Communication technologies in Africa
Infrastructural limitations often make it difficult to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) in developing countries for economic growth. Studying the situation in Africa highlights the general difficulties and may offer solutions. The EU-funded LRIT4AE (ICT in low resource settings: Innovating for Africa and Europe through living labs) project conducted such a study. The goal was to define a set of guidelines, tools and technologies that foster ICT solutions to social inequalities. Methods entailed international cooperation and exchange and a living lab approach. Further goals included deploying successful ICT for development solutions and promoting cooperative innovation between Africa and Europe. The first of three phases involved reciprocal exchange visits between European and South African researchers. Work focused on analysing the experience of the South African researchers in the community of Dwesa, where they have been running Siyakhula Living Lab since 2005. This allowed the teams to collect valuable inputs to devise processes for executing projects in African rural settings. The focus was on mobile and connectivity services. Phase two included elaboration of opportunities for improvement, also achieved via research exchange visits. In both cases, the embedded visitors presented seminars about their work on ICT issues for development. Topics included interaction with marginalised communities, localisation in minority languages and media creation. All partners evaluated the possibility of trialling their technologies in Dwesa. The final phase yielded three outputs. The group hosted four workshops on Agile Web Development, focusing on the needs of rural communities at Fort Hare University and in two business incubators of the Eastern Cape. The workshops helped establish partnerships with local technology entrepreneurs. A single workshop was offered to the public concerning the role of ICT in international cooperation. The project also strengthened existing partnerships between Italian and South African agencies. The new partnerships led to the evaluation of further training proposals for researchers and PhDs. A follow-up training and research project is currently in its first year. LRIT4AE fostered international collaboration, leading to greater appreciation of the ICT needs of rural African communities.