- KICTANet - KICTANet

Norwegian standards body implodes over OOXML controversy
by waudo siganga 04 Oct '08

04 Oct '08

Hi All - Last time some 3 colleagues from KEBS TC attended a meeting in Geneva. Is this thing over or what? [1]http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081003-norwegian-standa rds-body-implodes-over-ooxml-controversy.html Waudo =C References 1. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081003-norwegian-standards-body-impl… Life is but a series of decisions and consequences therefrom

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skunkworks@innovation tomorrow
by Gakuru Alex 03 Oct '08

03 Oct '08

You are most welcome! A free event for everyone to discover great technologies, learn about the best software solutions Kenya has to offer and meet the community that develops it. Visit a range of exhibitors, solutions, and meet some great people and projects along the way. We have a wonderful line-up of technologies including • Mobile devices communications solutions • Games • ERPs • content applications, • educational applications • Demonstration of FOSS-based locally developed software • Demonstration of proprietary-based locally developed software Come and explore the new world of technology freedom 8AM TO 5PM SAT 4TH OCTOBER, PANAFRIC HOTEL Regards, Alex

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Digital quality of life
by John Maina 02 Oct '08

02 Oct '08

http://www.itif.org/files/DQOL.pdf

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Computer for sale...
by Mike Bullut 02 Oct '08

02 Oct '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Michael Kipsang Bullut <kipsangb(a)gmail.com> Date: 2008/10/2 Subject: Computer for sale... To: Africa ICT Network <africaICTnet(a)googlegroups.com>, Consolata Youth Group <consolata_youth_group(a)yahoogroups.com>, Jomo Kenyatta University Agriculture & Technology Alumni <jkuatalumni(a)yahoogroups.com>, Keeping It Real <keepingitrealafrica(a)yahoogroups.com>, Kenya Computers < kenya-computers(a)googlegroups.com>, Young Kenyan Talent < young-kenyan-talent(a)googlegroups.com>, Young Professionals Kenya < youngprofessionals_ke(a)googlegroups.com> Cc: mike.bullut(a)gmail.com ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Michael Kipsang Bullut <kipsangb(a)iconnect.co.ke> Date: 2008/10/2 Subject: Fw: Re: My e-mail address... To: kipsangb(a)gmail.com -- Original message -- From: "jevis" <jevis(a)iconnect.co.ke> To: "Michael Kipsang Bullut" <kipsangb(a)iconnect.co.ke> Date: Thursday 2 October 2008 07:33:47 Subject: Re: My e-mail address... Hi. compaq monitor - pentium 3. compaq keyboard - ups , cpu, printer Epson LQ870 - dot matrix black & white. all at 12,000/= k.shs. deepti. - Michael Kipsang Bullut wrote: This is Michael from Internet Solutions, we've just spoken on the phone. Please send me the details for the computer you want to sell. Thank you. --- ___________________________________________ Sent with eCorrei - http://ecorrei.sf.net/ -- "To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wildflower...hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour..." ~ William Blakeg. -- -- "The computer programmer . . . is a creator of universes for which he alone is the lawgiver. . . . No playwright, no stage director, no emperor, however powerful, has ever exercised such absolute authority to arrange a stage or a field of battle and to command such unswervingly dutiful actors or troops." ~ Joseph Weizenbaum... --

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Kenya Internet Governance Forum (Kenya IGF): Opening the Internet Governance Debate in East Africa: ³Thinking Globally; Acting Locally²
by Harry Hare 02 Oct '08

02 Oct '08

Dear Colleagues The Kenya ICT Board (KICTB) in conjunction with the Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC), the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet), the East African ICT for Development Network (EA ICT4D) and other participating organisations are pleased to announce the Kenya Internet Governance Forum (Kenya IGF) to be held on the 14th of October, 2008 at the Jacaranda hotel in Westlands. The Kenya IGF will offer a central forum through which Internet stakeholders in Kenya can contribute to the global Internet Governance Forum. The Kenya IGF is a follow up to the KICTANet mailing list discussions on Internet Governance, which were held in August 2008, and aimed at beginning to identify and explore national level Internet Governance issues. The national forum aims at: · creating awareness on IGF issues, · instituting a consensus building process to develop a common understanding of Kenyan Internet Governance issues and · building policy capacity in order to enable meaningful participation in global Internet policy, governance and development. The outcome of the Kenya IGF will be collated with that from the other national IGF¹s which will take place in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, to form the agenda for the East African IGF (EAIGF) scheduled for 10th-12th November 2008, Nairobi Kenya. As a key player in the Internet industry, it is my pleasure to invite you to the Kenya IGF. Below is a summary of the programme: ++++++++++++++++++++++ 08:45 - 09:00 Registration 09:00 - 09:10 Opening Remarks - Paul Kukubo, CEO, KICTB 09:10 - 09:30 What is internet governance and why should we care? - Brian Longwe/KENIC 09:30 - 10:00 Kenyan stakeholders IG issues: KICTANet Online Discussion Report; validating issues discussed John Walubengo/Mwende Njiraini 10:00 - 10:10 Government & the IGF Charles J. K. Njoroge, Director General, CCK 10:10 - 10:30 Official Launch of Kenya IGF - Dr. Bitange Ndemo, PS, Ministry of Information & Communications 10:30 - 11:00 Coffee Break 11:00 - 11:30 So what are Kenya¹s Priority IG issues? Issue Prioritization & Consensus - KICTANet/KENIC 11:30 - 12:00 What Policy and Technical capacity do we need to engage? Identifying Issues for Capacity Building John Walubengo/Mwende Njiraini 12:00 - 12:30 Closing Remarks/Vote of Thanks - EAICT4D Harry Hare 12:30 Lunch +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Kindly confirm your participation by sending an email to <evelyne(a)kictanet.or.ke> Regards, Harry Hare

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ICANN 10 years old
by alice＠apc.org 01 Oct '08

01 Oct '08

ICANN: 10 Years Old Today A decade of multi-stakeholder decision-making and coordination 30 September 2008 ICANN is ten years old today. On 30 September 1998, ICANN's articles of incorporation were officially filed, recognizing "a nonprofit public benefit corporation...not organized for the private gain of any person." One month later, the first organizational meeting of the Board of Directors was held in New York at the Holiday Inn JFK and named Michael Roberts as the Interim President and CEO, and Esther Dyson as Chairman. Since then there have been two more chairman, two new CEOs, dozens of Board members, Committee members and Advisory Group members, 153 official meetings of the Board, 32 international public meetings, and, of course, thousands of individuals that have all contributed to making ICANN a leading, global, multi-stakeholder organization that runs the domain name system through a process of coordination not control. Current chairman Peter Dengate Thrush reflected today: "Ten years ago, there were 100 million people that used the Internet. Its inventors originally thought the network would only ever have to cater for one million users. But in the creation of ICANN, the Internet community and the US Government recognized they needed to privatize the domain name system to increase competition and international participation. "Thanks to that decision, and with nearly one-and-a-half billion people online, the network goes from strength to strength. And we hope, with the plans we have laid on the table, that the next ten years of extraordinary growth also occurs seamlessly for ordinary Internet user." So, what has ICANN done in the past decade? * Back in 1998, there was a single registrar, charging $50 a year for domain names; now there are over 900 ICANN-accredited registrars 1 and a domain costs from just $6 2 * Helped the domain name system grow from roughly three million domains a decade ago to over 160 million today 3 * Expanded the Internet's generic top-level domains from three (dotcom, dotnet and dotorg) to 16, including .info, .biz, .cat, .asia, .mobi and .name 4 * Seen over 35,000 domains go through the Uniform Dispute Resolution Process 5, a faster, cheaper and more efficient alternative to the law courts for ownership disputes * Developed policies with the full involvement of governments, business, the technical community and individual Net users that make the Internet's addressing system able to adapt to the radical new uses that the network is put to every year President and CEO of ICANN, Paul Twomey, said: "ICANN now represents a truly international organization. We have offices in Los Angeles, Brussels and Washington, as well as presences in a number of other countries. Board and Committee members come from every corner of the planet and the ICANN community is as diverse as the Internet itself. I look forward to seeing ICANN's success continue for the next 10 years and beyond." About ICANN: To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an address into your computer - a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn't have one global Internet. ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers like domain names (like .org, .museum and country codes like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help computers reach each other over the Internet. ICANN was formed in 1998. It is a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet's unique identifiers. ICANN doesn't control content on the Internet. It cannot stop spam and it doesn't deal with access to the Internet. But through its coordination role of the Internet's naming system, it does have an important impact on the expansion and evolution of the Internet. Media Contacts: Jason Keenan Media Advisor, ICANN P: +1 310 382 4004 E: jason.keenan(a)icann.org

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6th Open Acess International Conference
by Boster Sibande 30 Sep '08

30 Sep '08

Dear Colleagues, The Information and Communication Technologies Association of Malawi (ICTAM) in collaboration with The Royal Swedish Institute of Technology (KTH) and The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) will host the 6th International Conference on Open Access at Crossroads Hotel, Lilongwe, Malawi from 12th to14th November 2008. This will be preceded by the UbuntuNet Alliance Connect Conference: Driving effective Research and Education Networking in Africa at the same venue on 11th November 2008. The workshop on Fiber for Open Access that was supposed to be held in Nairobi, Kenya has also been moved to Lilongwe and will be held as a parallel session to the main Open Access Conference. YOU ARE INVITED. Please register to share experiences, plans or hypotheses under validation on various themes and sub themes. For more information visit http://www.wideopenaccess.net . Thanks, Boster.

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Consultancy Opportunity: Request of Interest
by Brian Longwe 30 Sep '08

30 Sep '08

Dear All, Please find attached the ToRs for the two regional consultancy opportunities for the upcoming East African IGF. We request that you circulate to your networks. The deadline for submission of interest is this coming Friday 3rd October. My apologies for the short notice. Please send your responses to: Harry Hare <harry(a)africanedevelopment.org> Regional Coordinator East African ICT4D Network Regards, Brian -- Brian Munyao Longwe e-mail: blongwe(a)gmail.com cell: + 254 722 518 744 blog : http://zinjlog.blogspot.com meta-blog: http://mashilingi.blogspot.com

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ict@innovation FOSS Certification
by Judy Okite 27 Sep '08

27 Sep '08

FYI, Kind Regards, Today's Topics: 1. ict@innovation FOSS Certification Survey (Andrea Goetzke) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:33:11 +0200 From: Andrea Goetzke <andrea.goetzke(a)newthinking.de> Subject: [Fossfa] ict@innovation FOSS Certification Survey To: fossfa(a)fossfa.net Message-ID: <48DC9E47.3000503(a)newthinking.de> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed Dear FOSSFA members and other mailing list readers, particularly - people with FOSS training and certification experience, greetings from the ict@innovation programme (http://ict-innovation.fossfa.net/) ict@innovation is currently planning an initiative to increase opportunities for certification and related quality trainings in the area of Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) in Africa. Now, we need the help of people with experience in FOSS training and certification and an overview of the ICT market and skills needs in the different countries. Such expertise will help us design the programme with a focus: - on skills that are most needed, - on certification criteria that will be valuable to both the student and employers, - and on schemes that local training organizations, such as yours, would be interested in integrating into their portfolio. Answering this brief set of questions would be a tremendous help for us: 1. YOUR TRAINING + CERTIFICATION EXPERIENCE - Which are the most popular ICT trainings and FOSS trainings that your training institution is currently offering? - Do you get requests for FOSS certifications at your institution? If so, for which type of certificate? - Do you have experience in FOSS certification? If so, please share an advantage and a disadvantage of the type(s) of certification you are offering. - Do you offer your own local certifications or internationally recognised certifications? 2. ICT SKILLS NEEDS IN YOUR COUNTRY - In general, which types of ICT skills are currently most needed in your local/national market? - In particular, which types of FOSS skills are most needed in your local/national market? - Where do the skills needs mostly come up (government, private sector ..) and how are they currently met (local SME, large vendors, foreign or national companies ..) ? - Do you see a skills gap in the near future, and in which area? Suggestions for your answer: ICT skills can be classified in * desktop related skills, * system/network administration skills, * specific application skills, however you can be more specific in your answers. 3. DEMAND FOR FOSS TRAINING + CERTIFICATION IN YOUR COUNTRY - How do you assess the interest for FOSS certification in your country (from the perspective of students, employers, and clients)? And at which level is the interest greatest (desktop, system/network administration, specific applications ..)? 4. YOUR FUTURE ACTIVITIES + POTENTIAL LINK TO ICT@INNOVATION - Would you be interested in integrating further FOSS training and certification in your training portfolio? - Which training + certification would you like to integrate? We have also opened an online discussion space on the FOSS Certification topic on our website, that we encourage you to use to express further views on the topic: < http://ict-innovation.fossfa.net/forum/public-forums/foss-certification-for… > http://ict-innovation.fossfa.net/forum/public-forums/foss-certification-for… . Please send your responses to the questionnaire by reply to this email to andrea.goetzke [at] newthinking.de, by October 6, 2008. If you know others who might be interested in participating in the survey, you are welcome to forward this email. We look forward to hearing from you, best regards, Andrea Goetzke ict@innovation international coordinator on behalf of the ict@innovation team ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Fossfa mailing list Fossfa(a)fossfa.net http://fossfa.net/mailman/listinfo/fossfa_fossfa.net End of Fossfa Digest, Vol 6, Issue 5 ************************************ -- "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

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KENYA ICT BOARD LAUNCHES THE KENYA BPO VALUE PROPOSITION AS KENCALL WINS TOP GLOBAL BPO AWARD
by Lucy Odhiambo 26 Sep '08

26 Sep '08

*KENYA ICT BOARD NEWS* KENYA ICT BOARD LAUNCHES THE KENYA BPO VALUE PROPOSITION AS KENCALL WINS TOP GLOBAL BPO AWARD * * *Nairobi, 25th September 2008* The Kenya ICT Board led a delegation of 19 Kenyans comprising BPO Operators, BPO Society, CCK, and government officials to the Birmingham Call Centre Focus Expo September 17th-18th, 2008. *The Kenya Delegation* * * 1. Catherine Ngahu – Chairperson Kenya ICT Board 2. Eunice Kariuki – Deputy CEO Marketing, Kenya ICT Board 3. Cynthia Kahumbura- Marketing Assistant Kenya ICT Board 4. Ernest Kerich –Director, Department of Film Services 5. Peter Alubale – Senior Deputy Secretary – Ministry of Information and Communications 6. Gilda Odera – Chairperson – Kenya BPO&CC Society 7. Peres Were – Marketing – Kenya BPO&CC Society 8. Christopher Wambua CCK – Head of Communications 9. Nik Nesbitt – Kencall 10. Eric Nesbitt – Kencall 11. Pauline Kamande- Kencall 12. Munjal Shah – Kentech Data ( BPO Operator) 13. Evan Mwangi – Kentech Data( BPO Operator) 14. Lucy Mwatibo Kentech ( BPO Operator) 15. Joan Ambutu – Potential investor 16. Aloisius Obare – Consumer Kenya ( BPO Operator) 17. Joe Kigara – Preciss International ( BPO Operator) 18. Bonny Butaji – Department of Film Services 19. Francis Gatho - Databit On Monday 16th September, Kenya ICT Board along with a delegation of Kenyan industry players and stakeholders launched the country's BPO Value proposition to the European market at the Call Centre Expo in Birmingham. Business Process Outsourcing has been identified as the sixth pillar of the economy in Vision 2030, delivering wealth and job creation to Kenyans. The board invested over Ksh 11million to ensure that Kenya's participation was world class. The cost included an impressive stand, a cocktail in Birmingham and another in London for the Diaspora and travel allowances for the delegation. The Deputy CEO marketing ,Eunice Kariuki explained that the Kenya BPO value proposition spells out Kenya's BPO and Off-shoring value Proposition which is summarised under 3 broad areas namely a thriving economy, a growing BPO industry and public sector commitment to the growth of the outsourcing industry. On Tuesday, 16 September 2008, only a day after the launch of the country's BPO value proposition, Kencall, the largest call center in Kenya, bagged the prestigious award of the Non-European Call Centre of the Year at the European Call Center Awards, 2008. The glamorous 2008 European Call Center Awards was held in Birmingham, UK. It was a proud day for Kenya as Kencall emerged the winner after beatingthree others finalists - 24-7 (India) who were also the winners of the award last year, EMP Marketing and Promotion (UAE) and Vodacom (South Africa). Nik Nesbit, CEO Kencall received the award a before a crowd of over 1,000 people drawn from the prestigious European Call Centre Industry, confirming that Kenya is indeed a real contender in this multibillion dollar industry. Nik Nesbitt, Kencall's CEO commented 'This is a milestone for Kencall. We owe this great achievement to the hard work and dedication of our staff at Kencall. Their thorough training and commitment to quality has been recognized as the best in the world. Congratulations to the team!' Catherine Ngahu, Kenya ICT Board's chairperson speaking at the awards dinner commented, "Kencall has outperformed some of the world's top BPO industry players, demonstrating that the Kenya BPO product stands for quality, and excellence. This is a victory for the industry and the country on the whole. We congratulate them for achieving this notable achievement and we would like to reiterate our support for all the industry players.' Business process Outsourcing (BPO) is the contracting of a third party to perform non-core functions e.g. call centre, data entry so as gain some competitive advantage such as cost saving. The main worldwide recognized BPO hubs have traditionally been Asian countries. The expo was an eye opener for BPO Operators exposing them to the international world of outsourcing. They had a chance to meet personnel from BPO companies all over the world, gain an understanding of the investment requirements to compete on a global scale and know what is available in terms of software and hardware to support their business. The Kenya ICT Board launched the Kenya Value proposition to the Diaspora on 19th September, 2008 at a cocktail at the Hilton Kensington, after a successful participation in the 10th annual Call Center Expo in Birmingham. Kenyans in London showed up in the hundreds and were exceedingly interested in BPO in Kenya. Speaking at the Expo, Eunice Kariuki the boards Deputy Managing Director in charge of marketing, reiterated the boards support for the industry saying 'Kenya ICT board is committed to marketing Kenya as an ICT destination - we have a strong value proposition and we call upon the diaspora to take advantage of the enormous opportunity and invest in the sector.' And with the opportunities in the industry explained to them, it is expected that the Diaspora will play a key role in boosting the BPO industry. The Kenya Delegation returned on 23rd September, 2008. We congratulate them on all their great achievements. - ENDS - *Enquiries* Lucy Odhiambo Email: lodhiambo(a)ict.co.ke Tel: +254 20 2093040 / 0737 839047 About Kenya ICT Board: The Kenya ICT Board was established by HE President Mwai Kibaki, as a state corporation under the State Corporations Act Cap. 446 on 19th February 2007. The achievement of an information-based society is one of the main priorities of the Government towards the realization of national development goals and objectives for wealth and employment creation. ICT is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country. Harnessing of ICT will therefore help the Government to realize a number of its key public policy objectives. The objectives of the Kenya ICT Board include: To develop, launch and sustain a globally compelling brand marketing campaign for Kenya ICT, To develop and promote competitive ICT industries in Kenya, To develop world class Kenyan ICT institutions and To increase ICT access. www.ict.go.ke About Call Center Expo, 2008 Call Center Expo has been dubbed Europe's number 1 Exhibition for customer contact solutions. It is held every year at the NEC from 16th -17th Sept in Birmingham, UK from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m daily. The Expo has four main tracks that run concurrently: Customer Management Expo, CCF Conference, Service Management Expo and European Call Centre Awards. * * This year, KenCall (www.kencall.com) has bagged the Top Non-European Call Centre Award against centers from around the world. www.callcentre-expo.co.uk -- Lucy Gachui Odhaimbo Communications Manager Kenya ICT Board 12th Floor Telposta Towers PO Box 27150 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Cell 0722 839049 Tel: 254-020-2093040 www.ict.go.ke

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