Jul

27

By Karin ter Horst, a Dutch intern

Again, I learned a lot in my second week in Nigeria. For instance, that’s not necessary to dance in the club at Saturday night; it’s also possible at Sunday morning in the church. Further I discovered that plantain is my new favourite food, especially when it’s around four in the afternoon. Besides I know now what ‘flashing’ means and what the relationship between men and women is.

Several times I made some analyses about the last topic. Maybe it was visible on my face that I was thinking about this brain breaking difficulty. Because some people were asking me what my opinion is about Nigerian guys when I was walking around on the domain of the University in Lagos. It were some people from a local television station who were making a documentary. I told them that I like guys. But in my opinion Nigerian guys like girls more. That was exciting information; I had to give an example.

Last weekend I couldn’t get into sleep because I missed my Internet connection to much. So one of my new Nigerian friends brought me to a bar for two hours of surfing and browsing on the World Wide Web. I only had to pay 200 naira’s while at that moment I should give everything for checking my mail. My friend had the great idea that he was made for some of my Dutch friends. He told me this based on two facebookpictures. I should send her a message to invite her to come to Nigeria and convince her of his great muscles. They would build a beautiful relationship and within two years they would be married. Maybe is Facebook the new way for finding your true love. Maybe.

I decided to give another example to the camera people, because my Nigerian friend is always watching local channels when he isn’t busy with finding his true love. I explained that guys here are very physically and they give a lot of compliments. I’m also thinking that guys have more power related to the girls in a relationship. I spoke some of the boys and one of them told me he had five girlfriends! I made some jokes about it, but I can’t imagine that. It isn’t something to be proud of. I think a girl or woman deserves more respect than that, how many compliments she also should receive.

Guys are very generous in giving compliments and Facebookinvitations. But spending phone credits is more difficult. That’s something I recognized. When I took my phone I saw six missed calls. I called everyone directly back, brave as I am. But I discovered that a lot of people just call you for two seconds as a sign you have to call them back. It’s called ‘flashing’. I felt ‘flashed’ indeed.

The most important lessons I learnt last week is that you have to ignore boys with four girlfriends and you have to pick up your phone within two seconds. Oh! And when you walk into an internet bar, it’s better to buy directly three hours. So you don’t have to upgrade every 30 minutes.

Again, I learned a lot in my second week in Nigeria. For instance, that’s not necessary to dance in the club at Saturday night; it’s also possible at Sunday morning in the church. Further I discovered that plantain is my new favourite food, especially when it’s around four in the afternoon. Besides I know now what ‘flashing’ means and what the relationship between men and women is.

Several times I made some analyses about the last topic. Maybe it was visible on my face that I was thinking about this brain breaking difficulty. Because some people were asking me what my opinion is about Nigerian guys when I was walking around on the domain of the University in Lagos. It were some people from a local television station who were making a documentary. I told them that I like guys. But in my opinion Nigerian guys like girls more. That was exciting information; I had to give an example.

Last weekend I couldn’t get into sleep because I missed my Internet connection to much. So one of my new Nigerian friends brought me to a bar for two hours of surfing and browsing on the World Wide Web. I only had to pay 200 naira’s while at that moment I should give everything for checking my mail. My friend had the great idea that he was made for some of my Dutch friends. He told me this based on two facebookpictures. I should send her a message to invite her to come to Nigeria and convince her of his great muscles. They would build a beautiful relationship and within two years they would be married. Maybe is Facebook the new way for finding your true love. Maybe.

I decided to give another example to the camera people, because my Nigerian friend is always watching local channels when he isn’t busy with finding his true love. I explained that guys here are very physically and they give a lot of compliments. I’m also thinking that guys have more power related to the girls in a relationship. I spoke some of the boys and one of them told me he had five girlfriends! I made some jokes about it, but I can’t imagine that. It isn’t something to be proud of. I think a girl or woman deserves more respect than that, how many compliments she also should receive.

Guys are very generous in giving compliments and Facebookinvitations. But spending phone credits is more difficult. That’s something I recognized. When I took my phone I saw six missed calls. I called everyone directly back, brave as I am. But I discovered that a lot of people just call you for two seconds as a sign you have to call them back. It’s called ‘flashing’. I felt ‘flashed’ indeed.

The most important lessons I learnt last week is that you have to ignore boys with four girlfriends and you have to pick up your phone within two seconds. Oh! And when you walk into an internet bar, it’s better to buy directly three hours. So you don’t have to upgrade every 30 minutes.

Jul

16

By Karin ter Horst

A story from a Dutch intern in Nigeria

Really, I couldn’t wait to open my inbox in my internet browser. I hadn’t used my laptop for a whole week so it took some time to starting up. I entered my password to log in and saw 81 new mails. Where to start?! I scanned quickly all the messages on my screen: mails from my Dutch friends who were missing me, photographs from my father and invitations for summer parties. Besides these messages there were also less attractive messages, like reminders for library books and bank accounts.

This was the first time I had access to the World Wide Web after one week staying in Nigeria. For me, it’s a new record! Never in my young life had I lived such a long period without Internet. Although I was busy with learning to eat Nigerian spicy food last week. Besides I also had to learn some Pitching English and a few African dance moves from students in Lagos. So actually, I didn’t have the time to think about using Internet or checking my Facebook. Maybe you think it’s crazy, but in the Netherlands I’m used to do it at least four times a day!

My whole life I wanted to visit Africa. This summer I got the chance to do a development internship in Lagos. So that’s the reason why this internet addicted Dutch girl came to Nigeria. In this country you have to pay for every minute you’re online. Normally I should take all the possible time to answer my messages and to upload some new photographs on my travelblog. But now I will be as fast as I can, because of my host family. I made a plan to read all these 81 mails. I decided to start with the most urgent mails. So I sended my dad a mail that I’m still alive in Africa.

In the Netherlands it’s normal that everyone has access to information and communication technology (ICT). Additional you can use broadband Internet for a standard amount a month. That makes it’s possible to search, learn, shop and communicate on your personal computer (PC) or laptop: at office, home, school and university, wherever you want. Nowadays there are a lot of people who are using the Internet on their laptop or mobile phone when they are travelling. Children with the age of four years are already playing educational games on the PC and young people build their social networks by chatting and social media, for instance Facebook. Another possibility for foreigners, for example, is to call with family in other countries with Skype. Internet makes the world smaller and accessible.

The man was head of the family and was all day working, that’s what the traditional roles were in a Dutch family, 50 years ago. Women stayed at home to take care of the children and to clean the house. Nowadays, the most Dutch women have a job also, mainly part-time. It’s normal to go studying after primary school. Both, for boys ánd girls. To be honest, girls finishing their university in average earlier than their male fellow students.  For so far the access and use of ICTs is the same for boys and girls to raise their goals. But one thing has to be said: Boys will spend more time on online gaming.

Then, my time was up, I had to turn off my laptop. The Korean girls who were also staying at the host family really wanted to chat with some friends in South-Korea, so they were waiting. But I forgot almost the most important thing: my mail inbox from the university. So the last thing I did was checking if I received some results of exams by mail. That wasn’t the case, the only thing I received was a message that I should order my new books for next college year. But that’s an issue to worry about later. First I will enjoy Nigeria. With or without Internet.

May

7

World Summit Youth Award Website Image
The World Summit Youth Award – WSYA selects and promotes best practice in e-Content and technological creativity, demonstrates young people’s potential to create outstanding digital contents and serves as a platform for people from all UN member states to work together in the efforts to reduce poverty and hunger, and to tackle ill-health, gender inequality, lack of education, lack of access to clean water and environmental degradation.

Apply online by June 20, 2010.

Mar

9

Please check out W.TEC’s entry for Changemaker’s Preventing Violence Against Women competition: http://bit.ly/9yXa9p. Comments & votes appreciated.

W.TEC’s proposed project is the Technology Advocates for Violence Prevention – TAVP. This project is targeted at the women and girls’ group in the Lagos Island local government area and will provide training on understanding their rights and equip them with strategies to respond to and report cases of women’s rights abuse and gender violence.

This programme incorporates the use of information technology in building and sharing information and knowledge about gender violence. This serves several purposes: to introduce the women to information technology and enable them develop skills that can empower them economically and socially; to provide information about women’s rights and violence against women; to document the work taking place within their community; to inform other communities and stakeholders such as civil society and women’s groups, government agencies, the media and the larger national and international about grassroots strategies for violence prevention.

Learn more about this project at http://bit.ly/9yXa9p. Please give us feedback and vote if you like this proposal.

Feb

4

The Microsoft Internet Safety, Security and Privacy Initiative for Nigeria (MISSPIN) seeks to raise awareness about cybercrime and discourage its practice by Nigerian youths. This social campaign is sponsored by Microsoft and pushed by the NGO Paradigm Initiative Nigeria. This interview features executives from Microsoft, PIN, Galaxy Backbone and EFCC explains the need for this campaign.

Jan

21

By Oreoluwa

Unless you have been living under rock, you would have heard about last week’s earthquake in Haiti and the aftershock that followed today (which had a magnitude 6.1 on the Richter Scale).

One thing you might not be aware of is the role that technology –particularly new media – has played in providing information on the ever-changing conditions in the country.

As a result of the destruction of the phone lines on the island, it was difficult to know how widespread the damage by the earthquake was. However, the network infrastructure survived making it possible to communicate via the web and Haitians in the Diaspora were able to check on the well-being of their relatives back home.

These tools served to address another important need: the need for information about situation on ground. Using email, Twitter and social networking sites like Facebook, thousands of volunteers as part of Project Ushahidi were able to map reports sent by people from Haiti. According to this BBC article:

they [people in Haiti] used mobile phones and the web to inform about structural risks, lack of water and food, and missing persons.

“We translate it, map it, and structure the data,” said Ushahidi co-founder Erik Hersman. Ushahidi made an agreement with local mobile phone operator Digicel and created a short code to which people could text their message. That message is received by “situation rooms” set up in Boston and Washington. A third one will be set up in Geneva to provide 24-hour cover. About 10,000 Haitians have volunteered to translate messages from Creole to English and ask for more information if needed.
Other volunteers and experts try to verify the information and put it into the map. This is crowdsourcing on a big scale.

This article by Curtis Brainard for the Columbia Journalism Review highlights some social media compiled in a report by PC World used to supply much-needed information:

Haitian radio and television host Carel Pedre was one of the most prominent figures using Twitter to communicate with the outside world. “DIGICEL IS WORKING! CALL UR FAMILY NOW!!”…

A WordPress-powered blog called Haitifeed is also delivering a steady stream of first-hand accounts as well as mainstream media reports from across the globe.

Reports from citizen journalists are also coming in to CNN’s iReport desk where they are vetted by CNN’s editorial staff.

On Facebook, a group called Earthquake Haiti already has over 14,000 members. The group is largely being used for people to show support and trade news reports; however, there are some users who seem to be posting critical information including pleas for assistance to injured Haitians.

In her foreword to the book, SMS Uprising: Mobile Activism in Africa, social justice blogger Sokari Ekine writes that:

“Technology in itself does not lead to social change. For change to take place technology needs to be appropriate and rooted in local knowledge. People decide why and how a particular technology will be used and, depending on the political and socio-economic environment in which they live, adapt it accordingly.”

Social media has played a pivotal role in getting and disseminating information in the last eight days and we probably are only scratching the surface in exploiting its diverse uses.

Sep

24

By Toyin

The hardworking ICT crusader for women of Nigeria, Ms. Oreoluwa Somolu the Executive Director of Women’s technology Empowerment Centre [W.TEC] will be off to Arizona  next week to pick her “Change Agent Award” organized by Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. She will be joined by another change agent from Nigeria by the Name Halima Ibrahim and their Kenya colleague Anne Ikiara-Kabaara that will be receiving the same award. This award is to commend their efforts  and recognise their contributions in empowering and improving women and girls life via Information and Communication Technology [ICT] and Information Technology [IT].

DSC_0178

This is a deserving award for women of substance, women that believe in imparting their generations and their nations. I am proud of  W.TEC Executive Director and I am sure this is the beginning of more good things to come on the path of a selfless woman! Congratulations Oreoluwa Somolu!

For further reading:  Change Award Winners

Aug

13

By Toyin

It’s being an amazing 5 days of camping at  Laureates College Mafoluku where 15 smart, intelligent and ready to learn secondary school girls that made W.TEC selection process are getting Information and Communication Technology Education.

They are already learning difference aspect of ICT from computer programs, to multimedia, vidoe making, gender and leadership, peace education and so forth.

It’s my strong believe that at the end of the camp which will end on Saturday, the girls would be ready to take on the world as they grow and learn more in their various schools.

Oreoluwa Somolu the Executive Director of Women’s technology Empowerment Centre is one incredible change maker that initiated this wonderful camp for girls and the girls, are happy for this opportunity.

The visit to the OMATEK Factory yesterday was a memorable one. They campers were thrilled to know that an industrious woman, Engr. Florence Omatule Seriki built the empire from the scratch.
Picture 165

Picture 210

Picture 047

IMG_0390

Jun

3

As opposed to what is known as the general belief that Nigeria is the worst perpetrator of cybercrime in the world, it’s being proven that this is not true statistically.

crime_clk

USA is top on the list with 66% rate, UK 10% and Nigeria 7%. Read more on this cybercrime report on Nigeriancuriosity Blog.

Let’s all say no to cybercrime and fight it in our own way, then we will be on the path to having a better world.


May

15

By Oreoluwa Somolu and ‘Gbenga Sesan

May 17 is World Information Society Day. To understand its significance in history, it is important to journey back 144 years ago. That same day in 1865, the first International Telegraph Convention was signed and the International Telegraph Union (the second-oldest international organization in existence) was established. That same institution became the International Telecommunications Union in 1947 – the same year that the transistor was first demonstrated, with the solid-state computer soon to follow. Since 1969, May 17 has been celebrated as the World Telecommunication Day. Thirty-seven years later, following the World Summit on the Information Society, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which identifies 17 May as World Information Society Day. The day is intended to remind the world of the vision of the World Summit on the Information Society, which promised to build “a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented information society” based on fundamental human rights. According to the UN resolution, the Day will “help to raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide“.

The Nigerian telecommunications industry – which started with the postal system – is now over 100 years old, but it was only in 1999 that the National Policy on Telecommunications was launched. A National Policy on Information Technology followed in 2001, along with the establishment of the National Information Technology Development Agency, under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology. Fortunately, Nigeria’s participation in the World Summit on the Information Society process helped shed more light on the need for Nigeria to benefit from the undeniable convergence that has brought Information Technology, telecommunications and content together for good. At about the same period in Nigeria’s history, a telecommunication revolution was born – with the number of telephone lines growing from 450,000 in 2000 to over 14 million lines in 2005, and now 66.6 million, thanks to independent regulation through the Nigerian Communications Commission, private sector participation, broadened competition, and consumer spending. Many benefits have come to the Nigerian Information Society since then, including a rapid rise in the number of Internet users from 200,000 in 2000 to 10 million today! Many of these users are also contributing to the growth of local content on the World Wide Web, which was previously lacking in content from Nigeria. The private sector and civil society (including the media) also continue to add immense value, using varied models to work towards the task of bridging the digital divide.

Building a strong and vibrant information society that is accessible to all Nigerians is at the heart of W.TEC and PIN’s work. The Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) is a Nigerian non-governmental organization helping to empower Nigerian girls and women socially and economically using ICTs. This is done through technology literacy training, technology-based projects, mentoring, work placement and research. Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) is a social enterprise that connects young people – especially those in underserved communities – with the opportunities that ICTs provide. We do this through our Ajegunle.org initiative, Information Society research, capacity building sessions for youth across Nigeria and the Internet Safety, Security and Privacy Initiative for Nigeria, among others. PIN’s program graduates have gone on to demonstrate the impact of ICTs on their small-scale businesses and through inspiring career progress!

This year, W.TEC and PIN wish to commemorate the World Information Society Day by appreciating ongoing initiatives in various sectors and calling on all stakeholders (government, private sector, civil society, media, individuals, etc) to act faster on efforts that will improve Nigeria’s opportunity to maximise the benefits of the Information Society. Please join us to spread the message, “Nigeria’s Information Society is making progress but we call on stakeholders to act faster. Our ‘20:2020’ vision depends on our ICT prowess!” on May 17 by:
- Lending us your Twitter or Facebook status message;
- Changing your email signature to reflect this message;
- Sending this article to 5 friends;
- Discussing the impact of ICTs in your life with friends and family;
- Volunteering for a non-profit ICT initiative before the next WISD anniversary.

keep looking »

Blogroll

WP Themes