ChangeWaves

Telecentres struggle to take-off in Rwanda
The government may lose Rwf155m if the requirements needed to operate equipment Public Information Kiosks (PIK) are not met soon. The equipment is practically not functioning due to low connectivity among others. A PIK unit is basically composed of a computer, a kiosk frame, a kiosk touch screen, a printer, a coin operator and a secondary screen connected via the computer and is a typical web and internet based system that operates under site-kiosk software. The Kiosks are currently run by Rwanda Development Board (RDB).
The government purchased 31 Public Information Kiosks and installed in various institutions. In an email sent to The New Times, Gilbert Ntambara, in charge of the project in RDB, revealed that the one kiosk costs £5,510 (Approx. Rwf 5m)
“All the machines have been tested and are operational. But with our situation of unstable power and internet, sometimes you find that they are not operating in case of failure of any of the above,” responded Ntambara.

South Africa hits 5m Net users
South Africa should reach the six million mark by the end of the year, says Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx.
In what is being considered a significant milestone for communications in the country, the number of South Africans to have access to the Internet has hit the five million mark. Research conducted by local analyst house World Wide Worx, in conjunction with Cisco, shows that local Internet penetration has increased to 10%. (more…)

The Kenya ICT Board and TNS Research International are conducting an online survey to understand Internet usage and potential among Kenyans.
You can participate in this online study that will take you no more than 25 minutes. Your opinion and feedback will help in identifying existing gaps and potential with regard to Internet availability and usage in Kenya.

You may access the Report of this study from the Kenya ICT Board website once they are published from February 2010.This survey is available only for a short period. To start the survey, please click here

I literally stumbled upon this interesting article that highlights the need for strong ICT policies in Africa. The writer notes that this will help African countries either become an integral part of the global knowledge economy or find themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide.

Publishing scientific findings and accessing the research of others is an essential part of the academic process, particularly to encourage debate and foster innovation. But many research institutions in Africa cannot afford to subscribe to many scientific journals, making it hard for scientists to keep up with research. Some institutions cannot even afford to promote and share the results of their research. Only a few people see their results and much of the research findings on the continent are going unnoticed.

The open access movement removes barriers to academic literature and offers opportunities to participate in the wider research and teaching community, ensuring that Africa does not end up on the wrong side of the `digital divide’.

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Can young Ugandans use the internet to help them influence decisions and become better leaders during this electoral period?

As we slide/ bounce/ stagger (pick your choice!) or even merely enter or stumble upon AD 2010, a decade of the 21st century is already behind us. How special the beginning of the Second Millennium sounded, and seemed, at the time! I was hardly in University. The world was as it should be as it always is when you are still being nursed at lovely mother’s breast.

Ten years have passed away really fast. During this decade, I have experienced first hand the trials and triumphs (most were, which is contrary to popular belief about life in Africa) of a Ugandan life. It is these trials and triumphs that saw the birth of ChangeWaves in early 2008. ChangeWaves hopes to make Uganda and the East African region better than it is through the use of Information and Communication Technologies for Development. (more…)

The 12 day intense research training to 17 participants from Uganda, Kenya,

A group photograph of the participants of the 2009 VAW Research training in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Rwanda, South Africa and Sudan ended on a high note last Friday at the Christian Relief and Development Agency (CRDA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Divided into five groups, the participants had to demonstrate what they had learnt over the two weeks. The results were amazing. Five research protocols were developed. The research topics were as diverse as the faces in the room. (more…)

The tireless work and effort of grassroots organisers, researchers, policy-makers and advocates over the past two decades have put violence against women and girls (VAW/G) on the map as a critical issue to be addressed in the international arena. Development partners have dedicated funds and provide technical assistance for research and programmatic efforts aimed at preventing and responding to this social vice.
However, most of the interventions against VAW/G and programs developed around the same lack evidence to support their programs. One reason for the lack of information is the difficulty involved in obtaining reliable data for advocacy and to influence the policy making process.
It is upon this backdrop that the Gender Based Prevention Network, Addis Continental Institute of Public Health, PATH, ICRW and other partners have gathered 17 researcher, activists, academicians and others for a two week training on researching on violence against women. The 17 participants are drawn from Rwanda, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia and South Africa. Over the past week we have been looking at the following: (more…)

AFRICA: African universities to buy 60 GB bandwidth and set up continental network
Almost unnoticed African universities have come together to sort out their bandwidth problems in the new era of fibre. In April 2010, European NREN Dante will start to implement with eastern Africa’s UbuntuNet Alliance, a continental network to link up African universities with plentiful bandwidth to their colleagues across the globe. On 1 November West and Central Africa will set up its own network organisation to join the process. African universities currently spend an estimated US$1.4 million and are destined to become important players in network development.
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Africa: ICT is Transforming the Continent Says Kagame Despite being a ‘late-comer’ in embracing the use of Information Communication Technology, Africa has embraced ICT tools that have put the continent on the right development path. “Being late-comers in embracing, and indeed starting from a low base in creating information and communication technology sectors, ICT is nonetheless fundamentally transforming our nations and continent,” Kagame told the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 2009 Summit which opened in Geneva, Switzerland yesterday.
Kagame said that since the October 2007 Connect Africa summit held in Kigali, investments in communications infrastructure across the continent have exceeded $ 8 billion.
“These billions of dollars in investment and returns in Africa are neither aid nor loans that lead to national debt traps,” Kagame told his audience. In the Rwandan context, Kagame said that the country has registered a number of developments in the telecoms sector since it hosted the Connect Africa Summit

Mobile Phones: When style dictates your choice
Mobile phones are increasingly becoming efficient and convenient tools for communication and at a greater rate reducing the over reliance on the
traditional PC. With the high end sets many can transact business, view,send or respond to e-mails, blog, send and receive pictures etc while on the
move.
The market is now awash with different phone makes, advertised every week,on the billboards, television, magazine and online advertisement, It is
sometimes difficult to find unbiased information from the commercial attacks. Buyers, however, find it difficult to make informed choices.
“There are buyers who don’t know what they want in their phone,” says Samsung phone co-ordinator, East and Central Africa Martin Njoroge. Top-notch brands such as Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG and Motorola make handsets at regular intervals. The latest handsets on the shelf are blended
with style and high-end functionality.
Source: The East African Standard

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Africa may have new fibre-optic internet links, but the continent’s extremes mean that even gaining access to the web is a challenge for many of the continent’s poor. Find more pictures here

In Kibera, a sprawling shanty town not far from some of Nairobi's most important addresses, there are few signs of the new fibre optic broadband. here, just getting online is a challenge and the costs are high

Away from Kibera, though, change is afoot. Many of Nairobi's coffee shops now offer free or low-cost wireless Internet, and tech ethusisats have access to the latest computers and 3G mobile phones

In Nairobi, fibre optic links are being rolled out in the city centre. Coils of cable are common sight as are the bobbing heads of workmesn digging trenches. The men are paid appr 1.40 USD for every metre laid

The streets of Kampala, Last week

For over one week, I had heard over the news the hullabaloo involving the Kabaka’s (King of the largest ethnic group in Uganda) impending visit to one of the areas in his Kingdom and government’s feelings about it. As it turned out, the Kabaka was determined to visit his subjects while government feared for his security. Whatever the reason, the subjects took the streets and the government responded albeit forcefully.

Anyway Thursday last week was rather weird in away. I sat in my office that is about five minutes drive from Kampala City centre and did my work gleefully. At the close of business, it was time to head home and a friend told me I couldn’t drive to town. Reason, there were Mambas , police patrol cars, anti riot police men fighting with goons to restore

On the outskirts of Kampala city

calm in the hitherto serene Kampala city.

As a person who has been under one president for most of my life, I don’t have stories of the Idi Amin era, violence is one thing I have never experienced. I was scared. We were forced to house friends who also couldn’t get to their homes because of the insecurity. But even with five girlfriends in on house, it was not like a girl’s day out. We stayed glued to the television sets and radio just to hear the latest developments. But then about four radio stations were closed down, some journalists arrested while others stopped from holding their talk shows. As a journalist, I was worried.

Whilst bearing a huge responsibility for shaping public opinion and action, how can the media ensure that there is objective reporting of events. You can tell me about this

But if the foundations crumble, what will the citizens do. I have rephrased a popular statement in the Bible. I think the citizens have to become more sober and forge a way forward.

As members of the third sector in Uganda, ChangeWaves joined other CSOs through the Uganda National NGO forum to come up with a stand about last week’s events. Download the statement by Civil Society on the recent riots in Kampala and neighbouring Districts