How Many African Women are Online?

African women given the impetus can put technolpgy to good use. Source: ris.lib.unc.edu

I pose this simple question to ICT4D researchers on International Women's Day 2012. My orignal intention for this post was to highlight the limited access that African women, and those in other parts of the developing world, have to the Internet and other vital information sources. But where could I find comprehensive statistics to back my claim?

Tweeting at BarCamp Takoradi, Ghana: Men dominate the show

 Or, perhaps am I just tasking myself to bring a non-issue into the limelight? I don't think so. Cursory observation and scanty data available show just how grave the situation is:

• Women’s participation in Internet usage in Africa ranged from 12% (Senegal) to 38% (Zambia), according to this 2003 study. This is notwithstanding the fact that women constitute the majority in most African countries.
• According to socialbakers.com, far more men than women use the social networking site, Facebook in Ghana.

Male/Female ratio of Ghana's Facebook Users

Studies showthat women naturally tend to use the Internet and mobiles for personal and intimate encounters, like what persists on social networks, more than men. So why the huge disparities?

• In Uganda, women's awareness and usage of ICTs is nearly three times less that that of men (ResearctICTAfrica, 2006). There, women tend to acquire basic ICT skills in order to be able to get employment in gender-stereotyped roles, it was noted.

These sad developments defeat the objectives of women empowerment as captured by the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in 2003:

We are committed to ensuring that the Information Society enables women’s empowerment and their full participation on the basis of equality in all spheres of society and in all decision-making processes. To this end, we should mainstream a gender equality perspective and use ICTs as a tool to that end.

Team Azma coming out of the Kuyu Project Digital Camp in Kenya show the way forward for African girls and women

Not only that. Granted that ICTs have been identified as development tools and women are at the heart of development in our communities, the situation is worrying. Knowledge is power. The inability of women to drink from the knowledge well of the world-wide web is disempowering; this is the inimical to the advancement of development in Africa and elsewhere. Their lack of avenues to express themselves through the emerging digital frontiers choke their voices in the arena of public discourse. This cannot be!

Firstly, we need to be able to place a figure on the actual number of active female Internet users. Next, we should figure out the factors that inhibit women's use of the web and finally put in measures to reverse this trend. Many women are leading the way when it comes to technology in Africa, but we must support many more to bring change to our communities. Bring the women online!

Weaving the African Dream Through Social Innovations

Picture Source: http://www.dellchallenge.org/projects/programming-kids-ghana

It is heartwarming to observe that a number of brilliant social innovation projects are continuously driving change and progress in Ghana and the rest of Africa. Previously blogged about initiatives include BarCamp Ghana, Maker Faire Africa, Python African Tour, Coders4Africa , Sunset Sports and the Kuyu Project. Today, I simply want to point to a few more projects I find inspiring.

Tech in Education: This project is the main motivation behind today’s post. Tech in Education is a 48hr gathering of ideas, people and digital tools aimed at creating novel web and mobile solutions to improve learning amongst primary and secondary school students in Nigeria. My first reaction to Femi and CP Africa’s tweets was “this must be replicated in Ghana.” Tech in Education resonates with the Kuyu Project’s objectives. We must take advantage of the abundant tools, talents and information our modern world presents us with to mould our upcoming ones better, enabling them to become agents of social innovation. Tech in Education was birth by the Co-Creation Hub of Nigeria.

Sandlanders Football: Started originally as Keta Sandlanders, Sandlanders Football aims to use sports as a tool for community development. Currently, Sandlanders have extended their reach to across Africa and even beyond. Uganda, Liberia, Kenya and India are some countries that either already have or are planning Sandlanders teams. Club ownership is based on the co-operative model, as pertains in clubs like Barcelona, and supporters are ingeniously recruited worldwide through the power of the web. All Sandlanders teams are independently run by the respective communities, while the collective headquartered in London provides support. Sandlanders Football is affiliated with Co-operatives UK and Supporters Direct, with funding from Chembe Ventures.

Farmerline: An innovative approach to minimise the effects of climate change on poor agricultural communities, Farmerline offers up-to-date and relevant agricultural information for extension officers and rural farmers. Built by a team from KNUST, this cutting-edge voice and SMS-based mobile platform recently won third place in the West African edition of the Apps4Africa challenge. They are currently gunning for another award in the Dell Social Innovation Challenge.

Programming for Kids in Ghana: Another project in the running for the Dell Social Innovation Challenge, Programming for Kids aims at introducing Ghanaian children to computer programming and software development at an early age. Apart from the software skills they gain, the children will learn to be analytical, creative and collaborative. This project has the potential to generate a can-do attitude and problem-solving mindset, seemingly lacking in Ghanaian students, among children earlier in life. The overall impact on national development needs no restating.

Golden Baobab Prize: Desirous to curb low reading levels among young Africans, members of the Golden baobab foundation figured out that part of the problem stems from lack of quality literature that African youngsters can relate to. They therefore set up an annual writing competition that to unearth new African Children writers while churning out quality literature for the consumption of young minds. Their work is receiving loud applause from organizations such as Echoing Green, Playing for Change, African Library Project and The Global Fund for Children.

Big ups to the brilliant people who are using their intellect and sweat to bring needed change to our communities.

African Spring Not the Best Way Forward

Picture Credit: Project Syndicate

The Arab Spring: pro-democracy uprisings currently sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. 

This wave of "revolutions" was said to be sparked by the self-immolation of now famed Mohammed Bouazizi,  who was crashed by the seizure of his fruit cart and ill-treatment by a municipal official in his native Sidi Bouzid, after his computer science degree could not bring his many dreams to life in Tunisia. According to experts, his sad story angered many, fuelling protests on the streets of Sidi Bouzid, Tunis and elsewhere in the North African country. Almost suddenly, Tunisians' eyes were opened to the prevailing ambiance of corruption, social stagnation and dictatorship, which pushed Mohammed to end his young life. The protests boiled on and persisted, against hardline measures by security officials, until the erstwhile president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, a man who has been at the summit of power for 23 years, stepped down. The heroics of the Tunisian people were told, replayed and propagated by the powerful Western media, Al-Jazeera and social media. Soon citizens of countries in the region: Egypt, Libya, Jordan, Syria, Morrocco, among others started their own protests, giving birth to what academics and journalist called the Arab Spring.

Granted that conditions similar to what precipitated the Arab spring persist in Africa, south of the Sahara, the question has been posed by the BBC in its Africa Debate "is an African spring necessary?" Is an "African spring" looming on the 2012 horizon?

My honest answer is no. The violence, deaths and destructions resulting from protests are not what Africa needs at this moment. In fact, Africa has had its fair share of coups and realignments in its social order, some of which it has not recovered from yet. Malawian academic Jimmy Kainja expresses this thought better:

African Spring in the exact fashion of the Arab Spring would signify a step backwards - not a step forward.

In fact, it would make a mockery of all that the majority of African countries achieved in the late 1980s and the early 1990s - when they did away with dictators and presidents-for-life in favour of multiparty democracies.

It is commonly held that "a problem, once identified is half solved." What needs to be done in Africa is refinement of our democratic systems so as to get them to work in the way we want. In many African countries, goverment goes and goverment comes but still, the people see no change. Protests and wars, resulting in deaths, injuries and destruction of valuable national assets will not bring immediate solutions to our socio-economic problems. I don't see the change whatever government any uprising raises will bring. However, if we continue setting up governance structures, going after corrupt officials, voting out incompetent governments, cutting down on discrimination in its many forms, building patriotic consciousness and collaborating meaningfully with the larger world, we stand a better chance at progress.

And while angry citizens are calming down, looking for alternate paths towards socio-economic development and fulfillment, those in authority should be reminded that whatever offices they occupy should be in the service of the people. It will take only time for pent-up feelings and frustrations of deprived souls to reach that critical mass to explode Arab spring style. Institutional renewal should be catalysed immediately through governance reforms that would bring efficiency and results to the people. 

Youth development, starting with our educational systems, should be at the centre of any strategy to pave the way forward. The youth themselves are taking many initiatives to bring change to their communities and beyond. Their efforts must be supported through the creation of jobs, scholarship opporunities, skills training, funding among others. They youth are our future, they hold the key to the Africa we want to see. The blood of the likes of Mohammed should not be on our heads.

Sunset Sports: Cultivating Youth Development Through Sports

It's ten days into 2012. Happy New Year to all readers and followers of this blog! I wish you good health and success in everything you do.One of the events I attended during the holiday season was an exhibition and fundraising beach soccer match organised by Keta Sunset Sports. 

Sunset Sports aims to use sports as a vehicle for youth development, impacting positively in the Keta Municipality, the Volta Region and Ghana at large.The club sees sports, fitness and physical education as the ideal way of cultivating a full productive life, embracing the maxim “Health must not be sacrificed to learning…… a sound mind lives in a sound body”. 

The end-of-year exhibition game was played at Lorneh Beach Resort at Tegbi, to showcase the team's sporting talent to its teeming fans and to raise funds for the second half of the ongoing Ghana Beach Soccer Premier League. The match, which was played against fellow premiership contenders Ada Assurance, ended 3-2 in favour of the home team. There were also speeches and a cultural display. At the end of the day home fans were thoroughly entertained and impressed by how far the team had come. 

You can view pictures of the Sunset Sports exhibition game on their facebook fan page.

BarCamp Ghana 2011: Getting Ahead Through Partnerships and Collaboration

The "mother" of all BarCamps in Ghana will be taking place live at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT this Saturday. Join us in person or via Twitter and Facebook!

After Barcamps in Kumasi, Cape Coast, Tamale and Ho, the movement is in Accra this Saturday for Barcamp Ghana. Barcamp Ghana 2011 will take place on December 17, 2011 at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT. The theme is “Establishing Partnerships to transform dreams into action-based projects: Lessons from Mentors”. This Barcamp will concentrate on sharing, inspiring and creating stories about building partnership with attendant mentorship to create successful Ghanaian projects and businesses. This will be the 11th Barcamp in Ghana, back to the venue where it all started in December 2008.

BarCamp Ghana 2011 will feature a speed mentoring session with mentors like Bernard Avle, Kofi Akpabli, Albert Ocran, Sheila Bartels-Sam, Lionel Dosoo, Leila Djansi, Carl Ashie, Kofi Dadzie, Maximus Ametorgoh, Alex Adjei-Bram, Nana Awere Damoah, Sefakor Gbewonyo, Alfred Cran-Mensah, amongst others.

As always, there will be many breakout sessions organized by you, valuable networking and a celebration of Ghanaian ingenuity and innovation. Register/RSVP today at the BarCamp Ghana eventbrite website. If you are interested in organizing a breakout session, email us at info@barcampghana.org, especially if you have special needs. 

BarCamp Ghana 2011 is sponsored by the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, Mobile Web Ghana, GhanaThink Foundation, Fienipa Group, Spot One Global, and Nandimobile. Our media partners are ModernGhana.com, Citi 97.3 FM, and Radio Univers. BarCamp Ghana -www.barcampghana.org – info at barcampghana.org