ISOC Africa Bureau Manager Visits Ghana Chapter

By Vera Doku,

Communications Specialist

“The Internet is for the elite, and as long as this trend continues, it will not bring about the desired change to our society as compared to the revolution brought about by the FM radio stations.” These were the thoughts of Dr. Dawit Bekele, ISOC Africa Bureau Manager, after he delivered his paper on the Growth of Broadband and Mobile Phones in Africa: Opportunities and Threats at a soiree hosted in his honour by the Society, (ISOC) Ghana Chapter on Tuesday, October 6 2009 at the SSNIT Guest House in Accra.   Prof Nii Narku Quaynor, the Chair of the Ghana Chapter and Africa Network Operators’ Group convener chaired the event.

Dr. Bekele was of the view that despite the fact the there was a growth of Broadband and other Internet Infrastructure; this growth had no impact on majority of the people who are poor and uneducated, majority of whom lived in the rural areas.  He said this situation was an opportunity for other advancement of other technologies, which would meet the needs of the underserved and disadvantaged.

On the issue of content, Dr. Bekele said that there was the need for Africa to generate local content, which should be spearheaded by the private sector, with direction from government.

In his welcoming remarks, Prof. Quaynor, who was excited by the presence of the Dr. Bekele was optimistic that access to the Internet in Ghana could only get better.  “Some years ago, I did not think that it would be possible to expand to this extent, but technology has made it possible.  However, it behoves of us to do research on the impact that accessibility has made in our communities, so that it can give us a true picture of what is happening on the ground.” He said.   Mr. Eric Akumiah, General Secretary of ISOC, Ghana chapter, presented a paper written by Prof Quaynor on Web Presence for every Mobile User Interface (UI).  This paper brought to light the possibility of using different technologies for Internet access on mobile phones in Africa, where the Internet infrastructure is still very fragile. 

The event was attended by members of ISOC and the general public who made useful contributions to the topics under discussion. Some new members were added to ISOC Ghana’s membership.

Earlier on Sunday, October 4, Dr. Bekele met the ISOC Ghana Executive committee and had discussion on how to improve the performance of the chapter, highlighting on opportunities available from ISOC Global.

Photos of Dr. Bekele’s visit can be found at http://ghnog.jalbum.net/Dawit_Visit/Contributed by