Africa
Nancy Hafkin interviewed by APC
Nancy Hafkin was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame on April 25, after 33 years promoting networks and the internet in Africa.
UPR of South Africa: Connecting the right to communication to women's rights
South Africa’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression and has been interpreted to include the right to community media and to creative journalistic content. However, online media and its regulation fall short.
Nancy Hafkin: 30 years of building Africa's networks
After more than 30 years of working to promote information and communications technology in Africa, Nancy Hafkin was inducted into the Internet Wall of Fame. In an interview with APCNews, she shares the history of her work and that of communications technology in Africa, her interest in Africa, obstacles and achievements.
Crest Factor Reduction of an OFDM/WiMAX Network
African countries lag behind the rest of the world in their use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). To reduce the digital divide quickly and cost-effectively, wireless networks are considered. WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is a wireless broadband access technology that uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) which is a multicarrier modulation scheme. OFDM presents a problem of a high crest factor or Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR). To circumvent this problem either High Power Amplifiers (HPAs) with large dynamic range or PAPR reduction techniques are used. The former scheme increases cost of the system while the latter introduces redundancy or distortion. A novel PAPR reduction scheme is presented. It is a combination of the ideas of Tone Reservation and Selected Mapping. The advantage of this scheme is that it has a lower complexity. It is simulated for a WiMAX system.
Making government accountable to citizens in Uganda and the region
Lillian Nalwoga from the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) coordinated research on open governance data in Uganda as part of APC’s Action Research Network project. “Citizens, academia, the private sector and civil society need to be more involved in the implementation of open governance,” says Nalwoga in an interview with APCNews.
Assessment of citizens’ perceptions on open governance in Uganda
Taking street harassment off the streets and off the map!
APC reflects on a session at AWID Forum 2012 titled, “Bringing Gender to the Streets: Young Women Amidst the Arab Uprisings.” The use of internet technology like mapping to fight violence against women is an integral part of APC’s Take Back the Tech! campaign.
Digital Security: Drop-in centre of Ugandan sex worker organisation raided
“Sex work may be illegal in Uganda, but providing services for sex workers is clearly not,” reads a statement put out on May 9 by WONETHA, a health and human rights organisation, in reaction to a serious crack-down on its activities by Ugandan municipal police.
Mobile Africa 2012 report
The focus of the Mobile Africa report this time is on the overall innovation ecosystem, which includes a range of stakeholders: industry, entrepreneurs, government, academia, civil society, donors and multilateral organisations. The report also addresses the crucial role of innovator networks and incubators.
