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

[mwende njiraini]

Great!

Is Google East Africa tracking the utilisation of  http://www.google.co.tz?
I believe the statistics would provide information on the demand for
kiswahili on the internet.

Kind regards
Mwende


Disclaimer: These comments are the author's own.

On 8/21/08, Joseph Mucheru <jmucheru at google.com> wrote:
>
>  Just for your information we just launched the http://www.google.co.tzdomain yesterday with Swahili as the default language. We are also hiring
> Luganda experts and this is just the start.
>
> -- Joe Mucheru
> +254722522135
> Google East Africa
>  Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Aug 21, 2008, at 8:36 AM, "mwende njiraini" <mwende.njiraini at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>  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
>
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