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You are invited to submit a proposal for a presentation, open session or poster at the…
2nd Annual mEducation Alliance
International Symposium:
2012- Partnering for Scale & Impact
September 5-7, 2012
Washington, DC.

mEducation Alliance logoFor this year’s mEducation Alliance International Symposium, we want to highlight your experiences and insights on partnership. What does a successful partnership mean for your work? What are the challenges and opportunities evident in partnerships designed to improve learning outcomes through the use of mobile technologies? What kinds of additional or expanded partnerships could your work benefit from, and what could the mEducation Alliance do to support this?

Under the broad theme of partnerships, we’ll be looking for presentation and open session proposals involving the following themes:
Public and Private Sector Partnership Engagement
Mobiles for Reading
Mobiles for Inclusive Education and Assistive Technology
Mobiles for Education System Strengthening
Mobiles for Youth and Workforce Development
Mobiles for Education in Crisis and Conflict Settings

The Mobiles for Education (mEducation) Alliance is an international collaborative effort between bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs, foundations, private sector partners, academic researchers, and implementing organizations. Our collective agenda is to explore cutting-edge intersections between mobile technologies, education and development, to reduce duplicative efforts, and promote collective knowledge-sharing. The increasing ubiquity of mobile phones and coverage and the current and possible utilization of other mobile devices, including e-Readers, tablet computers, flash memory, micro/ “pico” projectors, and audio/visual devices among other technologies, provide valuable opportunities for supporting quality education impact in developing countries.

The mEducation Alliance has formed a symposium planning committee, composed of representatives of a number of supporting organizations, which will select 10-15 presentation proposals and 20-25 poster proposals based on a rating system which takes into account: 1) topical relevance to Symposium themes, 2) leading edge research or piloting of highly promising mobile technology utilization for improving quality education impact, and 3) highly participatory and interactive format to encourage networking and partnership development. The planning committee will work with selected presenters to promote interactive presentations to maximize dialogue with the audience. The Alliance will also accept a number of Open Session proposals, which will be reviewed based on the format of proposed session and level of interaction with participants, in addition to the session topic’s relevance to the overarching goals and mission of the mEducation Alliance.
Guidelines on Presentation and Poster Session Objectives
Preferred approaches to sessions include:
– Emphasis on innovative and/or cross-sectoral approaches to partnerships, and on “yet unsolved” challenges in education and the use of mobile devices;
– Innovative, interactive formats, preferably with live demonstrations whenever possible;
– Focus on lessons learned, findings, and project and research designs that have broad applicability to the education sector;
– Highlighting outcome- and impact-level results in education in developing countries; and,
– Sharing useful tools, guidelines, and methodologies that could be immediately applied elsewhere.

Guidelines on Open Session Objectives
Preferred approaches to these informal learning opportunities include:
– Highly participatory dialogs relevant to the Symposium themes;
– Creative formats which encourage networking, partnership building, and knowledge sharing (such as a FailFaire, or other format sharing lessons learned);
– Open sessions organized around a specific focal area of interest, such as geographic regions, educational level, mobile device or languages (sessions conducted in languages other than English are welcome in this regard);
– Sessions designed to delve into reflections on cross-cutting issues and the state of the field, such as ethics, gender, evaluation, or a session looking at relevant technological developments.

Proposal Template
The following items should be covered in proposals not exceeding 2 pages (excluding CVs and examples of handouts, tools, etc.).
– Presentation, Poster or Open Session title
– Type of session (panel presentation, demo, poster, quiz show, debate, discussion, etc.)
– Short abstract of the presentation, poster or session, including 2-3 learning objectives
– Presenters and their relationships to the session content (attach CVs)
– Detailed session outline
– Examples of handouts, tools, guides to be shared with participants
– Contact person and email and phone

Session proposals should be sent by Friday, May 25, 2012, to: mobilesforeducation@gmail.com.

Important Dates
Session proposals due to mEducation Alliance
Friday, May 25, 2012

Selected presenters invited to present
On or before Friday, June 22

Presenters submit all A/V requests
On or before August 1

Final Presentations, Posters, Sessions due
On or before August 8

mEducation Alliance International Symposium
September 5 – 7

Please feel free to share this letter of invitation with relevant units within your organization or to other partners or researchers who work with mobiles in the context of education, but please note that participation will be by invitation only. There are no registration fees for the Symposium, however presenters and participants will be responsible for all travel costs associated with attendance. More information is available at www.meducationalliance.org. Please address any questions to Rebekah Levi (rlevi@jbsinternational.com) and Scott Kipp (skipp@jbsinternational.com).

Photo Credit: Agronet-Colombia

AGRONET, a National Agricultural Information and Communication Network was developed with the goal to connect small producers in Colombia and reduce the digital divide through public private partnerships and growing broadband penetration in rural municipalities.

A Government of Colombia’s initiative under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The main aim is to provide information and knowledge on new techniques for sustainable food security and for the diversification of crops in order to improve productivity and opportunities in the market. While the network is aimed at policy makers, other stakeholders in the agricultural chain including small producers are expected to benefit through the platform.

Agronet platform helps in standardizing and integrating resources to offer value-added information and communication services for the agricultural sector using modern and traditional ICTs. The platform also has alliances with several actors in order to integrate other systems of information into the network and expand the content offered.

In order to serve producers with relevant and targeted information, Agronet has developed user profiles of all users based on needs assessment and users’ particular productive activities. Taking advantage of the penetration of mobile technologies in the rural users, new agricultural innovations – technologies and methods are introduced to producers systemically through SMS. Producers receive updates on Agronet’s platform, including changes in its databases and other news and events pertinent to agriculture.

Agronet offers a dedicated space for the agribusiness to view supply and demand, and to publish notices of products and services related to agriculture and agribusiness. The platform also has a digital library, policy documents related to agriculture and food security and other statistical bulletins for students, researchers and policy makers within the agricultural field. Agronet also gives its users the opportunity to train virtually from online courses available on the website. The platform also allows small producers to search for credit information for their farm inputs, market for their produce, and information of other stakeholders.

Over the medium term, Agronet plans to provide a greater wealth of content and information services to producers by adding capacity in digital television. For more information, visit Agronet.

Six schools have benefitted from the first phase of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) e-school initiative in Ghana. This initiative aims to equip young people with the skills and knowledge they need to participate in the global economy.

Six schools in Ghana to receive e-schooling

Six schools in Ghana to receive e-schooling. (image: futurechallenges.org)

The selected schools were Wa Senior High School, Ola Girls Senior High School, Walewale Senior High School, Acherensua Senior High School, St Augustine’s Senior High School and Akomadan Senior High School.

According to a statement issued in Accra on Tuesday, Ghana will launch the next phase of NEPAD e-schools later this year.

A Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model was built into the e-school initiative to help tackle challenges and constraints in the NEPAD demonstration project. This is in a bid to improve on key lessons learnt from the first phase of the initiative and best practice worldwide.

A two-day Public-Private Dialogue Forum is scheduled to take place in Accra as part of the launch from March 26-27, and is expected to attract over 100 participants to discuss a new e-school PPP model.

Segun Adekoye

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it was partnering with the British Council in Africa to deliver their Africa Digital Schools Project aimed at assisting in “bridging the digital divide”, in six African countries.

The aim is to bring new technology to African schools as part of a boosting of education experiences through Microsoft’s technology (image: Education In Africa)

Called “BADILIKO,” the Swahili word for change, the aim is to bring new technology to African schools as part of a boosting of education experiences through Microsoft’s technology.

According to a statement, each company contributed $1-million as well as technical expertise to accelerate the implementation of this innovative project that seeks to embed ICT in learning.

Microsoft and the British Council stressed that the Africa Digital Schools Project will “enrich e-learning while improving ICT skills among teachers and students to boost their competitiveness in a global village.”

The $2-million seed money availed byMicrosoft and British Council will be spent on the establishment of eighty digital hubs across the six sub-Saharan countries.

It is hoped that 100,000 learners will be provided with digital tools which they will utilize to boost academic work and social skills that benefit the wider community.

Mark Matunga, the Microsoft Regional Education Manager, East and Southern Africa, says that greater uptake of ICT in learning dovetails with the software giant’s vision of bridging digital divide in Africa.

”Educators should embrace technology to pass knowledge to students and boost their aptitude in relevant areas of study. We are encouraging more teachers to be trained in ICT skills.”

Janan Yussif

Last week I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Bitange Ndemo, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of ICT in Kenya.  He explained how Kenya is very close to being linked to all of its neighbors, and how the national backhaul system is fully operational.  In a country with such massive economic and social disparity, I am hopeful that Ndemo’s efforts to bring ICT services to all of Kenya will serve as a catalyst for stability and equality of opportunity.

To where are Kenya’s cables extending?

Kenya has the most extensive backhaul terrestrial system, and they are reaching out to adjacent countries.  According to Ndemo, Kenya has three cables into Tanzania, as well as three cables into Uganda.  Some of these cables make up part of the East African Backbone system, which also includes Rwanda and Burundi, and cables from Kenya to those nations are still under construction.  Laying the connecting cables has been more difficult for Burundi, since this is a new experience for them and they have lower capacity in this space.

Photo: BBC News

Ndemo also confirmed that there are current discussions and plans to bring fiber to South Sudan, though no construction is currently underway.  There is only 60 kilometers between Kenyan cables already laid and the South Sudan border.

The possibility of connecting Somalia, however, is contingent on the political situation.  Though Kenya has a microwave only 2 kilometers from the border of Somalia in the state of Mandera, they will not bring the connection across without complete assurance that there will not be privacy infringements.  Both of these nations are quite close to being a part of the East African Backbone system.

I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago about a series of ways that Somalia could get broadband Internet connectivity.  The article was reposted in several British, Somali and Kenyan online newspapers and was even criticized by a group of IT professionals in Somaliland.  Given the hunger crisis outbreak in the Horn of Africa since then, I want to revisit the issue of connectivity in Somalia.  It appears that mobile and Internet access is being recognized as a crucial need for humanitarian agencies.

Photo: AP

Information and communication technology (ICT) services during humanitarian crisis are much improved from a few years ago.  Ushahidi and Frontline SMS have demonstrated the power of text services.  Mobile money by MercyCorps in Haiti provided some organized method of food distribution and sustained economic activity.  The government of Luxembourg recently partnered with the World Food Programme to test a connectivity kit to restore voice and text communications when power systems are wiped out during natural disasters.  The list could go on.

A famine is different than other disasters, however.  It does not affect ICT infrastructure directly as a hurricane or tsunami would.  ICTs, then, can play a key role in organizing humanitarian relief efforts during a famine or crisis of any sort.  In addition, ICTs can prevent famines because of the increased communication they can provide.

Remember economist Amartya Sen’s claim that a famine has never occurred in a working democracy?  Famines are not so much a result of a lack of food, but rather a lack of effective distribution and communication.  Democracies, with all their checks and balances of power, give enough voice to the people so that food is delivered when needed.

I argue that the amount of communication inherent in a democracy is the real key to the distribution and production of food that stops a famine.  Public communication, not necessarily democracy, stops famines.  In fact, what Sen defines as a “working” democracy, is simply a democracy where people of all social classes have a voice.  A “working” democracy, then, is itself founded on the principles of the equality of communication.

It isn’t social media that will end the famine, but it is a process and steady cycle of communication between social groups.  The more communication, the less social injustice—famine included.  This type of communication can better occur with significant ICT infrastructure, which allows people in different locations to still communicate and share ideas.

One of the better ways to increase communication in a nation is mobile and Internet services along with IT infrastructure.  I spoke with Bitange Ndemo, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of ICTs and a Director of the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), this week about possible broadband cable connections with Somalia.  He was optimistic and outlined some possibilities, contingent on the Somali political environment.  Ndemo explained that Kenya has broadband cables and a microwave just 2 km from the border with Somalia in Mandera.  Both Kenyan and Somali telecoms have approached CCK, hoping to make a connection into Somalia.  However, Kenya has declined as of now, for security risks.  If they route the cable into Somalia then they risk privacy concerns and people cutting the cables.  Given the political instability in Somalia right now, Kenya has yet to route the cable.  Somalia remains unconnected to the rest of the East African Backhaul System, and still remains without any lighted fiber-optic cables, greatly limiting Internet usage and global communication.

It may seem strange for a government to invest in expensive broadband cables when its citizens are struggling to find enough food, but perhaps such an investment would end up ending its struggles with famine.  Or, instead of the Somali government investing in IT infrastructure, they could grant easier regulations to private telecoms, and let them route and light cables throughout the nation.  This would leave the government with less control over the telecommunications industry, but would save any financial costs.

Ultimately, though, the manner in which Somalia increases public communication is not as important as making sure that something is done to increase IT infrastructure throughout the nation.  At the end of the day, food security concerns are tied to communication capabilities, and mobile and Internet infrastructure can play a significant role in decreasing the probability of famine.

 

 

Photo: UN Foundation flickr

This morning leaders from the United Nations Foundation (UNF) and Vodafone Foundation gathered at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. to discuss their projects and key lessons learned after nine years of working together in partnership.  The discussion focused on the broader implications for other public-private-partnerships (PPPs) hoping to contribute to global development.

Drawing on the “Mobilizing Development” report of the partnerships efforts, UNF CEO Kathy Calvin stressed that the partnership slowed down project implementation, at least initially, but made for greater efficiency and long-term impact.  Discussions about how to orchestrate the partnership lasted two years, and it took another two years to decide on the actual projects that the partnership would complete, she stated.

Photo: UN Foundation flickr

William Kennedy, a senior official from the United Nations Office for Partnerships in New York, discussed the “cultural divide” between business and development.  “I don’t think you can underestimate the effort it takes to bridge the cultural divide between a big company and a foundation.”  One example is the business mindset to immediately scale projects as large as possible, as opposed to the development mentality of respecting local culture and adapting solutions for particular communities.  He added that what makes this partnership different from other less successful development PPPs are the relationships between the leaders on each side.  Also, they had consistent evaluations of the development projects, which was important in business culture.  Leaders were willing to address the UNF’s needs and shortcomings, and to make extra efforts to complete the work.

Members of the audience voiced questions about the “shared value” and motivations for each organization to partner with the other.  Vodafone had recently bought other telecommunications companies, becoming a global brand right before its partnership with the UN.  Before partnering with the UN on this philanthropic initiative, Vodafone was able to attach its own brand to the UN’s global appeal.  Other UNF leaders, however, voiced their concerns with this opinion, stating that Vodafone officials took particular care to separate business and philanthropic motivations, citing their willingness to allow service providers to run mHealth initiatives set up by the program as evidence of their philanthropic motivations in their efforts with the UNF.

As for the future of PPPs hoping to meet global development goals, Calvin expressed her opinion that the age of partnerships between one private company and one public organization is coming to an end.  Instead, she said that what the UNF is learning is that alliances, made up of a variety of government, private, and non-governmental organizations, are the future of philanthropy.  She pointed to the formation of the mHealth alliance, which stemmed from the original UNF-Vodafone partnership, but currently is able to increase scale and efficiency as an alliance with other organizations contributing to different aspects of the program.


 

 

Photo: SANGONeT

In my recent interviews with telecoms, NGOs, and governments working in Africa I’ve noticed a common theme.  In a very generalized sense, Internet infrastructure is in place (or under construction) in urban centers throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.  Even in places where connectivity is still lacking, like in South Sudan and Somalia, initiatives are underway to light up those nations.  I think it is appropriate to say that this stage of communication development, which I will call connectivity 1.0, has the necessary foundation for completion.

Connectivity 2.0, then, is focused on rural Africa.  Specifically, it entails:

(1) how to bring connectivity to rural areas in financially sustainable ways

(2) how to make the Internet and mobiles useful and relevant tools for rural lifestyle

Others in the ICT4D space have recognized this need as well.  Infodev’s Program Manager Valerie D’Costa recently spoke on the urgent need to use ICTs especially for rural development projects.  One of the ITU’s new flagship initiatives is to bring ICTs to rural schools and villages.  And USAID leaders repeatedly emphasize the power of mobile phones for agricultural development in rural areas.

SANGONeT, an umbrella NGO specializing in ICT expertise and agricultural development, is taking advantage of this momentum, and is planning an upcoming conference in South Africa on ICT4RD (ICT for rural development), slated for November 1-3, 2011.  The South African Departments of Communication and Rural Development, the Gates Foundation, Cisco, Microsoft, and InfoDev are sponsoring the conference.  They hope to attract national USFs in Sub-Saharan Africa, NGOs, and telecom companies.

The collaboration between these entities is vital to creating sustainable solutions, SANGONeT Program Manager Matthew de Gale explains.  With commitments from government USFs in Zambia, Uganda, and South Africa to attend, de Gale hopes that additional USFs and international organizations like USAID and the World Bank will also send representatives, helping African governments to make the most informed policy decisions regarding rural development.  Hopefully, then, policymakers will meet the challenges posed by connectivity 2.0.

Child participates in USAID's Interactive Radio Instruction education program, the only possible ICT project currently in Somalia.

Last week, I interviewed Mohamed Ahmed Jama, CEO of Dalkom Somalia and board member of Frontier Optical Networks Ltd (FON) in Kenya.  Mr. Jama described four potential Broadband cables that could be a part of a terrestrial backbone throughout East Africa, including in Somalia.  A fifth was announced yesterday in Somaliland.

Though all three of these proposed links are just that—proposals—they are indicative of the rapid growth of Broadband connectivity in the region.  Most East African governments are actively engaged in rolling out backbone terrestrial networks, while four years ago the World Bank called East African connectivity the world’s only “missing link.” South Sudan is working with the CTO to develop an ICT strategic plan, Burundi recently received funding from the World Bank, and Uganda has also invested as well.  And private companies are facilitating the expansion of Broadband cables as well; they are working with the national governments to lay the cables and to fund the projects.  The East African Backhaul System, recently announced as a combined $400 million partnership between Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo governments and a variety of private telecoms.  The unique partnerships between the public and private sector make the ICT space in East Africa distinct from other regions.

Potential backbone networks in Somalia, Ethiopia, and South Sudan are listed here and can be seen on the following map (forgive the rough estimations, I did not draw this exact):

1. Somalia’s Connection to EASSy Cables (blue line)

According to Mr. Jama, Dalkom Somalia has built two cable landing sites in Somalia from the EASSy submarine cable, one in Somaliland and the other in Mogadisho, Somalia.  Unfortunately, the government of Somaliland revoked Dalkom’s license last year before the cable was completed (scheduled to be finished in October, 2010).  The Somaliland government claimed that they had already signed an agreement with a local company, SomCable.  However, no additional work has been carried out since last year, leaving construction at a stand still and the region unconnected.  In Mogadisho, on the other hand, the landing cable lays ready to be used, but remains unconnected due to security issues at the site.  To make matters more frustrating, Dalkom has funding, contracts awarded and the regulatory approval to extend the cables from the landing site inward, creating a national terrestrial backbone.  Security issues in the area are the only contingency.

2. Mombasa—Nairobi—Moyale, Ethiopia Cable (green line)

The EASSy submarine cable has been extended inland previously from Mombasa to Nairobi.  For the past year, discussions have been underway been the Kenyan and Ethiopian government on possibly constructing a terrestrial cable from Nairobi to Moyale, on the Ethiopian border.  However, with FON’s assistance, the cable has been built, but is yet to be lighted.  The only remaining holdup is to sign an agreement of understanding with the Ethiopia government, which has historically been reluctant to work with private sector ICT companies.

3. Somalia—Kenya Connection (black line)

According to Mr. Jama, there is 560 km remaining between fiber optic terrestrial backbone cables in Somalia and the state of Mandera in Northeastern Kenya.  Mr. Jama proposes that the Kenyan government bring the fiber to the border, and then Dalkom Somalia would complete the Somali side.  This connection would connect Somalia to the African backbone network.  However, there has been intermittent violence on the Kenya-Somalia border in Mandera, with the most recent issue being a land mine blast that killed eleven Kenyan officers.  The volatility of the border could potentially lead to another security standstill before lighting the fiber, like in Mogadisho.  Dalkom and the governments, then, need to concern themselves not only with the technical issues and construction of the remaining fiber, but also on the political instability of the region.

4. Juba—Lokichogio Link (red line)

Southern Sudan and Kenya plan to construct a fiber optic cable link between the two nations as part of a larger project entitled “four-in-one.”  The project includes the construction of a railway line from Lodwar-Lokichogio to Juba, road rehabilitation, an oil pipeline, and fiber optic cables.  Currently, the governments need to conduct a feasibility test given the mountainous nature of the route, especially the Great Rift Valley.  In all likelihood, the project will not be finished before 2015.

5. Djibouti—Somaliland SomCable (orange line)

SomCable, supported by the interim government in the territory of Somaliland, reportedly signed an agreement to buy the necessary buildings and licensing in Djibouti to route the EASSy cable into Berbera and throughout Somaliland.  The President of SomCable, Mr. Mohammed Gueti, announced his recent acquisitions just yesterday.  Mr. Gueti has strong ties with the president of Djibouti’s family, arguably giving his company an advantage over Dalkom Somalia at winning the contract.  However, as Mr. Jama points out, construction has yet to begin on this cable line, possibly suggesting that the announcement is merely a political move by the government of Somaliland as Mr. Gueti does has any rights to extend the EASSY Cable. Neither purchases any capacity from the members of the Consortium.

 

Southern Sudan and Kenya plan to construct a fiber optic cable link between the two nations as part of a larger project entitled “four-in-one.”  The project includes the construction of a railway line from Lokichogio to Juba, road rehabilitation, an oil pipeline, and fiber optic cables.

The Deputy Director of Kenya Southern Sudan Liaison Office (KESSULO), Albert Origa explained: “We have developed a paper which has been presented to the Cabinet for approval.  If approved, we will embark on the reconstruction of the railway and roads network, roll out a fiber optic cable and oil pipeline to connect the two countries.”

If connected, the cable will provide a stable information link for South Sudan to connect with the rest of Africa’s terrestrial fiber networks.  And, of course, the railway line and oil pipes are promising economic developments for both nations.

Railroad station in North Sudan, similar to the places where the railway and adjacent fiber will be placed. Photo: Tim McKulka/UN Photo

Mr. Jama Mohammed, board member on Kenya’s Frontier Optical Networks (FON), also confirmed the plans.  In a personal interview last week, before the Kenyan and South Sudan governments reached an agreement, Mr. Mohammed told me that the Kenyan government had built fiber to Lokichogio already, and was looking for a private telecom to manage the system and light the fiber.  FON, however, was originally hesitant to sign until receiving a license in South Sudan, who announced recently a suspension of all telecommunications licenses until further notice.  With the agreement reached this week, however, it appears that the Government of South Sudan will be willing to work with a private business to manage the system.

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