- KICTANet - KICTANet

Lions go digital: The Internet’s transformative potential in Africa
by Ali Hussein 20 Nov '13

20 Nov '13

Listers Interesting article. Following a decade of rapid urbanization and strong economic growth, Africa is going digital. While just 16 percent of the continent’s one billion people are online, that picture is changing rapidly. Evidence of what is to come can already be seen in Africa’s major cities, where consumers have greater disposable income, more than half have Internet-capable devices, and 3G networks are up and running. Significant infrastructure investment—for example, increased access to mobile broadband, fibre-optic cable connections to households, and power-supply expansion—combined with the rapid spread of low-cost smartphones and tablets, has enabled millions of Africans to connect for the first time. There is a growing wave of innovation as entrepreneurs and large corporations alike launch new web-based ventures. Read on: http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/High_Tech_Telecoms_Internet/Lions_go_digit… Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad

1 0

ARE WE ROLLING BACK THE ICT GAINS OF THE LAST 10 YEARS?
by Ali Hussein 20 Nov '13

20 Nov '13

Listers I little bird mentioned to me today that the ICT Ministry is about to sign the ITRs that Kenya declined to back in Dec 2012. As a member of the delegation that went to Dubai we fought hard to ensure that we didn't sign and that there was adequate representation across Government and the private sector. There were pre consultations both off and online and the CCK actively engaged with other stakeholders. Ultimately there were divergent views and the head of delegation declined to sign the ITRs. At that time I penned a few paragraphs on why it was a good thing that Kenya didn't sign the ITRs. http://www.alyhussein.com/2013/01/why-its-a-good-thing-kenya-didnt-sign-the… I hope that little bird was just that..a rumor. If it is true then I personally appeal to Dr. Matiangi as the head of the Ministry to please update us on this issue. Further more we expect at the very least to be engaged as stakeholders in this space as to the reasons of the turnaround. We hope Daktari that we are not jumping the gun here but as you may well understand we are concerned.. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad

1 0

FW: [africs-ig] APC is hiring: GISWatch Coordinator
by Grace Githaiga 19 Nov '13

19 Nov '13

Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 12:12:06 +0200 From: emilar(a)apc.org To: africs-ig(a)lists.apc.org Subject: [africs-ig] APC is hiring: GISWatch Coordinator Good day, Please distribute widely. The successful candidate will join APC’s Communication and Information Policy Programme (CIPP) team as coordinator for Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch), a premier platform for civil society perspectives on the state of the Information Society at global, regional and national levels. Main purpose of job The GISWatch coordinator is responsible for the overall coordination of the GISWatch initiative in order to not just sustain it, but to grow it and increase its impact as an information, research and advocacy platform for the development of an inclusive, fair and open internet and information society. This includes resource mobilisation, building and managing strategic partnerships, planning and production of annual and special reports, animation and maintenance of the GISWatch website and online community, and, promotion, outreach and dissemination, including launch activities. Start date As soon as possible Deadline for applications 29 November 2013 http://www.apc.org/en/news/job-opportunity-global-information-society-watch… Regards, Emilar --------- Emilar Vushe Africa Policy Projects Coordinator Association for Progressive Communications (APC) www.apc.org _______________________________________________ AfriCS-IG mailing list Info and options: http://lists.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/africs-ig To unsubscribe, email africs-ig-unsubscribe(a)lists.apc.org

1 0

Fwd: [Chapter-delegates] Internet Society Expresses Concern over Impact of IPR Provisions in TPP Agreement Draft
by Barrack Otieno 18 Nov '13

18 Nov '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Wende Cover <cover(a)isoc.org> Date: Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 6:44 PM Subject: [Chapter-delegates] Internet Society Expresses Concern over Impact of IPR Provisions in TPP Agreement Draft To: "chapter-delegates(a)elists.isoc.org" <chapter-delegates(a)elists.isoc.org> Internet Society Expresses Concern over Impact of Intellectual Property Rights Provisions in Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) Draft The Internet Society is concerned that the global Internet may be harmed if countries adopt Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) provisions contained in the recently leaked Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) draft. We do not believe that these provisions are consistent with basic principles of transparency, due process, accountability, proportionality and the rule of law. The leaked TPP Agreement is a complex set of rights and principles related to IPR and we believe that the current draft reflects a disproportionate balance of rights in favor of intellectual property owners. In addition to other issues, these provisions could also have important consequences for online privacy, a critical dimension in light of heightened awareness worldwide about the importance of protecting the privacy and security of end-users. In particular, with respect to intermediary liability, some of the articles appear to assign new levels of responsibility to private entities and create an environment where content will be subject to extensive filtering. Some draft provisions would impose an unparalleled set of conditions on intermediaries that would allow them to escape liability and could ultimately lead to content blocking and affect legitimate speech and online expression. Such measures are neither new nor original; they have appeared in similar forms in other national or international contexts. On the whole, these measures have proven to be inefficient or unworkable. They have failed to adequately address the stated problems or to provide sufficient answers to the existing challenges. The Internet Society has advocated for intellectual property discussions to adhere to minimum standards of process and substance. In June 2013, we released a paper in which we called on the international community to apply standards such as transparency, due process, accountability and compliance to the rule of law to all intellectual property discussions that relate to the Internet. Similarly, we have been vocal in advancing these principles in various fora, including the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). We also joined other organizations (1) in a statement made in 2012, urging the negotiators of the TPP *“to make [the] process more transparent and inclusive, following the multistakeholder model, at least for those chapters of the agreement pertaining to the Internet.”* Throughout this process, the Internet Society has taken the position of not commenting on substantive issues based on leaked texts. At the time, we understood that the leaked texts provided only a snapshot of the issues while many provisions were omitted. The most recent leak, released by Wikileaks, appears to be the complete draft of the TPP’s Intellectual Property chapter and has made us reconsider our position. That we feel compelled to comment on leaked versions of the TPP demonstrates that these basic process standards have been ignored. In an era where the global economy depends on information and networks, we believe that discussions that affect the Internet and its users should reflect these basic principles of transparency and openness. Once again, the Internet Society calls upon the TPP negotiators to abide by standards of transparency as they complete this critical international agreement that will impact Internet users worldwide. We also urge the negotiating parties to reconsider the TPP’s intellectual property provisions and to ensure they don’t have a negative impact on innovation, creativity, prosperity and market participation. (1) The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), InternetNZ, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), Open Media, Global Voices Advocacy and the International Federation of Libraries and Archives (IFLA). _______________________________________________ As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254-20-2498789 Skype: barrack.otieno http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/

1 0

Welcome Ceremony & Presidents Opening of ICANN 48 - Argentina.
by Bob Omondi 18 Nov '13

18 Nov '13

Dear team, The official welcome and opening ceremony of ICANN 48 is currently underway in Argentina. You can follow remotely on: http://buenosaires48.icann.org/en/schedule/mon-welcome And choose what suits your B/W. Thank you and happy listening! Bob.

1 0

The road to surveillance is paved with good intentions – and warning signs
by Matunda Nyanchama 18 Nov '13

18 Nov '13

The road to surveillance is paved with good intentions – and warning signs Iris scanning and GPS tracking are increasingly central to the delivery of aid. The consequences could be devastating Many refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict have had their irises scanned, as technology becomes more central to the delivery of aid. Photograph: Ian Waldie/Getty Images From databases to mobile phone apps and SMS systems, GPS tracking and humanitarian drones to biometric registration, new technologies are rapidly becoming central to the delivery of humanitarian and development aid. Refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict are having their irises scanned and their identity documents digitised. Nurses in Nigeria are using SMS systems to communicate HIV test results to health facilities. Cash is being delivered to those living in Kenya's slums through the M-Pesa mobile-phone banking system. The drive behind this technological and data evangelism is well intentioned. The usefulness of these tools has played out repeatedly on the humanitarian stage, be it through the use of Twitter analysis to map the spread of cholera in Haiti or the distribution of smart cards to flood-affected populations in Pakistan. New technologies have made delivering a id faster, easier and cheaper. Yet the technological revolution in foreign aid – like many other well-meaning innovations – is not without risk. A clear implication of adopting new technologies is the creation of previously unimagined amounts of data about the individuals who receive humanitarian and development assistance. Often, the collection and retention of data is an objective of the intervention – as with biometric identity registration systems in refugee camps, for example, or the establishment of a database of HIV-infected pregnant women to monitor transmission rates. But in many more cases, it is incidental to the use of technology. Mobile phones generate call and SMS records that not only contain troves of data, but produce dramatically larger stores of information about an individual's location, routines, contacts and network. When mobile phones are used in health-monitoring programmes, or for crisis mapping of human rights violations, they also facilitate the generation of particularly sensitive information. The collection, digitisation and dissemination of personal data raises serious issues about the ability of humanitarian organisations to protect such information. Organisations of this nature operate in complex environments with outdated information security practices and inconsistent access to electricity. Data protection standards are virtually non-existent and data is shared fluidly between organisations, agencies, donors, and NGOs. Most disconcertingly, data is also often shared with (or accessible by) two entities that do not necessarily operate under the same humanitarian ethics and with the same well-intentioned objectives – the private sector, and the state. There is a real danger that the aid community is laying the groundwork for pervasive – and potentially devastating – surveillance. By encouraging the sharing of incredibly sensitive information through insecure mobile networks, the establishment of national centralised databases of invasive biometric information, the analysis of location data derived from mobile phones, or the use of private-public partnerships to deliver mobile access to financial services, these organisations are providing the building blocks for surveillance states. If governments access this information – either because humanitarian partners provide it to them, or they demand access – they could build profiles based on data about location, ethnicity, religion, gender, land ownership, political affiliation, financial status or health. Victims who report human rights violations might be the subject of reprisals, people living with HIV could be exposed, members of particular ethnic groups monitored. Centralised identity databases have a tragic legacy of being used to facilitate mass human rights violations – look no further than the role of Rwanda's ID cards (pdf) in facilitating the 1994 genocide, or the way in which South Africa's 1950 Population Registration Act laid the foundations for apartheid. Imagine the implications of government access to the data collected by refugee agencies, peacekeeping forces, or NGOs monitoring violence against women. The use of these technologies for the collation of data is particularly worrying given the lack of any effective data protection framework in most developing countries. Of course, such programmes are only possible because of the absence of legal protections; it would be impossible for any European-based enterprise to collect location data on minorities, require SMS-reporting about drug adherence, or establish large databases of sensitive information without safeguards. This illustrates the curious double standard applied to the adoption of new technologies in developing countries and humanitarian emergencies. Whereas similar ID systems, biometric databases, and health registers have met serious resistance in the UK, Germany and Israel, and national condemnation of state surveillance reverberated around the US and Europe in the aftermath of the Snowden revelations, these same surveillance-facilitating technologies are being promoted by foreign aid donors hailing from western states. Funds have even been earmarked particularly for technology-based interventions by the US aid agency USAid, World Bank, the UK's Department for International Development (DfID) and EuropeAid. The very real danger of aid facilitating surveillance was highlighted by the revelation that EuropeAid, to which DfiD is a contributor, has been used to support the security forces of Belarus, Europe's last dictatorship, with the aim of enhancing border security. But the implications of aid are not always so obvious. Whether it might be helping to create a legacy of state surveillance in developing countries is a crucial question that needs to be asked of DfiD and other aid agencies. The road to surveillance may be paved with good intentions, but the warning signs are everywhere. The challenge now is to heed them. Carly Nyst is head of international advocacy at Privacy International. This blog draws on the organisation's report, Aiding Surveillance, published on Tuesday, which explores how development and humanitarian aid initiatives are enabling surveillance in developing countries. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matunda Nyanchama, PhD, CISSP; mnyanchama(a)aganoconsulting.com Agano Consulting Inc.; www.aganoconsulting.com; Twitter: nmatunda; Skype: okiambe ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manage your ICT risks! We are the experts you need! The trusted partners you deserve! Call: +1-888-587-1150 (Canada) +254-20-267-0743 (Kenya) or info(a)aganoconsulting.com Licensed by Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The best revenge is massive success" - Frank Sinatra----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This e-mail, including attachments, may be privileged and may contain confidential or proprietary information intended only for the addressee(s). Any other distribution, copying, use, or disclosure is unauthorized and strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and permanently delete the message, including any attachments, without making a copy. Thank you.

1 0

Internship for UCT 2nd Year student in Game Programming -Dec 2013-Feb 2014
by Jimmy Macharia 16 Nov '13

16 Nov '13

Dear Robert Might you know any one/company that might be interested to take one student in the name of Mwangi WANJOHI ( from university of Cape Town) for 3 months internship in Game Programming from December 2013 to Feb 2014? If so let me know. Thank you Prof. Jimmy K.N.Macharia, Associate Professor of Information Systems &Technology, and Dean, School of Science & Technology, United States International University P.O Box 14634-00800 Nairobi. WORK +254-(20)3606299 www.usiu.ac.ke<http://www.usiu.ac.ke> [MSc IST Email Signature] DISCLAIMER: All the information contained in this email message is strictly confidential and may be legally privileged. Such information is intended exclusively for the use of the designated recipient(s). Any disclosure, copying or distribution of all or part of the information contained herein or other use of or the taking of any action in reliance upon this information by third parties is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this email message in error please delete it immediately and notify the university through email at ulc(a)usiu.ac.ke<mailto:[email protected]>

1 0

State cancels the Laptop Project tender process?
by Walubengo J 16 Nov '13

16 Nov '13

NAIROBI, KENYA: The Government has now cancelled the Laptop Project tender for schools over a budget deficit as bidders exceeded the budgetary projections. Education Cabinet Secretary Prof Jacob Kaimenyi announced that the tender process was canceled as lowest bidder quoted Ksh 32B against an anticipated budget of Ksh 20B. read more @ http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000095732&story_title=jubilee-la… ~~~~ Not sure if it is true but I think Kenyans need to ask serious questions on this. We cannot spend our time and effort putting forward ideas on how to best implement a high-risk project and then suddenly we are told it is over...kapput.. finito..go home. just like that! For example If money is the problem why not modify the project to fit 20B the budget? I still think 20B would be sufficient if this project was tilted and tweaked towards the form1 student labs or even university students. The idea was noble and timely but execution and target audience for me (not Yawe :-) has always been doubtful. Right now we are told suppliers asked for 32B Ksh and but we had 20B so cancel the project, no questions asked and perhaps wait for 2-3yrs later to read from the Auditor General about how the 20B was (mis?)used. I think the CS for ICT should make a pitch to salvage the project in the modified form - assuming ofcourse the project was truly intended. walu.

10 14

Should Kenya bite the bullet and roll back the Telkom Kenya Privatisation?
by Ali Hussein 15 Nov '13

15 Nov '13

Listers By all intents and purposes this privatisation has not worked. Maybe we should go the Rwanda way and roll back the dice... http://www.nation.co.ke/business/Treasury-ignored-AG-advice-on-Telkom-deal/… Lessons learnt? Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "Kujikwaa si kuanguka, bali ni kwenda mbele" (To stumble is not to fall but a sign of going forward) - Swahili Proverb Sent from my iPad

5 4

Week 1: Online Discussion on Promoting Internet Freedoms in Africa (November 11 - 15)
by Lillian Nalwoga 15 Nov '13

15 Nov '13

Hello All, As described in the introductory email yesterday , we're glad to kick off discussions on this important topic, and look forward to feedback from the wealth of knowledge and experience here. We imagine there's a lot to say on the *Status of Internet Freedom in African Countries, *but let's start with the summary of Freedom House's 2013 *Freedom on the Net *report, which shows the status in some African countries - Nigeria, Angola, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco. As seen in the attached image (below), Sudan and Ethiopia are *not free*; Kenya and South Africa are *free*; while the rest are *partly free*. You can also see an interactive map of African (and other countries) and details of the measurement at http://freedomhouse.org/report-types/freedom-net. With this background, we'd like to start Week 1 by asking for your views on issues of online freedom of expression. However, we'll also look at themes such as Internet Intermediary Liability; censorship and surveillance incidents; regulations, laws and policies governing freedom of expression online; and perspectives on the African Convention on Cyber Security. We invite you to look at the questions below, and please feel free to answer them directly or speak generally to the issues of the week. *We would like to here from you on:- * 1. What are the major issues surrounding online freedom of expression in Africa or in your country? 2. What convergences and tensions exist between freedom of expression and privacy? 3. What are the implications of approaching the balance between freedom of expression and privacy from a freedom of expression–centric point of view? 4. What actions can governments, civil society, media and the private sector take to balance privacy with freedom of expression online? 5. What is the best way to empower users to stay safe online while protecting their freedom of expression? Thank you for your contribution to this 4-week discussion, and please note that apart from the general introductory eMails and summaries we provide, we are reading through every reply and will provide a general summary at the end of the week. The summaries from the 4 weeks will feed into the final report which will be made available on PIN and CIPESA websites, and will also be shared with this list. For more information on the discussions, please feel free to refer to http://www.cipesa.org/2013/11/online-discussions-on-promoting-internet-free… We look forward to your thoughts on the questions above… and specifically, we'd like to know what you think about the attached map regarding the assessment of African countries in the 2013 *Freedom on the Net* report. Best regards, -- Lillian Nalwoga CIPESA www.cipesa.org

4 4