Connectivity
Africa launched at Acacia Conference
Canada-Africa fund for ICTs
By Matthew White
Senior Reporter
CONNECTIVITY
Africa, a major initiative of the Canadian government aimed at improving
access to ICTs in Africa, was launched at the Acacia Conference on Monday
night. The initiative has launch budget of US$8.2million which will fund
projects in four specific areas:
-
Innovation in
the use of ICTs.
-
African regional
ICT futures.
-
Research and
development in African ICTs.
-
Partnership and
convergence.
Connectivity
Africa will complement the work of Acacia but will be more explicitly
technological in line with the goal of supporting New Partnership for
Africa’s Development’s (Nepad’s) regional integration objectives. The work
will be carried out through each of IDRC's regional offices in Cairo, Dakar,
Nairobi and South Africa.
IDRC President Maureen O'Neil with
Steve Song, manager of Connectivity Africa.
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In a video address
to the conference, Canada’s Minister of International Co-operation, Susan
Whelan, said Canada had budgeted an annual increase in aid of 8% a year
until 2010. Half of this increase is pledged to Africa.
The initiative,
part of Canada's response to the G8 Africa Action Plan, is one of three
initiatives in support of the work of the Digital Opportunity Task Force
(DOT Force), an international coalition of government, industry and civil
society organisations seeking to help bridge the global digital divide. DOT
force is co-chaired by IDRC president Maureen O’Neil.
Connectivity
Africa is being implemented by IDRC in partnership with the United Nations
Economic Commission for Africa. Day-to-day management will be in the hands
of manager Steve Song and his team, with strategic direction by a steering
committee co-chaired by IDRC and ECA. The initiative will be implemented
within the context of the African Information Society Initiative (AISi)
pioneered by ECA.
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