In this blog I am addressing the Association for Progressive
Communications (APC) in the application for the position of African ICT Policy
Advocacy Coordinator.
The issues to be addressed are:
a) why do you think ICT policy is in critical need of
attention in Africa;
b) what do you think are the most important areas to
intervene in the near future?; and,
c) how do you see the relationship between human rights and
the internet?
ICT Policy
First, I wish to address our understanding of ICT and how we
can integrate it into our governance systems and also our daily lives. I have
struggled to find a term for this and the best I could find was “Progress through Technology”, or in German, “Vorsprung Durch Technik” . I
prefer to use the German expression because in German the word “Technik” not
only means technology, but also the
technique of studying and mastering the skills of something.
Thus my
belief that African countries need to relook at their ICT Policy and include the
mastering of ICT tools as part of their focus. These tools include the
1.
social
media revolution of sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc.
2.
Mobile
telephony (not only smartphones but also older technologies such as USSD)
3.
touch
screen and tablets
in getting
information to their constituents.
It is my
opinion is that discrimination in the world in 2012 and beyond, is not based
only on race, culture, gender, or geographical location, but more importantly
in access to services and technology. African leaders must address this through
ICT policies that are forward looking, and easily adaptable to changes in
technology.
Looking forward
Africa can use the latest technology to the benefit of all
its residents. The attitude to education which is presently geared to becoming
an industrial country, must be changed to a system where knowing where the
information is available is more important than having the information in your
head. This means moving from our present agricultural society to a knowledge-base
society within the next decade.
This leapfrogging into a knowledge-based society can be
assisted by creating an ICT Action Group (IAG) reporting directly to the
President or even Parliament. I propose such an IAG should consist of four
staff members, of which two should be young people under the age of
twenty-five. (The (male and female) staff member should each have software
programming skills and should also participate in gaming leagues such as
Warcraft. In addition, they should have a minimum competency in the number of
words they can SMS per minute on their cellular phone.)
The objectives of the IAG:
•
Advise the President and Cabinet on ICT.
•
Ensure ICT capability of all members of the Cabinet and
their staff.
•
Create a Government Ministerial scorecard on
Information and Communication Technologies. This includes a baseline survey of
computer equipment and civil servant skills, as well as monitoring the
information availability over government websites.
•
Oversee the creation of a central register with data on
residents and businesses.
•
Ability to declare certain areas to be under-serviced
and secure funds to roll-out infrastructure
•
Identify international trends such as Facebook and Chat
with the view of encouraging local sites that are able to provide the same
service. This will encourage innovation and access to information.
•
Promote local content development to enhance the
National Identity.
•
Host free internet websites for any resident of of
their country
ICT and Human rights
Human rights are to be understood as something we are
entitled to because we are a human being. With the advent of the Internet and
more and more powerful ICT tools, some of the citizens of the world are being
left behind. While the information on the Web might be available to anyone,
availability of infrastructure to access the Internet in lacking in many
developing countries. two issues are thus defined in ICT policy, access to the
information, and being given the education to use ICT.
Thus, just as the provision of water or housing, access to information and communication
technologies must be provided by the government to its residents – in the
same manner they provide libraries in the communities.
As for teaching ICT usage, in the Declaration of Human
Rights, Article 26 it states:
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be
free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education
shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally
available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis
of merit. (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human
personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship
among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities
of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace
In earlier times we referred to the three R’s being reading,
writing and arithmetic. Today, using the computer as a e-reader, blog writer,
movie uploader or collaborative social movement, has become just as important
to learn at the primary education level.
Our ICT policies should strive to…
“Develop
the tools and systems to assist the management of our countries (government,
civil society and private sector) in providing access to services and
technologies to allow maximum quality of life to all who live there.”
