DigI:Meeting the Ministry of ICT Uganda Feb2020
From its-wiki.no
| Digital Inclusion (DigI) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
DigI:Meeting the Ministry of ICT Uganda Feb2020
| Title | Ministry of ICT Uganda |
|---|---|
| Place | ICT House@Kampala |
| Date, Time | 2020/02/25, - 26Feb2020 |
| Contact Person | Julius Peter, Brenda Jimris-Rekve |
| Participants | Josef Noll, Julius Peter, Brenda Jimris-Rekve |
| related to Project | DigI, BasicInternet |
| Keywords |
| this page was created by Special:FormEdit/Meeting, and can be edited by Special:FormEdit/Meeting/DigI:Meeting the Ministry of ICT Uganda Feb2020 |
| Category:Meeting |
Objective
Meeting with the ministry of ICT Uganda and a showcase of our Information Spot device with community enthusiasts on Digital Inclusion in Uganda and telecom providers
Venue
ICT House Parliamentary Avenue, Kampala, Uganda
Participants
- Julius Peter Ochen, Ministry of ICT
- Sharp Mugabe, Ministry of ICT
- Richard M. Micho, Consultant
- Geoffrey Agdi, Ministry of ICT
- Irene Karungi Sekitoreko, Ministry of ICT
- Brenda Jimris-Rekve, Basic Internet Foundation
- Josef Noll, Basic Internet Foundation
Agenda and Minutes
1. Introduction of Ministry's official presence
- Geoffrey introduced to the Ministry of ICT, and excused for the Permanent Secretary (PS), who had to join another urgent meeting.
2. Introduction of the Basic Internet Foundation ("Foundation") guests presence - Josef and Brenda presented the main achievements and contributions from the Foundation
- Promoting Internet Lite, the free access to information for everyone by addressing the Freemium model for access. Special focus is on non-profit content, being information in education, health, agriculture.
- Extraordinary success in establishing Information Spots with Digital Health in rural Tanzania. Through providing videos and animations on local information spots the knowledge increase on diseases such as Cysticercosis (tapeworm), Anthrax, TBc and HIV/Aids increased up to 60%. See Digital Health presentation (.pdf) at Media:C.Holst_DigI_study,_presented_by_C.Chaffey.pdf
- Established the infrastructure for Internet Lite access (see BasicInternet:Solutions), enhancing the reach of mobile networks from 7-8 km to more than 20 km ([1]), or in areas being in the mobile shadow ([https://basicinternet.org/connected-villages-tanzania/)
- Having established connectivity in 8 countries, including TZ, KY, ET, the Foundation is now reaching out to governments to contribute to the national goals in SDG 3 and SDG 4. Special focus is on
- Digital Health Promotion (DHP), information for everyone in the society
- Connectivity of schools, and partnership for school content
- The work of the Foundation was reported by a.o. the United Nations' High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation and Government of Norway, see DigI:Publications
| Thumb | Title | Keywords | Date | Author/Project |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Uganda National Knowledge Portal
-Feb2020 Click to Open Meeting the Ministry of ICT Uganda Feb2020 |
Digital Inclusion, Societal Empowerment, National Knowledge Portal, Village Platform | 25 February 2020 | Josef Noll |
3. Welcome remarks from Permanent Secretary and brief highlight of Ministry's mandates and Digital Vision 2040 and roadmap to it's realisation. Geoffrey, Irene and Sharp provided the following comments:
- a short introduction was provided
- Ministry of ICT offered to provide the specific plans for school connectivity, digital health and community involvement
4. Introduction of BIF and her objectives including areas for partnership
- The Foundation explained the ongoing operations (pilots) in 8 countries, focussing especially on the affordable access to Internet Lite, being typically USD 20 for a 10 GB volume
- Special focus is on digital inclusion of every single person in the local societies, and creating value for the local society
- The community model used in a.o. Tanzania and Kenya (see: DigI:Villages) works.
- The operational expenditure (OPEX) can be covered by the community.
- Support is needed for the CAPEX being about USD 1500 for a pilot installation, USD 1000 for community involvement and initial training, as well as PCs and/or tablets.
5. Discussions and comments by Ministry of ICT Geoffrey, Irene and Sharp provided the following comments:
- Focus is on connectivity to schools and communities
- Challenges are the last mile
- OPEX costs of 20 USD/month are seen as affordable for schools
- Shareholders like UCC, NITA, RCIP(?), PWD(?), Ministry of education, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Regional development, mobile operators as well as local content initiatives should be invited
- The concept for providing Internet Lite through Information spots is seen as both unique and a solution with high potential for the last mile connectivity.
Key factors for success are
- sharp costs including devices and maintenance. Operational costs of USD 20 per month are seen as a key advantage
- content provided by initiatives, from the governmental, as well as local initiatives
- accessibility and local community involvement is key
6. Demonstration of IAP technology to ministry's officials
- a short demonstration of the equipment was provided, and the pilot equipment was handed out to Sharp (Ministry of ICT). Note: the equipment does not include the village server (Raspberry Pi), thus only Internet Lite connectivity is provided.
7. Recommendations and action items (AI) agreed
- AI-1: Basic Internet to write the key take-aways from the meeting (this wiki)
- AI-2: Ministry of ICT to give immediate feedback on the minutes
- AI-3 Basic Internet to follow-up with a concept note
- AI-4 Basic Internet to provide contacts of successful operations in other countries
- AI-5 Ministry of Uganda to point out the requirements for a pilot
8. Follow-up and date for next meeting
- The Ministry of ICT will distribute the information, and ensure a wide participation of relevant partners (see earlier)
- Based on the Agreements reached we will formulate a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
- These agreements form the basis for a signature meeting of the contract for pilot operations.