The Northern Projects Node successfully organized a one day projects node meeting in Tamale at the Arewa Sunshine Hotel on Thursday the 24th of September 2009.
Present at the node meeting were IICD supported projects (ACDEP, MAPRONET, WADEP, CIC Managers from Zebilla, Bolgatanga, Bongo, Sandema, Damongo Walewale, Salaga, Yendi and Bimbilla and Bernadette Huizinga, Capacity Development Officer, IICD.
The Northern Projects Node Coordinator, Agbenyo John Stephen thanked all who came from far and near for being a part of the meeting. He explained to participants the essence of the node meetings and urged all and sundry to actively and freely participate in the discussions.
A video documentary of telecentre sustainability was shown. The video explained how the Kilosa Rural Service and Electronic Communication (KIRSEC) which started as an Internet café and provided farmer news and other secretarial services grew on the back of a business plan to become a thriving ISP.
In the video, Mr. Mark Farahani, CEO of KIRSEC explained how he developed a business plan for KIRSEC and watched the telecentre grow as a result of the implementation of the business plan.
A discussion was held on the video by the participants. Participants were of the view that based on the video, it is clear that there are a lot of resources, but we are not really profiting from them because we are not making the best use of them. Also, Internet enabled computers are not just for special people, but they are for all including the local people. CIC Managers present agreed that their CICs could be used to provide fishing and weather information for farmer groups in their communities.
The mention of telecentre sustainability hinged on business plan set the tone for another fruitful discussion. Mr. Mubarak Muntari, CIC Manager of the Bolgatanga CIC mentioned how fruitful a recently organized Business plan development workshop organized by IICD for CIC managers from 10 districts in the Northern Region has been. He said most of the CICs are considered a waste by the assemblies but urged his colleagues CIC managers to use their business plans to prove to the Assemblies that the CICs are a very viable business ventures. The CIC managers were urged to factor into their business plans, the role of the other IICD supported projects and networks.
PEER ASSIST – WADEP
Mr. Obed Tuabu of WADEP presented a challenge for a peer assist. The following were his questions;
1. Has TRADENET served ECAMIC well?
2. What has been the bottlenecks and setbacks in the Market Price Information distribution to their farmers?
3. What are some of the pitfalls WADEP should avoid in their Market Access Information Project implementation process?
4. Is Esoko a good option, are they giving a good service?
Though the ECAMIC representation was not present at the project node meeting, the other project partners available brought in various suggestions that could be considered by WADEP
Mr. Norbert Apentibadek mentioned that an alternative for WADEP to consider is to contact Savana Farmers Marketing Company. He mentioned that they work with small farmers and producers and help them to have access to markets. They do this buying the products. He mentioned that volume and the quality are assured with the help of MoFA.
Mr. Norbert pledged to link the two organizations (WADEP and Savana Farmers).
The CIC Managers also had another alternative for WADEP. Mr. Mubarak urged WADEP also take a look at http://www.shopafrica53.com/
He mentioned that they are into the sale of traditional goods within localities. He said data and form are designed so that personal data of producers are captured and the goals include Reliable design and Uniform competitive price
The CIC managers were tasked to send full data about this platform to the dgroups for further study and discussion
Mr. Bala Ibrahim and Mr. Latif Baako took turns to educate WADEP on the Esoko platform. They mentioned that MAPRONET is almost about concluding discussions with the managers of the Esoko platform; thus, MAPRONET will soon be joining the Esoko platform
Showcase of Blog of Damango District
Mr. Malik Ewuntomah Joe, the CIC Manager of the Damongo CIC was given the opportunity to do a showcase of the district and CIC blogsite http://www.damongodistrict.blogspot.com
He stated that it is one thing haveing the blog and another thing keeping it updated. He urged his colleague CIC Managers to collaborate effectively with their District Information Officers to keep their blogs updated with news of the District and the CICs
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
The Introduction of ICT into the Ghanaian Educational Curriculum; successes, failures and the way forward
Alhaji Mohammed Haroon, a director at the Tamale Metropolitan Education office has identified the lack of ICT trained teachers, cost of broadband internet connection, inadequate computers and electricity as some of the challenges facing the implementation of the introduction of ICT into the Ghanaian school curriculum. Alhaji Haroon said this at the July session of the Northern ICT4D Series held at the Institute for Local Government Studies in Tamale.
Speaking on the theme “The introduction of ICT into the Ghanaian Educational Curriculum; successes, failures and the way forward”, Alhaji Haroon mentioned that this is the first time government policy is including ICT in the content of education as a matter of national priority. He further explained that due to the importance of ICT in Education, the Ministry of Education has been facilitating the process of integrating ICT in the educational system because this will facilitate Teaching and learning at all levels of education.
On the successes chalked so far, Mr. Haroon said children hitherto who were ignorant on ICT tools have now been introduced to ICT tools hence their enthusiasm has been whipped up since they are now aware of its usefulness. He mentioned that students now access educational websites for text books and other educational information. He further said an ICT policy has been developed by the Ministry of Education with the support of the Global e-schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI), coupled with the setting up of the National ICT in Education coordinating Committee.
In his concluding words, Mr. Haroon said “Even though ICT is going to play a major role in this current educational system, a lot more things are yet to be put in place. The planning should have been done years ago before the policy pronouncement and implementation”
When he took his turn to speak, the Assistant Headmaster of St. Charles Minor Seminary in Tamale, Mr. George Nego Fugluu gave a background of educational reforms since the colonial days and educational reforms since independence. He said on January 7, 2002 a committee composed of 29 knowledgeable Ghanaians drawn from across a section of stakeholders in the education sector chaired by Prof. Jophus Anamuah-Mensah then Vice Chancellor of University of Education Winneba were to address deficiencies of the 1987 Reforms in the area of Objectives, Content, Administration and Management, quality, equitableness and economic utility, to discuss among other issues the structure of education and issues affecting the development and delivery of education, constrained access to different levels of the educational ladder, Information and Communication Technology, and distance education, Professional development, Management and financing of education.
Mr. Nego said while at the basic level the introduction of ICT sought to introduce pupils to Computer hardware and other peripherals (Touching, feeling and manipulation of the hardware components) and having fun, games, and creative works (drawing etc) using the computer, the inclusion of ICT at Secondary Education Level aimed at the aacquisition of basic ICT literacy, developing interest and use ICT for learning in other subjects, acquisition of knowledge for application of ICT in education and business, the use of the Internet to communicate effectively and the ability to follow basic ethics in the use of ICT.
He mentioned that it is expected that the knowledge and skills gained will help students to use ICT in almost all their courses at school and to access information for further learning.
Speaking on the achievements of the introduction of ICT into the school curriculum, he mentioned the following:
• Increasing computer awareness among students.
• Teaching and Learning has been made much easier with the use of ICT in schools.
• Students with high IQ can now find something to engage them meaningfully instead of indulging themselves in some social vices.
• Educational institutions have economic network with other organizations
• There is keen and healthy competition among schools in ICT knowledge sharing
• ICT at the school level sets the basis for further training in the Universities and Post Sec. Institutions
• A wide area network known as research and Educational Network (REN) has been established in Ghana with the support of World Bank to serve as nodes for the broad network for the Ghanaian Universities, Research institutions (CSIR) and Ghana Atomic Energy Commission
On the challenges, Mr. George Nego stated the following:
• Inadequate Trained Personnel to handle the Facilitation of the subject.
• Inadequate supply of teaching and learning materials
• Lack of Infrastructure
• Lack of Administrative support
• Lack of power supply in the Rural Areas.
• The lack of internet connectivity in most schools to broaden access to information
• High cost of ICT services and components.
• The brain drain syndrome in the area of ICT professional
On the way forward, the Assistant headmaster disclosed that ICT should be seen as an enabler, as a tool to benefit the whole of society and not only the elite and the urban areas. He also said the less privileged should be encouraged to use ICT tools to trade and to create wealth for the country, others must be proactively helped to use and benefit from ICT. He further stated that the quality of education should be continuously improved and this is aided by intensive and extensive use of ICT.
Speaking on the theme “The introduction of ICT into the Ghanaian Educational Curriculum; successes, failures and the way forward”, Alhaji Haroon mentioned that this is the first time government policy is including ICT in the content of education as a matter of national priority. He further explained that due to the importance of ICT in Education, the Ministry of Education has been facilitating the process of integrating ICT in the educational system because this will facilitate Teaching and learning at all levels of education.
On the successes chalked so far, Mr. Haroon said children hitherto who were ignorant on ICT tools have now been introduced to ICT tools hence their enthusiasm has been whipped up since they are now aware of its usefulness. He mentioned that students now access educational websites for text books and other educational information. He further said an ICT policy has been developed by the Ministry of Education with the support of the Global e-schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI), coupled with the setting up of the National ICT in Education coordinating Committee.
In his concluding words, Mr. Haroon said “Even though ICT is going to play a major role in this current educational system, a lot more things are yet to be put in place. The planning should have been done years ago before the policy pronouncement and implementation”
When he took his turn to speak, the Assistant Headmaster of St. Charles Minor Seminary in Tamale, Mr. George Nego Fugluu gave a background of educational reforms since the colonial days and educational reforms since independence. He said on January 7, 2002 a committee composed of 29 knowledgeable Ghanaians drawn from across a section of stakeholders in the education sector chaired by Prof. Jophus Anamuah-Mensah then Vice Chancellor of University of Education Winneba were to address deficiencies of the 1987 Reforms in the area of Objectives, Content, Administration and Management, quality, equitableness and economic utility, to discuss among other issues the structure of education and issues affecting the development and delivery of education, constrained access to different levels of the educational ladder, Information and Communication Technology, and distance education, Professional development, Management and financing of education.
Mr. Nego said while at the basic level the introduction of ICT sought to introduce pupils to Computer hardware and other peripherals (Touching, feeling and manipulation of the hardware components) and having fun, games, and creative works (drawing etc) using the computer, the inclusion of ICT at Secondary Education Level aimed at the aacquisition of basic ICT literacy, developing interest and use ICT for learning in other subjects, acquisition of knowledge for application of ICT in education and business, the use of the Internet to communicate effectively and the ability to follow basic ethics in the use of ICT.
He mentioned that it is expected that the knowledge and skills gained will help students to use ICT in almost all their courses at school and to access information for further learning.
Speaking on the achievements of the introduction of ICT into the school curriculum, he mentioned the following:
• Increasing computer awareness among students.
• Teaching and Learning has been made much easier with the use of ICT in schools.
• Students with high IQ can now find something to engage them meaningfully instead of indulging themselves in some social vices.
• Educational institutions have economic network with other organizations
• There is keen and healthy competition among schools in ICT knowledge sharing
• ICT at the school level sets the basis for further training in the Universities and Post Sec. Institutions
• A wide area network known as research and Educational Network (REN) has been established in Ghana with the support of World Bank to serve as nodes for the broad network for the Ghanaian Universities, Research institutions (CSIR) and Ghana Atomic Energy Commission
On the challenges, Mr. George Nego stated the following:
• Inadequate Trained Personnel to handle the Facilitation of the subject.
• Inadequate supply of teaching and learning materials
• Lack of Infrastructure
• Lack of Administrative support
• Lack of power supply in the Rural Areas.
• The lack of internet connectivity in most schools to broaden access to information
• High cost of ICT services and components.
• The brain drain syndrome in the area of ICT professional
On the way forward, the Assistant headmaster disclosed that ICT should be seen as an enabler, as a tool to benefit the whole of society and not only the elite and the urban areas. He also said the less privileged should be encouraged to use ICT tools to trade and to create wealth for the country, others must be proactively helped to use and benefit from ICT. He further stated that the quality of education should be continuously improved and this is aided by intensive and extensive use of ICT.
THE NORTHERN YOUTH AND MOBILE TELEPHONY
Mr. Aziz Ibn Shiraz, President of Youth Action Movement has bemoaned the way the Northern youth perceive and use cell phones. This came to light during the August session of the Northern ICT4D Series held in Tamale on 27th August 2009.
He traced the history of cell phone penetration into the
Mr. Aziz mentioned that some of the basic use of cell phones includes voice calls, text messages, radio and Internet. On what it can be used for, he mentioned that sending text messages reduces cost, minimizes time and saves energy. He added that in an era where the youth has become so obsessed in “Ghana Man Time”, using cell phones to set reminders will help the youth over come the issue of responding to appointments late.
He ended his presentation by charging the youth to, at the end of the expiration of their talk time, ask themselves of what value the talk time had added to their lives. His concluding words were, “Technology was intended to make our lives better, to save cost and energy. Let us make the most use of it”
When he took his turn, A Doctor in Alternative medicine, Dr/Alt. Amomba Bruno gave a presentation on the use of cell phones and their health implications. He compared cell phones to microwave devices and disclosed that cell phones have thermal effects. He further mentioned that other effects of the use of cell phones include reproductive effects, cataract, nerve degeneration, brain tumor and headache.
He urged all who make use of cell phones to alternate the ears when receiving and making calls. He also asked all who make use of cell phones to decrease the length of time used and rather send text messages, use hands free cell phones. He also advised all to receive and make calls under trees as trees block and absorb the radiations and gives proper oxygen.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Baby Last
I read this piece, Friends: by rebirth Africa and thought to myself "This piece has just been written for me".
People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons,
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Challenges Facing the Northern woman in the effective utilisation of ICTs
Miss Margaret Ama Kyiu of the Development Alternative Services Foundation (DASF) has disclosed that women, especially northern women need to cultivate some attitudinal change to embrace ICTs by showing a more a positive will. She said this at the May session of the Northern ICT4D Series held on Thursday the 28th of May 2009 at the Institute for Local Government Studies.
Speaking on the uses of ICTs, she explained that ICTs facilitate public and private sector activities, promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women, improve the quality of life for citizens, sharing knowledge and improving access to information, facilitating activities in the business sector.
Miss. Kyiu mentioned that ICTs present direct benefits to women. She mentioned that socially, ICTs can substantially improve lives of women (northern women) by providing learning opportunities (education, research), health care delivery, environmental protection, etc. Economically, it provides increased incomes through increased volumes of trade, less cost of trade, increased productivity, access to market/market information and access to finance. Politically, it provides increased participation in governance both at the local and national levels.
On challenges facing women in the effective utilization of ICTs, Miss Kyiu mentioned the biological and social roles of women in the family and the community as the key barrier. She also mentioned that educationally, there is minimal learning and skills development in ICTs for women and the inability of women to effectively apply ICT knowledge and skills for their own benefits.
Another challenge Miss Kyiu identified as a barrier to women is Technology. She stated that there is limited access to ICTs for women especially in northern Ghana, high cost of the services (acquisition and knowledge) especially in rural areas, lack of good publicity and incentives to attract potential users of ICTs, inability to identify information sources that meet the needs of women, difficulty in finding the right ICT tool(s) to support line of business, poor quality of service - internet and telecommunication services, high cost of maintenance and sustainability and the lack of access to family property or institutional finance thereby making it difficult to engage in self-employment in the ICT sector.
On the way forward, she stated that providing an enabling environment which supports and encourages strategies to promote women’s equal access, creating a regulation and policy environment which supports women’s use of ICTs, developing local content which speaks to women’s concerns and reflects their local knowledge, and which is of value for their daily lives, supporting increased representation of women and girls in scientific and technical education, promoting increased employment in the IT sector for women, the implementation of e-governance strategies which are accessible to women and promote women’s lobbying and advocacy activities.
To conclude, she urged all especially women to see themselves not as passive recipients of information, but as active knowledge and technology developers and sharers.
When he took his turn, Mr. Agbenyo John Stephen of GINKS explained that a series of factors constrain women’s access to ICTs. These include illiteracy and education, time, cost, geographical location of facilities, social and cultural norms and very few female role models.
Mr. Agbenyo disclosed that although IT is a new field, a gendered division of labor has already emerged and this has resulted in women being just end users, taking up low skilled IT jobs, a small percentage of women engaging in maintenance and design of networks, operating systems or software development.
He further explained that various reasons can be assigned to the low female participation in ICTs. He mentioned that teaching methodology used to teach ICT in schools is one of the causes of low female participation. He said ICT teachers rely on boys for technical difficulties while they are quick to take away tasks from girls when they (the girls) face operational/technical difficulties. He charged the Northern Ghana Trainers Group (NGT) of which he is a member to always give women and girls the opportunity to explore and overcome their own challenges.
Mr. Agbenyo also said computer games have been directed to a largely male market. He said these play a significant role in stimulating boys’ interest in computers and in developing their skills and effectively give boys a head start in getting to grips with the complexities of computing. He further mentioned socially constructed roles as another cause of low female participation of women in ICTs.
On the way forward to increase the participation of women in ICTs, Mr. Agbenyo John Stephen urged women to focus their minds on the positives that ICTs can provide them such as economic empowerment and political empowerment.
He concluded by stating that women need to help leapfrog their own participation in ICTs by being a little tough as well as sacrificing time. He also urged role models in the field such as the Dorothy Gordans to be more and more visible so the young ones can look up to them. He urged content providers to produce “Women friendly” user content.
Speaking on the uses of ICTs, she explained that ICTs facilitate public and private sector activities, promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women, improve the quality of life for citizens, sharing knowledge and improving access to information, facilitating activities in the business sector.
Miss. Kyiu mentioned that ICTs present direct benefits to women. She mentioned that socially, ICTs can substantially improve lives of women (northern women) by providing learning opportunities (education, research), health care delivery, environmental protection, etc. Economically, it provides increased incomes through increased volumes of trade, less cost of trade, increased productivity, access to market/market information and access to finance. Politically, it provides increased participation in governance both at the local and national levels.
On challenges facing women in the effective utilization of ICTs, Miss Kyiu mentioned the biological and social roles of women in the family and the community as the key barrier. She also mentioned that educationally, there is minimal learning and skills development in ICTs for women and the inability of women to effectively apply ICT knowledge and skills for their own benefits.
Another challenge Miss Kyiu identified as a barrier to women is Technology. She stated that there is limited access to ICTs for women especially in northern Ghana, high cost of the services (acquisition and knowledge) especially in rural areas, lack of good publicity and incentives to attract potential users of ICTs, inability to identify information sources that meet the needs of women, difficulty in finding the right ICT tool(s) to support line of business, poor quality of service - internet and telecommunication services, high cost of maintenance and sustainability and the lack of access to family property or institutional finance thereby making it difficult to engage in self-employment in the ICT sector.
On the way forward, she stated that providing an enabling environment which supports and encourages strategies to promote women’s equal access, creating a regulation and policy environment which supports women’s use of ICTs, developing local content which speaks to women’s concerns and reflects their local knowledge, and which is of value for their daily lives, supporting increased representation of women and girls in scientific and technical education, promoting increased employment in the IT sector for women, the implementation of e-governance strategies which are accessible to women and promote women’s lobbying and advocacy activities.
To conclude, she urged all especially women to see themselves not as passive recipients of information, but as active knowledge and technology developers and sharers.
When he took his turn, Mr. Agbenyo John Stephen of GINKS explained that a series of factors constrain women’s access to ICTs. These include illiteracy and education, time, cost, geographical location of facilities, social and cultural norms and very few female role models.
Mr. Agbenyo disclosed that although IT is a new field, a gendered division of labor has already emerged and this has resulted in women being just end users, taking up low skilled IT jobs, a small percentage of women engaging in maintenance and design of networks, operating systems or software development.
He further explained that various reasons can be assigned to the low female participation in ICTs. He mentioned that teaching methodology used to teach ICT in schools is one of the causes of low female participation. He said ICT teachers rely on boys for technical difficulties while they are quick to take away tasks from girls when they (the girls) face operational/technical difficulties. He charged the Northern Ghana Trainers Group (NGT) of which he is a member to always give women and girls the opportunity to explore and overcome their own challenges.
Mr. Agbenyo also said computer games have been directed to a largely male market. He said these play a significant role in stimulating boys’ interest in computers and in developing their skills and effectively give boys a head start in getting to grips with the complexities of computing. He further mentioned socially constructed roles as another cause of low female participation of women in ICTs.
On the way forward to increase the participation of women in ICTs, Mr. Agbenyo John Stephen urged women to focus their minds on the positives that ICTs can provide them such as economic empowerment and political empowerment.
He concluded by stating that women need to help leapfrog their own participation in ICTs by being a little tough as well as sacrificing time. He also urged role models in the field such as the Dorothy Gordans to be more and more visible so the young ones can look up to them. He urged content providers to produce “Women friendly” user content.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
All i want is YOU!
All I want is someone to to talk to
Someone to listen to me
All I want is someone to to talk to
Someone to share my troubles with
Someone to pour out my hear to
All I want is someone to to talk to
Someone to give me a hearing ear
Someone to say, i am lietening
Someone to oh, sorry that happened to you
All I want is someone to to talk to
Someone to say i " i share your troubles"
Someone to say " i share your dissappointment
Someone to listen to me
Someone to hear me
All I want is YOU!
Someone to listen to me
All I want is someone to to talk to
Someone to share my troubles with
Someone to pour out my hear to
All I want is someone to to talk to
Someone to give me a hearing ear
Someone to say, i am lietening
Someone to oh, sorry that happened to you
All I want is someone to to talk to
Someone to say i " i share your troubles"
Someone to say " i share your dissappointment
Someone to listen to me
Someone to hear me
All I want is YOU!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Electronic waste
Reading through a story written Emmanuel K. Dogbevi on
http://ewasteguide.info/e-waste-campaign-gra
has kept me thinking about the future of telecentres and e-waste.
Look at the pictures on the link where Emmanuel wrote his story. What are we going to do about those? There are several computer schools and Internet cafes springing up in Ghana and especially in Tamale where i live and work. This is good new to me because gradually the myth surrounding computers is being broken as people will not think of computers as some "magic" in the sky. Gradually, the digital divide will be broken. The sad part of this happening though is the fact that these computers are almost "dead" computers. These raises the question of e-waste. Are we embracing these "slightly used" or "home used" computers while thinking of the environment and the future generation? These things do not decompose and have their own effects.
The good news though is that, the three telecentres (Salaga CIC, Yendi CIC and Bimbilla CIC) that i have had the opportunity of working with in Ghana, are all using brand new computers. The use of brand new computers at the Community Information Centres/telecentres established by the Government of Ghana in the various districts in Ghana is one that should be applauded. Assuming all of the 210 district CICs were using the "home used" computers. What then would happen to our environment?
The vision of the Community Information Centre (CIC) concept is to create rural access centres and use the medium of ICT to promote community-based ICT applications that will promote operational efficiencies delivered through effective and timely availability of information. The purpose is to provide community development information and business services to remote communities. CIC’s will provide access to: Internet-enabled computers, software based on the local information needs, Fax machines, Printers, Copiers, Telephones, Television and Radios. In addition there will be an adjoining library with books and daily newspapers and magazines.
The International Institute for communication and development(IICD) is partnering with GIFTEL to support the Community Information Centres (CICs) in the the north of Ghana.
Let your comments come in.
Cheers!
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