Addis Ababa — Telecommunications Ministers from countries in Eastern Africa and Information Technology experts are to gather here next week for a regional seminar aimed at sharing experiences in the development of Internet infrastructure in countries of the sub-region.
The seminar to take place from 13-15 October, is being jointly organized by the United Nations Development Programme's Regional Bureau for Africa (UNDP/RBA) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
The seminar aims to facilitate:
- Sharing country experiences - Taking stock of progress in Internet connectivity - Assessing Internet services and their impact on development - Mapping out future plans to support Internet development in the sub-region
It is one of a series of sub-regional seminars planned under the UNDP's Internet Initiative for Africa (IIA), a multi-million dollar, three-year project aimed at establishing Internet services and enhancing those currently available in 12 sub-Saharan African countries.
It also falls under the umbrella of ECA's African Information Society Initiative (AISI) -- a comprehensive framework for the building of a development-serving African Information infrastructure - - and the Harnessing Information Technology for Development (HITD) component of the UN System-Wide Special Initiative on Africa.
The seminar will be opened by UN Under-Secretary-General and ECA Executive Secretary, Mr. K.Y. Amoako, Ethiopia's Minister of Telecommunications, Abdulmejid Hussein, and UNDP's Acting Deputy Director, RBA John Ohiorhenuan.
Telecommunications ministers from Ethiopia, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda will make presentations on the situation in their respective countries -- followed by presentations and discussions on IIA, Policy and Regulatory Frameworks, and the technical issues surrounding Internet connectivity. The role of Multi-national corporations in Internet development will feature on the third day.
Experts scheduled to attend include: Prof. Raymond Akwule, President of AFCOM, Ms. Elizabeth Ridley of PANAMSAT, Ms. Hope O'Connor of AT &T's Africa One project, Mr. Richard Kerby of AII, Mr. John Mack of the U.S. State Department Leland Initiative, and Mr. Makane Faye, Regional Adviser on Policy issues at ECA. Other telecommunications multinationals, such as MCI, Sprint Global One and Intelsat, are also scheduled to attend.
Daily Internetworking sessions will also be offered to participants at the ECA's new MultiMedia Centre.
For further information please contact Peter da Costa, Cabinet Office of the Executive Secretary, UN ECA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Tel: +251-1-51-58-26 (direct) or 251-1-51-72-00 (main switchboard), Ext. 354866 Fax: +251-1-51-22-33 E-Mail: ecainfo@un.org.
