting in Washington. Sudan has already delayed parliamentary and presidential elections until next year. Washington fears such delays could reduce confidence in the south that the independence referendum itself will be held on time or at all. "We only have 164 days until the national election in February of 2010, and we only have 403 working days until the referenda in January 2011, so time is urgent," Scott Gration, president Barack Obama's personal envoy to Sudan, told the conference. Mr Muggah said that the inexperienced and under-resourced government of the south was committed to the CPA and had "everything to lose" if it was not implemented. "But it has comparatively little capacity to execute key aspects of the agreement, much less deliver equitable governance and protection for southerners." Last week Yasir Arman, deputy secretary-general of the SPLM, accused Khartoum of arming militias that have been involved in a surge of inter-ethnic fighting in borders areas of the south this year, a charge the north denies.

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AITEC East Africa: Low cost broadband - Summit focussing on local content innovation.
by Fatma Bashir 25 Jun '09

25 Jun '09

This might be of interest ----- Original Message ----- *From:* Sholto Moroney<sholtom(a)aitecafrica.com> *To:* 'Helen Moroney' <helenm(a)aitecafrica.com> *Sent:* Thursday, June 25, 2009 12:55 PM *Subject:* AITEC East Africa: Low cost broadband - Summit focussing on local content innovation. Dear Colleague, The East African Region is on the brink of access to plentiful, low-cost broadband. News of the undersea cable-laying progress reaches us on a daily basis. The arrival of this dramatically increased capacity will change the way that East Africans access and use the Internet. And riding this wave of dramatic expansion in infrastructure, the ICT sector must now address the challenge of locally developed content that is relevant to local interests and needs. Who is going to develop this new content? What will it look like? Who will use it, and how? What opportunities are there to enhance community development and stimulate business? How will entrepreneurs capture the value of the new possibilities? Ignite Consulting, in conjunction with AITEC East Africa, is pleased to host an exciting event that will help answer some of these questions. The event, a highly participatory “Summit” focusing on local content innovation, will engage participants in dialogue and action planning. In this Summit, participants will: - Engage in high-level dialogue with their peers on innovation. - Explore and understand the web content needs of business and local communities throughout Kenya. - Discover the common positive themes that drive the need for local content. - Collaboratively discuss actionable ideas to serve local content needs. - Design plans for implementation and follow-through. Thought-leaders, community leaders and entrepreneurs, business leaders, ICT specialists, development partners, social change professionals, youth and rural leaders are invited to participate, contribute and learn from the interactive sessions over two days. Please join us for this exciting and unique experience. Please reply to this e-mail if you would like to receive a registration form. Yours sincerely, Sholto Moroney *Administrative Assistant* *AITEC Africa* Tel: +44 (0)1480 880774 Fax: +44 (0)1480 880765 Email: sholtom(a)aitecafrica.com www.aitecafrica.com *UPCOMING EVENTS:** **l** CCK 10th Anniversary Celebrations: Forum and Expo,** **Nairobi**, 15-17 July 2009 **l** AITEC Mozambique ICT Convention, **Maputo**, 17-18 September 2009 **l** East African Fibre Summit, **Nairobi**, 22-23 September 2009 **l** Customer Service & Contact Centre, **Lagos**,** 14-15 October 2009 **l** ComBIT, **Lagos**, 4-6 November 2009 **l** Outsourcing & Contact Centre East Africa, **Nairobi**, 11-13 November 2009*** AITEC Africa is the trading name of AITEC Conferences Limited registered in England and Wales. Company registration number: 4698475 This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have mistakenly received this e-mail and delete it from your system. If you are not the intended recipient you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. Warning: Although reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no viruses are present in this email, no responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments is accepted.

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Re: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses
by Betty Ogange 25 Jun '09

25 Jun '09

Hallo David, Last week there was furore in this forum about media misrepresentation of the Kenyan situation. The article that you make reference to in today’s Standard (24.06.09) may be accurate in the areas that you have highlighted. However, I wish to take issue with a few points raised in the article. http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144017693&cid=316 ‘Unlike other academic fields, very little has been done to train most teachers in ICT skills. Currently, no primary teacher training college offers comprehensive pre-service training in information technology.’ Anyone with a modest interest in education in Kenya would not miss something as obvious as a subject in the national curriculum when reporting in a national daily. Prior to the year 2004, a few colleges had ICT skills courses for pre-service teachers based on in-house curricula that were independently developed by each college. The Primary Teacher Education (PTE) ICT curriculum developed by the Kenya Institute of Education has been in force since the year 2004 and ICT is taught as a compulsory subject in all primary teacher training colleges. It is examined internally at the end of the first year and all students must pass in the subject, among other subjects, in order to proceed to second year. There are several implementation hitches in this programme arising from the fact that ICT is being taught as a discrete subject in the curriculum and has yet to be mainstreamed in the other subjects in the PTE curriculum. The debate around ICT- pedagogy integration in education and how to operationalise it right from curriculum development to classroom level implementation continues in the education circles. ‘In-service training is often provided by trainers who are just barely literate in computers’ In my knowledge, this has happened especially in instances when some hardware providers ‘dangle’ teacher training as an additional offer to the institution. TTCs used to hire ICT technicians to teach the course, but in the last 2 years, the Teacher Service Commission has posted trained lecturers of ICT to a number of TTCs. There have also been some highly professional training offered to college lecturers by Microsoft (in conjunction with the Institute of Advanced Technology - IAT) and the Kenya Technical Teachers College. Computers for Schools Kenya and the Nepad e-schools teacher training programmes have also reached teachers in selected secondary schools. Lack of co-ordination (as with the rest of the ICT initiatives in Kenya ), lack of clear training targets and time-lines have compromised continuity and impact of some of these training programmes. ‘The entire ICT education is in tatters’ An interesting analogy there. But I see a sector that is struggling with what some scholars in educational reform have called an ‘implementation dip’ – that for a number of reasons things normally tend to get worse before they can get better. There are lots of difficulties in implementing large scale ICT initiatives in the education sector world over. In our country, there have been positive efforts by the Ministry of Education, the KIE and a number of stakeholders in education, and these do count. On the other hand, there has been the tendency (by education leaders) towards elaborate policy documents, ‘ICT networks’ and trust funds whose mandates remain indeterminate. All these need to be researched and accurately presented. Accurate reporting by the media and objective analysis of both the positives and difficulties are important in helping the public target their attention and effort. Besides the inaccuracies, the use of expressions such as ‘in tatters’ ‘the situation is bad’, ‘alarmed professionals’ ‘obsolete hardware’ to describe ICT in education in Kenya sounds to me fairly sensational. Betty --- On Wed, 6/24/09, David Otwoma <otwomad(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: David Otwoma <otwomad(a)gmail.com> Subject: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses To: ogange(a)yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 9:32 AM .....universities offer many degrees but their quality and market demand differ...... Although nearly all universities offer degrees, only the University of Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and Strathmore have Master’s programmes and only UON and Jkuat teach at doctoral level. There is a diminishing number of staff with PhDs in ICT departments. According to Prof Rodrigues, UoN has the highest number of full-time lecturers with PhDs in ICT that stands at eight of 18, while Jkuat has three of six, which is the same number for Strathmore. Kenyatta University has nine full-time but none of them have a PhD or an equivalent qualification, while none of the Kabarak’s eight lecturers have a PhD. Two of six of United States International University has doctoral degrees. Many lecturers have no experience as ICT professionals as engineers, software developers or in the emerging area of computer and network security. See http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144017693&cid=316& for full story -- David Otwoma, Chief Science Secretary, National Council for Science and Technology, Utalii House 9th Floor, Mobile tel: +254 722 141771, Office tel: +254 (0)20 2346915, P. O. Box 5687 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya email: otwomad(a)gmail.com & otwoma(a)ncst.go.ke www.ncst.go.ke -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: ogange(a)yahoo.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ogange%40yahoo.com

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Fwd: [Fibre-for-africa] Sea Pirates delay SEACOM launch
by Muriuki Mureithi 25 Jun '09

25 Jun '09

FYI ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Abi <abi.jagun(a)gmail.com> To: APC - Private list for use by EASSY Workshop Participants <fibre-for-africa(a)lists.apc.org> Sent: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:47:13 +0300 (EAT) Subject: [Fibre-for-africa] Sea Pirates delay SEACOM launch Source: http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=2815 Sea Pirates delay SEACOM launch June 24, 2009 in Broadband SEACOM_brian2.jpgThe increase in pirate activity during April and May 2009, both in terms of intensity and geographical coverage, necessitated a change in SEACOM’s cable installation plans which resulted in a delay in the ready for service date from 27 June 2009 to 23 July 2009. The planned route required the ship to transit an area of increased pirate activity where other ships had been attacked or seized. The cable deployment in the troublesome waters has since been completed and splicing to connect the section of cable from Mumbai to Africa is expected shortly. Testing of the larger cable system will be finalised shortly thereafter. The cable section from South Africa (Mtunzini) to Kenya (Mombasa), including all south and east African landing stations, has already undergone successful testing. In the meantime, SEACOM is working with its contractor, Tyco Telecommunications, to find ways of accelerating the outstanding works and bring forward the ready for service date ahead of 23 July 2009. Brian Herlihy, SEACOM CEO, said: “Due to sensitivities around piracy issues, their impact on the project timeline was only fully established recently and whilst I am personally truly disappointed by the delay, it was imperative that strong measures be put in place to guarantee the successful completion of the cable system and the safety of the ship and its crews. “This setback should however be seen against the herculean efforts made by the team to see this project come to fruition over an incredibly tight schedule of only 18 months. We remain extremely excited and look forward to witnessing the huge difference that affordable, high quality and plentiful bandwidth will have throughout eastern and southern Africa.“ _______________________________________________ Fibre-for-africa mailing list Fibre-for-africa(a)lists.apc.org http://lists.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fibre-for-africa

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Re: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses
by Walubengo J 25 Jun '09

25 Jun '09

I agree that something is happening within the High-School teaching fraternity. Last April, Multimedia University College trained 80 high school headteachers from Samburu and I think Transmara Districts, giving them basic ICT skills...am aware Strathmore University, IAT etc also do such trainings regularly...It may not be enough, but its definitely a good kick in the right direction. As for the University Level IT faculty staff. Unfortunately the statistics are likely to be true. You can count the number of IT Professors in this country on your three fingers ;-) walu. --- On Wed, 6/24/09, Barnabas K. Sang <bksang(a)education.go.ke> wrote: > From: Barnabas K. Sang <bksang(a)education.go.ke> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses > To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com > Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 11:32 PM > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Betty, > > > > Thanks for your response on the article > mentioned below. Will go > through it and perhaps respond on key issues raised, which > ICT in Education has > already done or planned. I hope it will minimize fears all > of us have or may be > persuaded to think all is totally misplaced and lost. > > > > > “ICT Integration” is currently Ministry > of Education focus, and > steps already put in place are expected to make Kenya > improve both teaching and > learning environment, with better education ‘products’ > across all levels. > > > > Kind regards > > > > B. K. Sang > > > > > > > > From: > kictanet-bounces+bksang=education.go.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > [mailto:kictanet-bounces+bksang=education.go.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] > On > Behalf Of Betty Ogange > > Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 4:31 PM > > To: Barnabas K. Sang > > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions > > Subject: Re: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality > - We lack an > accreditation system for ICT courses > > > > > > > > > Hallo David, > Last week there was furore in this forum > about media > misrepresentation of the Kenyan situation. The article > that you make > reference to in today’s Standard (24.06.09) may be > accurate in the areas that > you have highlighted. However, I wish to take issue with > a few points raised > in the article. http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144017693&cid=316 > > ‘Unlike other academic fields, very > little has been done > to train most teachers in ICT skills. Currently, no > primary teacher training > college offers comprehensive pre-service training in > information technology.’ > > Anyone with a modest interest in education in > Kenya would not > miss something as obvious as a subject in the national > curriculum when reporting > in a national daily. Prior to the year 2004, a few > colleges had ICT skills > courses for pre-service teachers based on in-house > curricula that were > independently developed by each college. The Primary > Teacher Education (PTE) > ICT curriculum developed by the Kenya Institute of > Education has been in > force since the year 2004 and ICT is taught as a > compulsory subject in all > primary teacher training colleges. It is examined > internally at the end of > the first year and all students must pass in the subject, > among other > subjects, in order to proceed to second year. There are > several > implementation hitches in this programme arising from the > fact that ICT is > being taught as a discrete subject in the curriculum and > has yet to be > mainstreamed in the other subjects in the PTE curriculum. > The debate around > ICT- pedagogy integration in education and how to > operationalise it right > from curriculum development to classroom level > implementation continues in > the education circles. > > ‘In-service training is often > provided by trainers who > are just barely literate in > computers’ > > In my knowledge, this has happened especially > in instances when > some hardware providers ‘dangle’ teacher training as > an additional offer to > the institution. TTCs used to hire ICT technicians to > teach the course, but > in the last 2 years, the Teacher Service Commission has > posted trained > lecturers of ICT to a number of TTCs. There have also > been some highly > professional training offered to college lecturers by > Microsoft (in > conjunction with the Institute of Advanced Technology - > IAT) and the Kenya > Technical Teachers College. Computers for Schools Kenya > and the Nepad > e-schools teacher training programmes have also reached > teachers in selected > secondary schools. Lack of co-ordination (as with the > rest of the ICT > initiatives in Kenya ), lack of clear training targets > and time-lines have > compromised continuity and impact of some of these > training programmes. > > ‘The > entire ICT education is in tatters’ > An interesting analogy there. But I see a > sector that is struggling > with what some scholars in educational reform have called > an ‘implementation > dip’ – that for a number of reasons things normally > tend to get worse before > they can get better. There are lots of difficulties in > implementing large > scale ICT initiatives in the education sector world over. > In our country, > there have been positive efforts by the Ministry of > Education, the KIE and a > number of stakeholders in education, and these do count. > On the other hand, > there has been the tendency (by education leaders) > towards elaborate policy > documents, ‘ICT networks’ and trust funds whose > mandates remain > indeterminate. All these need to be researched and > accurately presented. > > Accurate reporting by the media and objective > analysis of both > the positives and difficulties are important in helping > the public target > their attention and effort. Besides the inaccuracies, the > use of expressions > such as ‘in tatters’ ‘the situation is bad’, > ‘alarmed professionals’ > ‘obsolete hardware’ to describe ICT in education in > Kenya sounds to me fairly > sensational. > > Betty > > > > > > --- On Wed, 6/24/09, David Otwoma > <otwomad(a)gmail.com> > wrote: > > > From: David Otwoma <otwomad(a)gmail.com> > > Subject: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We > lack an accreditation > system for ICT courses > > To: ogange(a)yahoo.com > > Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" > <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > > Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 9:32 AM > > > .....universities > offer many degrees but their quality and market demand > differ...... > > > > > > Although > nearly all universities offer degrees, only the > University of Nairobi, Jomo > Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and > Strathmore have > Master’s programmes and only UON and Jkuat teach at > doctoral level. > > > There > is a diminishing number of staff with PhDs in ICT > departments. According to > Prof Rodrigues, UoN has the highest number of full-time > lecturers with PhDs > in ICT that stands at eight of 18, while Jkuat has three > of six, which is the > same number for Strathmore. > > > Kenyatta > University has nine full-time but none of them have a PhD > or an equivalent > qualification, while none of the Kabarak’s eight > lecturers have a PhD. Two of > six of United States International University has > doctoral degrees. > > > Many > lecturers have no experience as ICT professionals as > engineers, software > developers or in the emerging area of computer and > network security. > > > > > > See http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144017693&cid=316& > for full story > > > > > > -- > > David Otwoma, > > Chief Science Secretary, > > National Council for Science and Technology, > > Utalii House 9th Floor, > > Mobile tel: +254 722 141771, > > Office tel: +254 (0)20 2346915, > > P. O. Box 5687 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya > > email: otwomad(a)gmail.com & otwoma(a)ncst.go.ke > > www.ncst.go.ke > > > > -----Inline Attachment Follows----- > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > This message was sent to: ogange(a)yahoo.com > > Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ogange%40yahoo.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -----Inline Attachment Follows----- > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com >

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ICANN 35 - Sydney Security briefing on conflicker worm
by alice＠apc.org 23 Jun '09

23 Jun '09

ICANN Meeting in Sydney had a security briefing on the Conficker Worm by D. Piscitello, please visit: http://syd.icann.org/files/meetings/sydney2009/presentation-alac-piscitello… best alice

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2009 East Africa Internet Governance Forum (EAIGF), Nairobi, Kenya, 7th-9th September 2009
by Vincent Ngundi 22 Jun '09

22 Jun '09

2009 East Africa Internet Governance Forum (EAIGF): Advancing the Internet Governance Debate in East Africa ³Thinking Globally; Acting Locally² The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) <http://www.kictanet.or.ke/> , the Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC) <http://www.kenic.or.ke/> in collaboration with other organisations are pleased to invite you to the second East African Internet Governance Forum (EA-IGF 2009) to be held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya, from 7th to 9th September 2009. The 2009 EA-IGF is a follow up to the inaugural EA-IGF that was held in November 2008 in Nairobi, which aimed at catalysing the Internet governance debate in the East African sub region. With the increased access to broadband infrastructure in the East Africa region and the continued spread of sophisticated mobile services, understanding and addressing Internet policy issues has become a priority. The national and regional EA-IGF¹s will help prepare East African stakeholders to address the opportunities, strengths and challenges that arise, as well as ensuring that they have a voice in shaping Internet policy decisions at the global level. This year¹s EAIGF therefore seeks to continue to strengthen the national and regional dialogues on Internet Governance as well as; * Increase awareness of Internet Governance issues, including but not limited to local content and cyber; * continue to develop capacity and skills of various stakeholders and build regional consensus on IG issues; and, * Begin to discuss the development of a regional East African Communication policy, among others. The outcomes of the EAIGF will be submitted to the East Africa Regulatory, Postal and Telecommunications Organization (EARPTO), the African Parliamentary Knowledge Network (APKN), the East African Community, as well as, the fourth UN Internet Governance Forum taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2009. Further, the 2009 EAIGF will set the stage for the 37th ICANN meeting to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, in March 2010. For planning purposes, please register for the meeting at http://www.eaigf.or.ke or send an email to meeting(a)eaigf.or.ke confirming your attendance. Kind Regards, ----------- Vincent Ngundi Administrative Manager KENIC - The Kenya Network Information Centre http://www.kenic.or.ke vincent(a)kenic.or.ke [T] +254 20 4450057/8 [C] +254 20 2398036 [M] +254 733 790073 [F] +254 20 4450087 ³dot KE for Every Name in Kenya!² -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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TechSoup Kenya - Reducing the ICT Cost in the Kenya NGO Sector
by alice＠apc.org 22 Jun '09

22 Jun '09

http://www.techsoupkenya.or.ke The Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT) and the Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) have launched TechSoup Kenya, an online technology donation portal aimed at the Kenya NGO sector, on 17 June 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya. TechSoup Kenya aims to assist NGOs by providing software and hardware for very low or discounted fees in conjunction with ICT donor partners, as well as by supporting NGOs to maximise their ICT purchases and infrastructure. It will present Kenya NGOs with an opportunity to access software and other ICT solutions at discounts of up to 95% of the retail value. In order to benefit from TechSoup Kenya, NGOs must be registered with the NGO Coordination Board as a non-profit organisation. For general information about the programme and its restrictions, click here. NGOs interested in ordering software available on TechSoup Kenya should first check their general eligibility here. If an organisation meets these requirements, then check the specific eligibility requirements of our initial donor partners, Microsoft and the International Commission on Workforce Development, here. If you qualify for at least one of these, then register for the programme here . The product catalogue can be viewed here . For more information about TechSoup Kenya, as well as to receive regular updates about new product donations, please contact us on Tel: +254 20 224 7507 or support(a)techsoupkenya.or.ke. To read about the launch of TechSoup Kenya, click here. http://www.techsoupkenya.or.ke To: support(a)techsoupkenya.or.ke Subject: TechSoup Kenya - Reducing the ICT Cost in the Kenya NGO Sector 18 June 2009 Contact TechSoup Kenya Tel: +254 20 224 7507 Fax: +254 20 273 7813 E-mail: support(a)techsoupkenya.or.ke

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Re: [kictanet] Africa: Kenya, South Africa, Tunisia Top Innovation Poll (was Re: Kenya ranked among least peaceful states)
by Gakuru Alex 21 Jun '09

21 Jun '09

Great News. Thanks Adam. I agree with the report. We've been struggling to get this information out all along. But that is all set to change upon fibre optics switch on.. Kenya and Zimbabwe among top 10 Internet users despite relying on satellite http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm. Alex On Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 8:27 AM, Adam Peake<ajp(a)glocom.ac.jp> wrote: > "Africa: Kenya, South Africa, Tunisia Top Innovation Poll > Sharon Davis > 17 June 2009 > > Kenya, South Africa and Tunisia have emerged as the top innovators of Africa > in a report on the continent's competitiveness launched last week. > > The three countries - which scored highly on ratings of their scientific > capacity - are on a par with such innovative countries as Brazil and India, > according to The Africa Competitiveness Report 2009, produced by the World > Economic Forum, the African Development Bank and the World Bank Africa. > > In a league table that included 33 African countries, and 134 countries > overall, Tunisia ranked thirtieth for innovation factors (and first in > Africa); South Africa thirty-sixth (second) and Kenya fiftieth (third). ..." > > Rest of the article at <http://allafrica.com/stories/200906180622.html> > > Based on the "Africa Competitiveness Report 2009" > <http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Africa%20Competitiveness%20Report…> > (research by World Economic Forum, the African Development Bank and the > World Bank.) Which I have not read, I hope the news article is an accurate > reflection of the report. > > Best, > > Adam > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alexgakuru.lists%40gma… >

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Kenya ranked among least peaceful states
by S.Murigi Muraya 21 Jun '09

21 Jun '09

*Kenya ranked among least peaceful states* http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Company%20Industry/-/539550/611366/-/u9o… Posted Tuesday, June 16 2009 at 00:00 A new global survey has ranked Kenya among the top 40 countries that are least peaceful, a move that looks set to erode the country's standing as an investment destination. The survey by the Institute for Economics and Peace, an Australian non-profit research firm, indicated that Kenya was this year ranked 113 among 144 countries that were surveyed. The report could drive away potential investors returning to Kenya after last year's post-election chaos which shut down most businesses in key towns across the country. The same survey ranked Kenya 91 in 2007 and 119 in 2008. This comes at a time when a number of initiatives including the launch of Brand Kenya, a state corporation charged with building the country's image, have been put in place to woo investors. But the new report by the Australian economists could water down these efforts. Diamond rich Botswana has been ranked as the most peaceful country in Africa followed by Malawi which scored highly after carrying out a peaceful presidential election recently. *Most serene* According to the global survey New Zealand is the most peaceful country in the world. Other countries that are said to be peaceful in Africa include Gabon, Ghana, Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania. The report which ranks Kenya the lowest amongst the traditional three East African states uses 23 indicators to determine the existence or absence of peace, key among them being hostility to foreigners or private property, political instability, respect for human rights, military capability, potential for terrorist attacks and perceptions of criminality in society and relations with neighbouring states. But a local organization Peace and Development Network dismissed the parameters as inadequate to judge a country's levels of peace. "The parameters to use when judging a country's level of peace should include the existence of mechanisms for resolving conflicts within a state, because every country has its own internal conflicts, " said Philip Onguje, the programme officer in charge of human security at Peace and Development Network. Kenya is at a crossroads following post-election violence early last year in which more than 1,000 people were killed with several others displaced from their property.

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Ebrief on 2009 Budget from DCDM
by alice＠apc.org 20 Jun '09

20 Jun '09

Dear all Find attached a brief from DCDM associates on this years budget. best alice

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Fwd: [ke-internetusers] Excellent! Child Online Protection publications
by Gakuru Alex 19 Jun '09

19 Jun '09

I hope "Chukua Hatua" folks at CCK update 'Child Safety and Internet Use' at http://www.cck.go.ke/consumer_fact_sheets/ ? regards, ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Alex Gakuru <gakuru(a)gmail.com> Date: Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 9:51 AM Subject: [ke-internetusers] Excellent! Child Online Protection publications To: ke-users <ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net> Draft Guidelines 1) Draft Guidelines for Children 2) Draft Guidelines for Parents, Guardians and Educators Pdf format 3) Draft Guidelines for Industry Pdf format 4) Draft Guidelines for Policy Makers Pdf format "I welcome the ITU's Child Online Protection Initiative and I urge all States to support it." Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary-General http://www.itu.int/osg/csd/cybersecurity/gca/cop/guidelines/index.html _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers

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Re: [kictanet] Day 12 of 12 -- BPO Discussions, Wrapping Up???
by Walubengo J 19 Jun '09

19 Jun '09

David et al, Ok. for once I dont know what to say. But only recall that when two bulls begin to fight it is the grass that suffers. I dont think this is the kind of "wrapping up" that Nyaki meant when she wrote the above subject line. So maybe the two can agree to meet offline and continue the discussion on if, how and why the money was returned? Unless ofcourse the Listers want that discussion - in which case it must be formally requested, scheduled and moderated. walu. --- On Thu, 6/18/09, David Otwoma <otwomad(a)gmail.com> wrote: > From: David Otwoma <otwomad(a)gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 12 of 12 -- BPO Discussions, Wrapping Up > To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com > Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>, kictanet-bounces+bitange=jambo.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > Date: Thursday, June 18, 2009, 3:38 PM > Dear Dr. Ndemo, > > With all due respect, you appear to lose me > here. > > The partial statement you qoute below comes from http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/-/539552/608168/-/item/1/-/3te68rz/-/ind… > > > As regards, formal apology, please let me know if it > is to be directed to:- > > (a) your person (individual), > > (b) your official capacity, > > (c) organizers of the just ended BPO discussion, > > (d) Kicktanet list owners and listers, > > (e) all the above or more than one of the above. > > The above is without prejudice and as the case(s) may > be will be addressed accordingly. > > Finally, and if your permit, on appropriate forum we > may debate the reasons monies are returned/recalled to > Treasury year in year out. Is it by accident or design? > 2009 its famine. 2008 it was IDPs. ......1999 it was > drought....1991 it was land clashes. Is it by accident or > design? > > > Kind regards, > > David > > > > On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 2:40 AM, > <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> > wrote: > > David, > You very clearly stated "in ICT there seems to be > laxity" where 500 nillion is being returned to > Treasury. The story very clearly states the reason why > Treasury had to reallocate the budget. > > > The motives in your earlier post were not good because you > are in a postion to know better and you should. I actually > expect a formal apology. > > > Ndemo. > > > Sent from my BlackBerry® > > -----Original Message----- > > From: David Otwoma <otwomad(a)gmail.com> > > Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:49:42 > To: <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> > > > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 12 of 12 -- BPO Discussions, > Wrapping Up > > > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > This message was sent to: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke > Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bitange%40jambo.co.ke > > > > > > > -- > > > > -----Inline Attachment Follows----- > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com >

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Mobile Tech 4 Social Change Camp & Mobile Boot Camp 2009
by Jessica Colaço 19 Jun '09

19 Jun '09

Hi All, You are cordially invited to: - *Mobile Tech 4 Social Change Camp - 27th of June at Strathmore University: * - The charges are: Students (Strathmore and non-Strathmore): Ksh 500/- Non-Students: Ksh 1,000/- - More details: http://www.strathmore.edu/Events.php?EventID=30 * * - *Mobile Boot Camp 2009 - 9th - 11th of July at Strathmore University: * - The charges are: Students (Strathmore and non-Strathmore): Ksh 700/- Non-Students: Ksh 1,500/- - More details: http://www.strathmore.edu/aboutus.php?id=171 We look forward to seeing you there. Please email me if you have any queries. Best, -- Jessica Colaço

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