Recently, Google put on the hyped G-Nigeria Day, which was actually a 3-day Google-fest in Lagos. Reading the impressions others had about the event was telling - most Nigerians seemed to be ambivalent about its worthiness to their efforts.

Yet Oladejo Fabolude over at Digital Crossings seems to have found the real essence of the event in his post I Went For Google’s G-Nigeria Day And All I Got Was A Lousy T-Shirt:

What Google need to take away from this experiment, get a bunch of techies into a room, provide Wi-Fi, provide them a little prodding to get them headed where you want them to go, move out of the way and watch them at work. Kind of like the Indian experiment that put a computer in a wall and just let street children do what they wanted – with amazing results.

From that event, I got to meet several Nigerian tech bloggers, exchanged a couple of phone numbers, blog addresses, followed and was followed by some more people on Twitter. I got a few answers to some tech issues from the audience and had some deficiencies about my blog pointed out. In order words, I connected with people – and that was the success of G-Nigeria Day. That was just me, I could see many other people connecting much better with the Google personnel and each other.

And that's the brilliance of Google's efforts in Africa - get ICT implementers together where they can talk about technologies and methodologies, give everyone access to them, and build relationships with people creating solutions.

Now I hope they capitalize on the Nigerian enthusiasm, before Ghana lives up to its title as the ICT hub of West Africa.

Online Africa has just posted an amazing resource: the Africa countries with current National ICT Plans. These 13 African nations are a quick list of governments that have taken the AU call to embrace ICT seriously.

African Nations with Active National ICT Plans:

Botswana:

• National: 2007-2016, grow the ICT industry, make Botswana a regional ICT hub, 6-step plan: e-government, education innovation, e-health, legal framework, tech infrastructure
• http://www.ist-africa.org/home/default.asp?page=doc-by-id&docid=2890

Cameroon:

• National: 2006-?, a ten-pronged plan that took a full 6 years to develop and submit to the government
• http://www.uneca.org/AISI/nici/Cameroon/cameroon.htm

Chad:

• National: 2007, general infrastructure plan
• http://www.uneca.org/AISI/NICI/Chad/Plan%20NICI_Tchad.pdf

Egypt:

• National: 2005-Present, a very elaborate plan focused on infrastructure and governance of ICT networks
• http://www.mcit.gov.eg/ict_sector.aspx

Ghana:

• National: 2005-Present
• http://www.ict.gov.gh/

Kenya:

• Kenya ICT Board
• Kenya ICT Action Network
• http://www.ict.go.ke/
• http://www.kictanet.or.ke/

Malawi:

• National: 2009 (final draft)
• http://www.malawi.gov.mw/ict_policy.pdf

Mauritius

• National: 2007-2011, goal is to make the ICT sector a main pillar of the economy
• http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/telcomit/?content_id=bdcf551cf8b86110VgnVCM1000000a04a8c0RCRD

Morocco:

• National: 2006
• http://www.apebi.org.ma/apebi_eng.php?id_article=536&id_rubrique=37

Rwanda:

• National: 2001-2002-2020, four 5-year National Information and Communications Infrastructure Plans, currently in phase two: improve economic environment to grow towards an information- and knowledge-based society and economy
• http://www.rita.gov.rw/laws/nici_plans.html

Seychelles:

• National: 2007
• http://www.ict.gov.sc/resources/policy.pdf

Swaziland:

• National: 2008 (draft)
• http://www.gov.sz/home.asp?pid=4322

Zimbabwe:

• National: 2010-2014 (waiting for approval), plan would promote research and development of ICT, infrastructure, education, cyber security
• http://www.africa-investor.com/article.asp?id=6439

How is this for the power of Nigeria's blogsphere: Uche Eze, the blogger behind the popular entertainment blog, Bella Naija has made the leap to the big leagues. She was just featured on the Oprah Winfrey show's Beauty Around the World.

Uche Eze's skype interview

Here's her words on the experience:

Finally, our segment – I talked about how beauty goes along with brains in Nigeria – as in – a woman should be educated and driven, I talked about Ankara, aso-ebi, the shift in body image, healthy eating, current beauty trends (Brazilian hair, Indian hair etc..LOL) some parts of the segment have to be edited so not sure what will be shown – I was too excited to take note! I then chatted with Oprah on Skype. Her main question was about women’s body image in Nigeria.



I am so grateful for this experience. It’s so hard for me to write anything personal because that is just not me. However, I really hope this encourages any and everyone because no dream or aspiration is beyond actualization. I strongly believe in speaking positive things. I always tell myself “From our lips to God’s ears”.

Hat tip to Web Trends Nigeria for the link

What is the impact of ICT on the developing world? Will expanded Internet access bring a revolution in business revenues and social advancement? How can ICT implementers translate technology headlines into practical, actionable activity?

With ICTworks we want to share expertise in sustainable ICTs for the developing world and we need your help. We need you to Guest Post with your ideas, opinions, and know-how.

Look, I'm on ICTworks!

How to Guest Post on ICTworks

1. See tweet, gadget, or article that makes you think?
2. Email us your thoughts as a short article
3. Don;t worry about spelling or grammar - we don't!
4. We'll publish the Guest Post on ICTworks
5. You revel in the fame and glory of ICTworks authorship

Yes, its that's simple! So what are you waiting for? Look for ideas that excite you and then email us today!

Without a doubt, social networking has changed the technology landscape in places like Europe and the United States. But what is the role of this technology in the Global South? The February #ICT4D Twitter Chat focused on this during a lively 90-minute dialogue between technologists, implementers, and others in the ICT4D world. (Take the Chat Survey)

1. Social networking is driving ICT adoption, but which tools, why, and to what extent?
2. How can social networking increase donor, implementer, recipient participation in development?
3. What are the gaps and limitations in social networking engagement - where doesn't it work?

What social networking technology is involved?

Vincenzo Cosenza recently published a map reinforcing the dominance of Facebook as a powerhouse in the social networking world. And with new features like Facebook Zero, its also changing the way people interact with the Internet.

While Facebook is the major player in social networking, more local and regional sites like Mixi and Hi5 also have a presence in the Global South. Many others are being rapidly launched, even using other platforms, such as SMS. In fact, on Twitter, 50% of tweets are not in English.

Older technology tools like email can be used to connect and communicate with existing social networks. Still, the idea of the social networking site as a stand-alone platform has undeniably taken hold in the developing world - 25% of Kenyans who are online do not have email addresses yet 80% of all Kenyan Internet users are on Facebook.

Social changes increase participation in development work

Not surprisingly, this month's roundtable seemed to reach a consensus around the value of social networking for international development work. Social networking has tremendous potential to give voice to the people on the "receiving" end of international assistance.

It's also helping implementers in the actual work of development. Organizations are using different social networks for different purposes - Facebook is seen as a great for public outreach and youth engagement, while Twitter is better for peer exchange and identifying new partnerships.

This is one reason that ICTworks has a Facebook empowerment strategy.

Limitations on social networking

The largest constraint on social networking's influence and reach is the limited Internet infrastructure of the Global South. Communities that are not online do not feel the impact. In addition, socio-economic barriers like literacy and education can limit adoption and growth in connected societies.

Also be warned that big numbers of Facebook or Twitter followers doesn't directly translate into meaningful interactions. In fact, during the #ICT4D Twitter Chat, we came across one group that's steadfastly held its own against the social media tide: the "big men" of Africa - ministers and other government decision makers.

Reaching government decision makers with social networks

There is a still a strong culture among government leaders that "big men" don't use computers. The feeling that typing is for clerks or students. However, even if government officials are not using Facebook or Twitter professionally, they may be online in their personal life.

Regardless of personal status, they are listening to what their employees, direct reports, and family hear though online social networks. After all, they're "big men" because of their skill in reading offline social networks.

Here are a few early adopters:

• President of Togo - 4,997 fans
• President of Rwanda - 6,365 fans
• President of Côte d'Ivoire - 1,576 fans

Social networking future impact on development

Social networking technology is disruptive - no longer are donors and "big men" in government the only voices that communities have; those parties can be bypassed directly to launch grassroots movements. Indeed, many government and NGO leaders are reluctant, unable, or unwilling to use technology and are in fact being "leapfrogged" by the people they serve.

As today's youth who are growing up aware of social networking technology (even in the developing world) become the leaders and decision-makers of tomorrow, the role of global communication in "mainstream" international development will grow even more rapidly. The fast-paced spread and dropping costs of mobile technology will only feed the fire.

Michael Downey is a graduate student in human-computer interaction and ICT4D at Indiana University School of Informatics, and leads the Community Infrastructure Team for OpenMRS.

"The East African blogosphere has thousands of active bloggers who cover almost every conceivable topic within a local content context. "

This is the declaration by Moses Kemibaro in his East African Standard article, We have the demand for local content, why not upload it? I think I have to disagree.

There may be thousands of bloggers, but most are writing about personal events only interesting to them, or sports events that excite football followers. I don't see our hear that many East Africans writing about the intersection of ICT and business.

Where are the voices on technology? The commentary on its business impact? Who is an expert in ICT4D? These are the bloggers I am looking for and I've only found a few in East Africa.

1. Appfrica
2. White African
3. Wanjiku's Take
4. Kenya Entrepreneur
5. Moses Kemibaro

Now according to Moses, there must be more bloggers than this in East Africa - I sure hope so as well. Who are they?

Don't forget that we're having a Twitter Chat today. We want to explore the impact of social networking technologies on businesses and communities in the developing world with our guides: ICTworks, Michael Downey, and Chloe Feinberg.

1. Social networking is driving ICT adoption, but which tools, why, and to what extent?
2. How can social networking increase donor, implementer, recipient participation in development?
3. What are the gaps and limitations in social networking engagement - where doesn't it work?

We'll start at 12-noon Eastern Time ( noon worldwide ) with introductions, then move into the discussion, using the #ICT4D hashtag in Twitter.

For those not on Twitter, you can watch the action via the handy embed below or this separate webpage:

For those new to Twitter Chats, its a freewheeling conversation around our central questions on the Twitter platform. Our hope is to learn from each other and find ways we can increase our impact using social media.

We'll archive the Chat too, in case you miss out.

Be sure to follow ICTworks on Twitter and RSVP today!

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TechTrends Nigeria has an interesting article on the Internet-based technology trends that will impact Nigerian businesses in 2010. The ones they list are:

1. Increased Internet Access
2. Growth of Web based Applications
3. Web 2.0 in Nigeria
4. Mobile Web
5. Online Video/Internet TV
6. International Web Market
7. Websites as Web Services

What do you think of their list? Are these really all the Internet trends that Nigerian businesses should look for? And which ones will have the most impact?

Read the original post here.

Tanzania, this is your opportunity to bring Africa's information online by creating Wikipedia articles in Kiswahili.

You are the wellspring of Kiswahili in East Africa. Show your paossion for the language by translating English Wikipedia articles into Kiswahili or by writing your own articles from scratch, building a richer online experience for 100 million African users who speak Kiswahili.

Prizes includes laptops, mobile phones, prepaid internet access modems, Google T-shirts, and more. Participants will also receive certificate of participation.

But you better hurry - it looks like Kenya is already dominating the contest.

Learn more here: Kiswahili Wikipedia Challenge, sponsored by Google

Last Friday, the third monthly #ICT4D Twitter Chat brought together 30 of the field's thought leaders (follow them all) to focus on and discuss ways that ICT4D can and does work with local governments, especially in situations like the recent disaster in Haiti.

Four questions guided the conversation (full transcript) which once again was a fast, free-flowing exchange of ideas:

• Do you work with local governments or bypass them? Why?
• What are the keys to project success with local governments?
• How can you work with compromised governments, like Haiti?
• What lessons for ICT have been learned so far in the Haiti relief effort?

Keys to success with local governments

One of the critical success factors identified collectively by the group was the importance of having a strategic personal relationship with a "project champion" in either a local government or other community leadership role. Because ICT4D projects by their very nature are long-term investments in the future, this local connection brings a strategic perspective and focus, as well as providing an opportunity to ensure the work is based on real, expressed needs of people in the area being served -- not just those of donors and interest groups "back home".

An interesting discussion during the event turned on the question of assigning credit for successful ICT4D implementations. While the group believed in the importance to position the local government or community champion as the driving force behind such projects, it's also important not to lose your own individual or organizational identity. Making sure people remember who helped make a solution possible will prevent costly searches for expertise in the future.

ICT networks, flattened

Learning from ICT deployments in Haiti

Working in a time-critical disaster relief context, like has been happening in Haiti in the past few weeks, brings some unique issues. Participants generally believed that when peoples' lives are on the line, it's important to "do" first, and inform others later. Waiting to get approvals from a local government in shambles is often not the best course of action.

However, major functions of ICT4D-focused relief groups should be focused on quickly identifying local "hubs" of knowledge and communication in the community, and helping rebuild communication infrastructure for these governments as well as major NGO's. Without these critical links in place, a coordinated relief effort just is not possible, resulting in wasted resources and delays in response.

In a situation like Haiti, with at least 150,000 known dead at the time of writing this article, lack of interoperability and cooperation between groups has undoubtedly cost an untold number of lives. The ICT4D community can learn from this, however, and take steps to proactively coordinate resources (e.g., local disaster contingency plans by organizations based in the community, and open standards for ICT response systems). This coordination in advance will help make the response more timely and effective in the critical hours after a disaster strikes. It's our responsibility as ICT4D professionals to work toward that end today to save lives tomorrow.

Recommended NGO's in Haiti

Finally, we asked participants to suggest some of their favorite relief organizations using ICT in Haiti. Here's a list of those shared:

• Partners In Health
• SOIL
• Sahana Foundation
• Ushahidi
• Plan International
• Hands and Feet Project
• Doctors Without Borders

Michael Downey is a graduate student in human-computer interaction and ICT4D at Indiana University School of Informatics, and is a contributor to the University's Indiana Development Informatics Group (IDIG) and OpenMRS programs.

Join #ICT4D Twitter Chats - subscribe to ICTworks via RSS, Email, Twitter, or Facebook

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