Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Pomp and fanfare for regional conference opening
By Emrakeb Assefa
ACCRA- The Africa Regional preparatory conference for the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) opened yesterday with pomp and fanfare here in Accra, Ghana under the theme of “Access: Africa’s key to an inclusive information society.”
The three-day conference, officially opened by John Kufuor, president of Ghana is a gathering of African ICT and communications officials, members of civil society and business to prepare an African agenda for the Tunis phase of WSIS.
About 1000 delegates from 51 African countries, including Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda and Mohammed Ghounnushi, prime minister of Tunisia, were in attendance. Kagame and Ghounnushi are among the few African leaders who have come to the forefront of the new breed of “ICT champions”, recognised for putting in place progressive ICT policies within their own respective countries.
Their participation in the conference sends a powerful signal to the world about Africa’s commitment to use ICTs to promote socio-economic development within the continent and to bridge the digital divide between the North and South.
Adding an African flare to the event was the playing of the African Union anthem by the Ghanaian Police Band at the beginning of the opening session. Traditional Ghanaian dancers and musicians dressed in flowing bakataris welcomed the delegates to add colour to the event. The delegates paid a visit to the exhibition area which showcased a display of technologies currently in use on the continent.
However, not everything was running smoothly. Journalists faced difficulties in following the opening ceremony when they were told to move to the top floor of the conference hall. Unfortunately, the organisers forgot to provide headphones so that journalists could listen to translations and follow the proceedings when keynote speakers delivered their speeches in other languages.
The conference was organised by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Ministry of Information, Ghana in partnership with over 50 national and international sponsors. It was the second WSIS regional conference to be held in Africa. The first was held in Bamako, Mali in May 2002 as the continent’s preparation for the first phase of WSIS in Geneva, Switzerland.
The preparatory conference is being held here to ensure a strategic and interdependent digital partnership that will promote economic growth and human development on the continent. Based on an assessment of the progress made by African countries to reduce the digital divide in light of the outcomes of the Geneva phase of WSIS, the Ghana conference aims to develop a common position and a regional action plan on major ICT issues of relevance to the continent. This will include the remaining two unresolved issues of the Geneva phase, namely that of Internet Governance and Financing of the Information Society.
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ACCRA- The Africa Regional preparatory conference for the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) opened yesterday with pomp and fanfare here in Accra, Ghana under the theme of “Access: Africa’s key to an inclusive information society.”
The three-day conference, officially opened by John Kufuor, president of Ghana is a gathering of African ICT and communications officials, members of civil society and business to prepare an African agenda for the Tunis phase of WSIS.
About 1000 delegates from 51 African countries, including Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda and Mohammed Ghounnushi, prime minister of Tunisia, were in attendance. Kagame and Ghounnushi are among the few African leaders who have come to the forefront of the new breed of “ICT champions”, recognised for putting in place progressive ICT policies within their own respective countries.
Their participation in the conference sends a powerful signal to the world about Africa’s commitment to use ICTs to promote socio-economic development within the continent and to bridge the digital divide between the North and South.
Adding an African flare to the event was the playing of the African Union anthem by the Ghanaian Police Band at the beginning of the opening session. Traditional Ghanaian dancers and musicians dressed in flowing bakataris welcomed the delegates to add colour to the event. The delegates paid a visit to the exhibition area which showcased a display of technologies currently in use on the continent.
However, not everything was running smoothly. Journalists faced difficulties in following the opening ceremony when they were told to move to the top floor of the conference hall. Unfortunately, the organisers forgot to provide headphones so that journalists could listen to translations and follow the proceedings when keynote speakers delivered their speeches in other languages.
The conference was organised by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Ministry of Information, Ghana in partnership with over 50 national and international sponsors. It was the second WSIS regional conference to be held in Africa. The first was held in Bamako, Mali in May 2002 as the continent’s preparation for the first phase of WSIS in Geneva, Switzerland.
The preparatory conference is being held here to ensure a strategic and interdependent digital partnership that will promote economic growth and human development on the continent. Based on an assessment of the progress made by African countries to reduce the digital divide in light of the outcomes of the Geneva phase of WSIS, the Ghana conference aims to develop a common position and a regional action plan on major ICT issues of relevance to the continent. This will include the remaining two unresolved issues of the Geneva phase, namely that of Internet Governance and Financing of the Information Society.
