Addis Ababa — Chair: Hamadoun I. Toure, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU, Switzerland; Presenter: Michael Jensen, Independent Consultant; Panel: H.E. John Mahama, Minister of Communications, Ghana; Khedija Hamouda Ghariani, Tunisian Internet Agency, Tunisia; Koos Bekker, MD, Naspers, South Africa; Gourde D. Adjadja, Director General, Regional African Satellite Communication System.

Objective: This presentation aimed to: - highlight policies and strategies that have enabled some countries to move faster to extend infrastructure for broadcasting, telecommunications and Internet access; - provide a regional status report; - identify subregional issues and strategies;

Summary:

Africa should guard against the temptation of leapfrogging into the Information Age. Although that entry had to be made at some point, there were too many complexities to be considered, and that crucial decision had to be deferred until there was sufficient clarity about what it entailed. This was among several key points made in the open response following the evaluation of inadequacies and other problems facing Africa's participation in the Information Age.

How ready were African governments for this momentous step forward? How extensive were the resources needed? Were the necessary skills, covering many areas, available? The Information Age, it was agreed, introduced a complete change from the way of doing things in the past, and as such opened opportunities that Africa could not shun. However, it was important to determine what other facilities were needed before Africa could benefit from its advantages. It was wise not to be too hasty.

There was emphasis on involving the private sector in speeding the introduction of information technology. However, the private sector in many African countries did not have a strong enough base, and was not really prepared to embark upon technological ventures for markets too small and ill equipped in skills to justify the investment and risks.

With ODA dwindling rapidly and foreign direct investment slow in coming, where would African countries find the funding to finance the continent's entry into the Information Age? Caution was the keynote. Providing the infrastructure that would facilitate Africa's integration into information technologies, which at present existed only in scattered urban centres, was a specialized and very costly undertaking. Development disparities in different African countries would also pose a host of problems.

Despite the obstacles that were indicated, the consensus of the participants was that Africa could not stay out of the Information Age, whatever hurdles had to be overcome.

For more information on the Forum or to interview participants, please contact: Peter da Costa Senior Communication Adviser Economic Commission for Africa P.O. Box 3001 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Tel: +251-1-51 58 26 Fax: +251-1-51 03 65 Cell: +251-9-20 17 94 E-mail: dacosta@un.org or ecainfo@un.org Web: http://www.un.org/depts/eca