South African ICTPolicy Portal

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Women'sNet is particularly interested in supporting South African women's access to new Information and communication technologies (ICTs). This portal collects resources and information on this topic, with a particular focus on South Africa, Africa, and developing countries. So, for you to engage in policy discussions we have included a section for research and thinking on ICTs, women and gender. We have a section dedicated to ICT Policy and regulations, and we have a section for useful tools (use the links on the left of this page).

Telecoms agency for SA’s poor samples Highlife
01/10/2008 Lesley Stones Business Day
A CASH-STRAPPED agency designed to take telecommunications into poor areas has been criticised for spending R281000 on an advertorial

A CASH-STRAPPED agency designed to take telecommunications into poor and rural areas has been criticised for spending R281000 on an advertorial in a British Airways in-flight magazine. The Universal Service and Access Agency of SA often complains that the government gives it too little money to take voice and data services to everyone. Yet it spent E 29000 on an article and advert in the December to January edition of Highlife.

Click here: Business Day, MYBoardband
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DoC: Telecoms costs too high
12/11/2007 My Broadband
The Department of Communications says that the ‘high cost to communicate’ remains a challenge. In its recent Annual Report presentation in parliament the Department of Communications (DoC) said that while costs are coming down the high cost to communicate remains a challenge for the department. The DoC further highlighted issues like broadband infrastructure, the low level of ICT usage by Government, businesses and citizens and the limited local content development capacity as other challenges.

Click here: http://mybroadband.co.za/
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Digital Migration Policy
11/14/2007 South African Department of Communications
The digital migration of the broadcasting systems concerns the move away from analogue to digital technologies. It is connotative of time for society to adapt to the digital environment as a critical policy consideration. The length of time to migrate to the digital environment will be determined by political, economic, cultural and social factors. One of the objects of the overarching policy presented in this document is to identify these factors in general and to contextualise them to the realities of South Africa.

This document presents the government policy position on the digital migration of broadcasting systems. The document identifies several policy positions pertinent to the migration of broadcasting systems to the digital environment. The rationale of the policy is not only technological inevitalism associated with digital technologies. The overarching policy is fore grounded on the fundamental structural shifts that manifest the co evolution of technology and society. Over and above the overarching policy is also fore grounded on the realities of the South Africa as a developing nation within the challenges that face the Continent of Africa within the global context.

Click here: http://www.digitalmigration.gov.za/
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Women in the Information and Communication Sector in South Africa
11/09/2007 Tina James (editor), Natasha Primo, Ronel Smith, Joan Roodt, Nina Evans
This study was commissioned by the Embassy of Finland in South Africa as part of a larger study to investigate mechanisms
for stimulating the increased participation of women in high-level ICT skills in South Africa. This report forms
Part 2 of three documents and presents a snapshot of the situation of women in high-level Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) in South Africa. The ndings are based primarily on desktop research carried out during the period February to July 2006, strengthened by consultations with selected South African experts and key players. During South Africa’s recent past women of all races were barred from achieving their full economic potential due to both legislative and non-legislative discrimination. As a result few women hold senior positions in government and industry. In 2002 women accounted for only 9 percent of all directors in South Africa and 21 percent of management.
This trend was also evident in the ICT industry, where only about 20 percent of the current ICT work force is female.
Only 0.9 percent of IT industry managers are African women with coloured and Indian women accounting for 0.6
percent and 1 percent respectively. A more recent ICT skills audit, conducted in 2005 1, indicates that there has been
very positive movement in changing the demographics of available human resources in the ICT sector. It is however
of concern that the numbers of degreed professionals and those with higher tertiary quali cations are declining.
Likewise the demographics at managerial and supervisory levels in the ICT sector still continue to show large discrepancies
between men and women, and a predominance of white males2. Addressing this imbalance in order to ensure full participation of women in ICT is crucial - the ICT industry is seen as one of the key drivers of the South African economy and the ICT sector has been identi ed as one of the key sectors by the South African government through its various national initiatives.

Click here: Meraka Institute
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Go, Ivy, go! Communications gets cracking
06/14/2007 Guy Berger
Commentators have often called for Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri to go, meaning that she should exit her position as Minister of Communications. It hasn't happened. Instead, she's got going in a different way. Her Department of Communications is now trotting along at a respectable pace that can only be good news for the internet and associated media growth in South Africa. This is despite its disputes with Post Office personnel, and its website still having too many dead links. It is also despite delays in the promised broadcasting digital migration policy that was due to be gazetted three weeks back.

Click here: Mail & Gaurdian, MyBroadband
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TELECENTRES, ACCESS AND DEVELOPMENT: Experience and Lessons from Uganda and South Africa
11/02/2006 Sarah Parkinson
This study examines the role that shared access centres play in government strategies to provide universal access to information and communication technologies (ICTs). It also aims to shed light on the external factors that affect the performance of these centres. The analysis draws on the experiences of South Africa and Uganda in 2003, at the policy and community levels. Both countries have policies regarding universal access and have taken steps to achieve their policy goals.

In this study, shared access centres are understood to exist in the context of a broader universal access policy, which is itself embedded in a national development policy framework. They are affected, and sometimes directly created, by policy and implementation processes, and involve a variety of actors at the local, national and international levels. Key actors include licensed telecommunication operators, regulators, donor agencies and local professionals.

The book is available online.

Click here: IDRC
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Free/open source software (FOSS) policy in Africa: a toolkit for policy-makers and practitioners
01/15/2006 Bridges.org
This Toolkit provides relevant background and related resources specifically targeted to support policy-making in Africa. The toolkit promotes an approach that aligns FOSS policy and strategy with broader objectives for social and economic development. The toolkit is split in two parts.

The main report provides a broad overview of how FOSS fits into national ICT policy-making, outlines the areas where governments can take policy decision related to FOSS as well as some of the possible approaches, and lists activities related to FOSS policy from across Africa. It recommends an approach to FOSS policy-making linked to national development goals. It discusses some of the main development goals, and provides direction on how to move from theory to practice. The report part of the toolkit is split into three modules, which represent different steps in the policy-making process.

Click here: Bridges
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WSIS Gender Caucus
07/10/2003
The WSIS Gender Caucus consists of representatives of organisations that responded to an invitation by UNIFEM to contribute to ensuring that gender dimensions are included in the process of defining and creating a Global Information Society that contributes to sustainable development and human security.

Click here: WOUGNET Gender Caucus webpage
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WSIS NGO Gender Strategies Working Group (WN-GSWG)
07/10/2003
The NGO Gender Strategies Working Group was formed at the first WSIS PrepCom Meeting in Geneva in July 2002 as one of the sub-committees of the Civil Society Coordinating Group (CSCG). The groups involved in this effort are: the African Women's Development and Communications Network (FEMNET), Agencia Latino Americana de Informacion, Association for Progressive Communication-Women's Networking Support Programme, International Women's Tribune Centre, and Isis International-Manila.

Click here: Gender Working Group Website
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The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
07/10/2003
The World Summit on the Information Society will provide a unique opportunity for all key stakeholders to assemble at a high-level gathering and to develop a better understanding of this revolution and its impact on the international community. It aims to bring together Heads of State, Executive Heads of United Nations agencies, industry leaders, non-governmental organizations, media representatives and civil society in a single high-level event. The roles of the various partners (Member States, UN specialized agencies, private sector and civil society) in ensuring smooth coordination of the practical establishment of the information society around the globe will also be at the heart of the Summit and its preparation.
The official website has basic information as well as some useful documents and links.

Click here: WSIS
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Putting Gender on the Agenda of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
01/11/2003 Walker, A.
Through this power point presentation, the author provides a short but comprehensive overview of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), scheduled to take place in December 2003. She also outlines how gender issues will be integrated into the WSIS process by various gender advocates. The different stages of the Summit are explained and a timeline presented of the regional preparatory meetings and the three international preparatory conferences (PrepComs I, II and III) which lead up to the WSIS. The author then gives an overview of those taking part in the event including UN agencies, governments, Civil Society actors and the private sector, with a focus on the WSIS Gender Caucus, the NGO Gender Strategies working group and the Civil Society plenary. The presentation is being constantly updated until the WSIS takes place. We recommend that you print this document before reading it.

Click here: Siyanda, APC WNSP
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