Post by Olivier Berthoud:

Some brief comments to the conference:
Here are the 3 most relevant case studies for me. Potential scaling up and mainstreaming are my major concern about these new technologies.

• Oxfam is using any new Web2.0 technology to mobilize mid-class professional and youth in wealthy countries (Myspace, Facebook, what ever) and it seams to works great for them.
• Dgroups, “Web2.0 before Web2.0”, is consistently used by development practitioners since 1996 (80’000 subscribers), but it is now an outdated technology: simple robust mailing list and discussion forum that are low band compatible, no blog nor wiki. Couldn’t we work together to improve it?
• Cell phones are all over the world in hands of billions of people: they are making a difference now. People are making money. Here is an example from Ghana.
• and the BROSDI-Uganda hype I don’t share.

I was less impressed than others by the presentation of the BROSDI project from Uganda.

“I felt like I had found a magic bean”(…) “My favourite was Cissy and her turkey farm. Ednah told us, ‘She learnt how to rear turkeys on SMS!’ “wrote Holly Ashley here in the Web2fordev blog. I am sure the enthusiasm is authentic. I just doubt that proteins deficiency and lack of incomes in developing countries will be solved by learning through SMS. It’s a pity, but development issues and learning opportunities are more complex than that. And we should stop getting exited by beautiful particular innovative projects that never scale up because they are based on very singular local circumstances and leadership that are rarely part of the project presentation.

Bottom line: Nice learning and networking, but I an not sure I will attend the 2009 conference on Web3.0 “Virtual Reality for Development”. I am convinced there is still in the coming years a great undisclosed and proved potential to reach the Millennium goals with pencils and paper, old Web1.0 low band artifacts and some Web2.0 tools for some people.

Olivier Berthoud
SDC, Berne

Rural communities in Africa can have their stories shared with the larger audience using video blogging which is a Web 2.0 application to amplify the voices of the grassroots in the future.

Sharing his experience as a Vlogger, Prince Deh said he had been creating videos and posting them on a blog and hence received feed back from all over the world. “How do we solve the problem of rural connectivity in order to extend the benefits of Web2.0 tools much wider beyond the scope of the cities?” he asked.

It was interesting to note that vlogs provided an alternative media. Deh observed that his videos have an added helped promote deeper understanding of stories, especially for people with less educational background. He added that they also had the power to reach an unlimited audience with minimal cost as the vlogging process does not require specialised expertise and can be easily controlled by any non-technical person. “It is technologically simpler and cheaper to maintain than a website. Videos are interactive medium often encouraging readers to comment” said Deh.

On local language, Deh said there will be need to create local language videos with a translation text as it was important for increasing participation and sharing. Vlogging major challenges were outlined as connectivity or access and getting people to share Information and Knowledge and cost of equipment. He pointed out that it was important to have knowledge of video editing and innovativeness in order to create story telling videos.

Despite challenges that are currently in Zimbabwe, Youth organizations still see web 20 as a mechanism that would promote free flow of information in spite of stringent laws that prevents people to enjoy freedom of press and freedom of association. Head of Zimbabwe Youth Movement, Mr Innocent Ncube spoke lengthily about their challenges and aspirations to also have access to Web 2.0 to empower rural and urban youth communities.

Download audio

Interviewee: Mr Innocent Ncube, Head of Zimbabwe Youth Movement

Interviewer: Dibuseng, Theta FM & Nkgowa Media

Ismail Fourokwas one of this year Highway Africa award winner for Innovative Use of New Media. Ismail has used web 2.0 techniques on his project www.sowetouprisings.com  to map the historical 1976 Soweto uprisings activities in South Africa that led to the killing young students such as Hector Paterson. The project uses Google map and blogs to allow community and world visitors to understand the route and causes of the 1976 Soweto uprising. The aim of the project is also to allow community in Soweto to start participating by using this Web 20 enabled tools to promote and preserve this historical effort that contributed to the end of apartheid government.

Download audio

Interviewee: Ismail Farouk

Interviewer:  Chris Kgadima, Nkgowa Media

A Voices of Africa is a Web 2.0 news and information website that encourages ordinary people and professionals to use mobile phones to share video footages about news that are taking place in their own communities. They are currently piloting the project in Mozambique, Ghana and South Africa. Voices of Africa Director in South Africa explains their plans to make this as successful tool that would use web 2.0 to benefit all communities in Africa

Download audio

Interviewee:  Elles Van Gelder

Interviewer:  Chris Kgadima, Nkgowa Media

Bob Sankofa is a Swahili photo blogger and Khaya Dlanga is a South African video –blogger. The two gentlemen share with us their experiences on blogging to foster social communication among individuals and communities. They also tell us how important is web2.0 techniques in providing people whose voices are not normally heard on the mainstream media an opportunity to get their stories to also get heard.

Download audio

Interviewee (s) - Bob Sankofa, Swahili photo blogger and Khaya Dlanga -South African video –blogger

Interviewer: Chris Kgadima, Nkgowa Media

Breeze FM has been instrumental in supporting agriculture programming that seeks to empower local farmers who do not have other alternative access to relevant information for their needs. Though the station broadcast to the majority of the rural population in the eastern province of Zambia and some parts of neighboring Malawi, they did not give up using few ICTs tools. The Station Manager, Mr Mike Daka takes us through the success stories of their stations in using few ICTs tools they are exposed to. He also acknowledge the fact that failure to keep up with new ICT developments such as Web2.0, they are likely to find it difficult to continue with their work to support local farmers meaning fully.

Download audio

Interviewee: Mr Mike Daka, Breeze FM

Interviewer: MM Ngcobo

En prélude à son intervention ce jour sur le thème   « Wikis, Blogs and Online Profiles for African NGOs at Kabissa–Space for Change in Africa », Tobias Eigen, Directeur associé cette association, basée aux Etats-Unis, a accepté de nous entretenir sur l’expérience de Kabissa (www.kabissa.org)  dans l’appui aux Ong africaines en matière d’accès aux outils internet. Il se prononce également sur ce que le Web 2 pourrait véritablement apporter aux communautés africaines.

Comment pouvez-vous apprécier la présence de  Kabissa à la conférence sur le Web2 ?
Kabissa est une Ong qui existe déjà depuis neuf ans. Nous avons une centaine d’Ong membres, réparties en Afrique, qui travaillent sur diverses thématiques. Mais, nous travaillons surtout avec ces Ong sur l’accès aux opportunités de l’Internet. Nous sommes ici à Rome pour partager notre expérience avec d’autres groupes organiser, apprendre des autres et aussi tisser des liens avec des réseaux qui développent des initiatives similaires en Afrique et partout dans le monde.
Il y a beaucoup de choses qu’on peut apprendre avec le web et c’est donc important pour nous d’être là et de contribuer à la concrétisation du rêve, que beaucoup d’Ong africaines nourrissent, de se connecter.

Quelles sont les contraintes que vous avez relevées dans vos activités de promotion de l’internet au sein des Ong africaines ?
Au début, nous avons surtout travaillé avec les Ong sur les enjeux des TIC en les amenant à comprendre l’intérêt qu’elles ont à se mettre sur la toile mondiale, à avoir une présence sur l’Internet. Cela a été très difficile car nombreuses sont ces Ong qui voyaient l’Internet comme un outil américain ou européen les considérant comme des consommateurs passifs d’information.

Nous travaillons donc à changer cette perception des choses en les aidant à se mettre en ligne avec leur propre identité et leur pouvoir de contrôle. C’est l’idée de départ de l’initiative de Kabissa. Je dois avouer qu’au début, on a eu d’énormes difficultés pour héberger les sites et les entretenir. Cela a été un vrai challenge. Avec les nouvelles technologies, nous voulons vraiment effectuer une révolution, je pense que le Web2 pourra nous aider à cela.

Qu’est-ce que le Web2 pourra concrètement apporter à votre intervention en Afrique ?
Avec le Web2, on peut donner aux Ong beaucoup plus d’espace sur internet sans qu’elles aient besoin de connaître les notions du Html. C’est très important. Il est possible avec les outils du Web2 de se mettre en ligne à travers le site de Kabissa, de mettre un profil, d’envoyer soi-même des informations, d’avoir les liens horizontaux avec d’autres Ong qui traitent les mêmes sujets. Le Web2 leur permettra de se rendre compte qu’elles ne sont pas seules, qu’elles forment une communauté avec des centres d’intérêt communs.

Qu’est-ce que vous avez pu capitaliser pendant les deux jours passés à la Fao ?
J’ai réalisé qu’il y a beaucoup d’initiatives et de choses formidables qui se font mais les acteurs ne se connaissent pas entre eux. Même si nous utilisons les nouvelles technologies, il y a nécessité de collaborer.

Je vois aussi qu’il y a beaucoup de personnes qui pensent travailler avec le Web2 mais ils ont toujours des mentalités du Web1. Ce que je trouve intéressant dans le Web2, c’est qu’il est participatif, ouvert, démocratique. Les informations peuvent bouger librement et les acteurs peuvent se déployer comme des experts. Mais cela fonctionne seulement quand tout le monde a une attitude ouverte.

Qu’avez-vous pu relever de façon particulière et qui pourrait induire une nouvelle orientation des activités de Kabissa ?
Je m’intéresse beaucoup au GIS (Geographic Information System), du fait qu’on peut mettre les gens sur une carte, savoir qui fait quoi et où ils se trouvent. C’est un très bon moyen pour avoir une vue globale de l’ensemble des acteurs d’une communauté. Le système que nous allons utiliser est « Open Source » (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Source), un « drupal » (www.drupal.org) ou un « civicrm » (www.civicrm.org). Avec cet outil, il est possible de mettre chaque pièce de contenu sur internet, un  blog, un fichier, une photo qu’on peut fixer en latitude et en longitude, sur le globe. Et puis avec « Google Map » (www.maps.google.fr) par exemple, on peut les voir sur une carte d’Afrique ou d’un pays. J’espère aussi travailler avec les organismes qui collaborent avec les communautés rurales.

Ne pensez-vous pas qu’il est encore trop tôt pour parler de Web2 aux communautés rurales qui ont peut-être d’autres priorités ?
Je pense qu’il y a toujours le côté « hype » du Web2 avec des tendances comme des sites comme flickr, avec des logos intéressants. Mais à côté, il y a des services intéressants dont peuvent profiter les communautés rurales. C’est un mouvement, une nouvelle situation où on peut faire des choses innovantes. Il y a des choses totalement différentes et originales avec le Web2 comme un « Mashup » (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup). Il est possible pour quelqu’un qui utilise le « Drupal » de mettre des organisations sur une carte. Tout le monde peut le faire. Il y a aussi le fait que le Web donne la possibilité d’utiliser des RSS pour avoir en temps réel des informations dont on a besoin, au lieu de parcourir plusieurs moteurs de recherche. Je crois que le Web2 pourrait, dans un avenir proche, apporter des solutions aux problèmes de nombreuses communautés en Afrique.

Réalisation Gnona Afangbédji

Report back on: Agric Market Information Systems 2.0: Making it private, profitable and peer2peer – a presentation by Mark Davies, Tradenet.biz

 ‘Why source your maize from many small local producers in Africa, when with just one phone call it can all be shipped from Argentina?’ 

OK: I’ve paraphrased Mark Davies here. But I think it sums up two things: why Tradenet.biz was needed – and what it is beginning to change.  

Farmers need prices in order to compete in the open market. Product developer Davies realised that he could meet a real need. ‘Market information is complicated and frustrating – it’s extremely complex data,’ Davies says. ‘I realised that here was a great business opportunity to work in an area that I thought was interesting.’

A couple of years ago, he began working on Tradenet.biz, an information portal for African agricultural markets. Paying, registered users input and update agricultural market information into an online customised database: off-lorry prices, farm gate prices, market place prices, wholesale prices. In turn, users can request information relevant to them, which is then sent out to them in a text message.

‘These are real-time SMS uploads from the markets,’ explains Mark. And it means that the information is accessed by mobile phone – and not through an unreliable and costly Internet connection. 

TradeNet.biz is currently operating in 13 African countries. There are 439 commodities online. So far, there have been 650,000 price uploads. There are more than 5,000 registered users.

But the real evolution came when TradeNet.biz moved from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 based on an innovative peer2peer process.

‘The first version was a classic, top-down and centrally managed model,’ Davies says. ‘Was the data really accurate or relevant? What we needed to understand was the market itself, not just the NGOs’ needs.’ 

Davies realised that the people with the best data were the buyers, the sellers, and the producers – those in the market place themselves. ‘We needed to refocus,’ he says. ‘We had to get the participants to upload this data themselves.’

One important feature of TradeNet is that it’s not all virtual. A key factor in its success has been the establishment of permanent TradeNet.biz kiosks in market places. These kiosks act as information points – and the kiosk workers can also act as translators, greatly reducing the problem of the language barrier. In future, Davies says, these kiosks could create real opportunities for entrepreneurs, opening new kiosk franchises in villages. 

Despite initial reluctance, people are really beginning to see the value of what TradeNet has to offer. ‘It’s a powerful analytical tool,’ Davies says. ‘For the first time, we are able to get views of markets across countries, and we can begin to see the price differentials. But we’re really just beginning – we’re only three years into a five-year research and development phase.’  

There is anecdotal evidence that it’s working. Davies mentions that one trader in Nigeria commented:

‘You have turned our local market into an international market.’

Open Society Foundation of Southern (OSISA) has been involved in Information Communication Technologies for development.  The foundation has recently played a role in supporting the first Digital Citizen Indaba on blogging prior Highway Africa conference in Grahamstown, South Africa. Programme Manager, Ms Thandi Mbvundula shares some of the challenges and opportunities of Web 2.0 in Africa.

Interviewee: Programme Manager, Ms Thandi Mbvundula

Interviewer: Lillian Malete, Nkgowa Media

Hot Group in association with South Africa’s Agriculture Research Council is currently producing farm management tools that help rural farmers to manage their farm activities. They have integrated Information Commutation Technologies (ICTs) such as mobile phones, websites to manage livestock and irrigation systems on a daily basis. The aim of the project is to capacity local farmers to use this web 2.0 enabled tools to manage and share information on their farm and agriculture activities.

Interview: Gert Mintjies- Hot Group

Interviewer: Chris Kgadima- Nkgowa Media

Download audio file

SANGOnet is an Information Communication Technology NGO in Southern Africa that promotes and support ICT projects in the region. They are currently setting up Citizen Journalism project with the aim of promoting the use of Web 2.0 by rural communities on issues of development. SANGOnet ICT Services Manager, Matthew de Gale explains how they are planning to make this project to provide communities with necessary skills and opportunities to utilize Web 2.0 to improve their lives.

Interviewee:Matthew de Gale ICT Services Manager SANGonet
Interviewer:Lillian Malete, Nkgowa Media

By Brenda Zulu

Africa Interactive, the publishers of Africa News www.africanews.com a world wide interactive multimedia platform focused on Africa are piloting a new project called “Voice of Africa” where journalists use mobile phones to send news video clips to report news.

Elles Van Gelder Editor in Chief of Africa News said at the Digital Citizen Indaba (DCI) in Grahamstown , South Africa last week that the project was launched by the Dutch who said Western media does not represent does not represent Africa and set up the project to show more balanced images of Africa.

She explained that sending video clips using the mobile phone was a new way of creating content. She said journalists who are part of the project are trained to become innovative reporters and how to use the cell phones.

Elles explained that they also looked at the technical side of doing the reporting and provided the journalists with small keyboards because the cell phone keys where too small to enable Journalists do their work fast.

She observed that the media focus was on Africa and that this was a revolution as these Journalists will be reporting live in events such as elections in Kenya.

Peter Verweij of the University of Utrecht Netherlands observed that mobile technology brings Journalists back to the streets meaning one does not need to get back to the newsroom to send a news report.With the GPS facility, editors in the newsrooms will also be in a position to supervise their reporters because they will be able to know where the reporters are and what they are doing.

Verweij said mobile phones will enhance journalists to report from anywhere for web pages and blogs. The content can range from text to Video and noted that for the first time anyone could be a reporter.

He also observed the challenges for
Africa as being the level of internet connectivity as the work of Journalists is set to improve dramatically with innovations in mobile GPS technology.

In the same vein, Ndesajo Macha a Sub Saharan Global Voices editor in delivering his key note address at the DCI said the future was mobile. He said text messaging has been delivering news.

He said SMS was also used for social networking as much of the news now is known through SMS before the mainstrem media makes the reports.

The coming of new technologies thus has led to fear of adapting to new ways of doing Journalism.

The future for Africa is Mobile as it has been embraced by more than 200 million people on the continent.Talking on convergence, Arrie Rossouw the editorial Director of Media 24 said there was need for people to stop talking about cries and insecurity and instead strive to move toward integrated newsrooms.

The discussion on convergence noted that in African news rooms remains largely unrecorded. Some newsrooms are marching forward, pod casting news items and music programmes and sending texts to cell phones, others are experimenting with video, sending sports clips and news to wireless services.

Matthew Buckland, the Mail and Guardian Online Manager told delegates attending the Highway Africa Conference 2007 that the Web 2.0 software was an important development for smaller role players.

Buckland noted that Media companies need to develop strategies for using the web 2.0 software for social networking and also to attract advertising.

He pointed out that the web 2.0 has played an important role in the improvement of technology and is also less expansive.

Web 2.0 is a term often applied to perceive ongoing transition of the World Wide Web from a collection of web sites to a full fledged computing platform servicing web application.

English translation

Le Réseau semencier africain (African Seed Network –ASN-) est en train de mettre en place un système d’information basé sur internet pour permettre aux paysans d’avoir une idée sur ce qui se fait dans les différentes coopératives. Ce système dénommé « cyber-semences » est basé sur les outils web 2. Le journaliste Noel Tadégnon s’entretient avec Kouassi Alphonse Kouamé, ingénieur agronome et chargé de programmes du Système Semencier Africain, en Cote d’Ivoire

Noel Tadégnon: Vous êtes entrain de mettre en place un système d’information qui doit permettre au paysan de savoir quantité et les variétés de semences, dans les , comment se présente ce système appelé « Cyber-semences »?

Kouassi Alphonse Kouamé: Un Cyber-semence est un outil de collecte, de traitement et de gestion de données relatives aux semences. Ces données peuvent être: les variétés, la quantité de semences, la qualité des semences, les prix proposés, les zones de production et de stockage, les producteurs de semences et les paysans agents de qualité. En un mot, le Cyber-semence est un outil de gestion de l’information depuis le champ paysan jusqu’à la commercialisation. Il fait la promotion des produits semenciers à travers la traçabilité.

N T : Comment va –t-il fonctionner ?

K A K : Chaque Cyber-semence est relié à l’ordinateur central (national) appelé « Observatoire » qui est logé, dans le cas de la Côte d’Ivoire, au sein du Service semencier. Il peut cependant être domicilié dans toute autre structure publique ou privée compétente, et de préférence même, au sein des interprofessions là où elles fonctionnent bien. Le Cyber-semence est un site web dynamique et interactif destiné à promouvoir une communication dynamique entre producteurs et utilisateurs de semences. Il est domicilié au sein des OPA ou Coopératives qui l’animent. Ces dernières enregistrent les données concernant les disponibilités de semences (quantité, qualité, prix proposé, etc) ainsi que leurs besoins. Ces données sont automatiquement accessibles au niveau de l’Observatoire.

Expliquez nous le mécanisme de collecte de l’information. Est-il basé sur les outils web2 (wiki par exemple) ?

K A K : Oui le système d’information est basé sur les outils web 2 avec la conception de programmes spécifiques.

N.T : Comment est-ce que l’information est collectée par les coopératives (est-ce en lien direct avec les agriculteurs) ?

K A K : L’information est collectée en relation directe avec les producteurs. Elle est effectuée par les paysans agents de qualité qui sont des paysans membres des OPA / Coopératives formés en la matière.

N.T : Qui utilisera cette information ? Dans quels objectifs et quel sera le profit potentiel pour les agriculteurs ?

K A K : Les utilisateurs de l’information : - Les Etats à travers les Services semenciers qui disposent ainsi de données fiables sur la filière semencière. Ces données serviront chaque année à l’élaboration des programmes semenciers nationaux qui déterminent les besoins par catégorie de semence et par variété;- Les agriculteurs à travers leurs organisations qui pourront trouver des clients pour écouler leurs productions mais aussi, connaître les sources potentielles de semences en cas de besoin ;- Les sociétés semencières et les firmes phytopharmaceutiques pour la commercialisation de leurs produits ;- Les commerçants (dealers, intermédiaires, grossistes) qui pourront également faire du business et créer une valeur ajoutée à la semence.

N.T : Comment se fera la participation des communautés rurales ?

K A K : Les communautés rurales prennent une part très active dans le fonctionnement du système. Les Cyber-semences sont logés dans les OPA / Coopératives et sont gérés par les agriculteurs eux-mêmes.

N.T : Le projet permettra-il un meilleur partage de l’information sur les semences et une préservation des connaissances endogènes qui jusque là disparaissaient ?

K A K : Oui, nous pensons que ce projet va faciliter la circulation de l’information entre les différents acteurs de la filière. Il favorise la remontée et la diffusion de l’information sur les semences. A ce propos, d’autres outils des mass medias seront mis à contribution, notamment : les radios rurales, les journaux, les prospectus, les posters, etc. En ce qui concerne la valorisation des connaissances endogènes, le système fait la promotion des variétés traditionnelles et des connaissances endogènes qui les accompagnent. Il travaille sur la création de niches de marchés pour certaines variétés traditionnelles qui font l’objet d’une forte demande locale ou extérieure.

By Brenda Zulu
The emergence of digital citizens in Africa is still an elitist activity and was still an urban tool. Global Voices Online, Regional Editor for Sub Saharan Africa ,Macha Ndesajo asked and answered the question by saying that “No ones owns the African blogosphere” in his open address to delegates attending the Digital Citizen Indaba (DCI) in Grahamstown South Africa recently. He said that this was because Africa’s rural still has infrastructure challenges noting that as Africa we are were we started with the mobile phones ten years ago and that in the next ten years we expect the revolution to be blogged. He noted that the other challenge was that of ownership as to who owns the African blogosphere? “No one owns the African blogsphere,” said Ndesajo. He noted that blogs gave power to the community to share what they wanted in whatever form weather text, video, sound and data. He said it was not enough to just be a blog unless one was enhanced by being part of a community because united “we would have more power,” said Ndesajo. He gave an example of Kenya Unlimited, which is a Kenyan blogsphere that has the power of the community. “We were a smart mob and we can build new Africa,” observed Ndesajo. He said that digital natives in Africa could embrace both traditional and new media. He observed that many bloggers in Africa had started to practice Citizen Media and also that there was need to build a community around blogs. He noted that blogs were so powerful as countries such as Ethiopia had started to block blogs. Some bloggers cannot blog within Ethiopia. Macha pointed out that without some Zimbabwean bloggers it would be difficult to know what is happening in Zimbabwe. He observed that Podcasting in Africa was not growing as fast as blogging. He observed that there was an African podcast www.africafiles.org at which people use Audacity a free open source audio program to edit their sound. Ndesajo also observed that there was an African You Tube called Mooziko. Meanwhile a Vlogger Khaya Dianga on You Tube called for more Africans on You Tube so that they can help change the way people see Africa. Dianga said the one thing Politicians fear most was You Tube. Bob Sankofa a Photoblogger said he blogs because he wants to show the other part of the story. He added that the people in the Diaspora read and promotes his blog.

Remmy Nweke a Journalist based in Nigeria said he blogs because he wants to achieve his stories online and that it helps in getting background materials online.

I was amazed to discover that while African people are still locked in series of discussions about Web 2.0 there is little awareness about positive development about the web2.0 tools. Just when I was busy with my assignment on web.20, a young bright man from Soweto South Africa —who probably escaped the of Bantu Education (poor education system during South Africa ’s apartheid) told me that when engaging on web.20 tools we turn to isolate the role of youth in promoting some tools. For instance some of these youth are well ahead in using some of the web.2.0 techniques such as podcast despite lack of internet access at their homes. With their schools not only a place to access the internet, their participation in web 2.0 tools is something that one should appreciate and start investing at this level to avoid another group people who seem to always cry about things not getting off the ground. Without undermining efforts by fellow Africans, I think some of us should be careful when shouting at government particularly when lobbying certain policies including ICTs.

We should also look at our schools as a foundation to mainstream some of the needs including access to the internet. I do not know in other countries but in most of African schools there seem to be progress because some of us went to the same schools that has prepared until we can today create blogs. So if we need to get things right, for us to have sustainable long term solutions on issues of ICTs we need to identify key structures in our communities that some how forces governments to invest in such policies. As I have said, I think schools are classical examples to achieve this. If I remember very well it was the power of students that brought apartheid government in South Africa to its knees not Nelson Mandela only as it has been wrongly painted by the commercial world. Remember the 1976 Soweto Uprising ! That has brought changes in todays life style in South Africa and the same spirit embraced by todays students is still making waves in Web 2.0 with some them selling livestock from semi -urban areas of South Africa using mobile phone SMS linked with web data. This are the positive moves that demonstrate that while we engage in issues of Web.20fordev we should not undermine the positive energy of our youth. I think another classical examples is www.studentvillage.co.za –this is one of the first African web.20 initiatives that came in before the term it self. Again another project by African youth.

VIVA Web.20fordev! VIVA!

Charles Dhewla made a comment which raised a great discussion on dgroups.  It expands how web2.0 might even widen the gap of ICT for development. It also highlights how challenges such as connectivity, electricity or education limit very much the use of web2.0. Here are some interesting quotes from the discussion. The full contributions can be accessed here: web2fordev dgroup.

Charles Dhewla:
Web2.0 is a welcome development particularly for African countries where website developers are charging a fortune if one wants a simple website. This new technology has opened up new channels for sharing information. I have discovered that in most cases, a blog is more useful and user-friendly than most websites which are not even interactive.

However, before we are lost in the hype of Web2.0, let us not forget that in some parts of Africa, there are millions of people who are still to know what an e-mail is or visit a website. Let’s not promote new technology as if the earlier one is no longer useful. There are people still learning their ropes on conventional websites who need to be given time to absorb this knowledge. The pace at which ICTs are being developed and promoted does not take into account the rate at which people are able to absorb and use acquired knowledge and skills. If it takes years for educated people to learn and absorb internet use, how long do you think it will take illiterate communities, who are supposed to benefit? The workshop should make an effort to address this issue. Information and knowledge overload is a grim reality in most developing countries especially in Africa.

Ken Kubuga:
In parts of the world like Africa, Web2 is not exactly the problem. The problem is Internet availability and accessibility. I am sure a good number of us will feel charged about exploiting the opportunities associated with web2 tools during and after the conference and perhaps get back home to having to deal with Internet accessibility.

Steve Ciscler:
I’d like to remind people of the solution in the mid-90’s to low bandwidth and the desire to use the web: accessing it via email. There were whole manuals to do this, and I met a researcher from Guyana who did literally everything via email at 9600 bps. You can see some of the instructional texts at the bottom of this page: http://www.expita.com/ While most of us would not do this, there may be a resurgence in using these techniques from mobile phones: access the web using SMS.

Makelesi Kora-Gonelevu:
Lets not forget the Pacific where the islands are spread over vast amounts of water. The problem here too would be internet connectivity.

John Tim Denny:
On the one had we need the dreamers to come up with what it will be in the future, yet at the same time we also need some sort of bridge between what we must do now to directly assist in the most basic steps to set the stage… the step from not having electricity to Web 2.0 is like sending a man to the moon.. what is in between?

Rachael Kadama:
I would like to include another dimension to this discussion, if tomorrow we all got reasonable internet access and availability, what kind of impact to development are these tools likely to bring to us?

The availability of relevant content is what worries me and where I think the web2 tools have the opportunity to lend us a hand in developing it. whether we have no access , little access or abundance of bandwidth, people in both rural and urban areas only need this access to get some kind of content / information. We need to look into how these tools can deliver some of the lacking content or strengthen content development, communication, collaboration etc.

Tobias Eigen:
For me the most important part is that Web 2.0 helps to make the case for justifying the Internet for busy and cash strapped organizations. With a little knowhow and an hour or so of Internet connectivity, it is possible to get a professional looking blog up and running. With minimal care and feeding, that blog can be filled with compelling stories and photographs, as exemplified by some of the blogsdescribed in the comments to my blog already. Blogs are really just one example - a wide range of new “Web 2.0 hype enabled” software and services really have made it easier for African organizations to make use of the Internet once you get online.

Koin Etuati:
I think the Web 2 is ideal for us that work on gathering and sharing information on new technologies/concept - either with energy, agriculture, health etc. Because we want to use this technology to share and gather new ideas/concept with our counterparts, in the respective islands in the case of the pacific region. We put the information together, get innovative financing schemes to put this information on the ground.

Edward Addo-Dankwa:
If we are going to wait for all people to learn and be familiar with conventional things before new technologies are introduced, then we will never develop. New technologies are mostly built on the conventional ones. In fact Web 2.0 according to many people, is not new. They are the old conventional things that have been improved. They are supposed to have made it easier for people to appreciate and use those technologies better. Technology does not take into consideration individual people’s rate of learning. In fact our people don’t need to start learning from the begining.

Anke Weisheit:
Connectivity is a major challenge for economically poorer countries to access, participate in the electronic media, especially internet, and e-mail communication.
Some internet connectivity information in Uganda
1-hour internet in a cafe in
Kampala 1500UGX = 0.85USD
Mbarara 3000UGX = 1,72USD
Village 6000UGX = 3,42USD

Jonathan C Onyekwelu:
Bandwidth cost is probably the same for Africans and Europeans or Americans but the earning power is about 500 times higher in both continents than in Africa. Providing the right bandwidth that will guarantee the right internet speed will cost Africans a fortune!
It might be interesting for us to know that a lot of Universities and research institutes in Africa cannot afford the luxury of fast internet connection. In fact most have epilectic services, which is often times frustrating. You will have to wait for hours to connect and when you are finally connected, downloading data is another nightmare. If this is the case with the elites, then what will the story for rural communities for whom we are trying to evaluate the efficacy of web2fordev?