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Research paper presented at IST-Africa 2008, Windhoek, Namibia

The collaborative paper of LinkNet and TNO on "Internet in rural areas of Zambia: a user study" was presented at the IST-Africa 2008 conference today. Presenters were Paul van Hoorik, TNO, and Fred Mweetwa, Secretary Board of LinkNet. The audience responded being encouraged that implementation of ICT was taking place in rural areas, and lots of interest on progress was shown. New contacts emerged, resulting in growth of the number of stakeholders involved in Zambia and abroad.

IST-Africa 2008 took place 07 - 09 May 2008 in Windhoek, Namibia. It focused on applied ICT research topics addressing major societal and economic challenges. The Call for Papers was very heavily oversubscribed, with submissions from 40 countries. An International Programme Committee (IPC) double blind peer reviewed the paper, which is based upon research done with LinkNet in Zambia.

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Use of internet in rural areas of Zambia.pdf71.23 KB
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Report by Fred Mweetwa, LinkNet representative at IST-Africa

LinkNet participated in IST-AFRICA 2008 conference which was held in Namibia/ Windhoek on 3 to 7 May 2008. The conference was hosted by the government of Namibia through the Ministry of Education. Part of this conference was supported by the European Commission under the Information Communications Technologies (ICT). This conference brought together delegates from different countries in which LinkNet was among the participants. The participants were from different leading commercial, government, community and research organizations to bridge the digital divide and identify mutual research opportunities between Europe and Africa by sharing knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and good practice.

The IST-Africa 2008 was very successful, and attracted over 450 delegates from Europe and Africa. 

Plenary speakers included Ministers of Science and Technology from Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, Director Generals from DG Information Society and Media and DG Research of the European Commission and DST South Africa and Directors from the African Union Commission, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and SADC Secretariat. 

During conference presentation, LinkNet presented on the use of internet in rural areas. The presentation by LinkNet drew people’s attention since ICT has not been widely exploited in rural areas of Africa. LinkNet was also encouraged to write another paper on the use of internet in rural areas for production purposes.

Conclusion: All in all, people from different parts of the world participated through interaction through sharing of ideas and knowledge for the future improvement and exploitation of ICT in the world to enhance rural livelihood.

  • By gvanstam at 21/07/2008 - 22:29
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