The Voices of Africa project.

What a brilliant idea ! More details and the first set of news items can be found on [1] Africa News website .

Using GPRS, reporters from across the African continent are taking part in a new initiative using a mobile phone to send  and publish local news items, using a mix of photos, videos and text. Exciting times, being able to report on key local events and information and being able to publish that back to a global audience ! It appears similar to something I noticed happening in Turkey a few years back, particularly eastern areas of Turkey where being able to connect with other people meant relying on very low bandwidth and the landlines were very unpredictable. Along came mobile phones and internet cafes and suddenly people were prepared to pay to be able to communicate and now the mobile industry in Turkey is massive but alongside this, they have highly developed communication channels and media. My in-laws now communicate with us using webcams, occasionally everyone goes ‘alien’ but on the whole the data transfer is great and the video quality is similar when using messenger to other parts of the UK.

Second Life
Uthango is a South African not-for-profit company that is opening offices in Second Life. [2] Uthango will publish a social magazine and address digital divide, by exploring the value of social networking. Uthango is actively pursuing the creation of a gateway for Africans to access this educational and social 3D-world. One of the main objectives of this step, is to create a dynamic platform for interaction between developments experts and practitioners around the world - in order to contribute to solutions for complex problems. Uthango will be working in parallel at establishing internet hubs in communities. And, they are seeking partnerships with mobile telecoms on mobile applications for Virtual Africa, and to develop links between mobile space and Second Life”.