Introduction
The fact that Africa
is committed to taking full part of the Information Society was clear from
the recent ITU Africa Telecom conference. Expanding ICT opportunities is a
priority of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD). It is
clearly necessary to research the many social issues surrounding the
information society, in order to influence its development in a way that
supports genuine people-centred development. The information age is very
productive, but can also be highly exclusionary.
Africa is the
continent with the lowest level of access to information and communication
technologies (ICTs). Although its population amounts to 13.4% of the world’s
total, it has just 2.0% of the world’s fixed-line telephones and 2.5% of its
mobiles. Africa has 1.7% of the world’s personal computers and 1.4% of its
Internet users (ITU World Telecom Development Report 2002). Network society
analyst Manuel Castells (2000) writes that ‘the disinformation of Africa at
the dawn of the Information Age may be the most lasting wound inflicted on
this continent’ (The Information Age, Castells 1998: 95). As Benmouffok
(1993) says: ‘It is impossible to have sustainable and equitable development
without free access to reliable and accurate information – and for this the
telecommunications infrastructure is essential’.
People and
governments on the continent must develop its own answer to the problems it
faces, rather than relying solely on ideas from other countries. Appropriate
use of ICTs entails local adaptive learning to find uses for the technology
that meets real needs. Much of the advice to African countries on using ICTs
comes from companies, donors and experts from outside the continent, and it
is often attached to efforts to sell proprietary technology.
A great deal of
research expertise already exists in Africa, though it is often not
recognised or known by others here or elsewhere. This research capacity
could be made more effective if people working on similar areas were able to
know of each other’s work. Together African experts in their different
fields can shape thinking in a way that can be accessed by governments,
business, communities and organisations commissioning research.
The ARISE project is
funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and run by
the LINK Centre in conjunction with ENDA-Tiers Monde in Senegal and Centro
de Informática at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Mozambique. To fulfil
its objectives, ARISE partners contacted 4000 people involved with “social”
ICT research in Africa inviting them to participate and we registered over
700 individuals for the ARISE network.
Nominations for
ARISE membership were obtained from several sources including: the LINK
Centre itself, its partner institutions, and other ICT players throughout
Africa; through on-line and off-line culling of relevant websites and
publications, the distribution of ARISE forms at conferences around Africa;
and the recommendations of those already registered. A database has been
compiled containing information on each ARISE member’s area of ICT
expertise/research and contact details, and this is publicly available at
www.ariseafrica.org so that African ICT practitioners can more
effectively network with their colleagues.
Once the ARISE
Network database was established, its members were encouraged to take part
in a series of seven themed e-mail discussions run by seven commissioned
experts. Overall, 250 people from around the continent and beyond were
involved. Topics covered were: ICTs and Governance (Moderator: Alison
Gillwald); ICT Infrastructure (Mike Jensen); E-Government (Lucienne
Abrahams); ICTs and Employment (Charley Lewis); ICTs and Small Business (Muruiki
Mureithi); ICTs and Rural Services (Dr. Peter Benjamin); and ICTs and Gender
(Natasha Primo).
The aim was to
develop a research agenda of key questions that must be addressed for Africa
to take advantage of the Information Age. The agenda is to be “demand
driven” by people working on the ground in Africa (as opposed to an agenda
built by foreign institutions).
Cross-Cutting
Research Themes
The theme that was
mentioned most frequently was that of the development of the appropriate
human capital necessary to unlock the full developmental potential of ICTs.
Discussants felt that research into the human capital requirements across
the full range of ICT activities is required. More specifically this
involves examining the impact of ICTs on the skills requirements necessary
for employment in the information age, the development of training programs
to allow Africa’s large informal sector to take advantage of the
opportunities offered by ICTs, and the development of capacity within
government and regulatory bodies to effectively implement information
society policy and sector legislation.
The second core
theme to emerge from the discussions was the need for an examination of how
“best practice” models developed in other parts of the world needed to be
modified to be appropriate in the African context. As the ARISE project has
emphasized, this is crucially important if Africa is ever to develop its own
solutions to increasing its access to and utilisation of ICTs. On the macro
level this examination would involve everything from an examination of how
well the governance strategies of liberalisation and privatisation of the
telecommunications sector have worked in Africa to the challenge of creating
ICT promotion policies against the backdrop of predatory states. On the
micro level it would involve looking at what are the most appropriate means
to package and deliver digital content to users around the continent given
geographical, income, and educational barriers. This work would necessarily
involve an effort to develop an understanding of what types of ICT services
are actually in demand by African peoples, and to look at existing success
stories of where ICTs have benefited marginalized groups (such as women) on
the continent.
The third major
research need identified was the need to perform an “African Audit” of what
is happening in the ICT sector on the continent. Efforts to combat the
digital divide in Africa will be all the more difficult without the baseline
understanding of the current situation that permits for an objective
assessment of problems. Furthermore, this audit could well demonstrate
potential solutions that are not yet documented. In particular the
spectacular success of pre-paid mobile telephony may contain several vital
lessons for the rollout of other ICTs in Africa.
The fourth theme is
centred on how to identify the best strategies to attract investment in the
African ICT sector. This theme is interlinked with that of rethinking best
practice models to make them relevant to Africa. Given the unique
characteristics of African markets, the standard governance models of
privatisation, liberalisation, and independent regulation may need to be
re-examined. Investors may value certainty and credibility above the
creation of paper neo-liberal institutional structures. Likewise, African
states may need to examine ways of aggregating regional demand in order to
overcome the smaller size and poor status of markets, thereby making them
more attractive to potential investors.
The fifth and final
theme was concerned with encouraging the participation of women in the
information society. While this was obviously the primary focus of the ICTs
and Gender discussion, the topic was raised in a number of discussions. For
example, the ICTs and Small Business discussion presented empirical evidence
that women-led small businesses make far less use of ICTs than those run by
men. Similarly, given work migration patterns, any effort to develop ICT
applications relevant to people in rural areas will need to be largely aimed
at women. It is therefore critical that research is conducted into examining
the gender impact of | 
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