Africa UP Close

Continue reading for an overview of today’s news.

By Edith Kirumba
Postdoctoral Research Officer at the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

As Africa gradually becomes a knowledge-based society, the role of women and youth in this transformation cannot be overemphasized. African youth and women are the driving forces of Africa’s development due to their zeal, innovativeness, and aspirations about the future of the continent. The African Youth Charter defines ‘youth’ as persons aged between 15 and 35 years. Africa is the most youthful continent with close to 65% of its population being men and women below 35 years of age. The youth and women in Africa are faced with numerous challenges including illiteracy, unemployment and underemployment, gender based inequalities, isolation from the development process, and rampant poverty. Science, technology and innovation (STI) are crucial to Africa’s development and global competitiveness, and the youth and women are key partners in this journey.

By Gregor Young
Management Systems International

Today, May 1^st, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will host a conference entitled African Women and Youth as Agents of Change through Technology and Innovation. This conference, co-hosted by the African Technology Policy Studies Network, will present examples of technology innovation by women and youth in Africa, as well as discuss the critical role of leadership and innovation mentorship for sustaining future generations on the continent, enabling a brighter future.

Additional discussion on the role of technology and innovation relating not only to development, but to the status and participation of women and youth, is timely. The past decade has seen exponential growth in adoption of increasingly available and context-specific ICT solutions across the African continent. Many citizens and civil society groups have begun to demonstrate the vast potential of technology to improve several key sectors and daily realities of life in developing countries. Early targeted innovations in ICT have started to foster improvements in the accountability of government, generated new areas of economic opportunity, facilitated more savvy participation in local markets, and advancement of gender equity. Locally-developed models for future engagement of people and markets through technology in the developing world abound; these should have of attention of the development community, to provide evaluation and investment in the most promising models. Local technology innovators have the potential to create beneficial systems for their users, installing predictability and accountability into areas which previously were undermanaged or not available to common citizens (the success of M-Pesa in Kenya, and a recent new business offering, comes to mind). Perhaps most critically, extant and emergent uses of ICT are creating fissures in long-standing traditional political and social power dynamics, empowering economic participation and vast numbers women and youth to have their voices and concerns heard. The upcoming conference at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars seeks to examine how to and with what resources, women and youth can become effective change agents in their own communities and continue to strive towards social equity and economic well-being.

8 February 2013

Continue reading for news including France asking UN Peacekeepers to takeover in Mali, the push for a stronger development agenda by Dlamini-Zuma, crowdsourcing increasing development in Africa, Kenya seeking clarification on relationship with the U.S. after their elections, ancient manuscripts saved in Timbuktu, Kenya set to withdraw troops in Somalia, progress being made in the issue of water for Africa, and Uganda returning misappropriated aid to Norway.

This article was originally published by AllAfrica. To read the original piece and view the video, visit the AllAfrica site here.

Nairobi — The much awaited historic Konza Technology City, which is equated to the famous Silicon Valley in the United States of America, is now a reality after the official launch by President Mwai Kibaki on Wednesday.

By Professor Kevin Chika Urama, Executive Director, African Technology Policy Studies (ATPS)

I am writing this piece while attending the eighth African Development Forum being hosted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 23 – 25 October 2012. The conference focused on “Governing and harnessing natural resources for Africa’s development”. This forum could not have been better timed for Africa to reconsider how its abundant natural resources have been governed and harnessed for development on the continent.

By Kevin Urama and Turner Isoun