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Dear friends,

Included please find the latest collection of snippets related to Telematics

and Education. I hope you find it useful. Also included you'll find the

first collection of brief summaries of some of the people on this list,

together with their contact details. If you would like to forward more

information about yourself and what you do, please feel free to e-mail it to

neilshel@icon.co.za

Regards

Neil Butcher

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The Independent Broadcasting Authority has released two discussion papers

for comment from the public. The first paper is on the IBA's Code of Conduct

for Broadcasters while the second one is concerned with a definition of

advertising, the regulation of infomercials and programme sponsorships. The

Discussion document on the code of conduct raises questions about what

regulations should be set for broadcasters in South Africa. It raises

questions about whether we should regulate the airing of for example sex and

violence and whether there should be guidelines or regulations regarding

stereotyping. The papers are available from the IBA Library or on the

The public is invited to make written submissions to the Authority by 25

November 1998. Written submissions should be addressed to Lara Kantor phone

(011) 447-6180.

Thanks

Libby Lloyd

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IFEX- News from the international freedom of expression community

REPORT – MALAWI

19 October 1998

Malawi Report: Communications Reform and Freedom of Expression

SOURCE: ARTICLE 19, London

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - On 19 October 1998, ARTICLE 19 released the following

report on communications reform and freedom of expression in Malawi:

Malawi Communications: another sorry tale of frustration

Since Malawi's return to multi-party democracy in 1994, there have been

major changes in broadcasting, telecommunications, Internet and e-mail.

However, according to a new report by ARTICLE 19, "Malawi: Communications

Reform and Freedom of Expression", these have been characterised by

profit-making through influence-peddling and monopoly formation, while

blocking various private sector initiatives. The report, which is being

published as a new communications bill due to go before the Malawi

parliament, provides the government with an opportunity to bring positive

regulation and an end to profiteering.

The second multi-party elections are due to be held next year, so the need

for broadcasting reform has become pressing. Overall, there is a desperate

need for better communications in Malawi, in order to accelerate both

economic and democratic development. At present the supply of telephones per

head of population is one of the lowest in Africa. ARTICLE 19 shows that

there is no shortage of private companies attempting to address this and

other communication deficits, yet they are stymied at every turn by state

bodies, in particular the Malawi Posts and Telecommunications Corporation

(MPTC).

Land-based telephones, pagers and cellphones

Land-based telephones are provided by the parastatal monopoly operator, the

MPTC. The cost of international phone calls is high and despite promises to

improve, services have eroded to the point where they frighten off new

investors and demoralise companies operating in Malawi. Pager services have

been subject to technical blockages, while cellphones remain expensive, have

very limited range, and are controlled by Telekom Networks, which operates

as a strictly commercial operation, with no contractual obligation to

service rural residents, or others without access to the fixed telephone

network. This is in spite of the fact that the company has a monopoly, and

is 40 per cent owned by MPTC.

Internet

There is only one Internet service provider in Malawi - MalawiNet. Here,

too, there is a problem of monopoly: the government's Anti-Corruption Bureau

is investigating MalawiNet and an individual associated with it. Potential

competitors, such as CompuServe/AOL have had their services cut off while

endless bureaucratic haggling goes on, leaving MalawiNet as the only

recourse, apart from a few small e-mail services.

Groups complaining about the preferential treatment given to MalawiNet

include the Sustainable Network Development Programme of the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP), which thought that it had an agreement to

provide a cheap service linked to a national environmental programme, and so

was very surprised to find that the MPTC had chosen to set up MalawiNet on a

commercial basis.

Radio

Radio is still the most important medium in Malawi, with far greater reach

than the written press. Successive government ministers with the Information

portfolio have interfered directly with the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation

(MBC) radio station, blocking attempts to make it independent.

The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) dominates radio broadcasting, with

most applications for private radio stations turned down. Currently only two

commercial stations have been given licences: they are owned by the

President's press secretary and the son of a Minister. A third station, for

rural women, supported by donors, has also received a licence recently, and

the African Bible College runs a religious station which MPTC does not allow

to broadcast news.

The need for reform

There is an urgent need for reform of broadcasting in Malawi. The draft

Communications Bill, due to be laid before parliament imminently, goes some

way to addressing this need. Positive aspects include the establishment of

clear criteria and a formal procedure for tendering and issue of licences,

as well as establishing a regulatory body to oversee them.

However, ARTICLE 19 has a number of reservations about the bill, including

the following:

- It leaves too great a margin of presidential discretion in appointments to

the new regulatory authority and the board of the Malawi Broadcasting

Corporation. ARTICLE 19 is of the view that the Public Appointments

Committee of parliament should nominate candidates.

- The role of the Minister of Information should be reduced to a minimum to

prevent political interference.

- There is a lack of adequate safeguards in the bill against conflicts of

interest for those who are regulating broadcasting or communications while

maintaining a financial interest.

- The bill does not adequately provide for a climate of genuine freedom of

expression. For example, the state will have the only national station, and

will maintain sole access to AM frequencies for seven years. Companies may

be refused licences on the basis of "national security".

- Value added services (Internet, e-mail etc.) are not adequately covered in

the bill or the accompanying policy statement.

For further information, contact Richard Carver at ARTICLE 19, 33 Islington

High St., London N19LH, U.K. tel: +44 1 86 579 348, fax: +44 1 71 713 1356,

The information contained in this report is the sole responsibility of

ARTICLE 19. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please

credit ARTICLE 19.

DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION EXCHANGE (IFEX)

CLEARING HOUSE

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From: Kirk_Winters@ed.gov (Kirk Winters)

Subject: A Guide to Technology Solutions for Education Organizations

DECISIONS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY can be daunting for a school, particularly if no

one there has experience with hardware, software, or networking.

That's why the Department's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

produced a publication now available (in HTML) on the web, "Technology @

Your Fingertips: A Guide to Implementing Technology Solutions for Education

Agencies & Institutions."

The 100-page publication tells how to...

* Define your needs & technical requirements

Develop a "needs assessment"

* Determine what resources you have & what resources you will need

* Implement, support, & maintain your technology solution

* Provide effective training

* And more.

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The NODE Learning Technologies Network has brought together a collection of

papers and guides entitled "practitioners' experiences in online learning"

Hope this is of some use.

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IDPM at the University of Manchester has set up the following Web resources

for students, academics and practitioners working in IT and Government:

Links to sites with case studies of IT in government, and sites with

Online discussion papers on public sector informatics, covering barriers to

information age reform, Web site design, relations between IT and public

The first link set has more emphasis on industrialised countries; the latter

a greater emphasis on developing countries.

There are also details of IDPM training programmes relating to public sector

informatics (aimed principally at public managers in developing and

Richard Heeks

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The mission of the RADMASTE centre is to enhance the quality, relevance and

accessibility of mathematics, science and technology education. To attain

this mission the Centre engages in projects which have the greatest possible

multiplier effect in these fields which leads to the long term professional

development and empowerment of the educators. Special attention is given to

educationally neglected sectors and communities in co-operation with

organisations which share the same educational ideals. In the process we

promote educational research at all levels.

Contact Details:

Douglas Holmes

163DOUG@cosmos.wits.ac.za

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Name: Dr Philip R. Christensen

Organisation: independent consultant

Description: I am an independent consultant in education, training and human

resource development, working in South Africa and internationally for donor

agencies, NGOs, governments and the private sector. I concentrate on

instructional systems design as well as project design, management and

evaluation. Currently I am working with Cyberschool Africa to develop new

models of educational support via the Internet.

Contact details:

phone: (012) 653-0305

fax: (012) 653-4351

cell: (082) 570-8396

Primary email address: pchristensen@icon.co.za

Alternate address: phil_christensen@compuserve.com

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___________________________________________________________

Jeremiah Sikhosana

I am a Marketing Manager for Sentech's satellite services division,

providing satellite capacity for the following applications or services:

* C-band and Ku-band

* business television

* distance learning

* linking (uplinking and downlinking)

* Direct-to-home (DTH) services

* datacasting and internetworking

We are keen to partner with anyone who is looking at exploiting the use of

satellite for any application they may be considering to embark on.

E-mail: sikhosaj@sentech.co.za

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Laura Czerniewicz of Developmental Services, specialising in training,

research, strategy. Background in education, and in publishing. Interests

include electronic publishing,information provision though technology (for

economic and social development), media, cultural industries and education.

Laura Czerniewicz

Developmental Services cc

Ph: 021 448 8285

Ph with answering machine: 021 448 0861

Fax: 021 448 0861

Cell 083 459 9526

devserve@iafrica.com

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TO CONTENTS

______________________________________________

Chris Abbott is a Lecturer in Education at King's College, University of

London, UK. He was a member of the TELI Strategy Group in 1997 and has also

worked on the implementation of ICT with UK, Czech, Dutch and Swedish

government agencies. His current research relates to young people and the

construction of identity through the Internet, and he has been commissioned

by Falmer Press to write a book about the changing future role of the school

as ICT becomes all-pervasive.

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Chris Abbott, Lecturer in Education, chris.abbott@kcl.ac.uk

School of Education, King's College, Cornwall House, Waterloo Road

Tel: +44 171 872 3165

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Telematics for African Development Consortium

P.O. Box 31822

Braamfontein

2017

Johannesburg

South Africa

Tel: +27 +11 403-2813

Fax: +27 +11 403-2814

neilshel@icon.co.za

www.saide.org.za