- KICTANet - KICTANet

Fwd: Tandaa - An Honest Analysis
by aki 18 Nov '08

18 Nov '08

LOL! actually it makes no sense for someone to be discussing anything while holding a "gun under the table". Clearly the markings individuals who unfortunately can only resort to one thing in the end........no more dialogue.

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Re: [kictanet] Tandaa - An Honest Analysis
by Wainaina Mungai 18 Nov '08

18 Nov '08

Hi all, The issue building up here is on HOW to generate local content and the ways not to do it. We have seen cases of ''how not to do it'' as per the mailinglists and websites facing complaints from listers here. I believe members can now find way on 'how to' generate and collate local content in solutions such as Ushahidi.com and BungeSMS.com that seek to exploit the pervasive nature of mobile telephony to increase citizen generated content on the web. Google Kenya has done a great job with Google maps that now has easily searchable maps of Nairobi even via mobile devices such as smartphones with GPS feature coupled with data through the GSM networks. A security & privacy question however arises here even as the content question has been addressed. On 11/18/08, Robert Alai <alai.robert(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Wainaina > > Know that the fact that you dont agree with someone doesnt mean that you > must raid the media house. > > Thats what you are trying to say here. We are discussing IT matters and what > you bring are your personal problems. > > If you have spammed my address and lists, why make noise? Blacklists them. I > will handle that in another way and know that I am registered in this forum > all through and this forum doesnt belong to Wainaina and the ealier you > realise that the better for you. Lets discuss matters which help this nation > and not go personal because let me assure you that for every on of my > actions before and in th future, I have a perfect answer for them. > > If you have a problem with BidiiAfrika send an email to > bidiiafrika-owner(a)googlegroups.com. > > And again on Media, I like NMG since they have toned rhetoric and very high > voltage news unlike KTN and standard group which still report like Kenya is > going to war. I disagree with them but surely I wont like anybody raiding > them > > Regards > Alai > > On 11/18/08, Wainaina Mungai <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> wrote: >> >> This is exactly the feedback I expected. I'm not at all disappointed >> as it has happened before. >> >> KICTANet needs to do something about importing such conduct from other >> lists. >> >> >> Wainaina >> >> >> On 11/18/08, Robert Alai <alai.robert(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> > Hi all, >> > >> > As indicated by Alex, spam & forced mailinglist subscriptions is a >> > critical "local content" issue now that Alai has pointed fingers. >> > >> > I have been forced onto lists that do not allow for unsubscribing thus >> > I have marked Alai's address and his mailinglists as spam addresses. >> > >> > Robert, please sort that out first so that the "traffic" and >> > "subscription" numbers on your lists is a true reflection of >> > subscription by choice rather than forced numbers. >> > >> > I bet someone else has had the same experience with Kazi africa, bidii >> > africa and other lists. >> > >> > Wainaina. See the reply I gave to Gakuru. Blame your teacher and you >> > have >> no >> > use being in KICTANET if you cant even know how to operate simple email >> > addresses in,lists >> > >> > >> > Alai >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > On 11/18/08, Wainaina Mungai <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> wrote: >> >> >> >> Hi all, >> >> >> >> As indicated by Alex, spam & forced mailinglist subscriptions is a >> >> critical "local content" issue now that Alai has pointed fingers. >> >> >> >> I have been forced onto lists that do not allow for unsubscribing thus >> >> I have marked Alai's address and his mailinglists as spam addresses. >> >> >> >> Robert, please sort that out first so that the "traffic" and >> >> "subscription" numbers on your lists is a true reflection of >> >> subscription by choice rather than forced numbers. >> >> >> >> I bet someone else has had the same experience with Kazi africa, bidii >> >> africa and other lists. >> >> >> >> Wainaina >> >> >> >> >> >> On 11/18/08, Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >> > Alai, >> >> > >> >> > I am somewhat now tempted to start a local content blog focusing on >> >> > 'opinion influencers' and opinion shapers themselves - informed by >> >> > the >> >> > fact that, content is king and awaited 'future online content >> >> > warfare' >> >> > arrived a long time ago. >> >> > >> >> > So despite excluding my skunkworks presentation from your firing >> >> > squad, I shall nonetheless shoot back at you;) >> >> > >> >> > On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 12:37 AM, Robert Alai <alai.robert(a)gmail.com> >> >> wrote: >> >> >> Mirembe >> >> >> >> >> >> I have a very open and honest analysis of our Tandaa conference. >> >> >> >> >> >> The facts which we must change is that Paul Kukubo, my big brother >> >> >> still >> >> >> sees it best to defend foreign companies and say that "eve if we >> >> >> want >> >> >> local >> >> >> content we must stilldo it with foreigners'. >> >> > >> >> > Paul stated, "Let's realise that Internet is one. How can have 'our >> >> > Internet' so shielded away for 'outsiders Internet' to the extent >> >> > that >> >> > 'our content' is only accessible to us yet somehow we expected to >> >> > make money from 'outsiders' through 'our Internet'? Maybe we should >> >> > not use downloaded [even-free] 'foreign' software, 'foreign' >> >> > computers, 'foreign' concepts, nothing 'foreign' except only localyy >> >> > made?" That was heavy! >> >> > >> >> >>Let me tell you a thing. We >> >> >> must focus on local mpaka it becomes music. When I saw the slides of >> >> >> Joe >> >> >> Mucheru, which apparently I have seen in every conference I have >> >> attended >> >> >> in >> >> >> which he is the speaker. The websites listed there, non were Kenyan. >> >> >> The >> >> >> fact that Mucheru works for a Carlifornian company and he is Kenyan >> >> should >> >> >> make Mucheru sell Kenya more. >> >> > >> >> > Its what all (or at least the majority of) the people in that room >> >> > were there *actually doing* Give Mucheru a break. (You stand accused >> >> > of promoting 'foreign content' by using Google mailing lists;) >> >> > >> >> >> If you wanted a subscription website, you >> >> >> should have started with kenyalaw.org. If you wanted affiliates, >> >> >> mamamikes.com has affiliates. Lets focus on local. Lets give it lots >> of >> >> >> thought. We must give local examples and then mention the foreign >> ones >> >> >> just >> >> >> as an after-thought. >> >> > >> >> > I wish you had asked ICT Board to make a presentation to the audience >> >> > to articulate you point? >> >> > >> >> >> We want the companies to give the local content much thought and >> >> >> they >> >> can >> >> >> only do that when they think locally. When you make people believe >> that >> >> >> facebook is great, we wont head anywhere. See why Tanzanians are >> >> engaging >> >> >> more in bongo5.com and jamiiforums than facebook and others. They >> are >> >> >> actively loading pics and content and these two websites are really >> >> coming >> >> >> up well and considreing the age of the websites, we will see nice >> >> >> things >> >> >> from them. We should not glorify anything western. We must start >> >> >> appreciating our own facebook like Ngari has developed a good site, >> >> >> www.kasarani.com >> >> > >> >> > Kasarani is your website, right? The conference was not a sales pitch >> >> > for *anyone* but a conversation exploring various ways to promote >> >> > local content. >> >> > >> >> >> When I started my start forum and blogging thing, jamiiforums.com, >> we >> >> had >> >> >> lots of problems. But we also had people telling us that the forum >> >> >> which >> >> >> is >> >> >> being run by my great friend Maxence, was going nowhere because >> >> Tanzanians >> >> >> don't speak a lot of English. See the site now. I don't think that >> >> >> there >> >> >> is >> >> >> any forum in this region with that kind of killer traffic. >> >> > >> >> > Me, me, me again... Try a bit of our, our, our, country's local >> content. >> >> > >> >> >> There is no forum >> >> >> in this region which makes the government shakes like hell when >> issues >> >> are >> >> >> being analyzed there. And they are doing it most of the time in >> >> >> Swahili. >> >> >> We >> >> >> must focus on being local if we want local content. >> >> > >> >> > 'Government' is a strange 3-legged animal Executive, Legislature, and >> >> > Judiciacy. >> >> > If one makes this animal 'shake like hell,' that person ought to be >> >> > in >> >> > very serious trouble... >> >> > >> >> >> NMG bought a script from Germans and installed it on their site >> without >> >> a >> >> >> forum nor blogs for the senior writers. Why? No creativity. NTV, >> EasyFm >> >> >> and >> >> >> QFM are not online. A very good percentage of articles in Mailbox >> >> >> are >> >> >> plagiarized from blogs and forums without acknowledgement and >> articles >> >> in >> >> >> entertainment and lifestyle mazagines are plagiarized from magazines >> >> like >> >> >> cosmopolitan and Elle sometimes word for word. >> >> > >> >> > Why so excessive negative energy? There must be something NMG have >> done >> >> > right? >> >> > >> >> >> The Tandaa website was .com and not .co.ke. Even if you are not >> hosting >> >> >> locally, you could still have had a local domain registration. >> >> > >> >> > Had you tried http://www.tandaa.co.ke/ before the conference? BTW, I >> >> > host websites abroad many times and I have no problems with it. It >> >> > can >> >> > be a business decision why host locally with painfully expensive ISP? >> >> > Host 'politically incorrect' website at a pro-conformist provider >> >> > 'anti-telcos' content with one of them.... etc.. It's a matrix of >> >> > decision making procees.. >> >> > >> >> >> The funniest thing I got from the conference, why would 6 or 7 >> speakers >> >> >> speak for 15 minutes each and then the forum audience is given 10 >> >> minutes >> >> >> to ask questions and suggestions? >> >> > >> >> > The sun waits for no King and time has never been enough. >> >> > >> >> >>Do you know that the slides from Capital, >> >> >> NMG, Google, Homeboyz, Kictanet, ICT board, Strathmore, Rich, Cisco >> and >> >> >> others are shown to us almost in every conference we attend. They >> have >> >> >> become so predictable that the best place to get more stories and >> even >> >> >> slides which you have never seen is from the public. >> >> > >> >> > Would you also be suggesting that new school textbooks be published >> >> > every >> >> > year? >> >> > >> >> >>Givingg 15 minutes to >> >> >> each speaker which is 105 minutes for the seven speakers then the >> >> audience >> >> >> asks and get replies in 10 minutes is really not correct and shows >> and >> >> >> attitude of escapism where te audience are feared that they might >> >> embarass >> >> >> the speakers with questions. >> >> > >> >> > You just created conveniently suitable circumstances to arrive at >> >> > your >> >> > conclusion? >> >> > >> >> >> The other facts of the conference was ok. The moderator, Al Kags, >> >> >> was >> >> >> ok >> >> >> but >> >> >> I think that we can do alot of improvements by having power cable >> well >> >> >> spread for bloggers and also the Wi-Fi to be abit superior. I had to >> >> rely >> >> >> on >> >> >> my Zain unlimited since the ICT board Wi-fi kept shutting down. >> >> > >> >> > Would it not have been fair to mention some of those 'ok' facts. Its >> >> > called "fair commentating" >> >> > >> >> >> We also think that we can have an active network and the best place >> to >> >> >> start >> >> >> is now here in KICTANET. I see us turning KICTANET into an open >> >> vbulletin >> >> >> run forum with CMS managed frontpage like www.haitiwebs.com and >> >> >> www.mustangevolution.com. Vbulletin is so superior and it wont take >> us >> >> >> even >> >> >> a day to have this thing up and running. >> >> > >> >> > Dunno.. >> >> > >> >> >> Senior members, what do you think? >> >> > >> >> > I just have. But allow me to add that *nix users have this thing >> >> > about >> >> > multi-thread thought processes which lead me to advice users to >> >> > format >> >> > their Windows and install *nix. It makes engagement multi-faceted >> >> > critique and criticize when necessesary but also appreciate and >> >> > praise >> >> > excellent achievement. >> >> > >> >> > Tandaa.08 was an excellent event and I wish the ICT board could >> >> > explain to us who were the brains behind it. They can count on me for >> >> > their next such conference. >> >> > >> >> > Rider: >> >> > >> >> > There is a clip one run NTV of an Edloret pharmacist who literary and >> >> > severally slapped himself on the face upon being visited by >> >> > Pharmacies >> >> > and Poisons Board drug inspectors. >> >> > Let's not always take the shrtest route to slap every great >> >> > initiative, erroneously. >> >> > >> >> > Also we avoid "local content spam", for example, forced mailing lists >> >> > subscriptions;) >> >> > >> >> > G'day, >> >> > >> >> >> >> > _______________________________________________ >> >> > kictanet mailing list >> >> > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> >> > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> > >> >> >> >> > This message was sent to: wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org >> >> >> >> > Unsubscribe or change your options at >> >> >> >> > >> >> >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/wainaina%40madeinkenya… >> >> > >> >> >> >> -- >> >> Sent from my mobile device >> >> >> >> Made in Kenya Network >> >> Apt. B-8, Elite Park >> >> Ole Odume Road >> >> P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 >> >> Nairobi. Kenya >> >> Tel: +254-20-3590451 >> >> Cel: +254-722-811171 >> >> Cel: +254-735-370840 >> >> www.madeinkenya.org >> >> >> >> http://www.bungesms.com >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> kictanet mailing list >> >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> >> >> >> >> This message was sent to: alai.robert(a)gmail.com >> >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> >> >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alai.robert%40gmail.com >> >> >> > >> >> >> -- >> >> Sent from my mobile device >> >> Made in Kenya Network >> Apt. B-8, Elite Park >> Ole Odume Road >> P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 >> Nairobi. Kenya >> Tel: +254-20-3590451 >> Cel: +254-722-811171 >> Cel: +254-735-370840 >> www.madeinkenya.org >> >> http://www.bungesms.com >> > -- Sent from my mobile device Made in Kenya Network Apt. B-8, Elite Park Ole Odume Road P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 Nairobi. Kenya Tel: +254-20-3590451 Cel: +254-722-811171 Cel: +254-735-370840 www.madeinkenya.org http://www.bungesms.com

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Tandaa - An Honest Analysis
by Robert Alai 18 Nov '08

18 Nov '08

Mirembe I have a very open and honest analysis of our Tandaa conference. The facts which we must change is that Paul Kukubo, my big brother still sees it best to defend foreign companies and say that "eve if we want local content we must stilldo it with foreigners'. Let me tell you a thing. We must focus on local mpaka it becomes music. When I saw the slides of Joe Mucheru, which apparently I have seen in every conference I have attended in which he is the speaker. The websites listed there, non were Kenyan. The fact that Mucheru works for a Carlifornian company and he is Kenyan should make Mucheru sell Kenya more. If you wanted a subscription website, you should have started with kenyalaw.org. If you wanted affiliates, mamamikes.com has affiliates. Lets focus on local. Lets give it lots of thought. We must give local examples and then mention the foreign ones just as an after-thought. We want the companies to give the local content much thought and they can only do that when they think locally. When you make people believe that facebook is great, we wont head anywhere. See why Tanzanians are engaging more in bongo5.com and jamiiforums than facebook and others. They are actively loading pics and content and these two websites are really coming up well and considreing the age of the websites, we will see nice things from them. We should not glorify anything western. We must start appreciating our own facebook like Ngari has developed a good site, www.kasarani.com When I started my start forum and blogging thing, jamiiforums.com<http://jamboforums.com>, we had lots of problems. But we also had people telling us that the forum which is being run by my great friend Maxence, was going nowhere because Tanzanians don't speak a lot of English. See the site now. I don't think that there is any forum in this region with that kind of killer traffic. There is no forum in this region which makes the government shakes like hell when issues are being analyzed there. And they are doing it most of the time in Swahili. We must focus on being local if we want local content. NMG bought a script from Germans and installed it on their site without a forum nor blogs for the senior writers. Why? No creativity. NTV, EasyFm and QFM are not online. A very good percentage of articles in Mailbox are plagiarized from blogs and forums without acknowledgement and articles in entertainment and lifestyle mazagines are plagiarized from magazines like cosmopolitan and Elle sometimes word for word. The Tandaa website was .com and not .co.ke. Even if you are not hosting locally, you could still have had a local domain registration. The funniest thing I got from the conference, why would 6 or 7 speakers speak for 15 minutes each and then the forum audience is given 10 minutes to ask questions and suggestions? Do you know that the slides from Capital, NMG, Google, Homeboyz, Kictanet, ICT board, Strathmore, Rich, Cisco and others are shown to us almost in every conference we attend. They have become so predictable that the best place to get more stories and even slides which you have never seen is from the public. Givingg 15 minutes to each speaker which is 105 minutes for the seven speakers then the audience asks and get replies in 10 minutes is really not correct and shows and attitude of escapism where te audience are feared that they might embarass the speakers with questions. The other facts of the conference was ok. The moderator, Al Kags, was ok but I think that we can do alot of improvements by having power cable well spread for bloggers and also the Wi-Fi to be abit superior. I had to rely on my Zain unlimited since the ICT board Wi-fi kept shutting down. We also think that we can have an active network and the best place to start is now here in KICTANET. I see us turning KICTANET into an open vbulletin run forum with CMS managed frontpage like www.haitiwebs.com and www.mustangevolution.com. Vbulletin is so superior and it wont take us even a day to have this thing up and running. Senior members, what do you think? Alai,

6 8

Re: [kictanet] Tandaa - An Honest Analysis
by Wainaina Mungai 18 Nov '08

18 Nov '08

This is exactly the feedback I expected. I'm not at all disappointed as it has happened before. KICTANet needs to do something about importing such conduct from other lists. Wainaina On 11/18/08, Robert Alai <alai.robert(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hi all, > > As indicated by Alex, spam & forced mailinglist subscriptions is a > critical "local content" issue now that Alai has pointed fingers. > > I have been forced onto lists that do not allow for unsubscribing thus > I have marked Alai's address and his mailinglists as spam addresses. > > Robert, please sort that out first so that the "traffic" and > "subscription" numbers on your lists is a true reflection of > subscription by choice rather than forced numbers. > > I bet someone else has had the same experience with Kazi africa, bidii > africa and other lists. > > Wainaina. See the reply I gave to Gakuru. Blame your teacher and you have no > use being in KICTANET if you cant even know how to operate simple email > addresses in,lists > > > Alai > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On 11/18/08, Wainaina Mungai <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> wrote: >> >> Hi all, >> >> As indicated by Alex, spam & forced mailinglist subscriptions is a >> critical "local content" issue now that Alai has pointed fingers. >> >> I have been forced onto lists that do not allow for unsubscribing thus >> I have marked Alai's address and his mailinglists as spam addresses. >> >> Robert, please sort that out first so that the "traffic" and >> "subscription" numbers on your lists is a true reflection of >> subscription by choice rather than forced numbers. >> >> I bet someone else has had the same experience with Kazi africa, bidii >> africa and other lists. >> >> Wainaina >> >> >> On 11/18/08, Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> > Alai, >> > >> > I am somewhat now tempted to start a local content blog focusing on >> > 'opinion influencers' and opinion shapers themselves - informed by the >> > fact that, content is king and awaited 'future online content warfare' >> > arrived a long time ago. >> > >> > So despite excluding my skunkworks presentation from your firing >> > squad, I shall nonetheless shoot back at you;) >> > >> > On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 12:37 AM, Robert Alai <alai.robert(a)gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >> Mirembe >> >> >> >> I have a very open and honest analysis of our Tandaa conference. >> >> >> >> The facts which we must change is that Paul Kukubo, my big brother >> >> still >> >> sees it best to defend foreign companies and say that "eve if we want >> >> local >> >> content we must stilldo it with foreigners'. >> > >> > Paul stated, "Let's realise that Internet is one. How can have 'our >> > Internet' so shielded away for 'outsiders Internet' to the extent that >> > 'our content' is only accessible to us yet somehow we expected to >> > make money from 'outsiders' through 'our Internet'? Maybe we should >> > not use downloaded [even-free] 'foreign' software, 'foreign' >> > computers, 'foreign' concepts, nothing 'foreign' except only localyy >> > made?" That was heavy! >> > >> >>Let me tell you a thing. We >> >> must focus on local mpaka it becomes music. When I saw the slides of >> >> Joe >> >> Mucheru, which apparently I have seen in every conference I have >> attended >> >> in >> >> which he is the speaker. The websites listed there, non were Kenyan. >> >> The >> >> fact that Mucheru works for a Carlifornian company and he is Kenyan >> should >> >> make Mucheru sell Kenya more. >> > >> > Its what all (or at least the majority of) the people in that room >> > were there *actually doing* Give Mucheru a break. (You stand accused >> > of promoting 'foreign content' by using Google mailing lists;) >> > >> >> If you wanted a subscription website, you >> >> should have started with kenyalaw.org. If you wanted affiliates, >> >> mamamikes.com has affiliates. Lets focus on local. Lets give it lots of >> >> thought. We must give local examples and then mention the foreign ones >> >> just >> >> as an after-thought. >> > >> > I wish you had asked ICT Board to make a presentation to the audience >> > to articulate you point? >> > >> >> We want the companies to give the local content much thought and they >> can >> >> only do that when they think locally. When you make people believe that >> >> facebook is great, we wont head anywhere. See why Tanzanians are >> engaging >> >> more in bongo5.com and jamiiforums than facebook and others. They are >> >> actively loading pics and content and these two websites are really >> coming >> >> up well and considreing the age of the websites, we will see nice >> >> things >> >> from them. We should not glorify anything western. We must start >> >> appreciating our own facebook like Ngari has developed a good site, >> >> www.kasarani.com >> > >> > Kasarani is your website, right? The conference was not a sales pitch >> > for *anyone* but a conversation exploring various ways to promote >> > local content. >> > >> >> When I started my start forum and blogging thing, jamiiforums.com, we >> had >> >> lots of problems. But we also had people telling us that the forum >> >> which >> >> is >> >> being run by my great friend Maxence, was going nowhere because >> Tanzanians >> >> don't speak a lot of English. See the site now. I don't think that >> >> there >> >> is >> >> any forum in this region with that kind of killer traffic. >> > >> > Me, me, me again... Try a bit of our, our, our, country's local content. >> > >> >> There is no forum >> >> in this region which makes the government shakes like hell when issues >> are >> >> being analyzed there. And they are doing it most of the time in >> >> Swahili. >> >> We >> >> must focus on being local if we want local content. >> > >> > 'Government' is a strange 3-legged animal Executive, Legislature, and >> > Judiciacy. >> > If one makes this animal 'shake like hell,' that person ought to be in >> > very serious trouble... >> > >> >> NMG bought a script from Germans and installed it on their site without >> a >> >> forum nor blogs for the senior writers. Why? No creativity. NTV, EasyFm >> >> and >> >> QFM are not online. A very good percentage of articles in Mailbox are >> >> plagiarized from blogs and forums without acknowledgement and articles >> in >> >> entertainment and lifestyle mazagines are plagiarized from magazines >> like >> >> cosmopolitan and Elle sometimes word for word. >> > >> > Why so excessive negative energy? There must be something NMG have done >> > right? >> > >> >> The Tandaa website was .com and not .co.ke. Even if you are not hosting >> >> locally, you could still have had a local domain registration. >> > >> > Had you tried http://www.tandaa.co.ke/ before the conference? BTW, I >> > host websites abroad many times and I have no problems with it. It can >> > be a business decision why host locally with painfully expensive ISP? >> > Host 'politically incorrect' website at a pro-conformist provider >> > 'anti-telcos' content with one of them.... etc.. It's a matrix of >> > decision making procees.. >> > >> >> The funniest thing I got from the conference, why would 6 or 7 speakers >> >> speak for 15 minutes each and then the forum audience is given 10 >> minutes >> >> to ask questions and suggestions? >> > >> > The sun waits for no King and time has never been enough. >> > >> >>Do you know that the slides from Capital, >> >> NMG, Google, Homeboyz, Kictanet, ICT board, Strathmore, Rich, Cisco and >> >> others are shown to us almost in every conference we attend. They have >> >> become so predictable that the best place to get more stories and even >> >> slides which you have never seen is from the public. >> > >> > Would you also be suggesting that new school textbooks be published >> > every >> > year? >> > >> >>Givingg 15 minutes to >> >> each speaker which is 105 minutes for the seven speakers then the >> audience >> >> asks and get replies in 10 minutes is really not correct and shows and >> >> attitude of escapism where te audience are feared that they might >> embarass >> >> the speakers with questions. >> > >> > You just created conveniently suitable circumstances to arrive at your >> > conclusion? >> > >> >> The other facts of the conference was ok. The moderator, Al Kags, was >> >> ok >> >> but >> >> I think that we can do alot of improvements by having power cable well >> >> spread for bloggers and also the Wi-Fi to be abit superior. I had to >> rely >> >> on >> >> my Zain unlimited since the ICT board Wi-fi kept shutting down. >> > >> > Would it not have been fair to mention some of those 'ok' facts. Its >> > called "fair commentating" >> > >> >> We also think that we can have an active network and the best place to >> >> start >> >> is now here in KICTANET. I see us turning KICTANET into an open >> vbulletin >> >> run forum with CMS managed frontpage like www.haitiwebs.com and >> >> www.mustangevolution.com. Vbulletin is so superior and it wont take us >> >> even >> >> a day to have this thing up and running. >> > >> > Dunno.. >> > >> >> Senior members, what do you think? >> > >> > I just have. But allow me to add that *nix users have this thing about >> > multi-thread thought processes which lead me to advice users to format >> > their Windows and install *nix. It makes engagement multi-faceted >> > critique and criticize when necessesary but also appreciate and praise >> > excellent achievement. >> > >> > Tandaa.08 was an excellent event and I wish the ICT board could >> > explain to us who were the brains behind it. They can count on me for >> > their next such conference. >> > >> > Rider: >> > >> > There is a clip one run NTV of an Edloret pharmacist who literary and >> > severally slapped himself on the face upon being visited by Pharmacies >> > and Poisons Board drug inspectors. >> > Let's not always take the shrtest route to slap every great >> > initiative, erroneously. >> > >> > Also we avoid "local content spam", for example, forced mailing lists >> > subscriptions;) >> > >> > G'day, >> > >> >> > _______________________________________________ >> > kictanet mailing list >> > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> > >> >> > This message was sent to: wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org >> >> > Unsubscribe or change your options at >> >> > >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/wainaina%40madeinkenya… >> > >> >> -- >> Sent from my mobile device >> >> Made in Kenya Network >> Apt. B-8, Elite Park >> Ole Odume Road >> P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 >> Nairobi. Kenya >> Tel: +254-20-3590451 >> Cel: +254-722-811171 >> Cel: +254-735-370840 >> www.madeinkenya.org >> >> http://www.bungesms.com >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> >> This message was sent to: alai.robert(a)gmail.com >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alai.robert%40gmail.com >> > -- Sent from my mobile device Made in Kenya Network Apt. B-8, Elite Park Ole Odume Road P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 Nairobi. Kenya Tel: +254-20-3590451 Cel: +254-722-811171 Cel: +254-735-370840 www.madeinkenya.org http://www.bungesms.com

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Lets Discuss Tandaa not Persons
by Robert Alai 18 Nov '08

18 Nov '08

Alex and James Lets discuss tandaa the way we were doing and let me warn anybody trying to fight personal wars in KICTANET that I will answer you. Lets see how we can better Tandaa and the local content Alai

1 0

Re: [kictanet] Tandaa - An Honest Analysis
by smwngi＠gmail.com 18 Nov '08

18 Nov '08

Joe, Robert You both have very valid points. However ask youself this. If the confrence was about prompting local content did you get local content? No. Why? Because there is very little to none. ICT board may have looked for local organizations the have web content to showcase their goals and objectives. The objective here is to promote local infromation. You may have seen the presentation before (am not saying I haven't seen them either & wasn't surprised) but there has been very little content added by new players. For the most part I saw sales pitches from the presenters which made it difficult to understand why they were given the slots to begin with. It should have been promoting content. How to gather it, how to present it, how to keep it updated, and quench the thirst for infromation. Having gone through the first round I believe there are lessons learnt and we should voice our opinions so as to improve our processes and deliverables. Cheers Stephen Mwangi -----Original Message----- From: "Joseph Manthi" <jmanthi(a)gmail.com> Subj: Re: [kictanet] Tandaa - An Honest Analysis Date: Tue 18 Nov 2008 12:46 am Size: 5K To: Stephen Mwangi <smwngi(a)gmail.com> cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Robert I did not attend but I know exactly what you are saying. Local is golden, foreign should be forgotten unless we want to remain where we are. Joe On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 3:37 PM, Robert Alai <alai.robert(a)gmail.com> wrote: Mirembe I have a very open and honest analysis of our Tandaa conference. The facts which we must change is that Paul Kukubo, my big brother still sees it best to defend foreign companies and say that "eve if we want local content we must stilldo it with foreigners. Let me tell you a thing. We must focus on local mpaka it becomes music. When I saw the slides of Joe Mucheru, which apparently I have seen in every conference I have attended in which he is the speaker. The websites listed there, non were Kenyan. The fact that Mucheru works for a Carlifornian company and he is Kenyan should make Mucheru sell Kenya more. If you wanted a subscription website, you should have started with kenyalaw.org. If you wanted affiliates, mamamikes.com has affiliates. Lets focus on local. Lets give it lots of thought. We must give local examples and then mention the foreign ones just as an after-thought. We want the companies to give the local content much thought and they can only do that when they think locally. When you make people believe that facebook is great, we wont head anywhere. See why Tanzanians are engaging more in bongo5.com and jamiiforums than facebook and others. They are actively loading pics and content and these two websites are really coming up well and considreing the age of the websites, we will see nice things from them. We should not glorify anything western. We must start appreciating our own facebook like Ngari has developed a good site, www.kasarani.com When I started my start forum and blogging thing, jamiiforums.com, we had lots of problems. But we also had people telling us that the forum which is being run by my great friend Maxence, was going nowhere because Tanzanians dont speak a lot of English. See the site now. I dont think that there is any forum in this region with that kind of killer traffic. There is no forum in this region which makes the government shakes like hell when issues are being analyzed there. And they are doing it most of the time in Swahili. We must focus on being local if we want local content. NMG bought a script from Germans and installed it on their site without a forum nor blogs for the senior writers. Why? No creativity. NTV, EasyFm and QFM are not online. A very good percentage of articles in Mailbox are plagiarized from blogs and forums without acknowledgement and articles in entertainment and lifestyle mazagines are plagiarized from magazines like cosmopolitan and Elle sometimes word for word. The Tandaa website was .com and not .co.ke. Even if you are not hosting locally, you could still have had a local domain registration. The funniest thing I got from the conference, why would 6 or 7 speakers speak for 15 minutes each and then the forum audience is given 10 minutes to ask questions and suggestions? Do you know that the slides from Capital, NMG, Google, Homeboyz, Kictanet, ICT board, Strathmore, Rich, Cisco and others are shown to us almost in every conference we attend. They have become so predictable that the best place to get more stories and even slides which you have never seen is from the public. Givingg 15 minutes to each speaker which is 105 minutes for the seven speakers then the audience asks and get replies in 10 minutes is really not correct and shows and attitude of escapism where te audience are feared that they might embarass the speakers with questions. The other facts of the conference was ok. The moderator, Al Kags, was ok but I think that we can do alot of improvements by having power cable well spread for bloggers and also the Wi-Fi to be abit superior. I had to rely on my Zain unlimited since the ICT board Wi-fi kept shutting down. We also think that we can have an active network and the best place to start is now here in KICTANET. I see us turning KICTANET into an open vbulletin run forum with CMS managed frontpage like www.haitiwebs.com and www.mustangevolution.com. Vbulletin is so superior and it wont take us even a day to have this thing up and running. Senior members, what do you think? Alai, _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: jmanthi@gmail..com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jmanthi%40gmail.com -- Joseph Manthi CEO MEO Ltd http://www.meoltd.com

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Africa's first communications satellite fails
by Robert Alai 17 Nov '08

17 Nov '08

Africa's first communications satellite fails Adole Hassan 17 November 2008 | EN The satellite was expected to boost telecommunications in Nigeria and the rest of Africa Flickr/DavidDennisPhotos.com [ABUJA] Africa's first communications satellite has suffered an energy failure just 18 months after its launch. The solar panels have malfunctioned on the Chinese-manufactured satellite according to Alhassan Zaku, Nigeria's minister of state for science and technology. The NIGCOMSAT-1 satellite was launched from China in 2007 (see Satellite launches boost African communications) amidst optimism that it would aid development by linking up rural communities and progressing telemedicine and long-distance learning. There were also ambitious commercial goals. But these are now dashed, say commentators. Ahmed Rufai, managing director of Nigeria Communication, which runs the satellite management company, said the satellite was powered down on Sunday night (9 November) after it was discovered that the batteries were failing faster than expected. But Nigeria's ThisDay newspaper (12 November) claims that the satellite has already fallen out of its orbit and been destroyed in order to prevent it from harming others. The paper quotes unnamed sources who allege that the Chinese manufacturers of the satellite used poor-quality materials. Akin Soyinka, chair of non-governmental organisation Nigeria Internet Watch, told SciDev.Net that the loss of the satellite would damage the country's efforts to bridge the digital divide -- see African action plan pushes satellites for development). "The federal government invested a lot of resources in building the satellite — to the detriment of education and health in the last four years — with the hope of bridging the digital divide and accelerating the country's development," Soyinka said. "But now all that is gone down the drain." The 40 billion Nigerian Naira (US$240 million) satellite was entirely government-owned but was "fully insured," said Rufai. A geostationary satellite, it was supposed to work for 15 years, and is officially monitored by a ground control station in Abuja, Nigeria, with backup stations in China, Italy, northern Nigeria and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) satellite applications centre in Hartebeesthoek, South Africa. Zaku told SciDev.Net that Internet service providers in Nigeria and telecommunications companies who were using the satellite would be moved to other satellites if engineers confirm that it is unfixable. --- End forwarded message ---

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[Fwd: The November 17th Leadership Forum - at The Hilton Hotel, Tsavo Room]
by alice 17 Nov '08

17 Nov '08

Please note that the November 17^th Leadership Forum will take place at the* Hilton Hotel,* Tsavo room and not the Stanley. Details below: *LEADERSHIP FORUM* *‘Implications of the current global financial crisis’ – Rt Hon. David Blunkett (prominent member of the UK parliament’* *Hon. Blunkett* has served as Home Secretary and Education Secretary of the United Kingdom. Blind since birth and from a poor family in one of Sheffield's most deprived districts he has strived against all odds to become one of UK's most respected citizens. Be there to listen to him. Date: November 17th 2008 (Monday) Venue: Hilton Nairobi – Tsavo room Time: 6.00 pm Leadership Forum members: Free Non-Forum members Ksh 1,000 Confirm your attendance by email to. _Leadership.forum(a)britishcouncil.or.ke_ <mailto:Leadership.forum@britishcouncil.or.ke> Attached is Rt. Hon Blunkett’s biography. <<DB biography.doc>> Best Regards, Linet Otibine Projects and Communications Officer British Council, Nairobi P.O. Box 40751-00100 Upper Hill Road T: +254 283 6000 F: +254 283 6500 _Linet.otibine(a)britishcouncil.or.ke_ <mailto:Linet.otibine@britishcouncil.or.ke> *Creating Opportunity for people worldwide* *_www.britishcouncil.org_* <file://www.britishcouncil.org> The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are a registered charity; 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland). We build engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide. This message is for the use of the intended recipient(s) only. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete it. The British Council accepts no liability for loss or damage caused by software viruses and you are advised to carry out a virus check on any attachments contained in this message.

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Cheaper international fibre prices in 2009 will put the squeeze on national backbone prices
by alice 17 Nov '08

17 Nov '08

(From Balancing Act) Cheaper international fibre prices in 2009 will put the squeeze on national backbone prices Africa’s operators say they cost their national backbone prices based on distance. The basis is that the further you want your traffic carried, the more it costs. However, this logic will soon be challenged by new, cheaper international bandwidth costs. If it costs more to send traffic from Johannesburg to Cape Town or from Lagos to Abuja than it does from any of these places to Europe, then national arbitrage will have well and truly arrived. Russell Southwood looks at what is likely to happen. Currently SAT3 prices vary from US$1,300-8,200 per mbps per month. Volume prices in South Africa fit into the bottom end of this range. Prices have recently come down in Angola to the lower end of this range, leaving Cameroon and Gabon as the high price pirates on the route. SEACOM and TEAMS are both saying that their cables will start operating in Kenya by Q2, 2009 and are offering prices that will probably translate into US$500-1,000 if operators pass along the savings made. On the west coast, Main One looks like being the first competitor cable to land in Q2, 2010 and will offer prices that will probably translate into prices for customers in the same range as on the east coast. And this where the problem begins for operators. About half of Africa’s operators are offering the same bandwidth (usually up to 500 kms) for US$2,000 or more. Only a very few are below US$1,000 and some are as high as US$4,000. These prices do not take into account a series of add-ons like access charges that actually take the global prices higher. The intelligent customers might at this point be asking themselves: why are operators able to go half way round the globe for the same price they’re charging me for going from the capital city to another city? One telco in the southern African region with a monopoly gateway gets 65% of its revenues from international traffic. The impact of lower rates will rob even competitive incumbents of significant parts of their revenue. No wonder the Zambian Communications Minister (see Telecoms News below) is trying to retain Zamtel’s monopoly gateway status because the company is already loss-making with that financial advantage. But the bad news cannot be held at bay… For the operators, pressure from customers on national backbone will become irresistible because on the basis of distance charging things will not make sense. So what can the forward-looking incumbent do? * They need to invest in IP networks where according to Huawei and Nokia Siemens Network speakers at last week’s CRASA event (Migration Towards All-IP) IP core networks are 30-50% cheaper in CAPEX terms and 30% in OPEX terms. As vendors, they would say that, wouldn’t they? But these figures seem to accord with those of operators we’ve spoken to who have made all or part of this transition. Companies with all IP networks (like South Africa’s Neotel) or who have made a real beginning with this transition possess a potent advantage over those who will have to replace their core network over the next five years. * Most incumbents are very over-staffed and the political pressure to avoid redundancies has been too great for them to avoid this core issue. Not only do they have too many staff but they have too few with the IP skills required in the future. None have any strategy for addressing this “elephant in the room”. For many IP and analogue reside in separate departments and the former is small and not influential in corporate strategy. One possible solution? Outsource the core network functions in the way that a small number of mobile carriers (for example Kasapa in Ghana) already have. You can insert focused management and higher levels of skills and control your cost levels. But for Government-owned incumbents this will require decisiveness and a clear understanding that your asset will slip through your hands if you don’t. Bankrupt companies don’t employ people for long. For customers the prospects are more cheery. Infrastructure competition will in the medium term begin to deliver real savings if they are savvy and more demanding. There are two reasons: * Vertically integrated mobile operators want to get into the business of providing core network. All of those we have spoken to – both those planning and those already doing it – agree that there are savings to be made in the 30-50% range. Countries as diverse as South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana already have several core network (or infrastructure) providers. Some claim even higher savings as much depends on how protected the monopoly provider is. The challenge for customers is to point out the national arbitrage and demand better value. • The second factor that favours customers is the arrival of alternative infrastructure providers. Power utilities already posses fibre over transmission pylons and adding more is considerably cheaper than trenching the same capacity. Over half a dozen power utilities have been either licensed directly to sell the capacity or given permission to tender to licence-holders. One of the more recent ones was Escom in Malawi which will in the not too distant future have fibre links to Mozambique. Where this has not happened, incumbents are trying to argue that this alternative capacity should be in their hands but they are probably fighting a losing battle. In order to speed up competition in the core network at the national level, operators’s customers will have to ask two questions: what is your new international fibre costing you and how much of that saving are you passing on to me? And why is it cheaper to get my traffic to Europe than it is to transfer it around the country I live in? Best to start asking now as the excuses are bound to convoluted and lengthy.

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[Fwd: [APC Forum] how to bypass internet censorship]
by alice 16 Nov '08

16 Nov '08

Interesting...... best alice ------------------------ Just to let you know we put out a new manual "How to Bypass Internet Censorship" http://en.flossmanuals.net/CircumventionTools You can also download a free pdf here or buy the book : http://www.lulu.com/content/4904448 Its focused on bypassing internet censorship with free software. We wrote the manual in 5 days using the Book Sprint model intially developed by Tomas Krag and the FLOSS Manuals toolset. So thats zero -> Book in 5 days. For those that will be at the Aspiration Dev summit, I'll be there doing two sessions : http://devsummit08.aspirationtech.org/index.php/FLOSS_Manuals_Tools http://devsummit08.aspirationtech.org/index.php/How_to_Run_a_Book_Sprint adam -- Adam Hyde Founder FLOSS Manuals http://www.flossmanuals.net ======================================= APC Forum is a meeting place for the APC community - people and institutions who are or have been involved in collaboration with APC, and share the APC vision - a world in which all people have easy, equal and affordable access to the creative potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve their lives and create more democratic and egalitarian societies. _______________________________________________ apc.forum mailing list apc.forum(a)lists.apc.org http://lists.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/apc.forum

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Sega Silicon Valley - help with contact info?
by Gakuru Alex 16 Nov '08

16 Nov '08

Hi, Anybody knows how I could contact any of three Kenyan delegates at <http://www.wireless-africa.org/events/workshop_0811/participants> I tried googling with limited luck. Thanks, Alex

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Lecture by Nicholas Negroponte on "One Laptop per Child", 7 PM, November 20
by John Maina 16 Nov '08

16 Nov '08

http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/3776/one_laptop_per_child.html

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Google Policy Fellowship
by John Maina 16 Nov '08

16 Nov '08

Google is looking for students who are passionate about technology, and want to spend the summer diving headfirst into Internet policy. Students from all majors and degree programs who possess the following qualities are encouraged to apply: * Demonstrated or stated commitment to Internet and technology policy * Excellent academic record, professional/ extracurricular/ volunteer activities, subject matter expertise * First-rate analytical, communications, research, and writing skills * Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and efficiently, and to work smartly and resourcefully in a fast-paced environment * General “googliness” (kidding!) Fellows will receive a stipend of $7,000 for 10 weeks during the summer of 2009 (June-August) . Exact dates of the fellowship will be worked out by the fellow and host organization. Applications are due by Friday, December 12, 2008. Students who are accepted into the program will be notified by Friday, February 13th, 2009. To learn about our application process, click here. http://www.google. com/policyfellow ship/ Mary (Molly) Uzoh, CEO/Principal Consultant Learning Right Technologies, LLC P. O. Box 51616 San Jose, CA 95151 Phone: 408-649-5872, Cell: 408-826-2167 http://www.learning right.com

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BBC E-mail: European debut for '$100 laptop'
by John Maina 16 Nov '08

16 Nov '08

Paul E Fegan saw this story on the BBC News website and thought you should see it. ** European debut for '$100 laptop' ** The One Laptop Per Child organisation will start selling its XO laptop in Europe on 17 November. < http://news. bbc.co.uk/ go/em/fr/ -/2/hi/technolog y/7728881. stm > ** BBC Daily E-mail ** Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all in one daily e-mail < http://www.bbc. co.uk/email > ** Disclaimer ** The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have been verified. If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news. bbc.co.uk/ 1/hi/help/ 4162471.stm

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Hannah Mutuku - An Employee whom Safaricom Can do without
by John Maina 14 Nov '08

14 Nov '08

Guys The worst experience ever. The date is 13th November and the place is Safaricom Moi Avenue. My problem, lost data card which I wanted blocked since I dont have money to buy a new 3g modem to replace the stolen modem plus data card. The retort from Hannah Mutuku, she cant do anything, I have lost the card, I will have to pay every month even if the card is not working. I thought that in case of a card getting lost and you suspend it, you pay a standing account maintenance charge until when the account is terminated or restored. Ooh My God. Safaricom is a fraud and with the arrogance and boisterous manner of Hannah Mutuku, you can do nothing about it. She was not listening. And she was not ready to reveal her true identity and tag and kept hiding it until when I called the Administration Police that I was getting irritated and infact I was causing a scene. Hannah told me to my face that I can do nothing about it. I left saddened. I have a post paid account with Safaricom and two prepaid lines. I threw the pre paid lines away already with lots anger in me. I was mistreated in Safaricom. I was molested. I was insulted. In safaricom, employees boasts of cronysm and what connections they have from above. Ooh God help me. I really suffered and am ready to move on. What I need is Safaricom to block my post paid line since, to my word, I wont pay a cent in that line and I am ready to face the consequences. fraud is not a good way of making business. We must stop frauds pretending to make profit. I need my account terminated and know that I wont pay a single cent. I know that our media fear loosing lots of advertising fees and thats why anything which portrays the cellphone companies in bad light wont see a day in any of the three big media houses. None of them will dare question. But the fact that this is the third problem I am having with Safaricom centre twice at Moi Avenue and once at I&M proves to me something, something is terribly wrong with the Safaricom customer care and people like Hannah Mutuku just proved that. One arrogant lady who seems to be well connected. I dont know how, but surely she seemed so. And she is a supervisor. I need a blockage on my line since I wont pay for a stolen line. I wont Kenyansregards mikeoketch(a)gmail.com

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East African Intrenet Governance Forum (EAIGF)...way forward and thank you
by alice 13 Nov '08

13 Nov '08

(Apologies for cross posting) The EAIGF was convened, organized and coordinated by the Kenya ICT Action Network with the following partners, KENIC, Kenya ICT Board, Communications Commission of Kenya, Kenya College of Communication Technology, Strathmore University, Center for Global Communication, East AfricanICT4DNetwork who also formed the EAIGF planning group. KICTANet will from here collate the issues that arose out of the discussion for the last two and a half days into a comprehensive report titled “*Internet Governance East African Perspective”* based on the regional forum Output and issues. This paper will be 1. Uploaded the EAIGF on the website www.eaigf.or.ke <http://www.eaigf.or.ke> 2. Subject the regional priority issues to research 3. Submitted to the global IGF taking place in India from 3-6^th December 2008 4. Be used to develop the capacity building scholar programme that will be hosted by the Kenya Communications College of Technology (KCCT) and Strathmore College. 5. Next EAIGF will be held in Tanzania. Thank you Tanzania *Vote of thanks * The EAIGF planning team takes this opportunity to thank · The government of Kenya specifically the P.S’s information and Communication Dr. Bitange Ndemo for Launching the Kenya IGF and the EAIGF. · Mr. Philip Okundi, CCK Board Chairman · Mr. Kariithi Njogu, CCK board member · The CCK Director-General Mr. Charles Njoroge and acting on his Behalf Mr. S. Kibe · Mr. Paul Kukubo, CEO KICTB · Dr. Juma Okecth, E-government Directorate Our international Partners, · The United Nations Internet Governance Forum Mr. Markus Kummer · International Telecommunication Union, Ms. Ali Drissa · International Development and Research Centre (IDRC) Ms. Edith Adera · Internet Society (ISOC) Mr. Bill Graham · Adam Peake Centre for Global Communication GLOCOM · Willie Currie, Association for Progressive Communications. Our regional partners from the three East African Countries (RURA, RITA, SWOPNET, CIPESA I-network Uganda, Women of Uganda Network, Tanzania communication regulatory authority, Rwanda development gateway, · All speakers and moderators · All participants for your contributions and the energy · Thank you Mr. Jonathan Somen CEO Access Kenya and chair of TESPOK for providing last minute internet access after one of the EAIGF partners failed to connect the EAIGF .... · Special Thanks to Vincent and Evelyne for playing key roles in the organization of both the Kenya IGF and the EAIGF against all odds. To Mwende, Walu, Joe and Adam thank you for developing an initial draft for the capacity building programme · Thanks also to all the interns who worked with the organizing Committee to ensure the success of the EAIGF meeting. · Thank you too to all the forum secretary and the note takers and especially to Rebecca Wanjiku for the very lively live blog. · Big and special thanks to Harry Hare for managing the 2 and a half days as master of ceremony

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FW: Mars Group Kenya Updates - WHAT'S UP WITH THE TANDAA CONFERENCE? THE TRUTH ABOUT WHERE THE GOVERNMENT OF
by P Gitau Githongo 13 Nov '08

13 Nov '08

Different perspectives on the Tandaa conference..... WHAT'S UP WITH THE TANDAA CONFERENCE? THE TRUTH ABOUT WHERE THE GOVERNMENT OF KENYA SITS IN CYBERSPACE. Blue Host dot Com? Why would a Kenya Government Local Content Initiative be hosted on Blue Host (and only for 1 year) I wondered - isn't it one of those cheap web hosting companies - is it dignified for the GOK to be on something as generic as Blue Host? And we are talking about a USD 4 million grant. Moving on, I pondered, are there any other Government Agencies hosted on Blue Host? What I found was far worse than I could possibly have imagined. The Government of Kenya who should be the greatest provider of local content is housed almost 99% on foreign owned servers - albeit less well known than Blue Host. Among these are: The French owned Telkom Hazina.Treasury.Go.Ke (used to be ours - but was sold just before the election) Something called Puck.Nether.Net - which sits on something called Deathstar.Org Very interesting indeed. Both the host of the Kenya Local Content Conference and the Government of Kenya have for whatever reason chosen to place their content on servers which are not Kenyan owned. What a vote of confidence!. You will be shocked to see where Government of Kenya sits in cyberspace.. Read more at... http://blog.marsgroupkenya.org/?p=397 www.marsgroupkenya.org <http://www.marsgroupkenya.org/> Watching Out For You

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KENYA ICT BOARD HOSTS KENYA'S FIRST CONTENT CONFERENCE - TANDAA 08 ON FRIDAY 14TH NOVEMBER 2008
by Lucy Odhiambo 13 Nov '08

13 Nov '08

Dear All, The Kenya ICT Board will be holding the Kenya Content Conference dubbed "TANDAA 2008". Tandaa is Kiswahili for spread or network (verb). Tandaa '08 is to be a platform for Kenyan entrepreneurs, educationists, policy makers and others to discuss the emerging opportunities that are being facilitated by better internet access in Kenya. Tandaa's theme this year is 'Telling our Story. The Kenyan Story'. The Kenya ICT Board will be discussing its Local Content Development programme that is geared towards stimulating the development of Local Content by Kenyans for the Kenyan and global marketplace. This programme is complimentary to the board's rural inclusion programme, the Pasha Centre project, that is going to assist entrepreneurs to set up internet telecentres in all parts of Kenya. The Ministry of Information and Communication has been implementing the development of ICT Infrastructure - including the undersea fibre optic cable that will connect Kenya to the global internet grid and the National Optic Fibre network both of which are expected to be completed by mid-2009. In line with this, the Kenya ICT Board has targeted to grow internet usage by 50% annually from the current 3 Million users to 12 Million users in 2012. Some of the major issues that will be discussed at Tandaa '08 include:- 1. Once the fibre optic cable networks are in place and the question of access to high speed internet is sorted out, what will Kenyans view, read and interact with online? What information, services and goods will they be able to access? The dearth of local content on local web sites to be used for education, entertainment and business presents opportunities for Kenyans of all walks of life. 2. The e-Government secretariat will be presenting the ongoing initiatives by government to provide e-services as well as the opportunities for content developers to interface with government processes to add value to their web content. 3. To encourage entrepreneurs to invest in local content development, there will be a discussion regarding the development and stimulation of a venture capital framework and the strengthening of incubation in Kenya to stimulate entrepreneurship. 4. A number of presentations will also deal with the ways in which Kenyans can identify the opportunities and build viable economic structures for the development of local content. Speakers at Tandaa '08 include:- Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications; Dr. Juma Oketch, Secretary, eGovernment (Office of the President); Paul Kukubo, CEO, Kenya ICT Board, Patrick Spencer, Cisco IBSG; Joseph Mucheru, Google Kenya; Ian Fernandez, Nation Media Group; Chris Kirubi, MD, Capital Group; Aly-Khan Satchu, RICH.co.ke; Andrew Muigai, africapoint.com; Nik Nesbitt, Kencall Ltd, among others. REGISTRATION All are invited to the conference. Please register on tandaa.co.ke or email: tandaa08(a)ict.go.ke. Lucy Gachui-Odhiambo Communications Manager Kenya ICT Board 12th Floor Telposta Towers Koinange Lane PO Box 27150 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Cell 0737- 839047 Tel: 254-020-2093040 www.ict.go.ke ICT-logo-02.jpg

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Fw: [DigAfrica] Zanzibar aims for digital voters ID cards in 2010
by John Maina 12 Nov '08

12 Nov '08

----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Chifu <chifu2222(a)gmail.com> To: DigAfrica(a)yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 12:51:47 PM Subject: [DigAfrica] Zanzibar aims for digital voters ID cards in 2010 Zanzibar aims for digital voters ID cards in 2010 2008-11-12 11:24:58 By Guardian Reporter, Zanzibar The Zanzibar Electoral Commission has unveiled plans to digitise voters` identity cards before the next general election. ZEC Director Salum Kassim Ali said at a press briefing here yesterday that the aim was to modernise and generally improve the electoral process. He was speaking on preparations for the updating of the permanent voters` register before the 2010 election. The plan would involve the changing of all voters` identity cards and the encoding of information in the computer system to be used in the election, he said. Ali explained that an Israeli company, Ontract Innovation Limited, had been commissioned to do the job. He noted that ZEC officials were being lined up ``through special training aimed at acquainting them with the technology to be used`` so that they assist Israeli experts in the work for greater efficiency. According to the director, the updating of the voters` register would start in January next year in Pemba and run for six months. The exercise is expected to be implemented using the new digital system. He added that, in line with the Zanzibar Constitution, the registration of Isles residents who had reached voting age would run from April to May 2010. SOURCE: Guardian __._,_.___ Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Links | Polls Dig Africa site welcomes you to join us at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/Digafrica on IT in Africa Feel free to join at our google group digital africa http://groups.google.com/group/digitalafrica Thanks. Chifu Moderator MARKETPLACE ________________________________ >From kitchen basics to easy recipes - join the Group from Kraft Foods Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Recent ActivityVisit Your Group New web site? Drive traffic now. Get your business on Yahoo! search. Moderator Central An online resource for moderators of Yahoo! Groups. Yahoo! Groups Going Green Zone Save the planet. Your resources to go green. .. __,_._,___

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Kenya yet to fully address Internet governance issues By Rebecca Wanjiku,
by alice＠apc.org 12 Nov '08

12 Nov '08

http://computerworld.co.ke/articles/2008/10/16/kenya-yet-fully-address-inte… Kenya yet to fully address Internet governance issues By Rebecca Wanjiku, IDG News Service\Nairobi Bureau 16 Oct, 2008 Kenya has yet to fully address its legal, infrastructure, access, content and security issues, according to a report released Tuesday at the Kenya Internet Governance Forum (IGF). There are gaps in policy and legislative drafting and the general development of regulatory framework as it relates to e-commerce, said Mwende Njiraini, a telecommunications engineer who co-authored the report with John Walubengo, a security expert. Njiraini and Walubengo presented their report, "Online Deliberations on Internet Governance," at the meeting in Nairobi after two weeks of online discussions with ICT sector representatives. The report identifies Kenya's position in relation to issues addressed by the KICTANet mailing list discussions, which took place online in August as a precursor to the IGF. These issues will be raised again at the East Africa IGF meeting in November and the international IGF meeting in India in December. On security, the report recommends national or regional certification for Internet security experts who handle corporate security issues. Currently, certification is handled by international bodies. It also suggests that ISPs (Internet service providers) be generous in allocating IP (Internet Protocol) space. Organizations like Google monitor Internet points, and the IPs determine the level of reported Internet penetration, the report noted. Njiraini added that there is a need to address multilingualism and the use of local languages on the Internet, as well as rural access to wireless technologies. "Kenya has 2.5 million Internet users, and we would like to see constructive use of the Internet and engagement of stakeholders to better address the industry," said Charles Njoroge, director general of the Communications Commission of Kenya.

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East Africa prepares for global Internet Governance Forum By Rebecca Wanjiku.
by alice＠apc.org 12 Nov '08

12 Nov '08

http://computerworld.co.ke/articles/2008/11/10/east-africa-prepares-global-… East Africa prepares for global Internet Governance Forum By Rebecca Wanjiku, IDG News Service\Nairobi Bureau 10 Nov, 2008 Representatives from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda gathered in Nairobi to discuss common issues regarding Internet governance in preparation for next month's global Internet Governance Forum. The discussions began at the national level, with each country identifying its unique issues with a view toward developing a regional position, explained Alice Munyua, coordinator of the Kenya ICT Action Network. "The country networks collected and collated the salient issues, which will be presented to the regional forum," she said. "The regional report will be presented to the leaders attending the IGF forum in India as the governance issues concerning the region." Developing countries are under-represented in Internet governance, according to Edith Adera from the International Development Research Council, who provided financial support for the regional event. Meeting participants identified the major issues affecting East Africa as high connectivity costs, lack of ICT infrastructure, cybersecurity, privacy, data protection, management of country code top-level domains, presence of local root servers and lack of enhanced legislation In regard to infrastructure, East African governments have demonstrated commitment by investing in submarine cables and terrestrial fiber, noted Bitange Ndemo, Kenya's permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication. By next November, he said, countries should be debating issues of too much bandwidth and the darker issues of the Internet, such as cybercrime. Participants from the four countries voiced their concerns over the consistency and reliability of technology, arguing that system failures cause a loss of business for which business owners are not compensated. Ndemo, however, challenged participants to first address issues of online content, adding that the cost of Internet will only fall if people can access local, as opposed to international, content. "It will be criminal for Google.com to come all the way from California to digitize our books while we have unemployed graduates in the streets," Ndemo said. "We have so much knowledge to convert to digital format."

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East Africa prepares for global Internet Governance Forum By Rebecca Wanjiku.
by alice＠apc.org 12 Nov '08

12 Nov '08

East Africa prepares for global Internet Governance Forum By Rebecca Wanjiku, IDG News Service\Nairobi Bureau 10 Nov, 2008 Representatives from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda gathered in Nairobi to discuss common issues regarding Internet governance in preparation for next month's global Internet Governance Forum. The discussions began at the national level, with each country identifying its unique issues with a view toward developing a regional position, explained Alice Munyua, coordinator of the Kenya ICT Action Network. "The country networks collected and collated the salient issues, which will be presented to the regional forum," she said. "The regional report will be presented to the leaders attending the IGF forum in India as the governance issues concerning the region." Developing countries are under-represented in Internet governance, according to Edith Adera from the International Development Research Council, who provided financial support for the regional event. Meeting participants identified the major issues affecting East Africa as high connectivity costs, lack of ICT infrastructure, cybersecurity, privacy, data protection, management of country code top-level domains, presence of local root servers and lack of enhanced legislation In regard to infrastructure, East African governments have demonstrated commitment by investing in submarine cables and terrestrial fiber, noted Bitange Ndemo, Kenya's permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication. By next November, he said, countries should be debating issues of too much bandwidth and the darker issues of the Internet, such as cybercrime. Participants from the four countries voiced their concerns over the consistency and reliability of technology, arguing that system failures cause a loss of business for which business owners are not compensated. Ndemo, however, challenged participants to first address issues of online content, adding that the cost of Internet will only fall if people can access local, as opposed to international, content. "It will be criminal for Google.com to come all the way from California to digitize our books while we have unemployed graduates in the streets," Ndemo said. "We have so much knowledge to convert to digital format."

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Internet challenges, day two blog
by Rebecca Wanjiku 11 Nov '08

11 Nov '08

It was supposed to be the forum where Kenya demonstrated we can get the internet working for all conference users but the internet provider, a big company that prides itself in extensive infrastructure could not get the wireless up and running its day two and no internet still... How embarrassing! liveblog will be up in 2 min Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/

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PROGRAM - TANDAA 08
by Lucy Odhiambo 11 Nov '08

11 Nov '08

Dear All, Please find herewith the program for Tandaa 08. The program is herewith. Venue: Kenyatta International Conference Centre - TSAVO conference room Date: Friday 14th November 2008 Time: 8.30am to 4.30pm We look forward to seeing you there! Regards, Lucy Gachui-Odhiambo Communications Manager Kenya ICT Board 12th Floor Telposta Towers Koinange Lane PO Box 27150 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Cell 0737- 839047 Tel: 254-020-2093040 www.ict.go.ke ICT-logo-02.jpg

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EA IGF forum live blog
by Rebecca Wanjiku 10 Nov '08

10 Nov '08

Follow the sessions online..... beckyit.blogspot.com Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/

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