[kictanet] Will the cyber tourists come?

Tue Dec 9 18:51:12 EAT 2008

Hi all,

We talk of the big 5 that bring large chunks of foreign currency through tourism, we shamelessly exploit a resource we played no part in developing.  Could this be why we cannot create local content and just seat back and hope that the marine cable will bring cyber tourism just like airports brought millions to see the big 5.

I ask, we keep raising the issue of generating local content and yet we still are not making the effort to do it, can someone out there, for example, put online a comprehensive database of schools and colleges that can be easily accessed from anywhere in the country?  I remember being given a yellow coloured career booklet when I was in Form 4 which listed all the governments colleges and institutions of learning ranging from tailoring to engineering.  Is there no way to take such a booklet, update it and make it instantly available from Lamu to Wajir (not forgetting Chepalungu).

This would at least encourage domestic cyber tourism thus keeping some traffic local, while seriously thinking of what we could provide to foreign cyber tourists.  Can we encourage our youth & mentally alive older geeks to come up with a thinggy (for lack of a better phrase e.g what would you have called facebook before facebook) that can drive traffic to Kenya.  

ICTBoard find some loose change somewhere to show case serious application ideas nothing like what is domonstrated at the IEEE exhibition (too much cut & paste), lets become venture capitalists (that sounds hip) maybe we can give DJ. CJ a new pet project.  

After the post election what which when who where, it might would help the healing to place our diverse cultural practices online so that I can use the tool I understand and respect, the web, to better understand other ethnic groups.  Now this could be a cyber tourism puller, maybe even create online villages that someone can become a member of thus learn about the tribe.  Develop online language training programs of our various languages which cyber citizens can then learn to better understand the tribes.  Our strength is in our diversity let milk it to our benefit.

It is interesting how as kenyans we are aware a problem &know the
solution but for some unexplainable reason we still proceed to the
illogical end.  I am a true Kenyan.

There  is a very good 

 Robert Yawe
KAY System Technologies Ltd
Phoenix House, 6th Floor
P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200
Kenya

Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

________________________________
From: Joseph Manthi <jmanthi at gmail.com>
To: robert yawe <robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk>
Sent: Tuesday, 9 December, 2008 18:15:57
Subject: Re: [kictanet] 1 million Laptops for who?

Robert
Very well said.

1. I agree totally that the Ministry should consider equiping students of the various public universities with laptops  that they can take home at the end of their school year, After all these are the very best and brightest Kenya has to offer. One of my former high school classmates told me that the Very Brightest went to the University of Nairobi and the rest went to India, US, Canada, UK and other places according to how deep pocketed your tall relatives were.

2. Secondly, to encourage entrepreneurship shouldn't the ministry in conjunction with the ministry of commerce (I am dating myself?) to build and supply the laptops in Kenya. PCs are now commodities that can be locally assembled.

3. If you agree with 2 above, have African (Kenyan) entrepreneurs build them in rural areas.

My 2 cents.

Joe
On Tue, Dec 9, 2008 at 2:15 AM, robert yawe <robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

Hi Dr. Ndemo,

I felt it would not be fair to close the year with one final outburst on your ministries policies.

It was good to see that the governement will be giving laptops to youth in the rural area. http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/-/1006/499894/-/jh30hdz/-/index.html 

Last time I checked 80% of the students in the University are from the "rural areas" would it not make more sense to first equip them with the necessary tools.  I recently talked to IT degree students at Nairobi university and was shocked to  find that less than 5% have computers dedicated to them and this are not provided by the institution but have been bought privately.

It is good to talk of empowering the rural folk but is this the best way, should we not begin at the top and work our way down.  This computers would also provide greater mileage if we example they where to be giving to to students in teacher training colleges so that they can take technology to the schools, country wide that they will be posted to after they graduate?

Also do not forget the medical students who would be able to provide better medical services if they knew how to use and had access to the internet's resources.

Another major issue that is lacking from the story is how the laptops are to be procured, is there any likelihood that they will be assembled locally as if they are we shall be killing to birds with 1 stone.

 Robert Yawe
KAY System Technologies Ltd
Phoenix House, 6th Floor
P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200
Kenya

Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 

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