Quick Tech Links

Zimbabwe has launched a solar energy project for computers in schools. The project is a joint effort between the government and Mukonitronics Private Limited. The policy is running in parallel with a Government initiative to ensure all new teachers are computer literate.

South Africa is considering following the UK with a new bill to stop illegal downloads of music and video from the internet. If passed the law would require ISPs to monitor subscribers downloading.

Senegal is hosting the third annual FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) conference in Dakar between the 16th and 20th March. To register for the conference go here:

(http://www.aiti-kace.com.gh/idlelo/?q=node/11 [1]).

To apply for a fellowship go here:

(http://www.aiti-kace.com.gh/idlelo/?q=node/15 [2]

Above linked from Balancing Act. [3]

At the beginning of the Kenyan post election violence a number of Kenyan bloggers created the Ushahidi [4] site for people to report acts of violence via SMS messaging direct to the internet site. In this report [5], cell phones have been used to "spread messages of hate"

"As Kenyan teenagers with freshly sharpened machetes searched for people from rival ethnicities earlier this month, text messages encouraging them to deal with enemies "the Rwanda way" flashed across their cellphone screens."

Africa's finest internet cafe is supposedly in Accra [6], Ghana. Described in this report as "spacious and stimulating", BusyInternet [7] was created by Welsh-American, Mark Davis. According to Davis Africa's internet problems are not to do with money, opportunity, bandwidth or brain drain but because of the lack of social networking.

"Everything Davies does in Africa is based on his shrewd understanding that until Africans communicate with one another more effectively – and build fluid networks that can improvise and tackle urgent problems – technological innovation will always lag in the region. Creating ad hoc, ever-evolving teams of African innovators is the key -- a form of social knowledge more important than any electronic tool or service."

So Kabissa members, please note there is no excuse, lets build up the Kabissa social network for civil society organisations that can "improvise and tackle urgent problems" - the solution is right here on Kabissa!