Document(s) 10 of 16

INTRODUCTION

This review of key experiences of ICTs having an impact on governance in Africa, is the result of my ongoing effort to analyse the e-Initiatives impacting on the region. A preliminary analysis titled "Overview of e-governance in Africa" was made within the framework of the activities of the "e-Africa Initiative for good governance; building e-governance capacity in Africa" in 2003, I have drafted on behalf of CAFRAD where I was seconded in the period 2002-2004 as Associate Expert for UNDESA/DPADM, within the framework of UNPAN. It is available on www.unpan.org/africa.asp. The analysis takes advantage of the main pieces of research and working papers in the area, and in particular the Background Paper on ICTs for development in Africa, prepared for the Third Meeting of the UN ICTs Task Force (September 30th., October 1st., 2002) by Joseph O. Okpaku Sr. Phd. The present analysis also takes advantage of the UN ICTs Task Force Publication on "ICTs for African Development", Edited by Joseph O. Okpaku Sr. Phd, UN N.Y., 2003 and some analysis and researches available on the web.

In this context, the review of key experiences is a compilation analysis which takes into consideration initiatives at different levels (sub-regional, regional, sectoral, national, and global specifically on e-government) that have a potential impact on local governance in Africa.

GLOBAL INITIATIVES

Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force), and the G8 Africa Plan of Action: established at the G8 Summit in Okinawa (July 2000), represents a new model of international co-operation. Following the G8 Summit in Genoa (June 2001), the DOT Force has been endorsed to implement the "Genoa Plan of Action", to broaden the understanding that ICTs are an effective instrument to reduce poverty and for spurring sustainable development. In this context, the "G8 Africa Action Plan", adopted in the G8 Summit of Kananaskis, Canada, 21st.-22nd. June, 2002, welcoming the "Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance and the African Peer-Review Mechanism", statement of the New Partnership for Africa's Development - NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (11th. June, 2002), underlines the importance of this innovative method of partnership, recognised as crucial for the strengthening of governance and capacity building.

Global Development Gateway (GDG) and InfoDev: this project, executed by the World Bank, within the framework of the UN ICTs Task Force, provides a Global Database Gateway and a window for ICTs projects to respond to the needs of the UN ICTs Task Force. In addition, it is providing support through its Network of Country Gateways. African countries are beginning to take advantage of this opportunity.

Global Development Learning Network (GDLN): this project of the World Bank, has the objective of providing decision makers across the developing world with affordable and regular access to a global network of peers, experts and practitioners to share ideas and experiences to fight poverty.

Global Development Network (GDN): aims at providing policy researchers in developing countries with access to financial support and data resources and helping to strengthen collaboration with their counterparts throughout the world.

Global Digital Divide Initiative (GDI): this initiative of the World Economic Forum intends to build a partnership between the public and private sectors to bridge the digital divide and to make effective use of ICTs to improve lives.

Global Digital Opportunity Initiative (GDOI): started as a joint venture between the Markle Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which also has a support mechanism under the International Partners Group, led by the Government of Italy and co-ordinated by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). It provides developing countries with expertise and resources to develop national e-strategies.

Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP): is a "network of networks" with a diverse membership base comprising public, private and not for profit organisations from both developed and developing countries. It was born as a result of the preparatory process of the 1997 Global Knowledge Conference in Canada, organised by the World Bank and the Government of Canada. The Secretariat is hosted by the Government of Malaysia and represented by the National Information Technology Council (NITC). The GKP aims at promoting broad access to, and effective use of, knowledge and information as tools of equitable sustainable development.

International e-Development Resource Network (IeDR): this initiative aims at facilitating the supply of regulatory, policy and strategy expertise from both North and South, with the support of national governments, the private sector and international organisations.

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers - ICANN: is a technical co-ordination body for the Internet that is specifically co-ordinating Internet domain names, IP address numbers, Protocol parameters and port numbers. In addition, ICANN co-ordinates the stable operation of the Internet's root server system. Africa's participation in the ICANN activities is still limited despite the efforts of international partners to support participation of African countries. In 2002, a stakeholders meeting of ICANN was held in Accra, Ghana, and following the meeting UNECA and ICANN have been discussing the creation of an African outreach programme as part of the African Stakeholders Network.

United Nations ICTs Task Force and the African Stakeholders Network - ASN: the UN ICTs Task Force, whose achievement of a meeting of independent experts from industry, academia, civil society and government, convened by the United Nations in April 2000, and then institutionalised by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in July 2000, found further support in the UN Millen­nium Summit in September 2000. Set up to support the development of regional ICTs networks by empowering developing nations to establish their own national e-strategies, improving the existing national capacities and exploring new development areas, it has been working to establish and provide a global forum for integrating ICTs into developing programmes. Its focus is on: strategy, infrastructure, enterprise, human capacity, content, application, partnerships and policy and governance related to the digital revolution at the regional and international levels, facilitating the effective participation of all. To co-ordinate the international community initiatives to turn Africa into an information based economy, following the decision of the first working meeting of the UN ICTs Task Force (November 2001), to form Regional Networks to optimise global development of ICTs strategies, the "African Stakeholders Network" (ASN) was set up in a meeting in Addis Ababa (21st.-22nd. January, 2002). The aim of the ASN, organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), is to provide help, through collaborative partnership, in designing a platform for issues on ICTs for development, and sharing experiences by regional and international institutions, in respect of the Common Position for Africa's Digital Inclusion, adopted during Africa's contribution to the G8 DOT Force and the UN ECOSOC panel on the digital divide, (10th.-12th. May, 2001, Addis Ababa).

REGIONAL INITIATIVES

African Development Forum-ADF: since its creation, the ADF has registered significant impact and rapidly gained recognition as an effective forum for informed dialogue and consensus building on urgent development issues of relevance to Africa, and for agreeing on implementation priorities and strategies at sub-regional, regional and national levels. While ADF 1999 focussed on ways to accelerate the information revolution in Africa, and is still used as a reference for African countries and experts doing studies on Africa's ICTs, the ADF III, held in March 2002, on Regional Integration, created an ICTs Focus Group to explore the role of ICTs in regional integration, and a portal was also launched.

African Information Society Initiative (AISI): aims at supporting and accelerating socio-economic development across Africa. It focusses on priority strategies, programmes and projects which can assist in the sustainable build-up of an information society in African countries. A wide range of bilateral and multilateral partners is supporting the implementation of activities within the framework of AISI.

African Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC): is a regional advisory committee composed of African experts representing different areas of activities, including the Diaspora. It was established by a mandate from the UNECA Conference of Ministers Resolution 812 (XXXI), to support the African Information Society Initiative (AISI), and was formally launched during the first meeting in October 1997.

Building Digital Opportunities: this is an joint initiative of the British Ministry of Co-operation and Development and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is focussed on four main activities: strategies and regulations of the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation; support to national strategies by the International Institute of Communication and Development (IICD); the development of radio broadcasting systems by the AMARC International group; and the exploitation of information through the implementation of the "OneWorldOnline" portal. In particular, through the activities undertaken in the context of this initiative, the IICD is co-operating with some local partners in six African countries, to support their efforts in integrating ICTs in the governance process. Moreover, IICD has a particular activity on Thematic Networks, where the focus is on knowledge sharing with local and international communities, empowering local organisations in using ICTs and helping national institutions to become providers of local information and advisory services.

Communities and Information Society in Africa (ACACIA) and Connectivity Africa: these projects are implemented by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, within the framework of the Canadian contribution to the AISI initiative. Launched in 1997 with the objective of supporting Sub-Saharan communities to integrate ICTs in their development strategies, and helping them to meet their own social and economic development, through research and policy focus, Acacia has invested more than $40 million in research, demonstration and evaluation projects on key ICTs issues. These include how ICTs can be used to reduce poverty, policies to bridge the digital divide and the development of local content and knowledge. At the G8 Summit in Kananaskis (2002), Prime Minister Chrétien announced a $500 million aid package - the Canada Fund for Africa - to support the G8 Africa Action Plan and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). The Canada Fund for Africa is providing $12 million for the implementation of Connectivity Africa to provide Canadian expertise in applying ICTs to education, health and community development. Connectivity Africa has four components: innovation in the use of ICTs; African regional ICTs futures; research and development in African ICTs; and partnership and convergence.

Digital Diaspora Network for Africa (DDN-A), Afrishare and the Africa Social Venture Fund: DDD-A is an initiative designed to tap the value of Diaspora communities in service to Africa. It is a collaborative effort between the UN ICTs Task Force, UNIFEM, UNFIP, Digital Partners and Gruppo CERFE. It aims at promoting development in Africa by mobilising the technological, entrepreneurial and professional expertise and resources of the African diaspora. Among the activities of the DDN-A: 1) AfriShare is an innovative initiative committed to unleashing the enormous potential of ICTs to build a bridge to carry the resources and knowledge of the African diaspora, back to Africa. The objective is to mobilise and organise a cluster of stakeholders with a direct interest in Africa's sustainable development - African and US business leaders, government and intergovernmental agencies, foundations, NGOs and academics - into a "brains trust" that will help identify innovative projects on the ground in Africa and pinpoint ways that ICTs can be used to trigger market-based solutions to the region's poverty; 2) The DDN-Africa Social Venture Fund is designed to provide financial support for entrepreneurial activities using ICTs. The fund is being launched with modest initial aims, but is designed to grow into a collaborative effort supported by individuals, foundations, development agencies and corporations.

European Commission projects and activities: to address the impact of the Information Society on citizenship, education, culture, business and much more, relevant European Commission programmes and initiatives have been established. Among these are: the Europe Action Plan; the Internet Action Plan; ISTweb; e-Content; e-Safety; e-TEN; IDA (Interchange of Data between Administrations). Moreover, in December 2001, the European Commission, invited by the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the ACP-EU Assembly, adopted the Communication "ICTs and Development: the role of ICTs in the development policy of the European Union". The communication has the objective of exploring the practical mechanism of integration of ICTs in the development and co-operation programmes of the European Union. In fact, the EU intends to play a more proactive role in the support and exploitation of the opportunities related to the ICTs for development in Africa.

NEPAD ICTs Projects, the e-Africa Commission of NEPAD: the NEPAD's contribution on ICTs consists of thirteen major projects, as outlined in the Conference on financing NEPAD, held in Dakar, Senegal, 15th.-17th. April, 2002. The projects are the following. 1) Infrastructure Project: aimed at installing 32 optical fibre inter-state links in west Africa; 2) Telecommunications Law and Regulation Harmonisation: aimed at creating a unified and open economic zone through the integration of property, infrastructure and financial services markets; 3) Telecommunications device manufacturing plant: aimed at developing activities around ICTs-related industries, creating ICTs private industries, promoting industrial sub-contracting activities, improving ICTs equipment availability and producing ICTs equipment more adapted to the African needs and environment, in West Africa; 4) Support for ICTs-related facilities: is a transcontinental project to provide support to maintain and upgrade existing ICTs-related educational or industrial centres in Lome, Togo, Dakar in Senegal and Harare in Zimbabwe; 5) PAG-NET, PanAfrican Governmental Network: aimed at establishing a transcontinental secure IP/Ipsec network designed exclusively for African government communications (data and voice transmission); 6) DATAFRICA: aimed at the creation of an electronic database to store various statistics in the field of economics, trading, geography, environment, agriculture, health, population, ICTs and infrastructure; 7) e-Justice Africa: aimed at developing a system to manage justice information in Africa, allowing the exchange of data between criminal justice agencies, courts, law enforcement and prosecutors; 8) e-Customer Africa-ACEN: is intended to be a public-private communications and data transmission system designed to track customs transactions between African coun­tries; 9) ACT-NET or ACTIS: this is intended to be a PanAfrican co-operation tool to prevent and fight terrorism, collecting, analysing and tracking information about terrorists, suspected individuals and their activities; 10) Telemedicine-AHTIS: this is a continental project intended to be a way of building high-quality, interoperable systems for health education, prophylaxis, epidemiological analysis, telemedicine operations, medical care and prevention; 11) e-History Africa: is a programme aimed at supporting and encouraging the production and diffusion of African history on worldwide networks and media; 12) Africashop: is intended to create an electronic online store that aims to be a window on African art and culture, offering crafts, clothing, local food and jewellery; 13) Africa Cybermarket: is planned to be a commodity market that will allow the electronic exchange of agricultural and sea products between African producers and buyers. These ambitious projects and the overall plan of the ICTs of NEPAD has to be managed under the supervision of the e-Africa Commission, established in 2002 within the NEPAD Structure in order to be the NEPAD, de facto, ICTs organ for masterminding its ICTs priorities and programmes.

Partnership for ICTs in Africa (PICTA): is an informal group of donors and executing agencies committed to improving information exchange and collaboration around ICTs activities in Africa. It was formed by the representatives of 17 UN and other development agencies involved in ICTs development in Africa, who attended the donor and executing agency meeting on ICTs for development in Africa, held in Rabat, Morocco, in April 1997. They agreed to make PICTA a forum for donors and executing agencies collaborating within the framework of AISI, setting up common information resources on the Internet for ICTs related activities in Africa. The major current joint programmes of PICTA members include the SCAN-ICTs Project, development and implementation of national strategies (NICIs), the publication of a quarterly bulletin, "iConnect Africa", and a monthly "PICTA Bulletin". Furthermore, PICTA members jointly organise a number of conferences and meetings related to the promotion of ICTs for African development.

Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP): as the countries of Africa seek to develop national and local capacity and effective policies, UNPD promotes the building of partnership networks, such as the SDNP, that focusses on the integration of ICTs in the decision making process and on the promotion of the Internet.

Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD): is an initiative of the Japanese government in partnership with UNDP Africa focussed on the theme of poverty reduction through accelerated economic growth and sustainable development and the effective integration of African economies into the global economy. Recognising the contributory effect of ICTs in bringing emerging economies to the global market, TICAD aims to build on the success of the Internet Initiative for Africa (IIA) (see below) to raise awareness and contribute intellectually to policy and institution building through South-South co-operation with particular emphasis on Asia-Africa co-operation.

UNDP, Internet Initiative for Africa (IIA): UNDP is working in close partnership with key public and private sector players to craft comprehensive regional and country strategies and implementation plans to help transform the digital divide into a digital opportunity. In particular, the IIA launched in 1996, with the objective of improving local ICTs infrastructures and promote national and regional telecommunication networks in the fifteen African countries where it was feasible. Through a cost-sharing partnership with the governments of these countries, this programme established the first national Internet gateway, national backbone infrastructure, increased national bandwidths and established Internet points of presence. It also served to provide an array of policy and technical advisory services and training to national experts to manage and administer the infrastructure and foster sustainability and growth.

UNDP and Microsoft Technology Partnership to Combat Poverty in Developing Nations: UNDP and Microsoft agreed to work together to build capacity in developing countries around the world, by providing technology-enabled training for young people and adults in community education centres. By providing skills training, content, curricula and other new resources, this partnership is intended to help expand UNDP's ongoing development efforts and encourage the exploration of creative, technology-based solutions to the world's most pressing development challenges. The alliance draws on the resources of Microsoft Unlimited Potential, the company's global effort to deliver computer literacy and job skills training to underserved communities.

SUB-REGIONAL INITIATIVES

ICTDAR Programme for Arab States: this sub-regional UNDP ICTs for Development programme is covering 20 countries in the Arab Region, including North African countries. It has the objective of assisting Arab States in harnessing ICTs to reduce poverty and improve both public administration performance and private sector hold and expansion. The main ICTDAR priorities include awareness raising, promotion and stakeholders campaigns, capacity development and strategy implementation, pro-poor growth and employment generation.

Innovation in Public Administration in the Euro-Mediterranean Region (Innov Med): the objective of this project is to contribute, through the exchange of innovative ideas and experiences in public administration, to the improvement of governance systems in the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean area with a view to enhancing prosperity, peace and stability in the region. The project is also intended to promote the progressive harmonisation of public administration systems in the Mediterranean area in line with the Barcelona process established in 1995 as a means through which the European Union supports Mediterranean partners in their political, economic and social reforms. The project is being executed by UNDESA and Formez -Training and Study Centre, an Italian semi-private institution based in Naples (Italy). The project, being implemented from January 2003 to April 2005 and planned in six phases, aimed at improving the governance systems of the countries of the Mediterranean region by assisting governments in assessing their public administration needs in order to undertake appropriate reforms in public administration; by creating synergies among existing programmes for the promotion of exchanges of experience in public administration innovation; by strengthening the capacity of governments and regional institutions to exchange information, knowledge and best practices in public administration innovation; by enhancing the capacity of governments to assess validity and transferability and implement best practices and innovative experiences in public administration; by assisting selected governments of the region to implement best practices and innovative experiences; and enabling governments of the region to acquire knowledge and information on the usefulness of the project.

ICTs for Regional Integration in the Economic Community for Central States (CEMAC): further to the workshop on ICTs for regional integration, organised in Yaounde, in September 2002, the Yaounde Declaration was adopted by CEMAC Heads of State in December 2002. It focussed on harmonisation of the ICTs sector in the sub-region, sharing resources and creating the Central African countries Association of Regulators (ARAC).

Regional ICTs Development in Southern African Development Community (SADC): in addition to being the first sub-region to establish an association of regulators, the Telecommunications Regulators Association of Southern Africa (TRASA), several studies on ICTs have been undertaken and meetings and workshops on ICTs and regulations organised in the SADC sub-region. A Protocol on Transport, Communications and Meteorology and a Declaration on ICTs were adopted by SADC, which also has a Southern Africa Transport and Communication Commission.

Regulatory Harmonisation in the Economic Community for Western Africa States (ECOWAS): in order to facilitate the harmonisation of national sectoral policies in the sub-region, the ECOWAS Council of Ministers established a Consultative Regulatory Committee for Telecommunications to ensure the consistent and co-ordinated regulation of telecommunications within the community. A West African Telecommunications Regulators Association (WATRA) was officially created in June 2002. The first activity was to undertake a study on the harmonisation of West African telecommunications regulations.

UEMOA Declaration on ICTs: in 2001, the Council of Ministers of the UEMOA adopted a recommendation on a programme of action for improving ICTs infrastructure and services in the region. It aimed at harmonising the regulatory frameworks, creating a committee of regulators, and a forum of operators and service providers, promoting ICTs and liberalising the national telecoms markets.

World Economic Forum: initiative on e-Readiness in the Southern African Region: a key partner to the UN ICTs Task Force, is itself vigorously engaged in promoting ICTs development in Africa in a variety of areas. In co-operation with the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), government institutions and the African individual and institutional private sector, WEF conducted a comprehensive initiative on e-readiness in the Southern African Region.

Southern Africa Capacity Initiative (SACI): this UNDP initiative, now re-invigorated by the alliance with Microsoft, is intended to explore innovative opportunities to use technology to build capacity, facilitate e-government initiatives and improve basic services delivery in countries most adversely affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

SECTORAL INITIATIVES

Access/Skills

Community Access Centres Network (ADEN): is a project funded by the French Government to create a network of Internet community access points for French-speaking countries in Africa. It focusses on the training and capacity building of managers and practitioners, the sharing of North-South and South-South experience and the development of services responding to local community needs

CAR Project: is a project to implement Edu-Telecentres in Malawi, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. Along with programmes on HIV/AIDS, it provides programmes to address women's empowerment, teacher training, distance learning and skills development.

Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa (CATIA): is a project to increase affordable access to ICTs across the continent (both Internet and radio), increase Africa's influence in International decision making, and promote the exchange of local African content.

iLearn Project: is a project of Thintana communications, to equip schools with computer networks (computer lab with internet access) and to facilitate an educator development programme to support teaching and learning through ICTs.

ITU, Training on Internet Programme: is an initiative run by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to focus on the establishment of training centres on the Internet, to allow citizens and entrepreneurs to develop competence in the use of ICTs

Project for Information Access and Connectivity (PIAC): a project of the Ford Foundation in collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation aims at promoting ICTs as a cross-cutting theme for programming in South Africa.

Telecentre Infomediary/Help Desk: is a project run by "digital pioneers" in Africa and developing countries in other regions, to provide practical help and advice to technology professionals and managers of community based telecommunications facilities.

UNDP/CISCO Networking Academies: is a strategic partnership to establish facilities in Least Developed Countries, to provide network technology skills and training facilities to prepare students for the 21st. century workplace. CISCO Networking academies have been established in more than twenty African countries.

USAID-Leland Initiative: is a five year project funded by the U.S.A. to ensure access to the Internet in twenty African countries and to create an enabling policy environment and a sustainable supply of Internet services.

Business and Trade

Global Business Dialogue on e-Commerce – GBDe: established in 1999, represents a major step forward in the development of a comprehensive approach to electronic commerce issues, both by delivering a wealth of information through its website and database and by connecting and co-ordinating major stakeholders in the field. It is divided into three regional hubs (Americas, Asia/Oceania, Europe/Africa) and focusses on eight key areas: consumer confidence, cyber security, convergence, digital bridges, e-government, intellectual property rights, trade and taxation.

CEO-Charter for Development Programme: an initiative of the Global Digital Divide Task Force of the World Economic Forum, in partnership with the UN ICTs Task Force. The CEO Charter is based on the pledge of companies which sign up to commit a minimum of 20 per cent of their annual corporate citizenship and philanthropic budgets to support ICTs Development in the developing world with a view to eliminating poverty. This programme holds immense potential for driving ICTs development support in Africa in a consistent and coherent way, especially the support of the indigenous African private sector, the ultimate repository and arbiter of long-term durable industrial and competitive capacity-building and knowledge acquisition in Africa.

Panafrican Initiative on e-Commerce: as a result of the ADF '99, IDRC and UNECA established this initiative with the aim of developing policy and strategy advice for African government. A Ministerial Conference (Libreville, Gabon, November 2000) and some sub-regional level workshops have been conducted on the use of ICTs to enhance the competitiveness of SMEs in Africa.

Digital Factory: is an initiative to create capacity in Africa for the development of software and applications at a global standard to support the global ICTs industry and market, as well as to meet indigenous continental demand. A private-sector initiative between Sun Microsystems, The Telecom Africa Corporation, Epi-Use plc and the State of California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency, the Digital Factory hopes to replicate the software development miracle in India, most notably in Bangalore.

World Economic Forum - Business Endorsement of the NEPAD initiative: the World Economic Forum devoted its 2004 African Economic Summit, expanded from its predecessor the Southern African Economic Summit, and entitled, "NEPAD at Work: Business Engages the New Partnership for Africa's Development", to promoting support for NEPAD by the global private sector. One of the outcomes of the Summit was the "Business Endorsement of the New Partnership for Africa's Development" initiative, a programme by which companies doing business in Africa commit themselves to support NEPAD's objectives by undertaking to observe a set of standard corporate citizenship criteria, such as transparency and proper accounting principles. Although a large number (over 250) companies have signed up for this programme, its value is difficult to assess as signing up does not involve any quantifiable commitment of resources (material or in kind) to Africa or the NEPAD process.

Other indigenous African Initiatives of the SMEs Industry, the Informal Sector and the Civil Society: there are many other indigenous initiatives aimed at building industrial as well as research and development capacity in Africa, mobilising Africa's expert capacity spread around the world. Of great importance in the ongoing drive for ICTs Development in Africa is the active role of Africans and African institutions, both public and private sector, in undertaking often quite bold and innovative initiatives. The potential impact of such efforts is itself greatly enhanced by the close level of collaboration between both sectors, government and private, and between Africans on the continent and in the diaspora. These initiatives range across a broad spectrum of areas, from policy and regulation, to industrialisation, infrastucture, software, content, development communications and capacity-building.

Culture

African Culture Conservation Fund (ACCF): provides support to African communities who wish to implement cultural initiatives. Programmes include the "Banking on Culture" and the "Ghanaian Weavers".

World Project: is a World Bank's Project to help new generations learn about world cultures, encouraging school-to-school project collaboration to, and serving as an information channel for, teachers around the world.

Education and Capacity Building

African Learning Networks: supporting the establishment of school networks, (e.g. SchoolNet), University Networks (e.g. VarsityNet), Networks for marginalised people (e.g. OosyNet), and networks of research institutes (e.g. African Knowledge Network Forum-AKNF).

African Virtual University (AVU): is an innovative educational organisation established to serve the countries of Africa. The objective of the AVU is to build capacity and support economic development by leveraging the power of modern telecommunications technology to provide world-class quality education and training programmes to students and professionals in Africa. After a successful pilot phase, AVU has been transformed from being a project of the World Bank into an independent, reputable, intergovernmental organisation based in Nairobi, Kenya with over 34 Learning Centres in 19 African countries.

IMFUNDO Project: is a partnership between DFID, Cisco Systems, Marconi and Virgin, which aimed at bridging the growing digital divide in African countries. The pilot project has the objective of exploring how ICTs can improve education, through better teacher training, raising skills levels and sharing knowledge.

Information Technology Centre for Africa (ITCA): ITCA, in cooperation with USAID/Leland Initiative, developed a training manual and delivered training courses for policymakers, and, in co-operation with the World Bank's InfoDev Programme and/CISCO Systems, ITCA launched a training course on Internet Networking Technology for African women. Similar activities are now being undertaken in partnership with UNIFEM.

UNESCO Projects: UNESCO developed several projects for promoting the contribution of ICTs to the development of education, science and culture and the construction of a knowledge society. In 2002/03, in addition to other ICTs activities carried out by the different sectors of the Organisation, 13 projects were being implemented with a specific focus on ICTs. Among these were: Open Learning Communities for Gender Equity with the Support of ICTs; ICTs-Based Training in Basic Education for Social Development; Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs); Higher Education; Open and Distance Learning Knowledge Base for Decision makers; and Building Digital Libraries in Africa.

Health

Health InterNetwork: is a project to strengthen public health services by providing public health workers, researchers and policy makers with access to high quality, relevant and timely information, through an Internet Portal.

Twinning Promotion and Facilitation Through ICTs: is a project that uses ICTs to improve the communication of best practices with respect to AIDS programming and to facilitate partnership between AIDS service organisations in Africa.

ADF Portal on health resources and health statistics in Africa: a portal on health resources and health statistics was launched by ADF 2000 after ADF '99 recognised ICTs as an important part of the World Health Organisation strategy "Health for all strategy for the 21st. Century".

Pilot Telemedicine Projects and e-Strategies for Health Sector: some Pilot Telemedicine Projects are being implemented in countries such as Mali and Ethiopia, while Tunisia adopted Telemedicine Plans, and more recently, Mozambique and Senegal are embarking on developing e-strategies for the health sector.

Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa (MARA): intends to promote a Geographic Information System-based Network to monitor the risk of malaria in Africa.

Infrastructure

African Connection and Ministerial Oversight Committee: was created by the African Ministers of Communications during the ITU African Regional Conference, which took place in Johannesburg in 1998, to serve as an institutional framework for the co-ordination of telecommunications development ideas and capacity-building, especially those with regional scope. The African Connection is supervised by the Ministerial Oversight Committee of African Ministers of Communications.

African Telecommunications Union (ATU): is a reconstitution of the Pan-African Telecommunications Union (PATU) by the African Ministers of Communications, and is the de facto African regional telecommunications counterpart of the ITU. ATU, which also reports to the Ministerial Oversight Committee, serves as the organ for the systematic pursuit of telecommunications development in Africa.

African Advisory Group on ICTs (AAG-ICTs): is a group of 12 eminent African ICTs experts from around the world who meet behind closed doors an average of twice a year to provide confidential high-level advice to African Ministers of Information and Communications on strategic, policy and regulatory issues, with no holds barred. It usually meets one day ahead of the meeting of the Ministerial Oversight Committee, whose subsequent meeting its members also sit in on. The AAG also works in close liaison with the African Connection and the African Telecommunications Union, the heads of which two institutions also sit on the AAG. The Advisory Group expects to support the strategic aspects of the activities of NEPAD through intellectual support for the e-Africa Commission.

Sat-3/WASC/SAFE Undersea Optical Fibre Cable Network: shortly after the independence of South Africa, in a dramatic exhibition of continental solidarity, co-operation and strategic common purpose, several African countries, in the euphoria of having achieved the most singular strategic objective of the OAU, undertook to join forces to build a major undersea optical fibre cable to directly link many African countries, and link them to Europe and Asia. Led by Telkom S.A., the 36 participants built the Sat-3/WASC/SAFE cable network. The 28,000 km cable, which cost $650 million US, was launched in Dakar on May 27th., 2002.

RASCOM Satellite Project: the Regional African Satellite Communications Organisation to which most African governments belong, is undertaking to build the RASCOM Satellite, in collaboration with Alcatel. Designed to have a footprint that will cover the entire continent, it is intended to support affordable access to ICTs resources for Africans anywhere on the continent, especially among rural populations.

Comtel Project: is a regional project, undertaken by the member states of COMESA, to build an optical fibre grid to interlink their national networks.

SatCom Project: was instituted by the telecommunications and satellite industry in Africa, as a partnership between indigenous and international players. At the SatCom Africa 2002 Conference held in Midrand, South Africa, in February 2002, the industry embraced the suggestion of PanAmSat that it commits bandwidth, equipment, expertise and other resources to support significant satellite-based projects. Created primarily by Terrapinn Ltd., RASCOM, the Telecom Africa Corporation, Hughes Network Systems, WorldSpace, Sentech, UNISA, the Global VSAT Forum and Mike Jensen Consulting amongst others.

Global Information Infrastructure Commission: is a non-governmental initiative that, with the support of leaders from developed and developing countries, is aimed at fostering private sector leadership and enhanced private-public sector co-operation in the creation of an improved ICTs infrastructure worldwide.

e-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVES

e-Africa Initiative for good governance: building e-governance capacity in African countries: in view of the overall commitment of the NEPAD Heads of State to stimulate the use of ICTs as a driving force to foster social and economic development of the continent, the African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD) launched, in 2002, the "e-Africa initiative for good governance: building e-governance capacity in Africa".

The "kick-off" of the e-Africa initiative was the "e-Africa 2002: First Regional Workshop on building e-governance capacity in Africa" (Johannesburg, 28th.-31st. October, 2002). This was organised by CAFRAD in partnership with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and hosted by the Department of Public Service and Administration of South Africa (DPSA), under the banner of NEPAD. The e-Africa initiative focussed on drawing on the strengths in both good governance and ICTs and wished to provide an important contribution to the implementation of the NEPAD Macroplan, for the success of NEPAD's overall vision on Africa's development. It addressed these issues at the level of policy and decision makers, stressing the significant development role and cross-cutting impact that ICTs can have on all aspects of society. To this end, the promoters of the e-Africa conference (CAFRAD, UNDESA and NEPAD), in consultation with other participants and partners, have recognised the need to mobilise the African and global public administration and ICTs communities for e-governance in Africa and have agreed on an overall "Framework for Action on e-governance for Africa". The framework identifies the vision for e-government, the mission that needs to be engaged in by partners, the strategic goals, the impacts expected, a set of strategic intervention areas and examples of outcomes expected. The Framework for Action was further presented to the "4th. Global Forum on Re-inventing Government: Citizens, Businesses and Government: Dialogue and Partnerships for the Promotion of Democracy and Development" (Marrakech, 10th.-14th. December, 2002). In 2003, CAFRAD, UNDESA, and NEPAD, developed a High-Level Strategy and draft Plan of Action. The draft Plan of Action was discussed during the "e-Africa 2003: Expert Consultative Meeting on e-governance" (Tangier, Morocco, 20th.-22nd. October, 2003), organised with the financial support of the Italian Government. The draft e-Africa Plan of Action was then presented for adoption to African Ministers in charge of Public Service during the Meeting of the Pan African Committee of Ministers held in Kampala, Uganda, 27th.-30th. January, 2004, alongside the CAFRAD, NEPAD, UNDESA Workshop on Public Sector Leadership Capacity Development in Africa, again organised with the financial support of the Italian Government.

e-government for Development Initiative: under the banner of the G8, the Government of Italy was assigned the leadership on e-government activities and, with the support of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) launched the e-government for development initiative. The initiative was presented during the International Conference on e-government for Development, (Palermo, Italy, 10th.-11th. April, 2002), organised to raise the awareness of the opportunities offered by e-government in the process of economic and social development, and exploring the use of ICTS to foster democracy, efficiency and transparency. For this purpose, an "Open Plan of Action on e-government for development" was prepared. It provided guidelines on the development and implementation of e-government strategies at the national level and captured best practices and lessons learned from experiences. Projects then began in a selected number of African countries.

e-governance Capacity-Building for African Municipalities Project: is a UNESCO cross-cutting project aimed at promoting the use of ICTs tools in municipalities to enhance good governance. Training modules for local decision makers are being developed and implemented according to a prior assessment of needs and opportunities in the two participating regions: Africa and Latin America. The project in Africa is being implemented in collaboration with the African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development - CAFRAD.

Electronic Distance Training on Sustainability in African Local Governments (EDITOSIA): was a thematic network of 10 African and European partners exploring the potential of Electronic Distance Training on Sustainability in African Local Governments. It aimed at formulating recommendations for policy makers at all levels of government, for donor agencies, training institutes, municipal associations and others concerning the promotion of adequate training methods for building the capacity of African local governments to deal with the challenges of local sustainability. The project was funded by the European Commission, DG Research, and co-ordinated by the International Training Centre (ITC) of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability. The project started at the end of 2001 and was concluded in April 2004 with a symposium organised in Windhoek, Namibia, in which the results of the EDITOSIA project were presented and discussed with a wider audience. Partners in the project were: the Africa Secretariat of ICLEI, the African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD), the Polytechnic of Namibia (PON), the Southern African Non-Governmental Organisation Network (SANGONeT), the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU), the European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN), the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), the Open University (UK), and the University of Wales, Swansea, Centre for Development Studies.

Regional ICTs Network for Africa (RINAF): established since 1992 by UNESCO, is a "space of co-operation" in the framework of the Intergovernmental Programme on Information technology (PII) with the aim of strengthening the capacities of local administration and civil society to exploit the use of ICTs in Africa.

United Nations Online Network in Public Administration and Finance (UNPAN): The UNPAN Programme was launched in 2000, by the Division for Public Administration and Development Management of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DPADM/UNDESA), which is charged with the overall coordination of a group of international regional and sub-regional institutions devoted to public administration and finance in the context of social and economic development and titled UNPAN Online Regional Centres (ORCs), and UNPAN International Centres (OICs). UNPAN's mission is to promote the sharing of knowledge, experiences and best practices throughout the world in sound public policies, effective public administration systems and efficient civil services, through capacity building and co-operation among Member States, to bridge the digital divide, with the emphasis on South-South co-operation and commitment to integrity and excellence. UNPAN's immediate beneficiaries are Public Administration-related regional and national institutions. Its ultimate clients are the citizens of the world, government entities, the private sector, NGOs and academic institutions. The immediate objective of UNPAN was therefore to establish an electronic platform using the online linking of a number of institutions for information exchange, experience sharing and on-the-job training in the area of public sector policy and management. Its long-term aim is to build the capacity of these regional and international institutions to access, process, and disseminate relevant information via up-to-date (ICTs) for the promotion of better public administration. To ensure this, UNPAN was designed to primarily reinforce the required capacity of the regional and international centres partner of the UNPAN Network. The UNPAN Online Centres selected for their prominence as public sector policy and management institutions, are responsible for information and knowledge management within their own geographic areas. In Africa, the UNPAN Network includes three institutions at Regional level: CAFRAD – African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development; IDEP – African Institute for Economic Development and Planning; and OFPA – African Civil Services Observatory. The Centre for Public Service Innovation CPSI, based in South Africa, was selected as Sub-regional Centre of UNPAN for Southern Africa. At present, UNPAN serves as a portal for public administration and finance and is the only example of such a network in the world today. Since it was launched online in March 2001, (www.unpan.org) UNPAN has been accessed by thousands of interested users from all walks of life around the world, providing ongoing access to the most innovative research, training practices, methodologies and technical assistance. Through their multiple roles as electronic research centre, think-tank, consulting firm and library, the capacity of the regional and international centres will be continuously strengthened. This shall enable them to function effectively as dynamic sources of information and knowledge and to address existing and emerging issues in public sector policy and management. The second phase of UNPAN faces the challenges related to effective information and knowledge management, enhancing governance capacity in African countries. Expansion of the UNPAN Network to sub-regional and national levels in Africa, involving governments and other African ORCs and sub-regional institutions, within the framework of the NEPAD Plan of Action and consistent with the activities of NEPAD and the "World Summit on the Information Society", will play a pivotal role in enhancing governance capacity in African countries.

OTHER INITIATIVES AND SOME PROJECTS AT NATIONAL LEVEL

Many other initiatives and projects are undertaken by other UN and executing agencies in their specific fields of expertise, with the general objectives of promoting awareness raising and conducting capacity building activities to assist African countries, which are at different levels of participation in the construction of the global Information Society. Other initiatives are undertaken by the Informal Sector and the Civil Society playing a significant role in advancing efforts at building ICTs development in Africa, especially with a view to the use of ICTs applications for dealing with the scope of issues which have become traditionally associated with NGO efforts, These include the eradication of poverty; the social, educational and political empowerment of the disadvantaged or erstwhile deprived, especially women, children; rural and handicapped persons; education; preventative healthcare and the management of illness, especially HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases; and universal access to basic information and telecommunications services through innovative and affordable technologies or modifications of existing ones. Other important "pushers" of innovation are the Small and Medium size Enterprises. (SMEs). Given the size of the informal component of the African economic landscape, especially as over 70% of the population lives in small and rural communities, and the unique adaptability of ICTs applications to small and micro enterprises, taking advantage especially of the online facilities of the Internet, as well as the development of telecentres, individuals and small groups of African entrepreneurs are setting up a range of businesses, from online marketing of farm products, arts, crafts and clothing, to Internet cafes and telecentres, street corner and marketplace pay-as-you-go phone services, etc.

Here below are reported some examples of innovative projects ICT-related in Africa:

3D technology and Multipurpose Community Telecentres (MTCs) in Uganda: is a UNESCO Project aimed at creating 3D and multimedia programmes to help educate Ugandans about healthy water.

Afrique Initiative, Saint Louis, Senegal: is a project that attempts to combine social purpose and sustainable business by supporting the development of a non-profit organisation focussed on preventative health care, and a for-profit business that intended to offer a range of ICTs-based services to the community, by sharing an Intranet site and related ICTs infrastructure provided by Afrique Initiatives (Belgium). Both have a social purpose, but have evolved different operating models, one to provide preventative healthcare to low-income children in the target age group, reaching the greatest number possible during the critical period of childhood development, the second to try to develop a self-sustainable business.

AfriShare project to Deploy SchoolWeb to Ghanaian Secondary Schools: this project targets computer education for 250,000 Ghanaian young people at the secondary school level in two years. Partners include HP, InfoSAT, Worldspace and Advanced Interactive.

e-Academia, Tanzania: this project, being supported by DDD-A, aims at addressing the high cost and inadequate quality of education in Tanzania via the creation of an online e-learning initiative that will make teaching materials, developed by the "best brains" in the country, available in the local Kiswahili language. It also aims to take advantage of the proliferation of cyber cafes throughout Tanzania to provide Internet connectivity to subscribers of e-Academy, while CD-Rom-based education will be available to reach those without an Internet connection.

e-government system for the city of Fez, Morocco: this project, executed by the University Al Akhawayn of Ifrane, Morocco, and funded by IDRC, aims at developing a pilot e-government system for the city of Fez, one of the largest cities in Morocco (about 1 million population), to allow citizens to request and receive government services in an easy and efficient way. In parallel, the project also intends to raise a series of research questions concerning the social impact and political implications, as well as the technical feasibility, of e-government projects at local level.

Gauteng Online:, South Africa: this project aims at providing every learner and educator in all public schools with Internet access, e-mail and electronic curriculum delivery, as well as developing a model for large scale implementation of ICTs in school.

Geographic Information System in Mozambique, and Info Techno Industry Knowledge for Development in South Africa: two projects executed by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Go with the global flow, Senegal: through this IDRC Acacia project, ENDA Tiers Monde, a nongovernmental organisation in Senegal worked with Acacia in developing a series of "community resource sites" and providing training and Internet access to those living in the most difficult neighbourhoods in and around Dakar. The project has helped transform a grassroots economy to make the social and technological innovations of local groups more visible.

Information to get a fair market price, Senegal: through this IDRC Acacia project, local food producers can use their knowledge of world market prices to more than double the price they receive from intermediaries for their grapefruit. With their cell phone, they check the market prices for produce twice a week. Using wireless technology, they dial into a database of current prices compiled by Manobi, a mobile and Internet services operator. This knowledge enables them to get the market price for their goods without fear that the buyer will go elsewhere and leave them stocked with their produce. Research shows that food producers using this service have seen their incomes increase by an average of 15%.

LoveLife, South Africa: this project intends promoting the use of ICTs for sexual health/HIV-AIDS education through the establishment of Call and Youth Centres and Virtual Studios.

Mandatory ICTs Exposure, Cape Verde: is a project of the World Bank, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science, Youth and Sports, and the Portuguese Development Foundation (PROMEF), to evaluate and analyse ways in which ICTs can be used to improve the education and training systems in Cape Verde.

One-stop business shop, Uganda: through this IDRC Acacia project, women make up more than 45% of small-scale entrepreneurs. They are using the Women's Information Resource and Electronic Service (WIRES) as a "one-stop-shop" to find information on markets, prices, good agricultural practices, and support and advisory services. Based in Kampala and linked to two rural telecentres, WIRES provides information that has been gathered from electronic and print sources and then repackaged in easy-to-use databases in local languages. With this information, women in Uganda are able to hone their entrepreneurial skills, expand their enterprises, and boost their family's incomes.

SATELLIFE and HealthNet Uganda: the PDAs and Better Health in Uganda Project focusses on an area where access to information is scarce and potentially lifesaving resource. It aims at improving the decision making capacity of health professionals by arming them with PDAs that provide them with access to the information they need to make timely diagnoses and provide appropriate treatments. Building on its experience implementing a PDA project in Uganda and Kenya, HealthNet Uganda is poised to introduce this technology on a wider scale in African countries with the support of international partner organisations.

Student ICTs business, Inhambane, Mozambique: through this IDRC Acacia project, a student has set up a community ICTs access centre within his school. Centre use is free for students while walk-in users from the community pay for services. The students and teachers have started small projects such as designing Web sites and recycling and repairing computers. In addition to developing ICTs skills, these projects bring revenue to the centre. As a result, the centre is well on its way to sustainability.

Uganda Connect: an ITU Project which aims at giving students and teachers Internet access and connecting rural communities through High-Frequency radios.

UNESCO assessment and ICTs outlook in selected African municipalities (Zanzibar, Lusaka, and Maputo): The municipalities of Zanzibar, Lusaka and Maputo are being assisted in developing the use of e-governance by UNESCO, as part of its ongoing efforts to support the use of ICTs in the public sector. The initial phase of the project was supported by DANIDA (Danish Co-operation) to provide some basic ICTs infrastructure for the municipalities aimed at assisting in the process of developing an e-governance capacity and providing shared access to ICTs for both local government staff and the public. Some PCs, a LAN, Internet access, a Website and training were provided under the project. Building on these initial activities, a second project is being developed to conduct training in e-governance for the municipalities.

UNESCO Pilot Project on Village e-governance in Tanzania: this project was undertaken by UNESCO in co-operation with the Commonwealth Network of Information Technology for Development Foundation (COMNET-ICTs) They were contracted to commission two computer installations in two Tanzanian villages for the purposes of enhancing local governance and, indirectly, catalysing community development. The project was executed in partnership with the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) as implementing partners.

Wind-up radios in Mozambique: is a project which aimed at utilising wind-up, environmentally friendly radios in order to help relay to remote villages the information that could aid their safety and security.

Youth for Technology Foundation, Nigeria: the YTF's TechPreneur-ship Programme for Rural Women is being supported by the DDN-A at Owerri Digital Village in Nigeria. It attempts to equip women, who run small businesses, with the technology training they need to run small businesses, with the technology training they need to run their businesses more efficiently while promoting coexistence within religious heterogeneous communities. Participants in the Programme learn to use YTF's business management software and database application which was locally developed by YTF's programme members. The application allows women entrepreneurs to track their inventory, revenue and expenses for their small and medium businesses. Workshops are also offered on writing successful business plans, microcredit facilities and credit programmes.

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