Support the call for #internet4all

The World Economic Forum calls for #Internet4all

“What would an ecosystem capable of supporting a smarter Africa look like?” Elsie Kanza, Head of Africa and Member of the Executive Committee for the World Economic Forum asks this Thursday 07 April 2016 in a piece headlined "Only 20% of Africans use the internet – we must fix this digital poverty now".

In the article, Kanza details a series of ground-breaking tech innovations from Africa that proves that Africa’s greatest resource is its people. “Technology has already helped to bring about vast improvements in the way the region governs, feeds, lives, educates, trades and interacts with itself,” says Kanza, the former personal assistant and economic advisor to Jakaya Kikwete, the fourth President of Tanzania.

Ahead of the World Economic Forum on Africa that takes place in Kigali, Rwanda, from May 11 to 13, Kanza announces that over 1,000 Global Shapers in 94 cities across Africa will launch the #internet4all in Africa campaign to advocate for internet access as a basic right.

“We believe that, in the 21st century, this essential infrastructure should be available to everybody,” Kanza says, adding: “All Africans want is the chance to create for themselves the future that they deserve.”

http://www.broadbandcommission.org/Documents/publications/davos-discussion-paper-jan2016.pdf

South African Educational Technology Leaders Join the Call

In Cape Town, teacher-cum-internet access champion and entrepreneur Luvuyo Rani is fully behind the idea of #internet4all. Through his business - which takes internet access, computing and technology into emerging and rural communities - Rani has repeatedly seen how access changes people’s future and life.

“What we see in our stores is that people come in with their smartphones but don’t know how to use them, because they are used to only working on feature phones. We help them create Facebook accounts and an email account, and to register for WhatsApp. This literally changes their lives. Being connected means they can interact with friends and relatives regardless of where these people are. They can connect their businesses and they can look for schools or education opportunities. They can even access their banking. Just like water or air or food or the need for safety, a home or family, the internet is a need that should be placed within Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs.”

Meanwhile in Johannesburg, Andrew Barrett, Education activist and co-founder of the academic support non-profit, Olico, also supports the call for #internet4all 

“A lack of access to the internet creates additional barriers to educational growth and to potential development, there is no question about that,” says Barrett, who advocates that internet access in Africa should be a basic right. “The internet is an important enabler for all kinds of factors including education and academic development, but also for growing one’s awareness of your position as a global citizen.”

Olico’s materials and online learning system could revolutionise South Africa’s dysfunctional education system, and improve the lives of many learners, but only if those learners have internet in order to access the open source content.

“Access to freely and readily available information is important to your place in the world, as well as to deciding what you want to do in the future. As more and more high quality open source material becomes available, access to the internet will be the great leveller in many ways,” he explains.

Andrew Rudge, CEO of The Reach Trust, agrees. “#Internet4All is one of the most important policy decisions we can take, because it is about giving individuals the power to make life-altering choices without a dependency on a traditional system. It is about a very real, life-altering freedom.” 

This is not just talk, The Reach Trust, has helped more than 10 million people transform their lives through access to free education, health and counselling services on their mobile phones. Their recently launched LevelUp application even incentivises learners with vouchers that they can use to purchase groceries at South African retailer Shoprite.  

We are only at the beginning of the #internet4all movement. The first 30% of Africans have gotten connected to the internet, and already miracles are happening. When we are all connected, there will be unimaginable opportunity for us all. 

Please support this campaign by adding your voice - take to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or any other social media of your choice to explain why the #internet4all is a conversation we need to be having with our leaders. 

World Economic forum announces Dave Duarte a Young Global Leader

Cape Town: Tuesday, 11 March 2014:  The World Economic Forum (WEF) today announced South African Dave Duarte as a Young Global Leader (YGL). Globally recognised as a top expert on digital marketing for business, Duarte joins 215 leaders from around the world that will make up the class of 2014, including South African actress Charlize Theron.

Annually, thousands of candidates go through a qualified nomination process and are assessed according to rigorous selection criteria. Only the best are selected to form a community of the world’s next generation leaders.

“Young Global Leaders are not just exceptional people in their own right: they are leaders that already have a track record in improving the state of the world. We welcome the Class of 2014 into our community and look forward to collectively engaging them to deliver change of genuine global significance,” says David Aikman, Managing Director and Head of the New Champions at the World Economic Forum.

As an entrepreneur and educator, Duarte has travelled the world providing insights and strategic advice, his passion being digital leadership. This opportunity is a testament to his work in the field, “I am honoured to have the opportunity join this diverse and dedicated group of leaders and committed to affect real global change. I am also thrilled to be working with fellow South African and social entrepreneur, Marlon Parker, founder of Reconstructed Living Labs  who will form part of the class of 2014,” says Duarte. 

Duarte has a long list of achievements including pioneering the first Social Media and Mobile Marketing courses in Africa with the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. Currently he focuses on his latest venture, Treeshake, an educational production company that invests in initiatives that could grow Digital Leadership in Africa.

He has spent the past few years working with executive teams in Africa and globally to influence this new form of leadership since the advent of digital has changed the pace of business.  

“Digital Leadership is, I believe, the most critical new form of management and business development that is needed on the continent. It is about being able to innovate in response to challenges and opportunities using digital technologies that are incredibly quick to build, launch and scale. Ultimately, it is about aligning leadership to the speed, scale and sophistication of business today,” adds Duarte.

Besides his responsibilities as a YGL, Dave also helps identify the top African technologies to be awarded at the Netexplo forum at UNESCO in Paris later this month.

Duarte now joins an elite group of young leaders that in the past have recognised people like Larry Page, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Google, Michael Jordaan, former chief executive officer at FNB and Mark Shuttleworth, internet entrepreneur and Afronaut .