[GKD] CFP: Building & Bridging Community Networks Conference

[Michael Gurstein]

The Committee of the "Building & Bridging Community Networks: Knowledge,
Innovation & Diversity through communication" conference issues a call
for your participation in an exciting opportunity to network with others
engaged in community networking, community informatics and community
technology research, practice and policy. The conference, which forms
part of an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) research project
(RES-328-25-0012), funded through the People at the Centre of
Communication and Information Technology (PACCIT) research programme, is
intended to act as a catalyst for creating communication and knowledge
linkages between those involved in community networking.

In order to create synergy and understanding between practitioners,
researchers and policy, it is important that knowledge of the issues and
problems surrounding community networking be identified, articulated,
recorded and shared in the form of a dynamic and ongoing community
networking knowledgebase. To this end the conference welcomes
contributions from practitioners, researchers and policy-makers in the
following areas:

. Community networking case studies
. Community network analysis as a methodology and theory
. Community Informatics as an emerging research agenda
. The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the role of
  Civil Society
. Communication and Development - theory and practice 
. A human-centred approach to community technology - moving beyond
  causality to purposiveness
. Indigenous knowledge and cultural diversity 
. Grass-roots community innovation and action

These subjects are timely because in addition to the recent World Summit
on the Information Society event in Geneva, the period between March and
September, 2004 will see a number of important conferences taking place
on the subject of community network or related areas. The Canadian
Research Alliance for Community Information Networks (CRACIN) will be
launched in the form of an International Workshop in May, 2004. The
eighth biennial Participatory Design Conference will be held between
July 27-31, 2004 at the University of Toronto, Canada and will have a
strong community networking component. The second international
colloquium of the Community Informatics Research Network (CIRN) is being
convened in Prato, Italy at the end of September.

The Brighton conference provides an excellent opportunity for community
networkers - researchers, practitioners and policy makers alike - to
establish links and share experiences and knowledge with people, groups
and organisations engaged in the excitingly diverse activities that
constitute community networking.


We are looking to bring together researchers, practitioners and
policymakers to discuss/summarize/theorize/and draw conclusions or
lessons learned from some ten years of practical work and research
experience in applying information and communications technology to
enabling and empowering communities of all kinds.

Our conference will also provide an opportunity for researchers,
practitioners, and policy-makers to reflect on and draw conclusions from
a range of currently relevant areas, fields and practices.

A conference website will be developed early in the New Year.

Submissions for this conference can take the form of extended abstracts,
position papers or full papers.  Extended abstracts and position papers
should be no more than 1500 words. Full papers including citations,
tables, diagrams and references should be no more than 5000 words.
Harvard citation style is mandatory and the conference language is
English.

The Conference Committee will decide which extended abstracts or
position papers will be accepted as full papers to be presented at
conference. An opportunity will exist for a number of extended abstracts
and position papers to also be presented to conference.

Important Dates:

Conference: 31st  March - 2nd April, 2004
Venue: Old Ship Hotel, Brighton, East Sussex, England

Extended abstracts, position papers and full papers must be submitted by
15th February, 2004. All submissions will be blind peer reviewed by two
referees. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Send  abstracts, position papers, full papers  to Peter Day
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Notifications of acceptance/rejection will be sent by 25th February,
2004

All amended submissions must be received by 15th March, 2004

All successful extended abstracts, position papers and full papers will
appear in the conference proceedings. It is also anticipated that an
edited book and various journal publications will result as an outcome
of the conference.

Further details available at:  TBA

Current Conference Committee

Peter Day, SEAKE Centre, School of Computing, Mathematical and
Information Sciences, University of Brighton
Doug Schuler, The Evergreen State College, Washington
Jon Dron, SEAKE Centre, School of Computing, Mathematical and
Information Sciences, University of Brighton
Karamjit Gill, Professor, SEAKE Centre, Univ

[GKD] Learning from Nigeria's eCommerce Success Stories

[Fola Odufuwa]

 Learning from Nigeria¹s eCommerce Success Stories

"History teaches us that people and nations behave wisely, once they
have exhausted all other alternatives..." - Abba Eban

There are three websites that many analysts affirm as Nigeria¹s first
eCommerce success stories. These sites, ,
, and , provide rich messages
to businesses and organizations in Africa as to how to utilize the power
of the Internet to deliver potent contemporary applications to users
profitably. These education sites are fundamentally reshaping the way
individuals connect with public institutions in Nigeria as they provide
an easy method of checking examination results without human
intervention.

They also offer huge lessons to any discerning entrepreneur in Africa on
ways of successfully engaging the Internet without necessarily raking up
losses. I shall examine four of the most important lessons.


First, focus on placing only one core operational process, product or
service on the Web

These sites provide no compelling content on the home page. They provide
no appealing visual interface. They provide nothing to users interested
in such things as weather info, maps, etc. But they all have a single
focus. That is, to provide their target market with an easy-to-use
electronic medium for doing only one thing - checking examination
results. Until now, checking for results of Secondary School
Examinations or University Matriculation Examinations was typically
traumatic and painful, both for the student and his/her guardian. Stress
points were the journey to the office of the Exam Body ­ which could
take days for many, queuing behind hundreds to view result sheets pasted
on giant notice boards outdoors, accessing officials for a copy of the
result slip, etc. Additional stress points were the touts who readily
offered to reduce the pain if you would part with cash, corrupt
officials who promise to help and delay so doing, and so on. God help
you if you could complete the simple process of viewing your results in
24 hours.

But by placing just one process ­ results checking ­ on the Internet,
the exam bodies have reduced stress for users and themselves. Now you
can check for exam results on the web, via your GSM handset, via
interactive telephone, or even as secure email from the comfort of your
home, a business centre or a cybercafe.

These sites are proving that the Internet can indeed be a veritable
means for national economic efficiency. *Interestingly, the most
successful global websites, including Yahoo, Hotmail and Google, started
off focusing on only one user need, and they have scarcely deviated from
that single process mindset.

A single operational process creates a community of delighted customers
whose lives are made more effective by the creative use of technology.



Second, create an offline payment mechanism for online activity 

You are unable to view results on the three sites without paying. Yet
the sites are, according to a recent eShekels Web Survey, three of the
most popular in Nigeria. They are extremely popular with millions of
youths who sit for the national examinations yearly.

While much of the content on the Internet is free, these sites are
demonstrating that Nigerian users are willing to pay for information
service delivered to them using the Net. One of the reasons the Internet
(and subsequently eCommerce) is yet to take off in Nigeria is the lack
of a nationally acceptable payment method for online goods and services.
With the abysmal penetration of local stored-value card brands (e.g.
Valucard, Smartpay, etc), website owners are turning to the real world
for offline payment solutions. For sites with low traffic, direct
lodgment by the user into a bank account belonging to the site owner is
increasingly being offered. However, this method has severe limitations
for sites that have a mass appeal and a potential for high traffic.

The exam sites have solved this problem by issuing their own
low-denomination prepaid cards. These cards are distributed through
banks and other retail outlets, and are often within reach of the
potential site user.

By entering the PIN number on the scratch card into the form provided on
the website, the user has access to a single exam result for a limited
number of fresh logins. 

The end result: The user is happy. The site owner smiles to the bank!

Using a combination online/offline payment solution, enterprises can
monetize the growth of the Internet by uploading core processes online
in order to meet the target user at a single point.



Three, craft new sources of revenue by leveraging on the Internet

Closely related to the second point above, is the need for businesses to
create innovative new revenue-generating services using technology as
the vital platform. * Admittedly, I am not sure that the public agencies
sponsoring these sites had revenue in mind when they started as they are
largely dependent on government subvention.

However, the sites have brought about ne

[GKD] Women of Uganda Network Update Newsletter

[Dorothy Okello]

WOUGNET Update Newsletter - December 2003
**
A monthly electronic newsletter from Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) -
http://www.wougnet.org
For comments or queries, contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To subscribe/unsubscribe to the WOUGNET Update Newsletter, send a
message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the following command
in the subject or body of your message: subscribe/unsubscribe


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This month's contents:
1. Women Organisations in Uganda
2. Documents on Women's Issues in Uganda
3. Links & Resources
4. News & Events
5. WOUGNET News


NOTE:
The next issue of the WOUGNET Update Newsletter will be in February
2004.

Season's Greetings and a Peaceful and Prosperous 2004.


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WOMEN ORGANISATIONS IN UGANDA


* Bivamuntuyo Credit and Savings Women's Group 
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/bswg.html
Bivamuntuyo Credit and Savings Women's Group's mission is promotion of
sustainable farming and agriculture, among the community of Bombo Town
Council, for improved health and economic development of families.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#BSWG


* Rurama Women's Society (RWS) 
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/rws.html
Based in Fort Portal, RWS's mission is to empower rural women with
economic activities through use of environment conservation to eliminate
poverty and make women independent.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#RWS


* Uganda Churchwomen Development Centre (UCWDC) 
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/ucwdc.html
Based in Jinja, UCWDC's mission is to develop Churchwomen spiritually
and socially through: evangelism and Bible study, prayer, education and
social services, leadership development, agriculture, business
management, environment management, micro finance,  information,
communication and technology, health, HIV/AIDS Counseling, research and
consultancy services, girl-child eduction and career guidance, trainig
of trainers, promoting peace and justice, caring for needy aged women in
the surrounding community, and networking.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#UCWDC


* Isis WICCE wins Gender & ICT Award
http://www.genderawards.net
Isis WICCE  has been announced as the winner of the
Gender and ICT Award for the category of Outstanding multi-stakeholder
Initiative, National/Local for its initiative on "Documenting
Experiences of Women in Situations of Armed Conflict in Uganda".
The Gender and ICT Awards aim to honor and bring international
recognition to the innovative and effective projects by women to use
ICTs for the promotion of gender equality and/or women's empowerment.
The awards will be received at a special event and venue parallel to the
World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva, Switzerland, from
December 10-12, 2003. The ICT Initiative will also be included in a
publication being prepared by the Global Knowledge Partnership, for
distribution at the World Summit on the Information Society.
The Gender and ICT Awards are sponsored by APC Women's Networking
Support Programme (WNSP) and the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP).


* Baropobo Women's Group
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/bwp.html
Based in Apac District, Baropobo Women's Group's mission is to improve
the financial status of Baropobo Women members through improved and
modern agriculture.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#BWP


* Bukana Rural Development Association (BURUDA)
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/buruda.html
Based in Kasese, BURUDA's mission is to improve the economic status of
women members through training them on human rights issues as well as
development issues.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#BURUDA


* Katyazo Women's Group (KAWOG)
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/kawog.html
Based in Mbarara, KAWOG's vision is of progressive people and
sustainable community development.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#KAWOG


* Kabarole Integrated Women's Effort in Development (KIWED)
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/kiwed.html
Based in Fort Portal, KIWED's mission is for a well-equipped and
knowledgeable society on human rights for equal participation in
Development of Kabarole District and gradually Nation at large.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#KIWED


* Luwero Women's Development Association (LUWODA)
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/luwoda.html
Based in Luwero, LUWODA's vision is to build the capacity of women through
providing them with the rightful information and technical assistance, as a
means of improving on their home and well being of their household.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#LUWODA

  
* Reach Out to the Wives of the Soldiers (ROWOSA)
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/rowosa.html
Based in Bombo, ROWOSA's mission is to build the capacity of wives of
the soldiers and improve on their family life and status, and capable of
participating in social, cultural, eco