[kictanet] 29-30 October 2007, Kigali, Rwanda:, Connect Africa Summit

[alice]

    Connect Africa - The Summit

As host of the Summit, the Government of Rwanda will welcome some 500 
participants, including Heads of State/Government and Ministers from 
Africa and other regions, CEOs and senior executives of global and 
African ICT companies, heads of international and regional organizations 
and financial institutions, international and local media as well as 
other stakeholders.

The Summit will have a practical, results-oriented format, including 
interactive, multi-stakeholder panel discussions, partnership 
announcements, as well as opportunities for participants to showcase 
their ICT development projects to potential partners and donors. The 
Summit will also provide an excellent networking platform for leaders 
from the public, private and financial sectors to meet and forge new 
partnerships for the future.

Participants in the Connect Africa Summit will examine key success 
factors for ICT investment and development and identify areas for 
collaboration to:

    * expand broadband backbone infrastructure and access networks,
      using innovative business and financing models, such as
      infrastructure-sharing and demand aggregation among local and
      regional institutions. This new infrastructure investment includes
      national and regional interconnectivity initiatives, such as
      Internet exchange points and rural connectivity projects;
    * enhance workforce training to support employment and growth in the
      ICT sector and the overall economy;
    * stimulate the development of locally-relevant ICT content,
      applications and services, and
    * broaden efforts to develop an enabling policy and regulatory
      environment for investment, including harmonization across regions
      and sub-regions.

The Connect Africa Summit will be preceded by several months of 
preparations between the partners, including an analysis of the current 
situation and requirements, an assessment of constraints and an 
elaboration of policy options to promote private sector investment, 
strengthening statistical capacities to improve tracking of progress, as 
well as the development of specific project proposals for funding that 
will be presented to potential partners and donors.

*29-30 October 2007*, Kigali, Rwanda:
*Connect Africa Summit* 
<http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/connect/africa/2007/summit/index.html>
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/connect/africa/2007/summit/index.html