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Dear All,

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa is presently
supporting a discussion group for Africa's youth. The discussion
aims to create a platform for African youth to share experiences
and knowledge in order to help develop innovative approaches to
their needs and to establish a dialogue with public and other
stakeholders in devising and implementing the WSIS action plan at
country and regional levels.

We presently require youth representation from North Africa and
the Diaspora. please write pin@... if you live in any
of these two "regions" and you're highly interested in the second
phase of the WSIS process.

The discussions are being concluded this week, and please find
below, the summary of discussions:


***Week 1:

~"Most of the discussants believe that what the ECA is doing by
supporting youth - through this discussion - should be a model for
African governments to follow"~

INTRODUCTION

"African Youth and the Information Society". That was the topic of
many discussions, articles, eConferences and personal emails
between much of Africa's youth in the past few months. The phrase
was discussed mostly by youth who wished to contribute their own
quota to the emanciupation of Africa from economic incompetence,
through the tool of Information and Communication technologies -
the driver of the New Economy and the Information Society.

That explains the excitement that greeted the announcement of the
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa's (UNECA) readiness
to host this discussion early this year. Even though most of the
youth who heard about the discussions do not have consistent
access to the web, they would be glad to discuss this
all-improtant issue, and were excited that such an highly placed
organisation was "interested in our plight afterall".

THE DISCUSSION BEGINS...

On the 15th of March 2004, Mr. Thierry Amoussougbo of the ECA sent
an introductory email, which was followed up (on the same day) by
a welcome message and "duty call" by 'Gbenga Sesan - who moderates
the group's discussions. Eustache Nguie Sino, our bilingual group
member has kept the language divide bridged since we began
discussions with a daily summary of discussions from both
languages featured on the list, English and French.

WEEK 1

Discussions for the first week bagan immediately, with the mailing
list comprising 89 registered addresses representing much of
Africa's geographical spread (including that of some UNECA staff).
Of these, 26 youth were active in the first week, with most of the
emails and practical examples coming from West, Central, Eastern
and Southern regions of Africa.

Discussants placed emphasis on the need to be practical, and most
people expressed thie displeasure at the verbal (lacking action)
form that most discussions and meetings in Africa seem to follow.

The first week's topic was, "In many countries there are a number
of national e-strategies being formulated and implemented. Are the
youth aware? What can African governments do to advance the cause
of youth in the Information Society?
What needs to be done in the area of ICT policy to enable this
role? What is being done at the national and regional levels?"

On the issue of awareness on African government strategies, most
discussants agree that there is some level of awareness, but that
such is limited to a few privileged youth. And in most cases,
these youth have discovered these policies not because of being
invited, but due to their personal interests - and at times,
curiosity.

Most posts dwelt on the need for governments to involve, empower
and motivate youth in order to take positive progressive steps.
Most discussants believe that if youth are not involved, it only
points to the lack of readiness to promote sustainability in all
the processes and strategies involved. The need to motivate and
recognise outstanding youth was also emphasised. Most of the
discussants believe that what the ECA is doing by supporting youth
- through this discussion - should be a model for African
governments to follow.

The wek's discussion came to a close with youth expressing
complementing opinions on the need for youth themselves to be
proactive, and not waiting for government inclusion before seeking
to get involved. This has really set the pace for next week's
discussions which will focus on education.

CONCLUSION

The discussion is timely. Though the low participation at the
beginning may be due to various reasons, recent youth-led online
discussions have shown that progressing discussions tend to
attract more youth who, having seen the seriousness and possible
impact in the discussions, will latch on to the process and
provide much flavour and direction.

Going into the second week with a more personal, proactive and
decentralised topic, the "African Youth and the Information
Society" discussion seems set to help Africa's youth in their
pursuit of bridging the digital divide and providing practical
solutions that can help Africa in her bid to accelerate
development through the use of ICTs.

===

***Week 2:

INTRODUCTION

Week 2 began with new members joining the list and we're glad to
welcome them all. Welcome to today's table, where tomorrow's menu
is being discussed. Fortunately, we're the ones that will "cook
this meal" that will help feed Africa's ailing economy, through
education - which was the second's week focus - and more.

THE DISCUSSIONS

Beginning with an introduction from the moderator, which
challenged list members to explore the role of education in
Africa's Information Society inclusion and supporting the same
with location-specific examples, the discussion took an
interesting turn all week, even though contributions have still
not risen to more than 50% of listed group members.

Taiwo Sobande from Nigeria believes that "... to a large, extent
we are at the mercy of Government policy on education. which is
why we need to get more involved in real politics". Alfred Friday
also believs in this line of thought, which he supported by saying
that "...government funding of education in Africa has been
inadequate. Inadequate funding of education has been one of the
most significant causes of low quality of education offered at all
levels of education in Africa". Jama Abdullahi, an ICTs and Youth
Activist from Somalia also lent his voive to the discussion by
highlighting some other obstacles he's seen in his own country.
Hear him. "The basic school are existing throughout the country
but, it is limited in the main towns only where UNICEF can reach.
The remote/rural areas are ignored and neglected."

As you would expect, the discussions were not only about problems.
When Ayo Oguntuase said that, "My personal experience shows that
best method of ICT knowledge acquisition is Personal drive of the
youth.", group members could not agree less. He also went on to
say, "my desire to understand ICT began since my childhood in 1989
but I never had the opportunity until 1997... This initial denial
of access to ICT made me make up my mind to train as many African
Youths as I can help free of charge at no cost.... If it can be
done in Nigeria, it can be done anywhere and by anyone willing to
do it. Finally bear in mind that when you train a youth you are
training a generation." While also supporting self-help, femi
Babawande further opined that he is of the opinion that the ICT
should be "User Friendly" and not neccessarily a tuff for the
"technology-hyper-schooled".

In all, everyone restated the importance of education and next
week's discussion on employment comes at the best time!

NEXT WEEK

The question comes as a natural follow up to the various points
that have been raised. And the question follows:
"Employment: Education provides the basis for the youth to be
ICT-savvy as well as prepares them for the job market. However,
for those who have not been given this opportunity through
education, how can ICTs serve as a tool to promote and ensure
their livelihoods? What kinds of schemes and initiatives need to
be established for this purpose?"

This is very practical and I look forward to reading from us all
on existing projects that Africa's youth are delivering, possible
projects that are already been thought through, and new ideas!
This week comes as the most interesting so far as it challenges
our actual committment to bridging the digital divide. What about
other youth who are NOT educated? Can they still be employed
through the use of ICTs?

===

***Week 3:

INTRODUCTION

This has been the most demonstrative week so far, with practical
project examples coming from almost all African regions - Central
(Burundi, Cameroun), East (Somalia), South (South Africa), and
West (Nigeria, Benin, Ghana)! The discussion brought to the fore,
the reality of the impact of ICTs even in the absence of formal
education, showing the need and the ongoing exploration of the
same.

THIS WEEK

The week's discussions focused on the topic, "Employment:
Education provides the basis for the youth to be ICT-savvy as well
as prepares them for the job market. However, for those who have
not been given this opportunity through education, how can ICTs
serve as a tool to promote and ensure their livelihoods? What
kinds of schemes and initiatives need to be established for this
purpose?"

Discussions began with a practical example from east Africa,
describing how youth are responding to a post-crisis period by
empowering themselves in the face of an obvious lack of formal
education. This prompted further examples, including vivid
descriptions of how youth have been able to beat the odd of
lacking formal education coupled with the need to employ the
powers of ICTs, the new generation's tool for relevance.

Though the need was stated for government intervention with
respect to policies and actionable projects, discussants cited
examples of civil society organisations - many of them youth-led -
that are already acting in the direction of empowering youth who
might have missed the privilege of exposure to formal education.

As the week's discussion drew to a close, it became obvious that
all discussants sang with one tone, "youth can get employment and
partake in the job market even if they have missed the opportunity
of (formal) education".


CONCLUSION

As would have been noticed in the string of discussions to date,
the next topic builds on this week's discussions! Entrepreneurship
has been described as the answer to the provision of a middle
class, and a practical answer to Africa's economic situation.
That's our next wtopic for discussion! And feel free to please
read through the previous reports (below), especially for those
who're just joining the discussions. Hear from you soon!

NEXT WEEK

With this report, the next discussion is open, and its on an
all-important topic, entrepreneurship! Here's the question for
discussions:

"Entrepreneurship: The role of youth in leading and pioneering ICT
initiatives in countries such as India and Malaysia is well known.
Now, in some countries there are initiatives underway to support
youth entrepreneurship in ICTs. How can this be replicated in
Africa? How adequately prepared are countries to address these
challenges? In what ways can the support initiatives be achieved?"


===

***Week 4

INTRODUCTION

The week's discussion built on the practical topics that were
before it. From education and employment, this week moved on to
the challeneg of entrepreneurship. Participants shared practical
examples from their countries and regions, and it was a very great
way to end the discussions - and move on to practical proposals.

WEEK 4 SUMMARY

The week's discussion was a great way to highlight the "stormy
weather" that youth face in their entrepreneurial pursuits across
the continent. From almost all the regions, we had clear and
practical examples on the harsh environment that youth face in
their bid to grow their entrepreneurial dreams.

From high interest rates to unfriendly government policies,
various bottlenecks were discussed and there was undisputed
support for proactive change in attitude from institutions that
"stand in the way" of youth expressing their entrepreneurial
skills - policy makers, financial institutions, and others.

While discussants had different perceptions on the existence of an
"entrepreneurial spirit" in African youth, everyone agreed on the
fact that the face of Africa's economy can improve with the
empowerment of young people in order that they might express their
skills through entrepreneurial efforts, ventures and projects.

NEXT WEEK - Quo Vadis?

The right question to ask now is, "where do we go from here?"
>From the brilliant discussions, examples, suggestions and
deliberations, we need to define a "way forward".

Next week will be spent on: "The way forward: Based on the
discussions what can be recommended as the way forward to ensure
that your voices are heard and your causes are mainstreamed in the
information society at national, sub-regional and global levels?"

Please take time to read through all the summaries - see below for
previous summaries - ahead of final suggestions. We need to draw a
plan, with the mind that it will fly.

While looking forward to your dynamic input, I'm moved to say,
"Viva Africa!", and I think it's good time to say so...

===

'Gbenga Sesan
"Why? Why Not?" | www.gbengasesan.com
Paradigm Initiative Nigeria | www.pin.itgo.com