[kictanet] Day 9 of 10:-IGF Discussion, Socio-Cultural Issues

[mwende njiraini]

Morning!



Today we move to the final topic of our discussions: Socio-cultural issues.




The internet is increasingly being utilized as a means to deliver essential
services including health (Telemedicine), education (e-learning) and
governance (e-government services).  This has lead to concerns that many may
not take advantage of these developments due to socio-cultural issues such
as language and other cultural barriers.



The English language continues to dominate the internet (
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm) however there are several
successful initiatives that have enabled the use of other languages.  Indeed,
the Tunis agenda encouraged the realization of multilingualism leading to
discussions on domain name management, access to local content, and
protection of cultural diversity.



Kiswahili was recently voted an official language by the African Union, and
there are already several initiatives that seek to introduce Kiswahili on
the internet.  With appropriate policies and incentives the internet can
become a cultural platform specifically for the preservation of language. In
your view is the use of the internet an effective means of language and
cultural preservation?



Again, you are encouraged to contribute to previous discussion threads.



Kind regards

Mwende







Disclaimer: These comments are the author's own
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20080821/54d4355b/attachment.htm>