<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:bookman old style, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt">Thanks Becky for this valuable and insightful piece. I would ask what can KICTANEt and or similar networks do about this. This is for me ois the bigger question.<br><br>Cheers,<br>FE <br><div> </div><font style="font-style: italic;" size="1">Florence Etta <br>P.O. Box 14285,00800<br>Westlands-Nairobi, Kenya<br>Tel: Mobile + 254-733-621851 <br>Terrestrial: + 254-20-7121506 <br>Fax: + 254-20-7125732 <br>Alternative Email:florence.etta@gmail.com</font><div style="font-family: bookman old style,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br><br><div style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">----- Original Message ----<br>From: Rebecca Wanjiku <rebeccawanjiku@yahoo.com><br>To: feanywhere@yahoo.co.uk<br>Sent: Tuesday, 5 December, 2006 9:36:41 PM<br>Subject: [Kictanet] IS ICANN
IMPORTANT?<br><br><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">PLAYING THE CATCH UP GAME- AFRICAN STYLE</font></font></span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-US">By Rebecca Wanjiku</span></b><span style="" lang="EN-US"></span></font></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Paul Odhiambo is an ICT officer at the Ministry of Education in
Kenya . He is used to the technical jargon and all issues relating to the information society.</font></font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="" lang="EN-US">But attending the </span><span style="" lang="FR">Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meeting is not that easy for Odhiambo. In some of the sessions, he finds himself in unfarmiliar territory. Why ? afterall he is a techie !</span></font></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="FR"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="FR"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Because at the meetings, participants
discuss about ICT laws and how they can be made responsive to people´s demands and privacies. For instance, during discussions on WHOIS, participants discuss issues on how much information should be available to the public and whether such information should be shared accross the sectors. </font></font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="FR"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="" lang="FR">Then there are other issues on the menu</span><span style="" lang="FR"> </span><span style="" lang="EN-US">like security concerns and the
usual business aspect of e-commerce. Legal issues are also discussed regarding applicable laws in case of cross country trade. For example, if importing a car from Dubai , if it’s damaged at sea and you bought it online, which courts can you seek redress? Kenyan court or Dubai .</span></font></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Odhiambo may find himself in unfamiliar territory because Kenya has no ICT law, doesn’t seem to care much about e-commerce whether in country or between
Kenya and other countries.</font></font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Odhiambo´s story is probably the story of many African participants at ICANN meetings. Latin America, North America, Europe and Asia seem to be operating on a different level compared to Africa .</font></font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">While the rest are discussing progressive issues, African delegates can only watch and say, we have our issues- access, and policy formulation.
</font></font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">But for how long will Africa cling on to the problems as an excuse?</font></font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Take for example the issue of access, those who were in the ICT industry will maybe confirm that some African heads have sang this song of the digital divide, lack of access and lack of money.</font></font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font face="Times New
Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">But the leaders have gyrated and swung their hips at the prospect of development that ICT holds. Whilst the question of infrastructure and finance maybe understood, what about policy formulation, can that be understood too?</font></font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Many of us stay home and wonder why ICANN meetings are important. Some may view it as a travel club or a playground for techies. While you wonder what label to give them, these guys are making policies that could affect you.</font></font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm
0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">What are you doing about it?</font></font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Ends <u></u></font></font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></div><br><br><br>Rebecca Wanjiku,<br>journalist,<br>p.o box 33515, <br>Nairobi.00600<br>Kenya.<br><br>Tel.
254 720 318 925<br><br><span>blog:<a target="_blank" href="http://beckyit.blogspot.com/">http://beckyit.blogspot.com/</a></span><p>
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