Consultants Inter Access released for African development

The below text is a google translation of the Dutch article published on the website of Inter Access.

Since 2006, Inter Access supports ICT projects in Africa, in cooperation with IICD. Earlier projects took place in Ghana and Uganda.

Last summer (2007) Richard Uijen, consultant at Inter Access, guided a project for setting up a new website of an Internet company in Burkina Faso. The company Burkina NTIC wanted the structure of its existing website visitors to adapt better to be able to operate and better information available to you. The initiative is a way for Inter Access realise specific ICT projects in developing countries and offer their employees an inspiring experience.

Uijen: "At Inter Access senior consultants allocate one or two weeks a year to work on these kind of projects in Africa. For senior consultants like me, this is a wonderful way to share your knowledge and to do something positive for a different culture. Burkina Faso is the second poorest country in the world. The enthusiasm and professional attitude of the people were striking. At a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius everybody continued working throughout the day without a pause. "

The website of Burkina NTIC, which attracts about 400 visitors per day, is meant to provide information and knowledge in the field of agriculture. When constructing the current website the number of visitors was not taken into account. A lot of old information was hard to find and the homepage and had an unclear structure. The underlying objective of the website is to increase the use of the Internet in Burkina Faso.

In total, five employees of Burkina NTIC participated in this development project. The first part of the week consisted of developing the strategic goals for 2008. The second part of the week was spent on the transfer of the Integrated Architecture Framework model. On the basis of this model the participants identified the objectives of the organization, how the website can play a role in achieving them and what tools are needed. As a result quality requirements have been prepared to publish articles on the website and the database will be designed differently.

Compared to countries on the European continent, the use of IT and telecommunications in most African countries is still in its infancy. However, there is plenty of interest in new information and communication technology. In several African countries, developing a national ICT strategy is even one of the priorities for the socio-economic development and governance. The activities of Inter Access and IICD link in to these priorities.

About IICD

The Dutch International Institute for Communication and Development (www.iicd.org) specializes in the deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for development cooperation. In collaboration with partners such as Hivos and Cordaid, IICD supports local organizations in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean with training, pilot projects, policy participation, monitoring and evaluation and knowledge sharing in the field of ICT and education, health, governance and agriculture.

The deployment of (ICT) for poverty alleviation and sustainable development seems an unusual combination, but is not new. Over the past decade, several western countries have adopted ICT as a component of their development policy. The idea behind the deployment of ICT for development is to avoid creating a "digital North-South divide”, which puts the developing countries on a backlog position. In addition, practice has shown that free and accessible information has a positive effect on improving the living conditions and the quality and availability of basic services such as education, health care and public services.

About Inter Access

Inter Access is an independent Dutch ICT service provider with over 1,100 employees, which focuses on medium-sized organisations in the public sector, finance and trade and industry. From the divisions Consulting & Technology, Managed Services and Vertical Solutions we offer our customers integrated ICT solutions based on standard or on the basis of custom, or by the commitment of people with advanced knowledge and experience. Inter Access deliberately chooses to apply standards-based technology of the leading suppliers IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and HP. As a result, strong partnerships and receives Inter Access has grown year after year prestigious innovation.