HA-09: Communicators tasked on ICT interface for Africa

African media practitioners have been charged to find an alternative of interfacing between the continent and global development agendas.

The vice chancellor of Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, Dr. Saleem Badat gave this charge at his opening address to the 13th Highway Africa Conference, which commenced on Monday in the school campus, Grahamstown.

The theme of the three-day conference on ‘Reporting Africa: 2010, Development and Democracy’ directly speaks to Africans and media practitioners in particular on the opportunities and challenges that confront continent at the moment.

“But how are media professionals framing the interface of African and global development agendas? What are your narratives of the global financial crisis in terms of causes and effects, opportunities and threats?” he asked.

Wondering how African media professionals understand the future of African development in the light of the challenges against the orthodox thinking on economic development and the supremacy of the ‘free’ market?

Overtly proffering a solution, Dr. Badat said that Highway Africa provides a wonderful platform for these and other important questions to be answered positively.
Journalists and media practitioners on the continent, he said, should report on development, they must understand what development is all about in order to make good and also is what keeps academia and journalists in common.

He advised that African journalists to embrace wide issues; of culture and political issues, stressing that on the issues of ownership and inequity as well as concerned with the expansion of human rights issues

“Development is ultimately the process of expanding the real freedom that people enjoy,” he said.

Historically, experience had showed that catching up and defining development is not in unison, especially at the period of economic growth are actually worsening the inequity among the people.

In Africa, he noted, at times its impossible to tie emancipation of democracy to development; people must be feed before they could think of development, which suggests that development proceeds democracy.

According to him, each year hundreds of media professionals, academics, students and activists trek to city of Grahamstown for the Highway Africa Conference, of which the university is privileged to host as participants debate, share ideas, network, educate and train.

“I also welcome the educators from the rest of Africa and abroad who will be holding parallel meetings to the conference in preparation for the World Journalism Education Congress (WJEC) in July 2010. Rhodes is honoured and tremendously excited to host the WJEC,” he declared.

He pointed out that the annual Highway Africa Conference is proudly the flagship event of the university, and Rhodes would continuously support to encourage growth and evolution.

“This growth would not have been possible without the generous support of our partners, who include the Department of Communications, the SABC, corporate sponsors, donor agencies, foundations and individuals. I especially thank the staff of the School of Journalism and Media Studies who work creatively and tirelessly to make the Highway Africa Conference possible,” he said.

While wishing participants from across the continent a successful and productive conference, the South African Minister of Communications, General Siphiwe Nyanda (retired) noted that his office has been a key partner of the Highway Africa Conference for the last ten years.

“That we should partner with a Pan-African conference stems from our strong belief that the media is a key stakeholder in society because journalists have to inform and educate our people on the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) developments unfolding on the continent and on how the ordinary citizen stands to benefit in terms of access and affordability,” he said.

Nyanda expressed glad that this conference takes place when Africa has two key developments on the continent, namely the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the commissioning of several fibre optic cables around the continent.

“As we head for the 2010 FIFA World Football Cup, I am convinced that Africa will deliver the best tournament ever, and part of that success will be as a result of the technological infrastructure we are putting in place now,” he said.

In addition, he pointed out that the South African government and other key stakeholders who are exerting all their energies, skills, resources and passion into this unique opportunity for South Africa and Africa, will see to the greater success of the continent.

Reiterated the support of the DoC to Highway Africa beyond 2010, he said, stressing it will continue to play its part in the debates, plans and implementation programmes on ICT, in the context of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU).

“As we do this, we hope that you, the African journalists, will tell the stories of our people – their hopes, potential and progress – and what role ICT will play in realizing these dreams,” the Minister submitted.


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Computer literacy goes beyond email access – Omenugha

Head, Mass Communication department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Dr. (Mrs) Kate Azuka Omenugha in a chat with our senior reporter, REMMY NWEKE at the African Council for Communications Education Conference (ACCE-09), recently at the University of Legon, Accra-Ghana, says that computer literacy goes beyond access to electronic mails.
Excerpts:


Effect of ICT in communications delivery? 
In a conference like this one, you have a range of papers, discussions and issues that have been raised in this conference and part of the things that have been discussed is Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Africa. Somebody presented a paper describing Africa as being at a cross road in ICT. I presented a paper looking at the negative and positive sides of use of Information and Communications Technology by Nigerian students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

Africans have advanced in the use of ICT but we are not where we ought to be.
There are problems of money and break down in server which has affected the advancement of Africans in the use of ICT.

We looked at the application of ICT by Nigerians and we found a lot of them use it for negative purposes, people distracting in the class. We find the students lack in the use of the materials they find in the internet.

The word plagiarism means nothing to them. Some of them visit pornographic sites, they play games in the class. It has empowered some of them who have used it to contact people they would not have been able to meet before.

We found that it affects their studies because some of the language they use like in the text messages and email they have imported into their academic uses. They use a lot of abbreviations, what has been called anti-language.
 
What could be the solution? 
That is part of the challenges that will be facing academic scholars, researchers, educators in Africa, especially Nigeria. It is part of what we need to prepare our minds to how we can combat the negative uses. We need to talk about improving their computer literacy and education. It is not being able to access the internet and using the computer that is literacy, they need to understand the implications of some of the things they do. Some of them have no idea of what we call intellectual property, they need to be taught that and there is need to include that in the curriculum in the universities so that students can understand the ethical implication in what they do.
 
On the issue of plagiarism don’t you think the educationists in the communications sector are not doing enough in this regard?
 
I agree with you. But I still see a lot of positive uses which we have to try and strengthen. But students I have spoken to know that it is only the entertainment aspect that they dwell on but we need to put some punitive measure so that when they do not conform to certain principles and uses of these ICTs they get some sort of punitive measure for their action. So, I believe we have not really channeled our minds to trying to do something, but again, that is one of the challenges we are facing
 
What is your view on gender participation, first at this conference, and then within the field of mass communications?
 If you look at the conference here, you will see that the women here are, perhaps, 20, 30 per cent and mass communications has always been a male dominated area. Somebody did a research on the gender balancing in communication education between what we have in the classroom and the profession. As educators we wonder why as students we have more women in the classrooms but fewer in the profession.
 
What do you think is responsible for women quitting for other profession on graduation from the school of communications?
 
They do not really divert, sometimes, they get married to men who open shops for them or put them at home. As a matter of fact, what I do with my students in the mass communications department is that I get their address and ask them to write me when they get a job. I started that last year. I want to be able to do that for four to five years so that I can actually say this is where my students go on graduation. I hope to call them by September for those that left last year, I want to carry out my research to know where they go. It will be too tasking financially making these calls, but that is the only way you can know, we cannot know by just reading their bylines. I want to hear them say where they are, may be, in the bank or wherever.
 
Don’t you think the economic implication may be responsible?
 
It is not just the economic implication, but gender implication. I do not think in Nigeria, for example, a woman will ask the man to stay at home and become a house husband. It is more common for a man to say ‘you be a housewife after a result of academics.’ It is the question of culturally-defined roles for men and women.
So, it is more of gender than economy. Apart from keeping a home, most of the things women do, they do not get paid. They need to go beyond just being a housewife or mother. It is not economic but gender implication that I am concerned about.
 
What do you think the government can do in terms of policy formulation?
 
What I have always said about this is that government needs to provide an opportunity for women to advance themselves. Every woman would want to be a mother, so to be a mother and also a professional. People talk about exclusive breast-feeding yet most secondary schools do not have day-care centres. I taught in secondary school for 10 years, and as a mother I had to carry my baby on my back teaching. Government will need to know that if women are to be mothers, there is need to provide enabling environment. We can have day-care centres attached to every secondary school. So, it is a question of treating people equally as human beings knowing that a woman will have to advance her career.

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Enugu applauds Multi-Links entrance into South-East

The deputy governor of Enugu State, Chief Sunday Onyebuchi has pledged the support of the Enugu State government to telecommunications operators, especially Multi-Links Telkom.

Giving this assurance at the weekend, while welcoming Multi-Links Telkom team to the coal city on courtesy visit, Onyebuchi noted that the support has become necessary to encourage operators like Multi-Links Telkom to tap the Eastern market as they offer reliable and variety of Value Added Services (VAS), which include voice, data and Internet.

Chief Onyebuchi who represented the State Governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime, while welcoming the team led by the Multi-Links Telkom Chief Corporate Affairs Officer (CCAO), Mrs. Ijeoma Abazie, commended the operator for its excellent pedigree in service quality.

“We are happy to receive you into Enugu to offer your services to our people. Multi-Links is not a new name to me having being used to the service outside Enugu. We appreciate your presence in the state, we are encouraged by your coming and we would encourage our people to patronize you,” he said.

The Deputy Governor, who noted that recent development in the telecommunications sector of the economy had brought about strong competition among the operators, further said that both the operators and the people stand to benefit from such healthy competition since the operators are bound to offer high quality service and competitive tariffs to the consumers.

He pointed out that the government in the state had put in place the necessary infrastructure for investments to thrive, in the spirit of public-private sector partnership, and promised that Enugu government would provide all the necessary encouragement for Multi-Links to grow its business in the state.

To demonstrate government’s enthusiasm in partnering with Multi-Links, he said that the relevant government representatives would immediately commence discussions with Multi-Links to workout modalities for exploring the data and Internet services as a tool for enhancing government’s operations and efficiency within the system.

Abazie who was accompanied on the courtesy visit by Messrs Dumisani Mthethwa (Executive Sales), Chukwunonso Inoma (Executive, South East), Sonny Nwokoro (Acting Executive, Marketing, Olubayo Abiodun (Manager, Corporate Affairs) and Miss. Nkiru Uchenna (Sales Coordinator, South East), informed the deputy governor that Multi-Links was willing to offer attractive packages to the government to make administration less cumbersome.

She said that Multi-Links is committed to enhancing good governance by making its platform available for integrated communications platform at affordable rate for the civil service machinery of the Enugu State government. According to her Multi-Links aside from offering voice services has other service offerings including data and Internet.

She equally said that the government could as well take advantage of the 1x EV-Do and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services as a faster and cheaper route for connectivity within the government machineries.

Mrs. Abazie further said that Multi-Links Telkom was willing to provide a special product known as Close User Group (CUG) to help government run an internal communications network at an efficient cost to the government.

She stressed that the CUG works more or less like the conventional intercom because of its low cost and management attributes, stressing that CUG is more flexible in terms of mobility thereby making it possible for the civil service personnel on CUG service to be reached even on the go.

“The CUG has the combined character of both intercom and the conventional mobile phone,” she explained, and expressed gratitude to the government of Enugu State for the offer of support to Multi-Links.

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Blue Gate makes inroad with UPS

Sole marketers of the Blue Gate brands of Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) in the country, Tripplesea Limited has disclosed that its products have made some inroad into the Nigerian market.

Tripplesea, the hardware solutions provider, reiterated its resolve to setup an automated product service center in Lagos, to offer after sales support services for  all models of  Blue Gate range.Making this disclosure at product relaunch in Lagos recently, the General Manager at Tripplesea, Mr. Osita Godson, said that the service center would be fully equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to deliver high quality service, stressing that every Blue Gate product comes with a 12 months warranty.

Reassuring customers of affordable price, he said that Blue Gate products were tailored to the needs of  Nigeria’s Information Technology (IT) and electronics market by focusing on home appliances and office equipment to protect the systems from destruction in event of  power outage.

“We are in partnership with major marketers of inverters and solar panels by powering their inverters and solar panels with Blue Gate deep cycle batteries to deliver a longer, purer and highly regulated steady power supply to equipment installations all over Nigeria, and even beyond our shores,” he declared.

According to him, Blue Gate deep cycle inverter batteries are designed using the best technology in high-dept discharge battery manufacture.“They are extremely rugged and can withstand tougher operating environment than all others, including Gelled electrolyte batteries,’’ Osita said.

He explained that the ruggedness of the product was embedded because of a factor called ‘positive grid corrosion.’

“It ranks among the major reasons for battery failure. The positive (+) plate is what gets eaten away gradually over time, so eventually there is nothing left - it all falls to the bottom as sediment. Thicker plates are directly related to longer life, so other things being equal, the battery with the thickest plates will last the longest.

And that is the Blue Gate Deep Cycle batteries,” he said.Osita further reiterated that the batteries “are recombinant, hence oxygen and hydrogen recombine inside the battery using gas phase transfer of oxygen to the negative plates to recombine them back into water while charging.”

This, he noted, goes to prevent the loss of water through electrolysis; a process that is typically 99 per cent efficient.

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Lagos, Programos, others bag RIMAF awards

The Records and Information Management Awareness Foundation (RIMAF) has awarded a certificate of excellence to the Lagos State government for deploying technology and promotion of records and security management particularly with the introduction of Close Circuit Television project (CCTV) and street tags, reports CHARLES OKOH.

The event which took place in Lagos also saw other recipients including Channels Television (Online NewsPortal), Programos Software (e-Business Solutions), Bowe Bell Howell (Ngenuity), Fujifilm (Data Storage Media), Cohasset Associate (SreaMER),Galaxy Television (National Pulse), and Tokunbo Smith (Information Management Personality Award for the Year.

According to RIMAF president, Mr. Oyedokun Ayodeji Oyewole, the awards provided attendees with unique opportunities to compare the most comprehensive range of information management and security solutions from all the leading suppliers within and outside of the country.

The workshop which was declared opened by Dr. Jide Ayeni had a key note presentation on “Cyber Crime, an Impediment to National Development” by the President of the Nigeria Internet Group, Mr. Lanre Ajayi, followed by another presentation on “The Role of National Archives In Records Management In Nigeria” by the Director, National Archives of Nigeria Mr. Lafinhan Harry Adedoyin and Mr. Horn S. William, Senior Consultant at Cohasset Associates, USA also presented a paper on Assured Records Management among others.

Participants at the event included Officetron Company Limited, Busicon Nigeria Limited, CohassetAssociates USA, National Archives of Nigeria, Fujifilm/CaledonianTechnology, Docuscan Africa, Pacific Solution to name a few.

The awards which marked the climax of the workshop and exhibition, he said, recognised deserving individuals and corporate organizations for their contributions towards promoting records and security management.

The RIMA is organized by RIMA Foundation a non-profit organization that seeks to promote proper management and security of records and information in Nigeria and Africa.

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iWay Africa introduces business server

Leading Internet Service satellite provider on the continent, iWay Africa Nigeria Limited (INL) has introduced the ‘iWay Business Server’ (IBS) into the market.

This, the company said, is a product that will save business customers time and money.

A press statement made available to ITRealms Online from the company quoted the General Manager, iWayAfrica Nigeria Ltd, Mr. John Ugbe, as saying that iWay Business Server is a feature rich software bundle that is a self-contained “network in a box” targeted at the Small, Medium Enterprise (SME) segment.

He also said that the business server incorporates a full set of security services such as anti-spam, virus protection, firewall, intrusion detection and prevention and access control as well as business critical applications including email server, Domain Name System (DNS), web server, file and print services, web proxy, web filtering and Virtual Private Network (VPN) services among others.

As said by him, for a company to assemble the similar functionality critical for running a business, it takes time and could cost a company thousands of dollars to acquire and maintain.

“The iWay Business Server is an ideal complement to our award winning Internet products as iWay focuses on delivering reliable, secure Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services to our customers,” he said.

Additionally, he said, this was another way in which iWay tends to add value to customers’ businesses.

“The Business Server is scalable and can be implemented in very small companies as well as larger companies of up to 100 employees,” he asserted.

He emphasized that iWay understands that different companies have different needs, so, some companies may already have many of the components of the iWay business server whilst others may have none.

“Our approach is to understand the specific ICT needs of our customer before implementing the solution. That way each business server is tailor made for our customers where we can implement the full extent of features available on the Business Server or implement a sub-set as required by our customer,” said Ugbe.

He also noted that the solution is simple to setup and configure with many standard parameter already preconfigured by iWayAfrica.

“There is an extensive self-help library to ensure for quick and easy configuration and trouble shooting. iWayAfrica Nigeria Ltd also offer extensive professional services around the product which includes telephonic support and remote access support,” he said.

Marketing Executive, iWayAfrica Nigeria Ltd, Mrs. Muyiwa Esomojumi, said “Business Server allows our users to manage and control their employees’ bandwidth usage and extract detailed reports on employee internet usage which allows for greater cost control to our clients’ business.”

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GSMA selects comScore for Mobile Media Metric

Global trade association of mobile operators, the GSMA, has announced the formal selection of comScore to be its measurement partner afor the GSMA’s Mobile Media Metrics (MMM) commercial implementation in the United Kingdom (UK).

The GSMA, comScore and the five UK operators, namely Vodafone, Orange, O2, 3 and T-Mobile weekend, reached a formal agreement to launch the GSMA MMM services in the UK.

A press statement from the group made available to ITRealms Online, indicated that this was the outcome of the results of the feasibility study announced at Mobile World Congress in February this year.

Initial data, ITRealms Online gathered will be available in the fourth quarter of 2009 with full commercial launch early in 2010. 

This joint action by the UK operators will create a unique market research tool to drive the growth of mobile media to the benefit of consumers, mobile service developers and the broader media industries.

Director, Media and Entertainment at GSMA, Mr. Henry Stevens said that comScore has been a dedicated and effective partner in developing a technical solution for MMM that both meets the measurement needs of the media industry and fully respects the privacy of consumers.

“comScore has combined mobile-specific expertise with its established strength in online media measurement and we are very pleased to continue this successful relationship. Together we will show how, in a challenging economic environment, mobile is and will be a major driver of growth for the advertising and media industries,” he said.

Results of the MMM feasibility study, he noted, were announced at the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this year, were based on a sample of irreversibly anonymised, aggregated data from UK mobile operators.

The feasibility study, GSMA pointed out, is aimed to develop the process for measurement and demonstrate the level of analysis that the MMM solution will deliver for all mobile browsing activity.

Additionally, the GSMA will be working with ABC Electronic to deliver independent verification of MMM to industry agreed standards.

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20 heads of state for ITU telecom world-09

Over 20 Heads of State, heads of government and ministers of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are expected to grace the forthcoming Telecom World being put together by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, next month, alongside the United Nations (UN)Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon.

ITU is the leading United Nations (UN) agency for information and communication technology issues, and the global focal point for governments and the private sector in developing networks and services.

It also organizes worldwide and regional exhibitions and forums, such as ITU TELECOM WORLD, bringing together the most influential representatives of government and the telecommunications and ICT industry to exchange ideas, knowledge and technology for the benefit of the global community, and in particular the developing world.

A press statement from ITU informed that Telecom World 2009 brings to the fore innovative ICT strategies to drive economic growth, which is key priority for government and industry leaders.

The event scheduled for Geneva from 5-9 October, ITU said, is expected to welcome trade visitors from 150 countries, along with over 300 exhibitors showcasing new solutions and services as well as media, which will welcome over 230 speakers from 70 countries and 1,300 delegates from 90 nations worldwide.

Equally, the event will this year feature over 30 national and thematic pavilions showcasing the ICT industry of countries and regions including Africa Lusophone countries, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Burundi, China, Egypt, France, Ghana, India, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Lake Geneva Region, Malawi, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Tanzania, Uganda, the UK and the Ukraine.

In addition, this year’s show floor will feature a number of innovative thematic pavilions; focusing on ICT solutions for e-health, Green@ICT, UNESCO, the WiMAX Forum, Internet, and more.

While top-level executives from over 300 companies including China Mobile, Cisco Systems, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Huawei, KDDI, Microsoft, Nokia Siemens Networks, NTT, NTT DoCoMo, Samsung, Saudi Telecom and ZTE.

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MTNF graduates 40 lady mechanics

The corporate responsibility arm of the mobile giant known as MTN Foundation recently graduated 40 lady mechanics, under the Lady Mechanic Initiative (LMI).

The Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Ms Nonny Nduka-Eze, made this disclosure in Lagos and said that those who passed out at the occasion completed three-year intensive automobile repair training, including internships in Nigeria’s foremost automobile companies.

“40 young ladies sponsored by the MTN Foundation under the Lady Mechanic Initiative (LMI) have graduated as qualified automobile mechanics. Thirty-five of them have secured employment in various automobile service centres across the country,” she revealed.

She also said that the Foundation partnered with LMI since three years ago to help young ladies who are under- privileged to quit a life of financial dependency and start earning honest living through automobile repair work. MTNF, she also said, invested over N38 million to provide practical training in auto mechanic at Pay & Train centres, theoretical lectures in mechanical engineering, monthly self-help lectures on social economic and health issues, three (3) months industrial attachment at Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN), Kaduna, driving test and provision of driver’s license, trade test certification and internship programme at Mitsubishi, R.T. Briscoe, Elizade and Toyota.

“These ladies have shown the can do spirit which is one of the core values of MTN Nigeria and we are proud to be part of their success story today. Not only have they been empowered to take care of themselves and their families, they are also living testimonies to the fact that anything is possible if you are determined,” she said.

The Minister for Women Affairs, Mrs. Salamatu Hussaini Suleiman, who represented President Musa Yar’Adua at the occasion expressed delight that the project is in line with Seven Point Agenda.

“It is the sort of initiative we need in our dear country to help combat vices and crime, and we must commend it to other public-spirited individuals and corporate bodies,” she said.

Each of the successful graduands received a set of tools from MTN Foundation, while the best three with outstanding results among them also received various gifts including a DVD mini Hi-Fi system, a microwave oven and a pressure cooker.

The Lady Mechanic Initiative was founded in 1985 by Sandra Aguebor-Ekperuoh, the first female mechanic in the country to shepherd indigent girls in the communities away from vices and crime into meaningful means of livelihood.

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Highway Africa-09 sets South Africa agog, kicks off

The 2009 edition of the annual Highway Africa (HA-09) continental congress, has set the city of Grahamstown, South Africa agog, as it plays host to over 500 media practitioners with common interest in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

The event which is on its 13th edition has as the theme, ‘Reporting Africa 2010, Development and Democracy’ and is organized as collaboration between Rhodes University’s School of Journalism and Media Studies and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), with the support of several other partners, development agencies and sponsors.

Highway Africa attracted a record attendance of 735 persons in 2008 and offers journalists reflection on 2010 in the New Media environment, just as the Highway Africa annual awards has been expanded to over five (5) categories in their ninth year, in effort to continuously recognise excellence in ICT journalism on the continent.

The Executive Director, Highway Africa, Mr. Chris Kabwato, noted that the continent would have journalism as a weapon which could translate to lightening up Africa when and where quality print media, quality radio, quality television and quality online media exist.

With the aforementioned, he said, African media would be able to rise above “the culture of mediocrity” and that was the concept behind the theme of this year.

He stressed that for 13 years, the Highway Africa conference has attempted to be a space where African journalism and media could be dissected, interrogated and celebrated.

“All in the hope that this could aid numerous other efforts to improve the state of our journalism and with the 2009 theme being ‘Reporting Africa 2010, Development & Democracy,’ I am looking forward to debates that would move us forward,” he said.

Mr. Kabwato also said that two key things are happening around the media that should challenge African journalism, namely, the global financial crisis and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

As said by him, the financial crisis invariably has shaken received wisdom on the unfettered reign of the market and requires a re-think on the nature of global capitalism, which is playing itself out in much of American and European media, just as most African media are eloquent with deafening silence.

“It is business as usual. Let others think for us,” he declared.

The Highway Africa boss, wondered that the World Cup is just months away, but “how different will be the Africans framing of the narrative of this soccer spectacle from that of the global media?” pointing out that these are important issues because, beyond the jingoism of post-modernism and other isms, Africa exists.

“Africa exists because we relate. Africa exists because we stand on its earth and our identities are contingent on that. Africa deserves great story-tellers and chroniclers. So, let us then have a great time talking, learning,” he urged.

In a related development, the two-day fourth Digital Citizen’s Indaba (DCI) ended weekend at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa.

The annual event which brings together bloggers, online and mobile journalists, citizen reporters, new media practitioners, online industry experts and civil society representatives, is aimed at encouraging citizen participation in debate about the state of digital media, information sharing and skills transfer using experts in the field.

“It encourages the use of new media take-up by non-journalists,” the school outreach officer, Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies, Khaya Thonjeni.
DCI theme for 2009 is ‘Digital civil society and journalism in Africa’.


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Adedoyin calls for Federal Record Centre

Director, National Archives of Nigeria (NAN), Mr.Lafinhan Harry Adedoyin, has called for the immediate establishment of the Federal Records Centre (FRC) and adequate record management in the country.

He also said that the application of general records retention and disposition schedule for the nation should be taken seriously so as to check the challenges facing effective records management practices.

Adedoyin who was speaking on ‘The role of national archives in records management in Nigeria,’ recently in Lagos, at this year’s Records and Information Management Awareness Foundation Awards (RIMAW) noted that the national archives over the years carried the burden of archives and records management for the whole country in spite of the fact that archives is on the concurrent list of the Nigerian constitution.

He equally said there is an ongoing sensitization programme of personnel in the public service for effective records management practice in the country, stressing that with this properly put in place the records management practices will be sustained.

“The Federal Government is also repositioning the National Archives of Nigeria. The bill for the upgrading of the National Archives of Nigeria is receiving attention at the National Assembly. When the law is enacted, it will not only enhance records management practices but will also seek for its compliance,” Adedoyin said.

Further, he said that NAN is therefore committed to an effective records management practice, hence it encourages states in country that are yet to establish their own archival institutions to do so.

“I am happy that one of the new entrants is the Lagos State government with the establishment of Lagos State Records and Archives Bureau (LASRAB). I wish to use this occasion to call on other States in Nigeria like Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Anambra, Bayelsa, Rivers, Kwara, Oyo, Plateau, Cross Rivers among others to take a cue from Lagos State recent example and establish their own State Archives,” he said.

The National Archives, Adedoyin assured is ready and willing to give technical support to states with plans of establishing their own archives.

With the Theme: “Cyber Crime and Impediment on National Development is an annual events organized by the Records and Information Management Awareness Foundation (RIMA), a non-profit organization that seeks to promote proper management and security of records and information in Nigeria and Africa. The 2009 event addressed major issues affecting information management and security with definitive answers to growing information management and security needs and challenges in the country.

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SAP world enterprise tour commences in Lagos

SAP West African office would today in Lagos commence a two-day enterprise tour being sponsored by CWG, Serve Consulting as platinum sponsors, while IBM, Britehouse, EOH, C2G as gold sponsor, Egbeniran & Co. and Accenture as silver sponsors.

According to the Managing Director, SAP Africa, Mr. Pfungwa Serima, this global road show, is taking place in over 70 cities spread over 50 countries, and has reached more than 240,000 customers, partner and influencers over the last five years.

The platform, he said, provides businesses with information on how SAP solutions could help companies of all sizes successfully transform business challenges into opportunities and meet the demands of their industry and market.

Regional SAP event, he said, focuses on harnessing the power of technology to help companies achieve clarity and thrive in the current business environment.

The theme for this year, he said, is “See Your Way Clear: Strategies for Success in the New Reality,” and explores how companies could achieve transparency in every area of their operations to be best-run businesses in today’s challenging economic environment.

“Attendees will learn how to harness the power of technology in order to run lean operations, capture greater market share and gain transparency in their operations,” Serima said.

In addition, he explained that the tour is designed to enable dialogue with influencers, customers and prospects – along with members of the SAP ecosystem and parties interested in partnering with SAP.

“Through interactive formats including industry- and product-specific breakout sessions, participants will learn how the SAP business software solution portfolio can help companies adapt more quickly to changing market needs, differentiate against tougher competition, execute growth strategies in an international environment and maximize results with existing resources,” he declared, stressing that customers would continue to concentrate on core business competencies and maintain close customer relations.

In the afternoon, he said, participants would have the opportunity to choose from a number of different breakout sessions to further engage in conversations about: CIO break-out, SAP Banking, SAP public services, SAP oil & gas, SAP for telco, utilities, travel & transport.

Director, Strategic Initiatives at SAP Africa, Mr. Simon Carpenter, said enterprise world tour has continued to be a successful event.

“Based on the specific needs of our African companies, SAP can truly work with its customers, prospects and partners to discuss how technology enables companies to derive increased understanding and visibility, so they can meet the ever increasing need to be more transparent and accountable,” said Carpenter.

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eWorld, OAU honour ICT icons

The Lagos branch of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Alumni Association and eWorld, an Information Technology (IT) entity, have honoured 12 outstanding industry icons with awards for their roles in nation building, through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

The awardees who have distinguished themselves in their ICT careers have variously played significant roles in driving ICT growth and national development.

They include the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe; Director General, Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Professor Cleopas Angaye, President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, Group chief executive, Omatek Computers Plc, Mrs. Florence Seriki; her counterpart at MainOne Technologies, Mrs. Funke Opeke.

Others include the chief executive of Chams Plc, Mr. Demola Aladekomo; Chairman, Linkserve, Mr. Chima Onyekwere; Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of MTN, Karl Toriola; Managing Director of Bi-TraxAxxent, Mrs. Bunmi Afolabi; Managing Director of New Horizons, Tim Akano; Nigeria’s first ICT youth ambassador, Gbenga Sesan; and the Commandant of the Army Signal Corp, Major-General Udom.

Chairman of the award nite and Vice Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Michael Faborede, said he was proud to be part of the award ceremony where men and women who have been properly groomed by the university at various levels of their degrees, were being honoured for outstanding performances in nation building through the use of ICT.

“This is an honour, not only to the awardees, but also to the management and staff of Obafemi Awolowo University, for the world-class training given to the awardees during that course of study at the University,” he said.

He also expressed gratitude to the organisers for the honour, stressing that they truly deserved to be honoured.

Prof. Faborede disclosed that the statistics of ICT drivers in the country, showed OAU alumni dominated the ICT industry in the country and they have contributed immensely to the growth and development of the nation.

Equally, he said, OAU had been in the forefront of ICT studies and had pioneered the Internet Laboratory Studies, and established ICT parks in Ille Ife while enjoin stakeholder to support this OAU mission and vision.

Highlight of the award night was the launch of eWorld magazine focusing on the views of the awardees described as worthy ambassadors, and published by Nigeria’s pioneer Communications Journalist, Aaron Ukodie, who also is an alumnus of Obafemi Awolowo University.

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