Listers

http://www.iisd.org/publications/pub.aspx?pno=1619

The Kenya ICT Action Network, or KICTAnet for short, presents itself as a good example of an 

organization that has been successful at fostering meaningful, substantive online debate 

among stakeholders of different backgrounds. KICTAnet was launched in late 2004 using 

mailing lists as its core communication and coordination mechanism. It was brought to life 

by a combination of private forces as well as foreign donor money after several organizations 

involved in ICT policy had lamented the lack of an open and inclusive national policy process 

in Kenya. It has developed into a broad platform for discussion of ICT policy and related issues. 

Operationally, KICTAnet does so through the use of multiple mailing lists, with dedicated lists 

for stakeholder groups (e.g., academia, civil society and the private sector), administrative lists, 

and lists for committees and projects that are created for different purposes. As an example 

of the level of activity that it enjoys, in the month of July 2011 the “ICT policy discussions” list 

received more than 500 messages and there is a clear trend toward increased activity. On the 

technological side, KICTAnet uses Mailman, an open source mailing list manager for Linux 

maintained by the Free Software Foundation. Mailman uses the SMTP (outgoing email) protocol 

and all users receive new messages and replies in their email inboxes as plain text, thus building 

on a well-established and available technology, yet using little bandwidth. This is an important 

consideration in a developing context, where bandwidth could act as a major constraint.

The network quickly became actively engaged in the ICT policy process in Kenya, its 

activities expanding beyond cyberspace and into the real world. An early and significant 

victory for KICTAnet came right after its inception, when it managed to convince the Kenyan 

government to let it take charge of organizing the multistakeholder consultations for a draft 

ICT bill. In addition to its discussion boards, KICTAnet organizers used “workshops, seminars, 

[…] roundtable discussions and constituency-level forums” to develop a common position 

on the proposed bill. In June 2005 it further worked with the Ministry of Information and 

Communications, other government agencies and private stakeholders to organize a policy 

workshop, the output of which was incorporated into the bill. 

With a national ICT policy framework in place, KICTAnet has turned its attention to 

other pressing issues and is currently engaged in two projects, one concerning e-waste 

management and the other concerning the problem of cybercrime against women. It 

further puts itself at the centre of a broad movement that fostered the East African Internet 

Governance Forum, and it keeps moving forward with new initiatives. 

KICTAnet’s success shows the potential of online discussion forums. On one hand, although 

it started as a mere discussion space, it soon morphed into something more, becoming a 

catalyst for ICT policy. On the other hand, much of the substantive policy discussion that 

KICTAnet has engendered through its mailing list has had impacts in areas outside of it. The 

prevailing lesson here is that KICTAnet has used discussion lists as only one tool, deploying a 

host of other tools when necessary to facilitate constructive multistakeholder cooperation.

Sources: KICTAnet (2011); KICTAnet (2012); Munyua & Mureithi (2007).

> Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:10:45 -0500
> From: me@benakoh.com
> Subject: [kictanet] New Book and New Report on Internet Public Policy Dialogue Available for Download
> CC: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
> To: ggithaiga@hotmail.com
>
> Hi All,
>
> I did promise a while back to circulate links to a book under
> development. I had mentioned the important lesson learned from kictanet
> - on online policy dialogue. I recall suggesting that "lurkers" value
> and benefit from participation on the list. And that there are
> interesting ways in which a framework can be used to evaluate (and
> design) long term sustainable ICT projects in Africa, broadly and
> perhaps, Kenya more specifically.
>
> The links below point to a) toolkit on facilitating public policy
> dialogue; and b) to a country report in which some of the tools in the
> toolkit was used to analyze a specific country situation.
>
> Thanks for opening up your network to lurkers and learners. Hope you
> enjoy the publications.
>
> Best,
> Ben
>
>
>
> New Book: Akoh,B., Egede-Nissen, B., & Creech, H. (2012). Toolkit on
> Internet Public Policy Dialogue: Tools for the Practitioner. IISD.
> Available at: http://www.iisd.org/publications/pub.aspx?pno=1619.
> Download for free.
>
> This Toolkit can be used by new or emerging public policy groups seeking
> to understand and support public policy dialogue with stakeholders. It
> is based on two central activities: the gathering of evidence to support
> policy recommendations, and the securing of consent among the
> stakeholders to be affected by policy change.
>
> ----
>
> New Report: Akoh, B. (2012). Supporting Multistakeholder Internet Public
> Policy Dialogue in a Least Developed Country: The Togo Experience.
> IISD:Canada. Available at:
> http://www.iisd.org/publications/pub.aspx?pno=1683.
>
> This case study for Togo, a least developed country, illustrates how
> multistakeholder dialogue can identify priorities and challenges for the
> development and deployment of the Internet in support of the country's
> economic, social and environmental needs. Information and communication
> technology (ICT) growth in Africa has been steady in the past five
> years, with impacts on the economic and social landscape. Grassroots
> involvement and local level policy consultations should be considered an
> intrinsic part of the process of developing national priorities and
> objectives for ICTs and the Internet.
>
> _______________________________________________
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> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
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>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ggithaiga%40hotmail.com
>
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.