SIs Newslog - Communications

Solan Conference: 'ICT vital in womens empowerment'

Some Other User — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:08:09 GMT

Information and communications technology (ICT) is now an indispensable tool in empowering women, an international conference heard.

Participants from 21 countries attending the three-day conference, held this month (1-3 June) in Solan in Himachal Pradesh state (India), were satisfied by the rapid progress of ICT initiatives, but equally concerned at the many divides.

"We are doing a lot to train urban women into experts in information technology, but relatively little is being done to increase use of ICT among rural women", said Vinita Sharma who heads science for equity, empowerment & development at Indias department of science and technology.

Deliberations at the conference, organized by the centre for science & technology of non-aligned and other developing countries (NAM S&T Centre) and Jaypee University of Information Technology, Solan, focused on ways to make ICT more accessible to women.

Marialy Tovar, international analyst, Venezuelan ministry of science, technology and innovation, reported that 'info-centro' machines installed in most villages in her country have increased ICT access for women in her country.

Pushpa Devi Kuppusamy, IT officer in the Malaysian ministry of science, technology and innovation said the '1nita' project in her country encourages women entrepreneurs to use ICT to advantage.

Participants noted the problems of access that women face include lack of training and infrastructure, socio-economic constraints to owning ICT equipment, inconvenient location of community ICT centres and lack of confidence.

While there has been a steady increase in the number of female ICT professionals, a large number of women still fear using ICT tools.
"We need to instill confidence among women so that they can be as good as men in both using and improving the technology", Arun Kulshreshsta, director of the NAM S&T Centre, told SciDev.Net.

Nirupama Prakash, head of the centre for women studies at Jaypee University, said women from the villages in Uttarakhand state had benefited from training in using community radio imparted by her centre.

Among recommendations made by the conference was one concerning the use of ICT to increase women's security and making them better aware of their legal rights.

(Source: SCIDEV)

Literacy project for girls and women in Senegal goes digital

Some Other User — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:57:48 GMT

All classrooms of the literacy project for girls and women in Senegal (PAJEF) will soon be equipped with a digital kit consisting of a laptop, an interactive beamer, an infrared stylus touch pen to write directly on the digital board, as well as adapted software.

UNESCOs Regional Office in Dakar will shortly received 200 digital classroom kits from the Sankoré programme, a joint partnership for education between the GIP ENA (a public interest group for digital education in Africa), the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNESCO Dakar.

A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed on the May, 16th between Professor Albert-Claude Benhamou for the GIP ENA, Jean-Marc Châtaigner for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ann Thérèse Ndong-Jatta, director of the Regional Office for Education in Africa (BREDA) of UNESCO, in order to define the conditions of the Sankoré programmes support to the literacy project PAJEF. The digital kits will be used in the teaching and training of illiterate girls and women, as well as the 3000 newly literate beneficiaries of PAJEF who will now start to learn computer skills.

Improve the impact
This is a way to improve the impact of PAJEF, as ICT skills are vital in todays society, and it greatly motivates girls and women to learn, says Saip Sy, who is working on the PAJEF project in UNESCO Dakar. We are convinced that these kits will make the literacy classrooms much more efficient as they enhance the teachers teaching abilities. This is already happening in formal education he adds.

PAJEF started in January 2012 and aims to reach out to 40,000 neo - literate and illiterate women aged 15 - 55 years in Senegal. The principal target is the seven regions most affected by illiteracy (Diourbel, Fatick, Kédougou, Matam, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda and Dakar). It runs until the end of 2013.
While the digital kits are a way to make ICTs become a reality in these often remote villages, we also have to deal with several challenges, says Sy.

They include:
- Integrate ICTs in current teaching and training processes
- Train teachers in the specific software and improve their teaching abilities
- Use local languages in the ICTs,
The digital kits will be introduced in the formal schools as well and will hence be used both in formal schooling and in the literacy classes.

Improved efficiency
The software Open Sankoré and the different components of the digital kits are great tools for teachers. The kits are simple to use and manage and teachers can instantly adjust their teaching. For example they can directly make some comments and underline their lesson on the digital board, add pictures, videos, etc, and adapt teaching according to the progression of the learners.

Moreover, through the introduction of these digital kits, learners should gain knowledge easier through greater participation. Everyone can intervene during the class and interactions hence become one of the principal components of the lesson.

TV programmes in the classrooms
An additional advantage is that thanks to a partnership with Senegals national TV station RTS, several news and education programmes will be made available in the classrooms.

This is a really important input to the PAJEF literacy programmes, as girls and women will learn not only literacy but also about such issues as nutrition, health, the environment etc., comments Saip Sy.

GIP ENA will deliver the digital kits to UNESCO Dakar in June 2013. A series of training session for teachers and technical teams are scheduled the following month, where the digital equipment will also be set up.

An evaluation will be carried out at the end of 2013 to analyse the efficiency of these digital kits.
The fund for PAJEF, amounting to $750,000, is funding by the international company Procter & Gamble (Always) and UNESCO to the Government of Senegal.

(Source: UNESCO)

Mauritania: World Bank helps ICT development

Some Other User — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:45:41 GMT

Mauritanias efforts in improving its telecommunications connectivity through expansion of fiber-optic broadband networks has received a boost after the board of executive directors of the World Bank approved $30 million in International Development Association credits to support the governments efforts.

The World Banks Director for Regional Integration, Colin Bruce, said that they want to harness Africas ongoing ICT revolution to address the development challenges confronting West African states. He stated that the availability of reliable regional broadband networks will ensure that communications, commerce and trade in services across borders to be done with less hassle. He said that a high capacity network is the cornerstone of developing a modern regional economic zone in West Africa.

The expansion of its fiber-optic broadband networks is part of the second phase of a $300 million West Africa Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (WARCIP) aimed at connecting the 16 countries of the region with the world. The program counts on the potentials of the private sector in order to allow a fast roll out of infrastructure and expansion of telecoms services through public-private partnerships.

In a statement released by the bank, there are expectations that the investments being made towards the project will lead to an expansion in accessibility, quality improvement and reliability of voice and internet service communications. The above mentioned are considered as major factors in attracting private sector investment in ICT services and the provision of cheaper services.

Only a little above 100,000 of the 3,5 million of Mauritanias population are Internet users. This figure is equivalent to 3,3% making it to be among the lowest Internet rates on the continent. Research indicates that a 10% increase in internet broadband penetration leads to about 1% of economic growth.

(Source: The North Africa Post)

Achieving a disability-inclusive development agenda with ICTs - HLMDD 2013

Some Other User — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:35:55 GMT

On Monday 23 September 2013, the UN General Assembly will hold a meeting in New York (USA) at the level of Heads of States to define the future global roadmap to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all development efforts. The meeting will have the overarching theme The way forward: a disability inclusive development agenda.

To contribute to a successful outcome the Broadband Commission, G3ICT, the International Disability Alliance, ITU, Microsoft, Telecentre.org Foundation and UNESCO have launched a global consultation to capture the recommendations from all stakeholders on the contribution of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs), - such as websites, mobile, radio and TV - to achieve the autonomous participation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society. Be part of this initiative and contribute to reaching an inclusive development agenda with ICTs!

Further information

BYND 2015 Global Youth Summit

Some Other User — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:25:16 GMT

Costa Rica, 9-11 September 2013
A platform for young people to ensure their inclusion in the most important decisions of the 21st Century. The Global Youth Summit: BYND 2015 will assemble young people from all corners of the globe with a view to highlighting their priorities and capturing their combined voice in crucial national and international policy and decision making processes.

As an ICT focused conference, the talks, sessions and workshops will be webcast and translated into the six official languages of the UN, wherever possible. Workshops will be webcast in their original languages with online conversations happening via social media, curated and facilitated by young participants.
The outcomes of the Summit include a crowdsourced, multimedia statement to be presented to Heads of State at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2013.
Become Summit partner and have an active role in the events success in developing a meaningful and engaging content and outcomes for the young participants.

Partnership categories:
Founding Partner: Lead a delegation of young people
Thematic Partner: Shape the outcomes with content and speakers
National Partner: Services to delegations on the ground in San José

Further information

GSMA: More than 40 million news patients could be treated in Brazil and Mexico in 2017 if action is taken to drive mHealth adoption

Some Other User — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 20:13:06 GMT

The GSMA unveiled research that demonstrates the socio - economic transformation that mHealth adoption will have in Latin America, with findings indicating that more than 40 million additional patients could be treated in Brazil and Mexico alone in 2017 through the use of mHealth services. A new GSMA report, developed in collaboration with PwC and released today at HOSPITALAR 2013 in São Paulo, identified significant benefits of mHealth implementation in Brazil and Mexico in 2017 that will:

Empower poor and chronic patients
- Extend healthcare to 28.4 million additional patients in Brazil and 15.5 million patients in Mexico in 2017
- Equip around 16 million citizens to improve their lifestyle and reduce the impact of chronic diseases, prolonging lives

Sustain universal healthcare systems
- Enhance quality of care and efficiency of care delivery, saving $17.9 billion in costs ($14.1 billion in Brazil and $3.8 billion in Mexico)
- Create 200,000 jobs to support mHealth deployments across Brazil and Mexico

Improve quality of life
- Save almost 16,000 lives and add 23,000 life years, as well as save doctors 14.6 million working days through improved prevention, diagnosis and treatment
- Ensure that citizens constitute a healthier workforce, adding $ 12.9 billion to the GDP of Mexico and Brazil

mHealth can help countries like Brazil and Mexico tackle the significant challenge of providing universal healthcare to a large, dispersed population, said Jeanine Vos,Executive Director, mHealth at the GSMA. The pressures on healthcare resources and the increasing burden of chronic diseases make it key to deploy innovative and cost-effective solutions. mHealth willenhance the reach, efficiency of spend and effectiveness of care to provide better quality health services to more people. Therefore it is critical that governments and regulators work with healthcare providers and mobile operators to drive mHealth adoption.

For more information on the GSMAs mHealth programme and to view the report visit: www.gsma.com/connectedliving/mhealth.

(Source: GSMA)

Ugandan Hospital Moves from Dusty Attic File Storage to Digital system

Some Other User — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 19:58:32 GMT

What used to be a system where patient files had to be looked up in papers in a dusty attic, is now in the process of becoming a digital system in several Ugandan hospitals. With continuous computer training, medical training via computers with a teleconferencing tool, a soon-to-be digital pharmacy and electronic patient records, Lubaga hospital in Kampala and other Ugandan hospitals are taking giant steps to improve their quality.

In a wooden attic, cabinets filled with old papers are collecting dust. These are our old patient records, says records assistant Rhodah Kiconco. Unlike the rest of Lubaga hospital, a city hospital in Kampala which has quite a nice temperature, the attic is directly under the roof and very hot. After one year, patient files are moved from the hospitals main department to the attic. In practice this could mean that if a patient moves to another city or village and comes back a couple of years later, that it is hard to find his or her records again quickly. For these and many other reasons, the hospital is now in the process of digitalizing with the support of IICD and Cordaid via the Connect4Change Consortium together with Ugandan partner UCMB. Patient records will be stored digitally and easily accessible from most places in the hospital and hospital staff receives continuous computer training and health training via computers.

Two floors down, a group of 12 nurses and doctors receive computer training by IT instructor Andrew Ssemwezi who is talking about how to use some of the features of Google online such as a shared calendar. In the afternoon, 12 other nurses, doctors and administrative workers will receive the same course. The 24 people will receive basic computer training for several weeks and then other groups take their place. Once all staff is trained in basic computer training, the staff can start using the available computers for continuous medical training, says UCMBs project coordinator Jenard Ntacyo. The idea is that in the future, all nurses and other staff have to start using computers for e-learning. And if they dont participate and do continuous training, they could lose their license.

(Source: IICD)

UN convenes meeting on role of technology and innovation for sustainable development

Some Other User — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 19:44:08 GMT

Senior United Nations officials, policymakers, civil society representatives and other stakeholders gathered last May 13, at UN Headquarters in New York for a special Economic and Social Council forum on mobilizing science, technology and innovation for sustainable development.

Science, technology and innovation hold great potential as tools and enable to integrate the three dimensions of sustainable development, said the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo.

They can be used to promote health, increase productivity, improve the efficiency of resource use, and reduce negative human impacts on the environment. They will be critical to tackling some of the major sustainable development challenges of this century. These include providing food security to a growing population, eradicating poverty and tackling climate change.

Attended by policymakers, key stakeholders and UN system representatives, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Integration Meeting seeks to follow-up on the commitments made by world leaders at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June last year.
That historic summit recognized ECOSOCs role in achieving a balanced integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development, and adopted an outcome document, The Future We Want. Following the Conference, ECOSOC held a Ministerial meeting in September, where participants discussed how to strengthen the multilateral system for sustainable development.

Mr. Wu underlined that ensuring food security and universal access to sustainable energy are complex challenges that must be addressed in an integrated way.
Some of the technological solutions are simple, as with clean cook stoves. However, social and economic barriers to their broader diffusion can be complex, he said. Innovation extends beyond developing hardware, to finding solutions, to the broad social acceptance and economic affordability of improved technologies.

In his opening remarks, Deputy-Secretary General Jan Eliasson stressed the importance of Council in promoting balanced integration of different dimensions to sustainable development in the UN system, and called for cooperation to achieve not just sustainable development objectives but also the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

(Source: UN News Centre)

Final weeks to enter ITU Telecom World 2013 Young Innovators Competition

Some Other User — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 19:39:38 GMT

30 June deadline approaching for submission of technological solutions to development challenges.

Only four weeks remain for young social technopreneurs from around the world to submit applications to the ITU Telecom World 2013 Young Innovators Competition and win up to USD 10,000 in seed funding. The deadline is 30 June 2013.

The third edition of the annual Young Innovators Competition seeks innovative ICT-based solutions to six Global Challenges. It is open to any young person between the ages of 18 and 26 with an original concept or start-up with the potential to impact the world and improve people's lives through the use of connected technologies (ICTs).

Submissions must address one of the following Global Challenges:

- Improve employment opportunities for young people and migrant workers
- Reduce food and water wastage at individual and retail levels
- Facilitate access to public services for the elderly
- Improve natural disaster prediction and response
- Improve road safety for both drivers and pedestrians
- Protect sensitive personal data and inspire the creation of local digital content

Ten winning finalists will be selected to attend in Bangkok, 19-22 November 2013. ITU Telecom World 2013 is the leading platform for debate, networking, innovation showcasing and knowledge-exchange for the global ICT community. Young Innovators Competition finalists will take part in workshops, pitching sessions, mentoring and networking, in addition to receiving up to USD 10,000 prize money to further develop their project. Competition details are here.

For more information visit world2013.itu.int/#itu_2013 or contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
+41 22 730 5046
+41 79 249 4861
sanjay.acharya@itu.int

(Source: ITU Newsroom)

TCF debuts book on Outstanding Telecentre Women Managers

Some Other User — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 19:31:36 GMT

Telecentre.org Foundation (TCF) launched its book, Outstanding Telecentre Women Managers: 100 Stories. The English Edition of the e-book, which was officially debuted at Spark13, the 4th Global Forum on Telecentres on May 28, 2013 in Granada, Spain, is a compilation of stories of the winners of the Global Search for 100 Outstanding Telecentre Women Managers conducted by TCF in 2011. The competition, which was organized in collaboration with TCFs six regional telecentre network partners is a component of the Telecentre Women: Digital Literacy Campaign, a joint initiative by the International Telecommunication Union and Telecentre.org Foundation.

The 100 stories featured in the e-book chronicles the lives of women from over 30 countries around the world and presents a vivid snapshot of how these telecentre women came to rise to their current ranks, the struggles they encountered along the way, and the projects they are working on that are currently changing the world.

Tess Camba, Director of Operations for Telecentre.org Foundation said, Were extremely excited to be able to share this with you. We are grateful for all the partners who have contributed to the development of this book and most especially for the 100 women who have graciously allowed us to share their stories with the rest of the world.
A second edition with translations of the English articles in multiple languages is set to be launched in the third quarter of 2013. The English Edition is currently available for download at the TCF website.

(Source: Telecentre.org)

Rwanda hosts OLPC Scratch Day

Some Other User — Thu, 30 May 2013 17:17:59 GMT

As a part of Scratch Day celebrations around the world, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) in partnership with the One Laptop Per Child Association, has hosted a Scratch Day event in Rwanda.

Scratch is basic programming language that makes easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art and share your creations.
The event was held in Kacyiru Sector at the OLPC Corner of the National Library, where students showed off the projects they had created using Scratch around different academic themes, including Environmental protection, Fight against drug abuse, Childrens rights, and Rwandan vision 2020.

The event aimed to show the true potential that Rwandan children have to lead and develop their skills and confidence using their XO laptops.

(Source: BiztechAfrica)

Social Learning: A Namibian Experiment

Some Other User — Thu, 30 May 2013 17:10:42 GMT

In Sub-Saharan Africa, innovative approaches are constantly being developed to address the regions acute education challenges. Low literacy levels, inadequate school facilities, and high dropout rates are felt acutely, particularly in rural areas. Despite government initiatives to tackle these issues, accessing education remains difficult for some, especially those who have abandoned their studies and find it difficult to re-join school or gain employment in a competitive job market that favours the best qualified. But through a pioneering eLearning for Youth project, which utilizes social media and mobile learning, positive changes are taking place.

The project is currently being tested in Namibia, and addresses the large number of learners who abandon their studies at a young age. The reasons for dropping out of school vary from person to person and throughout Africa while poverty, pregnancy, family or social commitments and the hidden costs of education constantly present obstacles, short-term events can also critically interrupt the progress of a childs education such as the recent drought in the Kunene region of Namibia, which forced many families to move to more fertile pastures, away from schools. What is certain is that returning to formal education after dropping out is doubly difficult. Schools in Namibia are frequently understaffed and overstretched, with class sizes often between 70 and 80 pupils, and the personal touch erratically educated children need simply cannot be provided.

Maurice Nkusi of the Centre for Teaching and Learning Polytechnic of Namibia, explains the dire situation facing school dropouts in Namibia, and the essential lifeline m- and eLearning offer them.

The unemployed and perhaps almost unemployable millions of African youth, on the street without the required skills, seemingly condemned to [a life of] poverty and violence, can find mobile learning and social networking very valuable as tools to go through academic programmes for skills development [and] experience sharing and collaboration.

Maurice Nkusis eLearning for out-of-school youth project aids school dropouts by using ICTs to assist them in continuing to develop their skills and obtain an education, despite their having left the formal classroom setting. It uses cheap mobile phones with Internet access and a built-in slot for a memory card containing multimedia resources, which allow the students to get access to quality learning materials hosted on an mLearning platform, complete their assignments, and successfully pass mLearning courses. The idea is to re-create a productive learning environment in a mobile setting, where access to content, learning participation, and effective assessment implementation are all components of the teaching theories used. In this way, young people out of school are given the necessary skills to generate their own employment, and are also given access to a platform allowing them to network, share information and collaborate.

The initial trials of the project have so far demonstrated that the young students it reaches can do tests and assignments, participate in online educational discussion threads, and learn from home, using small portable devices that is, with none of the hidden costs (travel, equipment) that in many cases obstruct their classroom education. This enables them to gain the same skills taught in formal educational institutions at low expense, and to a flexible timetable that can fit round their other commitments.

Courses offered in this type of mLearning are often more practical than theoretical, and generally use multimedia resources to assist in skill development. One, for example, taught students how to grow mushrooms, with participants learning to duplicate the techniques shown in videos. At the end of the course, the students were able to grow their own mushrooms and sell them at the local market.

In Africa, there are many innovative ICT education projects that fail owing to poor ICT infrastructure, and also because the technical capabilities to maintain the equipment are unavailable. Further, ICT deployment in African schools requires the training of staff in basic computer skills and the effective integration of technology in teaching. Mobile learning has no such restrictions and can be easily integrated into the classroom environment: and the reaction, in this case, has been extremely positive. It has helped many out-of-school youths to gain confidence in their skills and provide a service to their communities, proving that a considerable number of young people can be trained from their homes in various skills-development programmes, giving hope to many for whom the rigidity of traditional education has become a stumbling-block.

Maurice Nkusi is involved in several other socially conscious initiatives which use the latest in ICT innovation: such as the Join Us multimedia campaign on Gender and Power Relations, seeking to address gender imbalances in Namibia through printed, online, mobile and social media campaigns, and the Education for Social Development Online Portal, a social network and electronic portfolio hybrid which supports the development of online eLearning communities. He is also a speaker at the upcoming eLearning Africa Conference 2013 in Namibia, where he will share some of his considerable wealth of findings from these and other projects.
For more information on the programme, or to register for the conference, see here.

Further details

WAAW Foundation Robotics and Renewable STEM Camp for African Girls

Some Other User — Thu, 30 May 2013 16:59:30 GMT

Working to Advance STEM Education for African Women (WAAW) Foundation is launching a high quality, exciting and technically challenging one week residential Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) camp for African Girls in Senior Secondary School (9th to 12th Grades). The theme of the camp is Robotics and Renewable Energy. The camp will be help from July 28th to August 3rd in Lagos, Nigeria.

Working to Advance STEM Education for African Women (WAAW), in partnership with the Womens Technology Empowerment Center (W.TEC) Nigeria will launch its one - week residential Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) camp at the Laureates College in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria from July 28th to August 2nd, 2013. The theme of the 2013 camp is ROBOTICS AND RENEWABLE ENERGY.

The Director of WAAW STEM Camp initiative, Ms. Ifeyinwa Okoye said "The camp will use an integrated learning approach centered on the theme to show how robotics, computer science and programming are useful for solving significant problems in Africa, including electricity generation. The girls will learn to use locally available items and tools so that when camp is over, they will be able to continue to innovate with what they can find in their communities".

The Robotics STEM camp, the first of its kind in Africa, will include hands on activities, lectures, tutorials, experiments and field trips, all led and presented by female role models as an avenue to interest and excite the girls about STEM careers.

Camp applications open in March online at http://www.waawfoundation.org. Campers will be selected through a screening process and individual interviews. Successful candidates will be notified the first week of June 2013.

When asked about the criteria for qualification, the Executive Director of WAAW, Mrs. Ebele Agustates that "This camp is for African girls between the ages of 13 and 17 years who are currently enrolled in Senior Secondary School (SS1) through SS3 within the African continent. We feel that this is the age where girls are making crucial decisions about their careers. This is when we can make a lasting impression on the girls and help them form peer networks that they can draw on throughout their careers".

The STEM Camp Program will include:
- Students building a robot to solve green energy challenges such as trash sorting.
- Students building renewable energy systems such as solar and Wind Mill systems.
- Students exploring science, engineering and Math topics to support camp theme.
- Students participating in intense team building exercises.

There will also be time for fun! The camp schedules a number of activities that include swimming, pizza parties, baking classes, dance classes, career fair, wii playing and karaoke. Participants will experience dorm life, cafeteria food and learn what it is like to be on a college campus.
"The learning objective is to ensure girls think of Science and Technology as tools to help them innovate to enable real problem solving in their communities", says Dr. Unoma Okorafor, the founder of WAAW Foundation organization.

Participants are African girls (ages 13 17) who show high aptitude and interest in STEM disciplines. drawn both from government or public schools fed by low income families, who otherwise would not have the opportunity to learn about or be exposed to possible STEM careers, and from private schools. The aim of the camp is to challenge traditional African societal beliefs that female education is wasted resources and demonstrate that STEM innovation helps solve real problems in the communities in which our participants live.

See here the STEM Camp Application.

(Source: Pressroom WAAW)

Adaptive technology devices: A necessity for people with disabilities

Some Other User — Thu, 30 May 2013 16:49:19 GMT

Computers are essential tools in all academic studies. They can enhance the independence, productivity, and capabilities of people with disabilities.

Furthermore, computers can benefit people with low vision, blindness, speech and hearing impairments, learning disabilities, mobility, and health impairments.
Each of these impairments poses challenges to accessing and using a standard computer and electronic resources. For example, a student who is visually disabled is unable to read a computer screen display or standard printouts.

A student with a spinal cord injury may not have the motor control and finger dexterity required to use a standard mouse and keyboard.
Accordingly, African governments should prioritize adaptive technology devices since they are necessary for people living with disabilities. Adaptive hardware and software can facilitate computer access for people with disabilities.

Access to computers for students with disabilities involves two major issues: access to the computers themselves and access to electronic resources such as word processors, spreadsheets, and the World Wide Web.

Adaptive technology solutions may involve simple, readily available adjustments such as using built-in access devices on standard computers, or they may require unique combinations of software and hardware such as those needed for voice or Braille output.

Most individuals who are visually impaired can use a standard keyboard. Since viewing standard screen displays and printed documents is problematic, specialized voice and Braille output devices can translate text into synthesized voice and Braille output, respectively.

Dr Tamru E Belay, an adaptive technology specialist, says there are essentially five methods of output that can render computers and printed materials accessible for individuals who are blind or visually impaired: screen reader, Braille printer, reading device, electronic Braille displays, and text magnification.

He explains: The Screen Reader converts computer outputs and text entering cues into major spoken languages. The person with visual impairment can access computers with the help of speech output to use any word processor application to write letters, school assignments or any other writing. The exploration of the Internet and sending electronic-mail (e-mail) are possible for a blind individual by the use of a speech synthesiser.

A Braille Embosser is a hardware device for printing a hard copy of a text document in Braille. A Braille translation software program is required to translate the text from the computer into Braille. Most Braille translation software programs can translate material into several grades or versions of Braille. Computerized Braille Embossers definitely have great advantage over the manual Brailing method.

The reading devices for the blind allow access to hard copy of ink printed materials into the computer where it becomes accessible. Once the text has scanned within a second, the user can start listening to the text in a clear voice. The user can also save the scanned material for later use.

(Source: The Southern Times)

G3ict Chair Ambassador Luis Gallegos on Launch of Global Consultation for Best Practices in ICT Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities

Some Other User — Thu, 30 May 2013 16:32:37 GMT

There are more than 1 billion people living with disabilities. But this figure doesnt provide the full picture of how disabilities impact the lives of a much broader community because in reality, if we also take into consideration family and friends who provide persons with disabilities with daily support, almost 2 billion people are affected by disabilities.

It is just impossible to exclude such a significant proportion of the worlds population from development efforts and the opportunities provided by ICTs.

To address this important segment of the population, and to correct the fact that disabilities were not included as part of the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations General Assembly will hold on 23 September 2013 the High Level Meeting on Disability and Development. This meeting will gather Heads of State, International Organizations, NGOs, civil society groups and accessibility experts among others, and will define the future roadmap to achieve a disability-inclusive agenda.

In this context, and in my role of chairperson of the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ICT), it is my pleasure to announce the launch of a global consultation to capture the best practices, experiences and recommendations on how the use of information and communication technologies can support the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society. The consultation is a joint initiative from the Broadband Commission, G3ICT, the International Disability Alliance, ITU, Microsoft, the Telecentre.org Foundation and UNESCO.

This consultation is a unique opportunity for all relevant stakeholders working on inclusive ICTs to speak up and be heard by global policy makers at a time when the future development framework is being shaped. I invite you all to visit www.itu.int/accessibility and take part in the survey, which will be open until 10 June 2013.
Lets work together to build an inclusive society for all through the use of information and communication technologies.

(Source: ITU4U)

'Youth Solutions' Empowers Youth Led NGOs in South Asia

Some Other User — Mon, 27 May 2013 15:03:26 GMT

Four innovative Youth Solutions were selected winners at the Regional Grant Competition, jointly organized by The World Bank, Microsoft Sri Lanka and Sarvodaya-Fusion. The competition titled Youth Solutions! Technology for Skills and Employment was held at the Cinnamon Grand, Colombo on 21st May, with youth led NGOs from four nations- Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka participating.

Shilpa Sayura Foundation from Sri Lanka, YPSA from Bangladesh, YUWA from Nepal, Live & Learn Environmental Education from the Maldives were the winners of the competition that sought ideas from youth on how to use innovative and creative methods to promote Information Technology (IT) skills amongst youth, helping them to secure gainful employment.

Eight NGOs, two from each country, presented their shortlisted projects with the aim of being selected for the grant program. A total of 80 project proposals were submitted, all based on using ICT to address present day challenges faced by youth, such as lack of skills development and unemployment.
Each winning project received a grant between $15,000 and $20,000 to carry out a youth-led project for one year in duration, with the possibility of being scaled up via other public or private sector initiatives.

The high profile panel of judges comprised of Gabriela Aguilar, Senior Communications Officer for World Bank, South Asia, Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne, Country Manager of Microsoft Sri Lanka, Anurag Kak, Managing Director, Lafarge Mahaweli Cement (Pvt) Ltd., Ms Moji Akingbade, General Manager of Avery Dennison Lanka (Pvt) Ltd and Gaurav Mishra, Asia Vice President of Insights, Innovation & Social at MSLGROUP. Innovation and creativity of methods to promote Information Technology (IT) skills amongst youth helping them secure gainful employment, capacity to demonstrate solutions to challenges faced by youth and encouraging innovation, learning and sharing were taken into consideration when assessing project proposals.

The project proposal submitted by Sri Lankas Shilpa Sayura Foundation, an organization aimed at empowering youth through ICT skills was to empower youth to produce 10 high impact films on current social issues. The project titled Digital Rainbow will train at least 100 youth to become film makers, a still developing industry in the country, which will offer great potential for interested youth.

Young Power In Social Action (YPSA), an organization dedicated to support and empower socially marginalized groups in Bangladesh, presented a proposal titled Empowering Youth with Disabilities through market driven ICT skills. It aimed at supporting the smooth transition to work of people with disabilities through the use of ICT training, internships on ICT, relevant job search support and producing Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) products.

The winner from Maldives was Live & Learn Environmental Education, an organization aimed at reducing poverty and working towards sustainable development with strong partnerships. Their project aims to improve production and marketing of craft through an online portal. Youth will be engaged in training that would equip them with the ICT skills to make profitable employment through linking the segregated handicraft industry with the market.

YUWA, a Youth led organization with a mission mandate of empowering Nepali Youth for gainful employment presented a winning project which would use comprehensive e-learning methodology to equip youth with relevant ICT skills to improve employability. It will use blended technology organized in a comprehensive Learning Management System including new media, such as YouTube and podcasts to educate youth.

Replication of useful ideas throughout the region, improving public awareness on innovation and investment in ICT education for gainful employment, developing sustainable youth partnership for development impact and effectiveness, employment for youth and using ICT as a vehicle for promoting development objectives were important factors in the selection criteria.

(Source: World Bank)

Minister of Youth and ICT commends Africa Digital Media Academy (Rwanda)

Some Other User — Mon, 27 May 2013 14:50:29 GMT

The Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana commends Africa Digital Media Academy for teaching Rwandan Youth on using ICT to produce better videos and create more jobs.

This has been revealed while the Workforce Development (WDA) was receiving a WSIS Project Prizes 2013 given by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) where the Africa Digital Media Academy was voted as the best project in media category. This award has been given to Rwanda last week in Geneva during the WSIS Forum focusing on post-2015 development agenda.

Minister Nsengimana said that Africa Media Academy is helping Young People in Rwanda to get skills to produce better contents using mainly ICT.
He said that You can create a job by establishing a company to produce contents then people outside can buy what you produced. Minister Nsengimana added that when someone want to sell a digital good is easier because it can be sold online.

Africa Digital media Academy (ADMA) is a vocational training program located in the city of Kigali was initiated in March 2012 by Workforce Development Authority (WDA) together with Pixel Corps Ltd, provides students with skills necessary to work in all areas of the digital media industry.
The State Minister in charge of TVET, Albert Nsengiyumva urges students at Africa Digital Media Academy to higher by working hard to be able to create more jobs after completing their studies.

Jean Pierre Birutakwinginga, a student at ADMA noted he learnt the film production techniques; This is a great opportunity for us to explore our talents in this new innovative discipline of film making, stressed Birutukwinginga.

The WSIS Project Prizes is an annual contest which recognizes excellence in the implementation of projects and initiatives which further the WSIS goals of improving connectivity to information and communication technologies (ICTs).

This center prepares its students for production work needed in digital media. Through live, hands-on learning in the computer lab and production studio, with distance learning from television experts in the U.S, students are given instructions to proceed at their own pace with support from the instructors. The emphasis is on student collaboration with the community as the foundation for effective learning.

More information

YouthConnekt Month launched in Gakenke District (Rwanda)

Some Other User — Mon, 27 May 2013 14:44:57 GMT

YouthConnekt Month has been launched in Rushashi Sector in Gakenke District. A computer lab has been officially opened to facilitate Youth get skills in ICT.

Youth are happy to get this room because theyll be able to learn more things especially in ICT. And this will help them be connected with other fellows around the globe.
The Deputy Mayor in charge of Social Affairs, Zephyrin Ntakirutimana commends Gakenke Youth for contributing in building our country through YouthConnekt Month.
I urge you to help vulnerable people and to embrace the culture of working together as Youth, this will be a foundation of your future life and a career, says Ntakirutimana.
Youth pledge to construct a house for Marie Nyirabavakure in Gisiza Cell, Muramba Village in Janja Sector.

Youth from all districts across Rwanda will participate in different activities ranging from those in line with economic empowerment, social contribution and the use of ICT as tool for development as well as activities related to sport and entertainment.

Under the theme, The Promise of a generation, other activities will include visiting different youth initiatives to witness their contribution in national development and the role of ICT.

Further details

Global Youth Summit Partners Announced

Some Other User — Mon, 27 May 2013 14:29:29 GMT

Its a blockbuster week of workshops and open debates here in Geneva as WTPF and WSIS convene alongside each other to discuss the future of technology and development.

These major events attract nearly 3000 people and many partners took the opportunity to confirm their support for the BYND 2015: Global Youth Summit (#BYND15) to be held in San Jose, Costa Rica, from 9 to 11 September 2013. Dr Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General, announced the first partners for the Summit which will gather some 500 youth in addition to engaging millions more online through leveraging our collective community networks.

The Secretary-General gathered everyone at ITU headquarters to thank them for their contributions and review preparations for the Summit, including: UNICEF, Kofi Annan Foundation and One Young World, Microsoft, America Movil/Claro, Cisco Systems, Telecentre.org, Ooredoo, The Walt Disney Company, Azerbaijan, PricewaterhouseCoopers, ICTQatar and Intel.

The Global Youth Summit will not be a typical UN event of speeches and protocol. Youth and mentors will come together on-site in Costa Rica for interactive sessions and workshops, highlighting the work of inspiring youth that are changing their world for the better using ICTs. Key themes include Get Ahead, Be Smart-Be Safe, Be Healthy, Protect Your Environment and Change Your World. The Summit will also feature a HacktheMDGs, 48 hour hackathon where young developers will be given the challenge of developing solutions to social and economic problems they face in their communities. But this is just the beginning.

ITU will also be launching a shared online platform with partners to consult and give a voice to millions of youth so they can share their vision for the #post2015 UN development goals. This will be the biggest, most ambitious undertaking of its kind. We will give them a direct channel to world leaders: youth will develop a crowd-sourced message that the President of Costa Rica will deliver to the UN General Assembly in September, directly after the Youth Summit. To help generate momentum and interest, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was in ITUs studio last 15 of May to launch a series of online dialogues with youth, in partnership with One Young World, on hot topics around skills, jobs, leadership, political engagement and the environment.

And there is more, much more, to come .
Things are moving fast. If you are interested to get on board or to know more please contact bynd2015@itu.int or visit our website at www.itu.int/bynd2015.

(Source: ITU4u)

18-year-olds breakthrough invention can recharge phones in seconds

Some Other User — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:49:02 GMT

An 18-year-old science student has made an astonishing breakthrough that will enable mobile phones and other batteries to be charged within seconds rather than the hours it takes todays devices to power back up.

Saratoga, Calif. resident Eesha Khare made the breakthrough by creating a small super capacitor that can fit inside a cell phone battery and enable ultra-fast electricity transfer and storage, delivering a full charge in 20-30 seconds instead of several hours.

The nano-tech device Khare created can supposedly withstand up to 100,000 charges, a 100-fold increase over current technology, and its flexible enough to be used in clothing or displays on any non-flat surface.

It could also one day be used in car batteries and charging stations not unlike those used by the Tesla Model S, which includes supercharger technology that promises to charge vehicles in 30 minutes or less.

Im in a daze, Khare told CBS San Francisco after being honored among the three finalists at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix over the weekend. I cant believe this happened.

Over 1,600 finalists from around the world competed in the science fair for a $75,000 scholarship grand prize awarded by Intel. Runners-up received $50,000 scholarships.
Khare was the runner-up to 19-year-old Romanian student Gorden E. Moore, who created a low-cost artificial intelligence that can drive vehicles. She tied with Louisiana 17-year-old Henry Wanjune, who figured out new ways to measure dark matter and energy in space.

Further details

Ghana gets first E-health online service

Some Other User — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:39:24 GMT

E-health initiative, an electronic health delivery system, was launched on last Friday to enable doctors reach their patients online and bring health care to the door steps of the citizenry.

The E-health initiative, a remote doctor/patient interface allows a patient to see a doctor without leaving his home or office.
It does not seek to prevent patients from visiting hospital but to augment existing health care delivery services.

The launch was on the theme: Convenience in Health Care Delivery and has a safe harbour statement: We do not handle emergency cases.

To assess the product one has to go online to book an appointment with a doctor on ehealthghana.com after which an appointment coordinator will assign doctors to patient depending on the ailment.

Professor Agyemang Badu Akosa, a former Director General of Ghana Health Service, who launched the product, said the countrys health care is patterned on the colonial model, and health care could only be assessed at the capital, regional and district levels thereby creating a missing link in the peripherals.

He said if the initiative is rolled out properly many people would benefit from health care services irrespective of the distance, especially in a technologically advanced era.
Prof Akosa, however, noted that the challenge is with internet penetration in the country but expressed the hope that with fibre optic gaining grounds is positive light at the end of the tunnel.

He welcomed the initiative and said it would beneficial to the rural areas where E-kiosk fitted with e-health internet would be placed and operated by a volunteer and an interpreter.

Prof Edmund Delle, Founder of Rabito Clinic, lauded the initiative but cautioned that sustainability is very crucial to the success of the scheme.
What is the use of a specialist whose activities are confined to his office while the rural areas are underserved, he said.

Prof Delle noted that an initiative which enables a doctor or specialist to reach out to more people without traveling too much for outreach programmes is very much welcomed.

Mr Patrick Dasoberi, originator of the E-health Initiative, said it would serve as a platform for doctors, to share ideas and experiences relating to patients, as well as a network for pharmacists, laboratory technicians, volunteers, service couriers, who are the core of the scheme.

Further details

Speech by ITU Secretary-General, Dr Hamadoun I. Touré. Women's Empowerment in the Information Society: Systemic, Scalable Strategies

Some Other User — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:31:31 GMT

ITU WSIS Forum 2013
High Level Dialogue 1
Women's Empowerment in the Information Society: Systemic, Scalable Strategies
14 May 2013, Geneva, Switzerland

Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a tremendous pleasure to be with you this afternoon for this very important High Level Dialogue on Womens Empowerment in the Information Society.
In the second decade of the 21st century, we are all very much aware of the power and importance of ICTs in every aspect of our lives and ICTs increasingly play a vital role in all societies, in all countries.

ICTs are also a huge enabler for women in all communities and especially in the developing world.

Even a simple mobile phone enables women to stay in touch with family and friends; can provide women with access to all kinds of valuable information, such as healthcare and reproductive information; and can be a valuable tool for marketing skills and selling products and services.

With ICTs we can deliver basic education in areas such as literacy, entrepreneurship and e-agriculture in ways never before imagined and given that women do most of the worlds work, this offers enormous potential for improving the lives not just of women but of all the worlds people.

I am proud to be able to report that ITU the UN specialized agency for ICTs has partnered with the Telecentre.org Foundation on a Womens Digital Literacy Campaign.
This campaign, launched in 2011, is on track to train one million women in basic ICT skills and indeed by March this year we were already past the two-thirds mark, with 680,000 women from 147 organizations trained in 85 countries.

For its part, the UN Broadband Commission which was created three years ago by ITU and UNESCO set up a Working Group on Broadband and Gender in September last year, in answer to a direct appeal from Geena Davis, to harness the power of broadband to empower women and girls.

The working group had its first formal meeting in Mexico just over a month ago, chaired by Helen Clark, the UNDP Administrator, and I was very pleased to have been able to take part myself, along with the co-Chair of the Broadband Commission, Carlos Slim.

The Commission has also endorsed a new advocacy target, to achieve gender equality in access to broadband by 2020.

Ladies and gentlemen,
In a world where there is a large and growing skills shortage in the ICT sector, we need to get more girls involved in science, technology, engineering and maths the STEM subjects and we need to get more girls taking an interest in ICT careers.

ITU has adopted a three-pronged approach to increasing the number of women in ICT careers:

Firstly, to create demand among girls and women for careers in ICT, especially through our annual Girls in ICT Day initiative, which takes place on the fourth Thursday in April;
Secondly, to ensure a better supply of STEM education to girls and women; and
Thirdly, to achieve long-term sustainability by encouraging ICT businesses to attract, recruit, retain and last, but very much not least promote women. This involves issues such as pay gaps, recruitment strategies, making the work environment more attractive to women, and of course the work-life balance.

How can we move this strategy forward?

As you may know, UN Women and the UN Global Compact developed a core set of principles for all kinds of businesses offering guidance on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community.

These principles are known as the Womens Empowerment Principles. The WEPs were developed following an international multi-stakeholder consultation process, which began in March 2009 and culminated in their launch on International Womens Day in March 2010.

Nearly 600 companies around the world have now signed on to these principles.

One of the recommendations made by ITU during the discussions on Womens ICT Careers, at the Women, ICT and Development meeting in Washington DC in January, was to develop a Roadmap for the Tech Sector.

This roadmap would address the challenges and barriers to engaging more girls in STEM studies, as well as those that prevent women from fully-engaging in ICT careers and advancing to the highest levels.

I am therefore delighted to be able to announce that ITU, UN Women and the UN Global Compact have agreed to launch an international multi-stakeholder consultation process to develop a Tech Sector Roadmap designed to tackle just these challenges.

We will look forward to working with a wide range of stakeholders including WICTAD and the Broadband Commission Working Group on Gender as we develop this roadmap.

ITU looks forward to bringing its experience in promoting girls into the ICT pipeline and women into ICT careers.
In addition, ITU can promote the Tech Sector Roadmap among its 700+ Sector Members, which include many of the worlds leading ICT companies and top academic institutions.

I am sure that my colleague here from UN Women will also wish to share her thoughts on the Tech Sector Roadmap.
Distinguished guests,

This high level panel has been convened to identify systemic, scalable strategies for empowering women in the Information Society and I believe that the Tech Sector Roadmap is a perfect example of this, and will make real progress in enabling girls and women to step up to technology and seize the amazing career opportunities ahead.
We have much to look forward to and I wish you a very constructive dialogue!

Thank you.

(Source: ITU)

Thailand launches ICT roadshow to rural areas

Some Other User — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:13:39 GMT

National Broadcasting and Telecommunications (NBTC), Thailand has last week launched a campaign to boost computer literacy and bridge digital divide in rural areas.

In partnership with Intel Corporation, Be Amazing roadshow campaign will travel to 27 provinces to educate the public in the remote areas, particularly first-time users and college students, on the use and benefits of computers especially for education purpose. The roadshow will start from May 14 to the end of December 2013.

Computer makers participating in the campaign are Asus, Acer, Samsung, Lenovo and Toshiba along with the broadband providers TOT and Advanced Info Service.
Affordable prices device to be featured during the roadshow include THB 7,900 (US$ 263) tablets.

Only 6 million of the 20 million Thai households own computers, said Accharas Ouysinprasert, Intel Thailand Manager. Computer penetration is 90% of households in some developed countries.

Ouysinprasert said the campaign is expected to reach 550,000 households this year. Thailands telecom operators just kicked start official 3G services last week, following last months official approval from the government after ending the long complication.

Gen Sukit Khamasundara, NBTC Member said the launch of 3G and 4G service is expected to boost computer use to 80 per cent of total households.
He added that the NBTC is considering trimming down the universal service obligation (USO) fee from 3.75 per cent to 2 3 per cent in order to reduce the burden on licensees.

The USO fee is collected from telecom operators with an aim to provide services in rural areas where telecom investment is not commercially justifiable.
Under the USO master plan from 2012-16, the NBTC will spend 20 billion baht to install fibre-optic networks in rural areas to allow as many as 80% of the citizens to access broadband, up from 32% now.

The spending will cover implementation of the networks and community computer centres for 7,000 sub districts, up from 1,000 at present.

(Source: FutureGov)

Upcoming: UNESCO-UNEVOC virtual conference on ICT and TVET

Some Other User — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:59:10 GMT

What are the implications of the ICT revolution for TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training)?

New technologies allow for better and easier access to education, nationally and across borders. The availability of broadband internet is increasing in all parts of the world. While access to learning resources used to be very restricted, more and more high-quality resources become available for free, anytime, almost anywhere. At the learners end mobile digital devices become cheaper and more easily available and are being introduced increasingly in educational contexts. Around the world, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) enable the implementation of education and training, the provision of learning content, and communication between teachers and learners. For that purpose, ICT should be harnessed with the purpose of providing more widespread access to TVET.

In 2008, UNESCO defined its vision for ICT in education: A world without boundaries where technologies support education to build inclusive knowledge societies. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are fostered by UNESCO-UNEVOC by using its online services as a tool to communicate with the UNEVOC Network and facilitate knowledge exchange in the global TVET community.

To explore the role ICT plays in access to and quality of TVET, UNESCO-UNEVOC is organizing a virtual conference on ICT and TVET from 14 to 28 May 2013 on the UNEVOC e-Forum. The discussion will be moderated by Nik Kafka, CEO & founder of Teach A Man To Fish, an international NGO supporting schools across the developing world to use enterprise initiatives as means of improving their financial sustainability and broadening access for the poorest children to a quality education. From a career in banking an interest in social change led him to Paraguay where he worked on a pioneering model for self-sufficient vocational schools; laying the basis to create Teach A Man To Fish on his return. He is an active member of several boards as well the World Economic Forums Young Global Leader community and has been an active member of the UNEVOC e-Forum since 2006.

The 2-week discussion will aim to explore ICT as a tool for increasing the reach and effectiveness of TVET worldwide, and will look to identify how mobile, online and multimedia learning can best be used to complement or even replace traditional TVET Centre based education. What are the implications of the digital learning revolution for TVET around the world? UNESCO-UNEVOC is calling for e-Forum members and the global TVET community to share their experiences and promising practices in utilizing ICT in TVET.

The input to the discussion will be synthesized and summarized into a report, which will provide directions for future research and programme work in this field. To sign up for the discussion, click here.

Further information

WSIS Forum focuses on post-2015 development agenda. Emerging trends and innovation in ICT addressed

Some Other User — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:28:13 GMT

The annual meeting to review and measure progress towards targets set in Tunis in 2005 at the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) opened on 13th May. This meeting of the WSIS Forum also marks ten years since the first phase of the Summit was held in Geneva in 2003.

In the coming week, the WSIS Forum will focus on the future of information and communication technologies (ICT), particularly as an engine of growth in a post-2015 development environment. Participants will engage in discussions on a number of diverse topics, such as ICT infrastructure, cybersecurity, enabling environment, e-learning, e-health, e-agriculture, media, accessibility, and ethics. High level dialogues with government ministers and representatives from business and civil society will examine:

- Women's empowerment in the information Society: systematic, scalable strategies
- Smart climate change monitoring: Expanding access to information on weather, climate and water
- ICT innovations and standards: Creating technology for the next three billion
- Securing cyberspace in a borderless world: Vision 2015 and beyond
- ICTs and post 2015 goals
- Youth and ICTs

ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré said, This years WSIS Forum is a unique opportunity to develop multi-stakeholder consensus on what is needed for the WSIS process in the future, to ensure that the bottom-up approach of the WSIS process is preserved and that the decisions concerning modalities also respect the real requirements of the use of ICTs for socio-economic development, while ensuring growth in the ICT ecosystem itself.

More than 1500 participants from government, private sector, civil society and international organizations are expected to attend the WSIS Forum during the week.
Former UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan will address the WSIS Process beyond 2015 as well as his engagement with young people in a webinar to inspire them to contribute to the post-2015 development frameworks currently under negotiation.

Approaching ten years since the Summit in 2005, the WSIS+10 Visioning Track will bring all emerging challenges related to the information society into perspective, ensuring that the new vision for WSIS beyond 2015 builds upon real needs of people at the bottom of the pyramid.

The United Nations Group on the Information Society (UNGIS), consisting of 30 members, will issue a joint statement on the Post-2015 Development Agenda to harness inter-agency expertise and experience in addressing development challenges of the 21st century.

Following the opening ceremony, a high-level session kicked off on Emerging Trends and Innovation in the Ecosystem, attended by over fifty government ministers from around the world as well as industry executives.

An exhibition will showcase global initiatives for a more efficient Information Society.
WSIS Forum 2013 Partners

This years WSIS Forum programme has been greatly enhanced through the strategic partnership and contribution of the Sultanate of Oman (government) and Intel Corporation (private sector). Contributions for specific activities have also come in from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mexico, Poland, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and Tanzania as well as from Hewlett-Packard. The United Arab Emirates is the WSIS+10 Visioning Partner.
For more information, please see www.itu.int/wsis/implementation/2013/forum/

(Source: ITU Newsroom)

ITU partners with Kofi Annan Foundation and One Young World to launch Kofi Annan Dialogues: LIVE at WSIS Forum 2013

Some Other User — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:19:34 GMT

ITU, the Kofi Annan Foundation and One Young World are working together on a new series of youth-oriented online discussions designed to stimulate debate among young people around the world on challenges central to their lives and prospects, such as unemployment and democratic governance.

Former UN Secretary-General Annan will launch the Kofi Annan Dialogues: LIVE series on Wednesday, 15 May, with the first online discussion to take place over the Google Hangout platform from 11:00 - 12:30 CET.

With the topic of Young People and Leadership, this first session gives six aspiring young leaders the opportunity to share their views with Mr Annan, watched by a global audience who will be able join the conversation and pose their questions via social media.

The outreach to young audiences will form a key element of a direct youth engagement process building up to ITUs BEYOND 2015 Youth Summit in Costa Rica and the One Young World Summit in South Africa, to be held in September and October respectively.

ITU will host the first Dialogue from its Geneva studios on the occasion of the WSIS Forum 13 event taking place this week (13-17 May) at the Geneva International Conference Centre. The worlds largest annual gathering of the ICT for development community, WSIS Forum is focused on defining strategies to help countries and organizations more effectively harness the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, now less than two years away.

I congratulate Kofi Annan on an excellent and much-needed initiative to reach out to youth. These online Dialogues are an excellent example of using the power of ICTs to connect people to influence change, said ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I. Touré. Our young new generation of digital natives feel completely at home communicating online and harnessing todays social media channels allows us to create a truly global platform that cuts across geographical boundaries and brings in voices from right around the world.

Participate in the first live Dialogue:

When: 15 May, 11h00 - 12h30 CET
Where: http://dialogueslive.kofiannanfoundation.org/
How: Send your questions via Twitter
#kofiannanlive #BYND15 #OYW #WSIS
Follow the Kofi Annan Dialogues: LIVE on Twitter and Facebook at: https://twitter.com/KofiAnnan #kofiannanlive
https://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/Kofi-Annan/228449696042

Learn more about ITUs forthcoming BEYOND 2015 Youth Summit here.

(Source: ITU Newsroom)

Rwanda scoops an international award in ICT from ITU

Some Other User — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:09:28 GMT

Rwanda received an award from WSIS Project Prizes 2013 organized by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) where the Africa Digital Media Academy was voted as the best project in media category. This has been revealed on the 13th May 2013, in Geneva during the WSIS Forum focusing on post-2015 development agenda.

The WSIS Project Prizes is an annual contest which recognizes excellence in the implementation of projects and initiatives which further the WSIS goals of improving connectivity to information and communication technologies (ICTs).

Africa Digital media Academy (ADMA), located in the city of Kigali, a vocational training program initiated in March 2012 by Workforce Development Authority (WDA) together with Pixel Corps Ltd, provides students with skills necessary to work in all areas of the digital media industry.

This center prepares its students for production work needed in digital media. Through live, hands-on learning in the computer lab and production studio, with distance learning from television experts in the U.S, students are given instructions to proceed at their own pace with support from the instructors. The emphasis is on student collaboration with the community as the foundation for effective learning.

The Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana said that ADMA is the first of its kind in Africa to provide students with the skills necessary to work in all areas of the digital media industry.

He added that this will add on another step for Rwanda to be on the forefront in using ICT, especially for edutainment and infotainment to create jobs, especially for Rwanda youth.

More than 280 projects from 64 countries have participated in the contest. During the voting phase, more than 3500 registered users appreciated/voted for the projects according to the rules and instruction of the contest. 18 winners announced and awarded a prize at the WSIS Prize Ceremony 2013.

Further details

DINATEL (Uruguay) released a Report in the International Day of Girls in ICT

Some Other User — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:28:57 GMT

On April 25, 2013 we celebrate the "International Day of Girls in ICT", globally. The initiative, promoted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), seeks to promote the participation of girls and young women in careers related to Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This celebration is an effort of great importance in a global context that fosters a growing expansion of employment in an industry predominantly male.

In accession to the celebration of "International Day of Girls in ICT", DINATEL has released the current status of the participation of girls and young women in the educational system and the labor market in Uruguay.

The study by DINATEL evidence the present challenges in the national reality regarding the participation of girls and young women in ICT careers.

Download the full report here.

(Source: DINATEL Uruguay)

Algeria Hosts the First All-Women Startup Weekend

Some Other User — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:25:28 GMT

The latest in Startup Weekend's new women-focused events, Startup Weekend Algeria was the first event of its kind to feature a 54-hour weekend intensive composed only of women.

The event Thursday, April 18th was the first ever Startup Weekend Women edition with no men involved in the organization at all, pointed out Marion Desmazières, a Startup Weekend organizer originally from Paris, who flew in from Seattle to help organize the event. True, we had Startup Weekend Women editions in San Francisco, Seattle, London and Singapore in the past, but their organizers accepted male coaches and male attendees who signed up with women.

True to the style of all Startup Weekends, the three-day event began at Cyberparc of Sidi Abdallah in Rahmania with an icebreaker and then a pitchfire, in which 24 ideas were pitched and 10 projects were formed. Topics ranged from e-commerce for antiques to e-learning platforms, babysitting websites to car repair business, says Desmazières.

Throughout the weekend, working with other women judges and coaches boosted their confidence, says Berrayah. Many of the women arrived not being sure of their ability to build a technology product, but by the end, we helped them understand how far they could go.

They felt really confident and able to go out of their comfort zones, says Desmazières. Many girls removed their hijab because they were only with women, and the first night, they spent a sleepness night together, building their projects. She thinks everyone left the event with 54 other friends, she illustrates.

The top three teams, awarded on Saturday, April 20th, spanned typical topics presented at Startup Weekends:

First place: Dalil Med: an online repository for professionals in the health industry.
Second place: Teach me: a virtual platform for connecting students and teachers.
Third place: Covoiturage DZ: a car-sharing service

While Startup Weekends motto is that its about creating entrepreneurs, not startups necessarily, this Startup Weekend was about creating startups, insists Berrayah. All of the winning teams have contacted her since the event to sign up for the incubation they won from Cyberparc and take their business to the next level, she says. Companies incubated at Cyberpark can stay for six to 30 months.

Further details

IBMs Nairobi Innovation Center

Some Other User — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:09:23 GMT

IBM has long held a presence in Africa (for 90+ years). Offices now exist in over 20 African nations. Within the East Africa region, a full subsidiary office opened in Nairobi, Kenya in 2009. Since then, the company has partnered with East African universities in software development, made plans to turn Nairobi into a Smart City, and attempted to reverse the African brain drain. Most recently, in May 2013, IBM opened a research lab in the city amid much fanfare. In particular, IBM was drawn to Kenya for its great long term vision (Vision 2030) and the ability of Kenya to take innovation and use it. The companys goal in Nairobi is to help feed the momentum.

Specifically, the center will house up to 50 researchers within five years. Candidates will come from public and private sectors across Africa. All sorts of ICT projects will be tackled from water management to traffic management. IBM categorizes the areas as: Next Generation Public Sector, Smarter Cities, and Human Capacity Development. The center will also open opportunities for developers through a tight partnership with iHub Nairobi. Another key component will be the centers ability to link venture capitalists with local innovators.

IBM also released a video discussing how public-private partnerships (PPPs) are driving East African economic growth. Victor Kyalo, CEO of the Kenya ICT Board, gave insight that can be summarized as:

- Kenya needs need technology to solve problems.
- Kenya needs PPPs to move to the next level.
- In 5 years Kenya will be using IT to enable daily tasks.

See the video presentation:

Further details

World Pulse partners with TCF for Telecentre Women

Some Other User — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:58:44 GMT

World Pulse and Telecentre.org Foundation (TCF) have recently entered into a partnership agreement that intends to support the digital empowerment of grassroots women worldwide. The agreement, which was finalized last April 22, 2013, aims to equip women with digital literacy skills and enable their participation and leadership at local and global levels.

Specifically, the agreement will focus on introducing World Pulse as a resource to women participating in telecentres via activity cards in Eastern Africa and Central Asia. World Pulse will work with TCF representatives and network coordinators to identify the needs of telecentre women, and hopes to strategize with TCF to scale the pilot and bring digital empowerment to all women participating in telecentres around the world.

Jensine Larsen, CEO of World Pulse says, TCF is on the cutting edge of empowering women through ICTs, and World Pulse is honored to partner with them to magnify the power of womens voices worldwide.

Tess Camba, Director of Operations for TCF also expressed support for the partnership saying, WorldPulse is one of the foremost action media networks for women globally and TCF is very excited to have them join us as a partner for our Telecentre Women program.

The agreement between the two organizations will be formally announced at TCFs Spark13 conference, which takes place this coming May 28-29 in Granada, Spain.

Further information

Colombia joined to the celebration of International Day of Girls in ICT

Some Other User — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:51:17 GMT

On the International Day of Girls in ICT held by the International Telecommunication Union, the ICT Ministry joined with the completion of a forum called "Women with Digital talent", which was virtually carried out through a hangout.

The forum was held on Thursday, April 25 at 11 am and was attended by distinguished Colombian women in the ICT sector, as the Deputy Minister of Technologies and Information Systems, Maria Isabel Mejia, who spoke about the opportunities of Colombian girls to study ICT-related careers.

Also participated Maria Fernanda Ardila, Digital Culture Deputy of MinTIC (@ mafeardilalopez), who presented the offer of the State for the use and appropriation of ICT in women. It also included the presence of a representative of the ITU, who shared with the public via online, international action that advances the organization for girls and women trained in ICT professions. During the space participated recognized women entrepreneurs, activists and users of community access points of Vive Digital Internet.

The topics discussed were:
Study opportunities for women in ICT careers
Offer of ICT Ministry in the use and appropriation of ICT
Labor Opportunities in the ICT sector for women
Access to ICT for rural women
Active in social media software development by women

All activities could be follow hangout. Likewise, people who want to follow this celebration can do so via Twitter with the hashtag # GirlsinICT

(Source: MINTIC)

USAID and Partners launch new alliance for Gender Equality

Some Other User — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:40:57 GMT

Last month, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Ford Foundation, Show of Force, and Games for Change launched the Half the Sky Movement Media and Technology Engagement Initiative. Over the next two years, this initiative will work to create behavior change toward gender issues in India and Kenya through an integrated media campaign. It will use a combination of traditional and social media, which has been demonstrated to be a powerful approach for shifting gender-related norms and behavior.

This new alliance builds on an initiative developed in collaboration with authors of the best-selling book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.

The initiative is focused on advancing gender equality, which is increasingly being recognized as a key factor in improving development outcomes. Each additional year of education for women reduces child mortality by 18 per thousand births. When women cannot fully engage in the labor force, either by law or custom, GDP growth can suffer by as much as two percent.

Gender equality makes sense not just for the woman herself, but for her family, community and the economy of her country. Yet in many low- and moderate-income countries, women and girls struggle for equal access to healthcare, education, and professional opportunities.

"Educate girls and you change the future for a nation, said Maura O'Neill, USAID's Chief Innovation Officer. Give women all the economic opportunities that men have and within a generation a strong middle class will emerge. It is just that simple".

(Source: USAID)

Dominican Vice President: "Technology is a tool of empowerment for development of girls'

Some Other User — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:35:29 GMT

The Vice President of Dominican Republic, Dr. Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, said that technology is a tool of empowerment training and essential for development of girls, because it facilitates active and equal participation in the labor market, in making decision, culture and society.

Dr. Cedeño de Fernández spoke in those terms, during the opening of the forum "Technology needs girls: A promising future for a new generation of women", organized by the Vice President, the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (lNDOTEL) and National Commission on Information Society and Knowledge (CNSIC), as part of activities in the International Day of the Girls in ICT.

"So today we stress the importance of bringing and empower women, girls, young women to the world of technology, in order to promote gender equality and promote social inclusion", said the Vice President.

In that regard, she said that the era of knowledge demands high skilled, creative and innovative persons, so that technology is a powerful tool to promote and enhance human development, transform the lives of people, develop their capacity and enable insertion into the labor market.

She said that since the Vice President, through the 93 Community Technology Centers operating nationwide and the implementation of initiatives such as Women in Network and TecnoChicas-, they have managed to make the Information and Communication Technology a development tool, of equity and social inclusion for adolescents and Dominican women living in vulnerable conditions and extreme poverty.

"For that reason, from the vice presidency, we continue our work to promote access to ICTs in every corner of the country and we fully intend to build strategic alliances and develop initiatives to further reduce the digital divide and social that separates rural and urban areas and those who have access to ICTs from those who do not have", said Dr. Cedeño de Fernández.

Further details

Tech 360: Girls In ICT Day Events Across Africa

Some Other User — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:23:42 GMT

In Nigeria, it was about empowering young women. Talk about girl power, talk about Girls in ICT Day. With women in the IT field coming out in impressive numbers to impart on tomorrows leaders discussing topics like Blogging as a means of Livelihood by Tolu Agunbiade, Why Leave ICT to Boys by Dr. Bolanle Oladejo, Careers in ICT by Dr. Florence Oladeji and Surfing the Net To My Advantage by Dr. Olukemi Adebimpe Fadehan (Librarian, University of Lagos).

Girls in ICT Day is an event run all over the world simultaneously to honour women who are into ICT and to extend a warm embrace to the younger generation so that they can see that there is beauty in the field of ICT and equal opportunities as well as benefits, compared to their male counterparts. This years edition is the maiden edition, hosted by Eko-Konnect Research and Education Initiative in conjunction with the University of Lagos and Women in Technology Education (YabaTech) tagged Empowering Young Women Through ICT.

It was an exciting and educative symposium as attendees learned the basics of blogging as well as its prerequisites, dug into the track records of exceptional women in the field of ICT and were also sensitized towards discovering the boundless prosperity awaiting ICT. According to Dr. Bolanle Oladejo:

We are in an age where the internet is the tool to do virtually everything learn, buy, socialize, read the news, get public services, apply for jobs and do so much more.
This means that the internet has become an integral part of human living as it rears its pretty head in every human endeavor. It will also do girls a whole lot of good to put behind the negative sensations they have had about ICT in times past and look upon the hopeful part of it all. To drive home this opinion, Dr. Florence Oladeji broke down the exigencies of a career woman, career opportunities in ICT and requirements to become an ICT practitioner which include a bit of programming solving skills, problem solving skills, inter-personal communication skills, flexibility and adaptability, characters and ethics and being legally minded; in a nutshell, anybody can be an ICT practitioner.

Students of the Methodist Girls High School, Fazi L Omar Senior High School, International School Lagos (ISL), Reagan Secondary School, and Yabatech Secondary School all in Yaba environs were also present. Being young minds budding to the outside world just yet, the benefits of the event would have been greatly marred if caution was not thrown in the air for the attendees to grab. The internet is here to stay with its advantages and disadvantages which can not be over-emphasized. The Librarian of the University of Lagos, Dr. Olukemi Adebimpe Fadehan, explained explicitly the definition of internet terms, who surfs the net, general advantage of surfing, disadvantages of surfing the internet, how to carry out a purposeful search on the internet, how to evaluate internet resources as well as a list of organizations who offer scholarship to girls who are interested in the field of ICT.

Further details

A Networking Night out with Girls in ICT Rwanda

Some Other User — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:11:08 GMT

Girls In ICT Rwanda was born out of the ITUs Girls in ICT Day which was celebrated for the first time in Rwanda in 2011. During the planning period for that event, the women entrepreneurs involved formed a group Girls in ICT Rwanda which the Ministry of Youth & ICT pledged to support.

The groups goal is to improve the current statistics regarding the numbers of women in the ICT sector as well as to alter the stereotype held by many young girls that ICT is a mans field.

Girls in ICT Rwanda consists of women of all ages working in the field ICT including entrepreneurs, professionals and university students. The group has visited a number of schools in Rwanda including Lycee de Kigali and Gashora Girls School. During these visits, the groups members speak to teenage girls to encourage them to consider ICT as a career option as well help them to understand and appreciate the importance of developing ICT skills in any career.

Recently they organized a Networking Night for female ICT entrepreneurs, professionals and students to network with ICT government institutions, private sector and civil society as well as a host of invited guests from the national and international community. The Guest of Honour was Ann Mei Chang, the Senior Advisor for Women and Technology in the Secretarys Office of Global Womens Issues at the US Department of State.

Session with Ann Mei

Ann Mei began by telling the group about her background in technology including a story of how, at the age of 24, she became the youngest manager at a tech company. She later worked at a number of companies including Google for 8 years where she managed engineers from all over the world.

Ann Mei highlighted several studies addressing the gender gap when it comes to womens access to technology, particularly access to internet. She pointed out that ICT is one of the fastest growing sectors and that US Department of Labor projections indicate half of the jobs being created in the next 5 years will go unfilled given current talent growth. She said that women could help fill that gap.

A young lady asked Ann Mei if women have to have an interest in computer programming specifically coding and if they have to be a tomboy to work in the tech industry. Ann Mei said that women should study and work at what they are passionate about not simply what they expect will bring in the most money. She also pointed out that women in tech fields sometimes feel pressured to fit in to be one of the boys. She advised women to be true to themselves: if youre a tomboy, great and if youre a fashionista, thats great, too just be who you are.

Another participant asked for recommendations for people who have an interest in ICT but who dont have time to take long term courses. Ann Mei suggested taking short courses in mobile app development.

One woman asked what needs to be done to improve the education system in order to attract more teenage girls to ICT. Ann Mei said that many universities have outdated course requirements e.g. an A level in Physics and that this needs to change. She also discussed the cultural barriers: because the field remains male dominated, the culture in ICT academic and professional environments has naturally evolved to be more attractive to men and boys.

More details

ECWT. European Parliamentary Hearing on Women in ICT

Some Other User — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:44:04 GMT

On the 25 April the European Commission, ITU and key European stakeholders held a joint celebration of International Girls Day 2013 culminating in the European Parliamentary Hearing on Women in ICT hosted by ITRE The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and the FEMM Committee (Women Rights and Gender Equality).

The Hearing attracted full house of key players of the public and private sector, academia and NGOs and many students from secondary and tertiary education also attended the event.

The hearing focused around the topics of professional women in ICT careers and developing ICT skills for ICT jobs.

Dr.Hamadoun Toure, Secretary-General of the ITU opened the session by giving an overview of ITU's different initiatives to support the Girls in ICT agenda all around the world.

The key message of Vice President Neelie Kroes, Commissioner of the Digital Agenda was that Today not diamonds but ICT skills are girls best friends (reminding of Marilyn Monroes Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend song introduced in the original Broadway production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes sixty years ago) and Digital Women are worth more than diamonds for the industry!

Getting more women in ICT will enhance equality and competitiveness in an increasingly digital world.
Please check out the summary of the day and the inspirational speaches of Vice President Neelie Kroes, Commissioner of the Digital Agenda and Dr.Hamadoun Toure, Secretary General of ITU.

ECWT has played a key role in the preparations of the Heaing through presenting a Postition Paper and organizing an on-line consultation on the Hearing in year 2011-2012.
In the Hearing MEP Edit Herczog pointed out that industries need intermediators for their collaboration with girls and stressed that the European Centre for Women and Technology has since 2009 become the key intermediator for the women in ICT agenda.

Ruthe Farmer, Director of Strategic Initiatives, National Centre for Women in Technology (NCWIT) raised also the importance of a regional platform and welcomed cooperation between NCWIT and ECWT in the future.

In connection with the Parliamentary Hearing the European Centre for Women and Technology published a special edition of the Parliamentary Magazine the 22nd of April.

Download the full document, here.

Further details

ICT for Girls, Women in Technology and a Dialogue at the European Union

Some Other User — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:16:01 GMT

April 25 2013 is a super day for girls and women in technology and Cisco was very present! The day commenced with a breakfast session Women2020 platform hosted by DIGITALEUROPE with the topic of Women In Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics for Smart Growth of the pillars of the European 2020 Strategy.

The morning session included a panel chaired by Ms. Cheryl Miller, Founder of Women2020, and Dr.Hamadoun Toure, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union; Ms. Eva Fabry, Director European Centre for Women and Technology; Ms. Marietje Schaake, member of the European Parliament for the Dutch Democratic Party; Dr. John Higgins, Director-General Digital Europe; Ms. Patricia Reilly Member of the Cabinet-Research, Innovation and Science; Ms. Linda Corugedo Steneberg, Director for Cooperation-DG Connect; Ms. Sabiine Everaet, CIO Europe Group at Coca Cola and a packed room of participants including myself.

Dr.Toure appealed to private-public sectors for a 50-50 aspirational target to include women in ICT. There was so much to say in such a short period of time from sustainable STEM education; to pipelining and retaining technical talent most notably women to values from the family that encourage young girls to pursue a technology career track. The group then moved to a location featuring a Brussels youth tech agora with robotics; using technology to create music and so on. European Union Vice President Neeli Kroes along with ITUs Dr. Hamadoun Toure greeted the youth technologists.

Lunch featured the Tech for Girls winners where Cisco and Intel were sponsors. Cisco Belgium and Luxembourg Manager Pol Vanbiervliet presented the awards along with ITUs Secretary General Hamadoun Toure.

It should be stated that Cisco is a staunch supporter of Girls in ICT, an initiative of ITU (International Telecommunication Union). In 2010, ITU members agreed to organize Girls in ICT Days on the 4th Thursday of every April. Cisco wants to encourage girls to consider ICT as a valuable career option.

Almost 80 Cisco offices in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas joined initiative this year to run local programs under the global ITU umbrella.
Additionally, Ciscos Network Academy is doing a fantastic job with its flagship program in training young men and women globally. Cisco Networking Academy is the worlds largest classroom: with more than 1 million students participating in the program at present.

The afternoon session at the EU Parliament included members from the parliament along with EU Vice President Neelie Kroes, ITUs Dr. Hamadoun Toure and participants from private industry.

The first panel was entitled Women in ICT Careers: How to Explore Female Talent?
Other panel members included Ms. Gianna Martinengo, President of DidaelKTS and President of Women and Technology and Ms. Sakia Van Uffelen, CEO at Bull and CSB Consulting, and Digital Champion for Belgium. The emphasis indeed is that we do have a way to go in order to not only attract BUT to retain women in technology.

Why is this topic so important?
The top jobs of the future: What will be the hottest jobs of the 21st century; which jobs will be most in demand in 10, or 15 years time?
Hybrid jobs: combine ICT with business in every imaginable field. Examples for hybrid jobs: bioengineering, power grid informatics, digital media, social and mobile application development, telemedicine, remote learning systems, developing smart applications for buildings, transport, energy or production.
New job profiles: business analyst, data scientist and so on

The second panel entitled, Nourishing the Pipeline: ICT Skills for ICT Jobs included Ms Kicki Stridh, Board Member, the European Association for Women In Science, Engineering and Technology Sweden; Ms Ruthe Farmer, Director of Strategic Initiatives, National Centre for Women and IT; Ms. Donna Metzlar, Community Advocate, The Genderchangers, and Ms, Nidhi Tandon, Principal Consultant and Trainer, Networked intelligence. The message was clear: Girls when given the confidence to do so can and do pursue technical careers.

The afternoon ended with a live video exchange with Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook and a few members from the Parliament.

(Source: CISCO Blogs)

Rwanda celebrates Girls in ICT Day 2013

Some Other User — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:49:35 GMT

On Thursday, April 25, 2013; Rwanda celebrates Girls in ICT day where hundreds of girls participated in this event held at Lycée Notre Dame de Citeaux; where young girls learn more from their elders.

This event has been dubbed Girls in ICT Career Fair to celebrate the International Girls in ICT day and to encourage girls and young women to consider careers in ICT. The occasion aims to inspire girls to consider a future in technology. This years theme is expanding horizons and changing attitudes.

Girls in ICT Rwanda was born out of the ITUs Girls in ICT day, today, the group consists of girls in ICT including entrepreneurs, professionals and university students whose mission is to inspire girls to consider ICT as a career option as well help them to understand and appreciate the importance of developing ICT skills in any career. Clarisse Ilibagiza from HeHe mobile speaking to the press said that Rwandan girls are able to use ICT tools effectively.

In his remarks The Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana advises young girls to embrace the culture of hard working and aim higher; When you are confident, determined, youre passionate about what you want, if you have a purpose, if you have a goal, if you have integrity and courage you can be very successful.

Oda Gasinzigwa, the Minister of Family and Gender Promotion noted that As you are aware, the government is highly committed to promoting ICT as a key driver for rapid socio-economic development. We have put in place an enabling environment for girls to participate and benefit in ICT along with their brothers.

International Girls in ICT Day in fact, has the aim to make everyone realize that girls are also able to use the new technologies, and that, due to the fact that girls are good at Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Informatics, they have new technologies which change the world on a daily basis.

Moreover, ICT is the fastest growing industry today and more jobs are created in this industry than any other. The same prospects are for the future. ICT has been identified as the industry that will lead forward world economies, improve lives of families across the globe and make the planet a smaller, more accessible place. Therefore, Women and Girls should take a more prominent role in this process.

Further details

ITU Telecom Young Innovators Competition is open for applications

Some Other User — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:45:14 GMT

ITU Telecom World 2013, organized by ITU, the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology, is looking for the next generation of social entrepreneurs for its Young Innovators Competition.

Are you brave enough to transform your idea into a successful enterprise?
Can your concept or start up address one of our Global Challenges?

If you are aged between 18 and 26 and feel technology is your second nature, enter the Young Innovators Competition.

You could win a chance to take part in ITU Telecom World 2013 event in Bangkok plus benefits including:

Up to USD 10,000 in prize money for start-ups and up to USD 5,000 for concepts; both need to address one of the Global Challenges
High level industry mentorship for a year
A chance to exhibit on the show floor and network with high level delegates
Hands-on workshop training focusing on entrepreneurial skills

For details on how to enter the competition, visit: world2013.itu.int/event/innovation/ or contact us at young.innovators@itu.int

(Source: ITU)

Nigerian minister encourages girls to develop interest in ICT

Some Other User — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:39:43 GMT

Nigerias communication technology minister, Omobola Johnson, has encouraged Nigerian women to pursue careers in ICT and bridge the gap between males and females in ICT.

Speaking in Abuja on Girls in ICT Day, Johnson blamed the perception that ICT is only for geeks and men as the reason why, in spite of the advances recorded in ICT across the world, there are not enough women in the sector.

She expressed the commitment of her ministry towards the encouragement of more girls to develop interest in ICT and to erase the perception. When I was studying engineering, I was one of five girls in a class of about 80. My daughter has just graduated in an engineering degree and she was also one of about five or six girls, so nothing has really changed in 30 years, Johnson said.

We need to ask ourselves why and help remove all the barriers militating against girls and women embracing technology. Some of the barriers limiting women has to do with lack of support and encouragement and the ministry will provide the necessary support by encouraging women to embrace careers in ICTs.

The highest achieving girls in the sciences from various schools have been invited to a one-week event organised by the ministry to encourage and expose them to sciences with the goal of increasing the number of women and girls in ICT.

Johnson said the ICT sector in Nigeria has tremendous opportunities for women in areas such as software development, telecommunications, IT, space development and electronic engineering.

Addressing girls in Abuja, Johnson said: You just need to work hard and dont be retiring. Women tend to think that our work will speak for us sometimes it does and sometimes it doesnt. Speak out, work hard and dont be afraid! Women can do it if they try.

At the event, 35 girls who had excelled in sciences received Vantium Computer Tablets to empower and encourage them to strive for excellence in ICTs.

Further details

Samsung delivers first Solar Powered Internet School in Angola

Some Other User — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:32:56 GMT

Samsung Electronics, the global electronics giant, has delivered one container, the first of what could be a number of Solar Powered Internet Schools based in containers in the country.

The project is being made possible in association with the Angolan government and other partners.

The Solar Powered Internet School, which is geared to provide access to the Internet and electronic textbooks, will operate on a shift basis and will meet the needs of 200 children a day, according to Thierry Boulanger, IT director for solutions and business to business in Africa at Samsung Electronics.

This school represents a breakthrough in the delivery of education by helping to break down the technological barriers facing education in Angola, Boulanger said.
The facility, housed in a 40-foot shipping container, was delivered by truck to its site, he said.

Samsung said the school, which will be used on a rotational basis by children during the day, operates between 08h00 and 17h00 every day. Boulanger said: It may be a small beginning, but for the 200 children who will benefit, the school opens the door to huge opportunities. Finding the funding to create hundreds of similar facilities across Africa could, within a comparatively short period, transform education, quality of life and service delivery across Africa.

Samsung also said the school has the capacity to operate effectively for up to 36 hours without any sunlight at all. The power generated by the panels each day also means that the school can be used beyond the traditional learning day. After-hours it can operate as an adult education centre or a community centre over weekends.
Built to withstand harsh African conditions the solar panels powering the school are made from rubber instead of glass, to ensure that they are hardy and durable enough to survive long journeys across the continent, Boulanger concluded.

Further information

Message from Geena Davis. ITU Special Envoy for Women and Girls in ICT

Some Other User — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:29:31 GMT

As the ITU Special Envoy for Women and Girls in ICT, I am thrilled to be greeting all the girls around the world, as we celebrate International Girls in ICT Day on 25 April 2013.

Technology is offering large-scale opportunities to empower women and girls, creating a systemic cultural shift by improving how theyre portrayed and represented. These are the tools that will ultimately allow women and girls to reach their full potential.

My awareness of gender imbalance in the media came when I started watching childrens television, videos and movies with my then two-year old daughter, Alizeh. I was stunned to see that there seemed to be far more male characters than female characters in these entertainments that were aimed at the youngest of children.
As a result, I launched the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and its programming arm called See Jane. We sponsored the largest body of research ever done on gender images in media. The results are stunning: in American family films there is only one female for every three male characters. In group scenes, only 17 per cent of the characters are female. There was no improvement in those numbers over the last 20 years we studied.

Our research also shows that females are missing from critical occupational sectors in entertainment media.

We recently completed a study on the careers of female characters in popular United States television and film, and found that with regard to STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers, in family films, males hold 84 per cent of all STEM jobs. This calculates into a ratio of 5 male STEM characters to every one female STEM character.

No female leads or co-leads are shown with STEM careers.

Looking across the categories of computer science and engineering, the ratio of males to females in these arenas is 14.25 to one! And in television, characters with STEM jobs are 79 per cent male and 21 per cent female.

I am happy to say that positive role models exist off-screen. Some tech companies, including Hewlett Packard, IBM, Xerox and Yahoo, are headed by women. But there are just 21 female CEOs leading Fortune 500 companies. It is time to change this imbalance.

New and future technologies, especially broadband will be key to providing women with the means to educate themselves and their children, improve their own health and the health of their families and communities, start their own businesses, keep themselves safe, and innovate to build and shape the future they want.
ITU is focusing on increasing the number of girls and women who want an ICT career; increasing the number of girls and women who receive an education in science, technology, engineering or mathematics; and encouraging ICT businesses to attract, recruit, retain and promote women to achieve long-term sustainability.
Last September, I participated in the Broadband Commission for Digital Development and was very pleased that these leaders are committed to empowering women and girls as part of the digital revolution and agreed to set up a working group on gender.

A major outcome from a meeting on 17 March 2013 in Mexico City is that the Broadband Commission agreed on an ambitious new target designed to spur female access to the power of ICT. The target mandates no less than gender equality in broadband access by the year 2020.

Last October, as Special Envoy, I attended the Women with the Wave: High-Level Forum on Digital Inclusion of Women and Girls, in Seoul in the Republic of Korea. The Asian broadcasters, filmmakers, Internet stakeholders, academics and others demonstrated their commitment to lead the change in the images of women and girls in ICT. From Koreas famous K-dramas to Bollywood musicals, they are looking for the characters that will inspire tomorrows technology-centred professionals.
We have the opportunity to ensure that women and girls are fully included in the expansion of the digital world, and that their voice and presence are shaping the United Nations development agenda and strategies beyond the 2015 Millennium Development Goals.

Let us all join hands to achieve the new gender target from the Broadband Commission. I urge all Member States and global CEOs to fully implement the principles in Resolution 70 (Rev. Guadalajara 2010) on gender mainstreaming in ITU and promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women through information and communication technologies.

Everyone participating today is a change agent, and the media and technology sectors will come together and take a leadership role to promote more positive portrayal of women and girls in the media starting, if I may, with some inspiring tech-savvy role models in film and television. Because changing perceptions will be the real game changer in achieving greater empowerment and participation of girls and women in the technology sector.

(Source: ITU Newsroom)

Telmex's Aldea Digital Event Enters Guinness World Records Book, Underscores Importance of ICT

Some Other User — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:26:04 GMT

Mexican telecommunications company Telmex's recent Aldea Digital event has won the company an entry into the Guinness World Records book as the largest digital inclusion event in the world. Hosted with the goal of gathering as many users of digital technologies as possible in one place, this free-of-charge and open-to-everyone event brought together 154,000 people between March 16 and 26. Visitors were able to use smartphones, tablets and computers, as well as attend 30 courses and workshops ranging from computer basics to application development in the Zocalo of Mexico City, the city's central plaza.

Throughout the event, more than 5,000 computers operating at high-speed connections of 20 Gigabytes per second were loaned out to attendees. A speakers' line-up of high-level telecommunications experts from all over the world drew impressive and diverse crowds spanning all ages and generations - from young kids to their parents and grandparents - from tech-savvy developers to those for whom access to computers and the Internet was a novelty.

The Carlos Slim Foundation, which engages in philanthropic efforts in the fields of education, health and justice, expressed its pleasure with the success of the Telcel 4GLTE-Infinitum Digital Village, and stressed the importance of digital literacy to advance Mexico's social and economic development:

"The Aldea Digital event, now recognized as the largest digital inclusion event in the world, reinforces our commitment to continue to bring digital access to Mexico", said Carlos Slim Domit, Co-Chairman of America Movil.

The Aldea Digital event, which was co-hosted by Telmex, Telcel and the Mexico City government, ties into the overall context of promoting access to broadband technology as a tool to meet the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Carlos Slim Domit added, "With education and access to opportunities being the foundation of society, digital inclusion is increasingly becoming one of the main tools that binds and strengthens the ability to make it possible. As such, increasing access to information and communications technology is the key to advancing the Millennium Development goals".

Among the international leaders and industry experts that participated, the most notable were:
Hamandoun Toure, Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU); Ben Kauffman, Founder of Quirky; Noam Bardin, creator of Waze; Chris Anderson, founder of 3D Robotics; Nigel Jacob of New Urban Mechanics; Elaine Weidman of Ericsson; Ken Wang Shengqing of Huawei; and Gabrielle Gauthey of Alcatel all addressed the latest technological and digital advances and trends.

(Source: CNBC)

United Nations E-Government Survey 2012: E-Government for the People - Spanish Edition

Some Other User — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:19:58 GMT

The United Nations E-Government Survey presents a systematic assessment of the use of ICT to transform and reform the public sector by enhancing efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, accountability, access to public services and citizen participation in 193 Countries.

We are pleased to inform that the Government of Costa Rica (Digital Government Secretariat), in partnership with the National University of Costa Rica, has kindly provided the translation of the United Nations E-Government Survey to all Spanish- speaking countries.

The E-Government Survey has been adopted by United Nations Member States and economists as a useful tool to benchmark e-government development. The Survey is also a tool to guide policies and strategies on how Member States can improve overall public service delivery and bridge the digital divide.

Main Findings:

Progress in online service delivery continues in most countries around the world. Among the e-government leaders, innovative technology solutions have gained special recognition as the means to revitalize lagging economic and social sectors. One of the key findings that emerges from the 2012 Survey is that while it is important to continue with service delivery, governments must increasingly rethink their e-government approach by placing greater emphasis on institutional linkages among government structures in a bid to create synergy for inclusive sustainable development.

The Spanish edition may be accessed and downloaded directly from the United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN) at: http://workspace.unpan.org/sites/Internet/Documents/EGovSurvey2012_Spanish.pdf.

(Source: UNPAN)

Girls in ICT Day around the world 2013, 25 April

Some Other User — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:34:23 GMT

Rwanda: Girls in ICT Rwanda Take Campaign to Schools

Some Other User — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:08:32 GMT

When carrying out school visits, Girls in ICT members speak to teenage girls and encourage them to consider ICT as a career option and also help them to understand and appreciate the importance of developing ICT skills in any career, writes Doreen Umutesi.

About fifteen girls formed a group which they named Girls in ICT Rwanda. Its main objective is to tour schools and encourage more girls to take on courses in Information Communication technology (ICT).

The Girls in ICT Rwanda launched their annual activity calendar on March 22nd, 2013 at a Networking Night with their guest speaker, Ann Mei Chang, the Senior Advisor for Women and Technology in the US Department of State.

The activities stipulated in their calendar involve encouraging women entrepreneurs in ICT, visiting schools to talk to girls and encouraging them to take on courses in ICT.
When carrying out school visits, Girls in ICT members speak to teenage girls and encourage them to consider ICT as a career option and also help them to understand and appreciate the importance of developing ICT skills in any career.

In an interview with Akaliza Keza Gara a member of Girls in ICT and Founder of Shaking Sun a multimedia company, she said that the government supports initiatives that empower women in ICT.

"One of our main goals is to encourage more girls offering ICT courses to join Girls in ICT Rwanda. When I talk to young girls, a lot of them say that they see it as a man's subject because people we see in the media doing ICT initiatives are often men. Even when they go to school they are surrounded by men so the girls tend to lose interest because they feel they are the odd ones", Akaliza explains.

She also said that there are allegations that women feel intimidated when they are surrounded by men hence women work better when they are surrounded by fellow women.

"Girls are just choosing not to take on ICT so as Girls in ICT Rwanda, part of what we do is to encourage and show them that if we took on the ICT course they can do the same. We encourage them to join us as the rallying troupes' idea. Our target after this year is to find out how many schools we visited and how many girls are offering ICT courses to measure our impact", Akaliza Discloses.

(Source: All Africa News)

Celebrate Girls in ICT Day with ITU

Some Other User — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:46:35 GMT

Join the ITU team and special guests for a day of tech-oriented activities

With the number of schoolgirls opting to study technology-related disciplines on the decline in most countries worldwide, ITU is committed to championing the catalytic role a tech career can play in creating exciting, far-reaching opportunities for women and girls.

ICT jobs are consistently ranked among the top 20 careers with the best pay and best long-term prospects, and the technology industry remains one of the worlds most robust sectors, creating strong ongoing demand for young tech professionals.

To help inspire girls to consider a future in technology, ITU established Girls in ICT Day back in 2010, and supports the global organization of activities every year on the fourth Thursday in April. Global momentum around Girls in ICT Day continues to grow, with 1,300 events held by governments, the private sector and NGOs in 87 countries in 2012 reaching over 30,000 school-age girls, and around 100 countries are expected to hold events this year.

To celebrate this important day, journalists are invited to join ITU staff on April 25 for a programme of workshops and inspiring discussion with local schoolgirls aged 13-17.

What: Girls in ICT Day at ITU

When: 08:30am - 14:30pm, 25 April, 2013
          8:30-9:00 Registration and coffee (please bring photo ID or UN press badge), + welcoming remarks by Philippe Metzger (ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau)
          9:00-10:00 Guided tour of ICT Discovery
          10:00-11:20 Workshops on mobile app development and web coding
          11:30-13:00 Workshops on Flash video game development and video production
          13:00-14:30 Informal lunch with female ICT professionals, including the chance to chat to students and speakers.
Where: ICT Discovery Museum, 2nd floor, Montbrillant building, ITU headquarters, Place des Nations, Geneva

Who: Around 80 girls from schools in the Geneva area (including France voisine), with ITU technical staff and other experts.

Registration to attend this event is essential. Journalists are requested to confirm their attendance to pressinfo@itu.int by close of business Tuesday 23 April. If you do not have a UN media badge, please ensure you bring photo ID with you in order to obtain a Visitor badge.

Follow the event on Twitter at @ ITU #GirlsinICT. The full story of Girls in ICT Day 2013 is being curated at http://storify.com/ITU/girls-in-ict-day-2013 and through ITUs campaign Facebook page www.facebook.com/TechNeedsGirls.

Photos from event will be available for download from ITUs Flickr site at: www.flickr.com/photos/itupictures/sets/72157633221090112/

For more information on this event please contact:

Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations & Public Information, ITU
+41 22 730 6135
sarah.parkes@itu.int

Nicolas Jammes
Coordinator, International Girls in ICT Day
+41 22 730 5996
nicolas.jammes@itu.int

(Source: ITU Newsroom)

2nd Girls in ICT Day in Nigeria to be marked by WITIN on April 25th 2013

Some Other User — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:32:38 GMT

On April 25th 2013, Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN) will join the world to mark the International Girls in ICT day, an initiative of the ITU to advance a universal environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to pick up careers in the growing information and communication technologies (ICTs) sector.

WITIN is organizing a one-day conference themed- Women and Girls in Technology - Expanding Horizons. This inaugural high-level conference will bring together high school students and women in Nigeria to discuss how to foster womens contributions and empowerment through ICT as well as to celebrate the feats of young girls in the just concluded Technovation challenge.

Keynote speakers include Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman Diaspora Committee of the Nigeria Federal House of Rep. representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency in Lagos State, Prof. Ita Okon Bassey Ewa, Honourable Minister, Fed. Ministry of Science and Technology and Ann Mei Chang, Senior Advisor for Women and Technology at the US Department of State under the chairmanship of Chief Oma Eyewuoma, Exec. Vice-President, Technical Conoil Producing Ltd, Nigeria.

Ann Mei Chang pointed out that Women and girls continue to be dramatically underrepresented in the ICT field around the world. Not only is this an issue of opportunity for individual women and girls, but as the ICT sector continues its outsized growth it will increasingly contribute to a talent gap which leaves critical jobs unfilled. Girls often lack role models and may be discouraged from pursuing ICT by parents, teachers, or peers. Girls in ICT Day is an important event to raise visibility of the many successful women who have pursued ICT careers.

Other speakers include Njideka Jack of MTN Nigeria, Folakemi Olawolu of Phase3 Telecoms, Chinyere Edward Azike of Signal Alliance Limited, Adedoyin Jaiyesimi of YNaija, Martha Omoekpen Alade of Women in Technology in Nigeria and Samuel Eyitayo of the U.S. Consulate General, Lagos.

The CEO of Phase3 Telecom Mr. Stanley Jegede states that women are often unsung heroes in the advancement of Information Technology especially on the African Continent; it is why Phase3 Telecom as an equal opportunities employer is focused on influencing and driving the needed change in this reality. Ensuring women contribute at least 47% to the Phase3 Telecom workforce. Thus; he commends ITUs celebration of women in the advancement of Technology around the globe through the Girls in ICT initiative. He emphasizes the need for the IT industry to actively encourage and champion the indelible contribution of women to the development of new technologies and innovation in our world. Also in this vein, the president of ISPON Dr Chris Uwaje Lauds the feat of the young winners of the Mobile App Challenge who will be celebrated also on the Girls in ICT day.

Highlights of the event also include recognition of the winners of Technology Affects Me- TAM; mini-challenge for girls and young women. Short Presentations will be made by teams who took part in the Technovation Challenge, a program of Iridescent. The team facilitators include Esther Ugbodaga of Channels TV, Toyosi Odukoya of MTN Nigeria, Nnenna Ugwu of EDC Pan African University and Ijeoma Abazie of Microsoft Nigeria. The winners will also be announced and awarded; they hopefully will represent Nigeria and travel to Silicon Valley CA to compete globally on May 2nd. The event will be held at Twitter HQ and will be co-hosted by Twitter and LinkedIn. The Secretary General of ITU, Dr Hamadoun Touré will be rooting for the Nigerian team in Silicon Valley.

(Source: Women in Technology in Nigeria)

Focus on Disability: Transfer technology to all

Some Other User — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:27:51 GMT

There is a need for more research and development (R&D) investment and new ways to ensure that technology transfer is used to overcome global development challenges, a meeting of international academics in Indonesia concluded last month. What does this mean for disabled people around the world? The meeting is part of the lengthy process of agreeing new UN-coordinated global development goals post-2015.

It identified R&D investment and technology transfer as ways to address the massive inequalities between developed and less-developed countries. Irsan Pawennei one of the meeting's conveners highlighted inequality as the main issue to consider in setting the successors to the Millennium Development Goals.

These points are very relevant for people with disabilities. In all societies, disabled people experience substantial social and material poverty, and many inequalities. Technologies are available that could help improve their lives, but too often they are delivered in insufficient quantity or quality. For example, damaged wheelchairs and broken hearing aids can be found around the developing world no longer serving a purpose.

Technology transfer to less-developed countries has generally focused on non-disabled people. Intentional efforts acknowledging the needs and rights of disabled people is an important first step in redressing this. Without this effort inequalities between disabled and non-disabled people will become further entrenched. Irsan said at the meeting technology transfer should rely on the transfer of knowledge rather than products, to ensure the poor benefit in the long term and inequalities aren't further entrenched. This is a key consideration point for disabled people.

Products can quickly become redundant, but knowledge is more sustainable. Copyright-restricted software packages date fast, can be expensive and can make users reliant on a 'brand'. Communications technologies can transform the lives of hearing-impaired people but hardware has rapidly moved on from minicoms to mobile phones and now smartphones.

Information on technology transfer should be delivered in formats and methods that people with different impairments can access, for example by providing audio versions or by using simple language. If accessible formats are not consciously considered, disabled people will be excluded from both benefiting from their content and engaging in the process.

Irsan discusses the potential for information and communications technology (ICT) for creating jobs in urban areas. ICT also offers massive potential benefits for disabled people if it is intentionally applied. In some African countries, mobile phone companies for example Safaricom in Kenya are creating jobs for physically impaired people in call centres. Mobile communications offer huge inclusion benefits to people with hearing impairments. Ever improving screen-reader technologies open up many opportunities for visually impaired people.

Decisions made on the post-2015 targets could dominate the development agenda for the next two decades. Making commitments for disability-inclusive technology transfer would be a vital part of reducing global inequalities.

(Source: SciDev. Net)