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

[Gakuru, Alex]

Good people,

I am a student on this subject and I would really appreciate every contribution.

Please note that the IGF is not just about Internet, per se, and goes
beyond the internet, thus please widen your contribution to cover all
modern Information and communication technologies. These include
mobile phones, radio, television, newspapers, magazines, digital music
(including DVDs on matatus), etc, and their impact on our cultural
norms and value and impact on the entire society.

Please help me out by expressing your valued opinion for my studies on
"ACCESS TO RECEIVING AND DISSEMINATING OF OPINION, INFORMATION, AND
CULTURE IN KENYA." For once I will be the "listener" and should I win
promised trip to EA IGF meeting for past contribution, I am
considering donating that to whomever helps me the most with my study.

Now switching to receive-only mode:)

Thanks a lot.


Alex

On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 9:12 AM, mwende njiraini
<mwende.njiraini at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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.tz
>> domain 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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>
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