[governance] [APC Forum] Press release: Connect Africa Summit -- Civil society calls for new governance to make internet accessible to Africans

[Ronda Hauben]

I listed to a few minutes of the forum in Kigali Summit today and was amazed
at the misconceptions that abound.

They said the technology to spread the Internet is there.

I disagree. The technology to spread the Internet still needs to be the
subject of research and scientific work.

It's not that some magic formula of the 'market' and getting rid of
government regulations is going to solve the problem of the lack of Internet
access in Africa.

The Summit made me think of how the discussion on all this is  being kept
within very narrow confines in official circles and that this is a serious
failure.

My article on the talk by Nicholas Negroponte refers to this problem, and
the Summit seems to be the reinforcement of the problem.

The url for my article is

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=380774&rel_no=1

One excerpt which perhaps helps to point to the problem:

"One lesson from how the Internet was developed and spread around the world
is that there was the necessary scientific and technical research to
identify the crucial problems and then the collaboration among researchers
from a number of countries to solve these problems. (5) This was how, for
example, UNIX and then Linux, were developed. This is how TCP/IP, as the
basis for the Internet, was developed. Negroponte said that he was not doing
his program to make money, but neither has he demonstrated that he is
fostering the needed research methodology to solve the difficult technical
and social problem of providing Internet access for all."

How to get the off the wrong tracks and pointed in a useful direction is a
serious challenge.

best wishes

Ronda

On 10/29/07, Renate Bloem <rbloem at ngocongo.org> wrote:
>
>  Karen,
>
>
>
> I am so very, very pleased to hear about your CS initiative. I had pleaded
> at the recent GAID Steering Committee and Dr. Touré's  Briefing in New York
> that the Kigali Summit should hear loud and clear such a message.
>
> Thanks
>
> Renate
>
> -----------------------------------------
>
>
>
> *Renate Bloem*
> *President of the Conference of NGOs (CONGO)
> 11, Avenue de la Paix
> CH-1202 Geneva
> Tel: +41 22 301 1000
> Fax: +41 22 301 2000
> E-mail: **rbloem at ngocongo.org* <rbloem at ngocongo.org>*
> **Website: **www.ngocongo.org* <http://www.ngocongo.org/>
>
> *The Conference of NGOs (CONGO) is an international, membership
> association that facilitates the participation of NGOs in United Nations
> debates and decisions. Founded in 1948, CONGO's major objective is to ensure
> the presence of NGOs in exchanges among the world's governments and United
> Nations agencies on issues of global concern.  **For more information see
> our website at **www.ngocongo.org* <http://www.ngocongo.org/>
>  ------------------------------
>
> *De :* karen banks [mailto:karenb at gn.apc.org]
> *Envoyé :* lundi, 29. octobre 2007 19:24
> *À :* plenary at wsis-cs.org; governance at lists.cpsr.org; Building
> Communication Opportunities
> *Objet :* [governance] [APC Forum] Press release: Connect Africa Summit --
> Civil society calls for new governance to make internet accessible to
> Africans
>
>
>
> Dear all
>
> A joint statement  follows
>
> == recommending 12 improvements  to stimulate the development of internet
> and ICT infrastructure ni Africa ==
>
> issued on behalf of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC),
> the Open Society Institute for West Africa (OSIWA), Collaboration for ICT
> Policy in Eastern and Southern Africa (CIPESA), the Kenyan ICT Action
> Network (KICTANet), the African Internet Service Providers Associations
> (AfrISPA), and the Rwanda Research and Education Network (RERN)
>
> at the civil society pre-event to the ITU-GAID Connect Africa summit in
> Kigali, Rwanda, 29/10/07.
>
> Please join APC and partners at the following workshops on the theme of
> 'access' at the IGF in Rio.
>
> Regulatory Frameworks for improving access  [ WS 3 (ACC) ]
> Monday Nov 12th, 1310-1500
> http://info.intgovforum.org/yoppy.php?poj=36
>
> and
>
> Access: the local challenge [ WS 7 (ACC) ]
> Monday Nov 12th, 1730:1900
> http://info.intgovforum.org/yoppy.php?poj=68
>
> and review the IGF programme for other workshops on access on Monday 12th
> and Tuesday 13th november.
>
> karen
> ====
>
> PRESS RELEASE
> FOR IMMEDIATE DISSEMINATION
>
> Civil society calls for new governance to make internet accessible to
> Africans
>
> KIGALI, Rwanda, 29 October 2007 ­ Convened by the Association for
> Progressive Communications (APC) on the 28th of October 2007, civil society
> groups have called for new forms of corporate governance to develop the ICT
> infrastructure in Africa. These new forms should "ensure the interests of
> all stakeholders, but above all, the interest of African consumers and
> citizens", the statement insists.
>
> The Kigali statement by African civil society delegates, academicians,
> researchers, consumer interest groups, and internet service providers is
> made in light of the Connect Africa Summit taking place in that same city on
> the 29th and 30th of October 2007.
>
> Gathered to discuss the issue of connectivity to international, regional
> and national information and communication technology (ICT) networks in
> Africa, the participants recognised that private investment and public
> private partnerships play a key role in the deployment of infrastructure in
> Africa.
>
> The African civil society welcomes the continued investment but asserts
> that it needs to be further encouraged through the implementation of a
> stable policy environment that protects the public interest.
>
> The statement recommends twelve improvements to stimulate the development
> of internet and ICT infrastructure. Among  them, it calls for governments to
> support the harmonisation of policy and regulation to develop and implement
> cross border connectivity. This means giving equal priority to the
> deployment of national backhaul networks and international access networks.
>
> The Kigali participants mention the importance of the Universal Access
> principle and specify that "such access can only be sustainable if it is not
> only supply driven, but more demand driven and responsive to the expressed
> needs of target communities." Civil society therefore upholds that
> governments need to ensure the participation of all relevant groups
> from civil society, communities and the private sector in defining and
> implementing ICT infrastructure.
>
> The statement encourages governments to commit to supporting the
> development of national data, citizen-centred services and applications by
> themselves becoming key providers of content and implementing initiatives
> that attract organisations engaged in content and application development
> that improve access to education and healthcare.
>
> The joint statement was issued on behalf of the Association for
> Progressive Communications (APC), the Open Society Institute for West Africa
> (OSIWA), Collaboration for ICT Policy in Eastern and Southern Africa
> (CIPESA), the Kenyan ICT Action Network (KICTANet), the African Internet
> Service Providers Associations (AfrISPA), and the Rwanda Research and
> Education Network (RERN).
>
> The Association for Progressive Communications is an international network
> of civil society organisations dedicated to empowering and supporting groups
> and individuals through the strategic use of information and communication
> technologies, especially internet-technologies founded in 1990.
> http://www.apc.org
>
> Read the full Statement from participants in the “Civil Society Workshop
> on Open Access to ICT infrastructure in Africa†:
> http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5262405
>
> - 30 -
>
> For more information and media inquiries, please contact:
> Anriette Esterhuysen, APC executive director, anriette at apc.org
> Tel: +27 834 563 224
> =======================================
>
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>


-- 
Netizens: On the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet

http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/netbook
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