News about Burkina Faso

Impact IICD health projects — by admin — last modified 2008-04-21 09:48

Hanna Goorden of IICD analysed the Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) data that has been gathered from the IICD projects in the health sector. She reports on the satisfaction of project users with the health services they use through the project and how the project has impacted their lives.

‘One Laptop Per Child’: the debate continues… — by Web editor — last modified 2008-03-17 16:27

The ‘hundred-dollar laptop’– which was specifically designed for children in developing countries and promises to overcome the practical and technical problems inherent in ‘standard’ computers – continues to be a divisive issue. Yet, throughout the heated debates about the merits, or otherwise, of this laptop, little is heard from the developing countries who supposedly need it. Therefore, Burkina NTIC, the national knowledge sharing platform on ICT4D in Burkina Faso, organised a workshop in February this year to give Burkinabes working in the education sector the chance to demonstrate and discuss the usefulness of this revolutionary computer.

Teachers in Burkina Faso develop their own educational materials — by Web editor — last modified 2007-12-17 20:55

One of the biggest obstacles for teachers in developing countries is the lack of high quality, up-to-date text books and other educational materials. This is a major challenge for teachers in Burkina Faso where there is a serious shortage of text books for all subjects.

ICTs for Education: Impact and lessons learned from IICD-supported activities — by admin — last modified 2007-12-07 12:51

This impact study is part of a series of publications on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in various sectors in developing countries. It describes the experiences, achievements and lessons learned of the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) and its partners in using ICT to enhance education through thirty-two projects and ICT policy processes over eight years in Jamaica, Bolivia, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda.

Les TIC au service de l’agriculture du Mali et du Burkina Faso: le tour et les contours — by Web editor — last modified 2007-11-06 22:00

Le groupe thématique 'Agriculture et TIC' du réseau Togunet du Mali et son partenaire stratégique et financier, l'IICD, ont organisé un séminaire de partage des connaissances sur l’utilisation concrète des TIC dans l’Agriculture, avec la participation de leurs collègues du Burkina Faso à Sikasso.

Revamping a website in Burkina Faso — by Web editor — last modified 2008-01-22 15:15

Richard Uijen, a Dutch consultant acting on behalf of IICD and its partner, Inter Access, spent one week in Burkina Faso with members of Burkina Faso’s national ICT for Development network - www.burkina-ntic.org - brainstorming ways to revamp the network’s website. A brief summary of his experiences and impressions is presented.

Burkina Faso’s shea butter producers go online — by Web editor — last modified 2008-01-22 15:16

The Song-Taaba Yalgré organisation represents the interests of Burkina Faso’s shea butter producers, most of whom are rural women, by helping them to improve production and boost sales. Song-Taaba Yalgré itself is based in Ouagadougou, but most of its 2,000 members live in remote areas so communication is difficult, time-consuming and costly. The organisation therefore developed an ICT project to address this problem, with promising results.

Le paysan, l’agriculture et le Net à Léo : reportage — by Web editor — last modified 2007-08-27 13:10

Comme il est d’habitude, les reporters de Burkina NTIC sillonnent le pays pour avoir une information fraîche sur les TIC de l’intérieur. Au délà des discours et des vœux, la réalité est souvent riche d’enseignement et leur oriente mieux dans leur devoir de partage de connaissances et d’informations sur les TIC.

Computers for Development — by AnnaGerrard — last modified 2007-08-01 11:01

On 6th July, IICD officially joined forces with Computers for Development in order to send 600 computers to developing countries in Africa. This large shipment will greatly benefit rural communities; where lack of access to information often hinders sustainable development.

Burkinabé peasants start using ICT — by Hilde Eugelink — last modified 2007-07-17 16:27

In Burkina Faso 80% of the population lives in rural areas. In this context, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will contribute to development only if they are linked to the specific rural situation and solve concrete problems of the rural inhabitants. Among the initiatives undertaken by agricultural organizations to find the usefulness of ICT, the initiative of the Federation of Agricultural Professional Producers of Sissili (FEPPASI) is one of the most concrete.

ICT giving voice to the youth — by Hilde Eugelink — last modified 2007-07-17 16:31

If the youth takes the potentialities of ICT to learn, to exchange, and to share their points of view virtually, it can contribute to reduce misunderstandings causing conflicts. The creation of virtual networks on the Internet offers an opportunity to create a united world of solidarity.

Innovation in governance: West Africa leads the way — by AnnaGerrard — last modified 2007-06-28 19:33

A group of policymakers from Burkina Faso, Benin, Mali and Niger recently demonstrated in a pioneering six-day workshop on ‘Strategic Planning and Developing ICT Policy’ that innovation in governance is not the exclusive preserve of Western countries. The workshop is part of a wider pilot project to help African policymakers systematically plan and develop ICT policy implementation processes with the help of two information management tools often used by the private sector in the West: the Balanced Scorecard and COBIT (the Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology).

A problem shared is a problem halved: knowledge sharing between rural telecentres in Burkina Faso — by AnnaGerrard — last modified 2007-06-28 16:19

Many community telecentres in Burkina Faso have similar problems: poor Internet connectivity; frequent power-cuts, a lack of locally relevant content, and no access to outside technical support because of their remote location. These problems are further aggravated by the huge discrepancies in technical skills among the different telecentre managers. So why not meet up regularly through a single online platform to share experiences, technical know-how and resources?

African women and their right to ICT: Burkina-NTIC reviews the situation — by admin — last modified 2007-06-25 18:39

From 15 to 17 April 2007, Burkina-NTIC participated in the first international scientific conference on women and law, held in Tripoli, Libya. The conference, organised by the International Arab-African Women’s Rights Organisation, was attended by more than 400 participants, including prominent members of NGOs, women’s groups and authorities from all over the world.

Online forum strengthens Burkina Faso’s network of telecentres — by admin — last modified 2007-06-25 18:02

The community of telecentres in Burkina Faso, in collaboration with the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), has created a discussion list. This online forum, which was established on the Dgroups platform, is intended to foster and promote discussion among managers, staff, users and other stakeholders in community telecentres, often known as community cybercentres, community multimedia centres or public ICT centres.

Better integration of ICT in secondary education in Burkina Faso — by admin — last modified 2007-06-25 17:52

In April a workshop on “Information and Communication Technology for Secondary Education in Burkina Faso” was held in Ouagadougou to validate the project document on programmes for integration of ICT in secondary education. The workshop was attended by various stakeholders in the Burkina education system: teachers, inspectors and headteachers; the regional directors for Ouagadougou, Bobo Dioulasso, Tenkodogo and Ouahigouya; representatives of the Ministry for the Post Office and ICT; and representatives from the technical partner, the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD).

Kongoussi: the economic benefits of second-hand cell phones — by admin — last modified 2007-06-25 18:32

Two years ago, the association Yam Pukri began to sell second-hand cellular telephones as part of its policy of disseminating ICT in Burkina Faso. Yam Pukri buys the phones in Switzerland through its partner, the NGO Terre des Hommes Suisse (Geneva branch), and resells them in Burkina Faso at very low prices (from 7,500 to 45,000 CFA francs). These telephones, which are in very good condition, range from the simplest versions to high-end models with video camera, onboard CPU, etc.

Bedrijfsleven helpt West-Afrikaanse overheden te innoveren — by admin — last modified 2007-04-10 12:25

Innovatie binnen de overheid is niet uitsluitend voorbehouden aan Westerse landen. Zo kwamen beleidsmakers uit Burkina Faso, Bénin, Mali en Niger afgelopen maand in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, bijeen voor een 6-daagse workshop van Inter Access en IICD over het strategisch plannen en beheren van ICT-beleid met behulp van Cobit. Een instrument dat in het Westen vooralsnog alleen in het bedrijfsleven wordt toegepast.

Dassandaga and information on ICT: a visit to the women of Gampela — by admin — last modified 2007-02-20 13:23

Association Songtaab-Yalgré, commonly known as Songtaaba, is Burkina Faso's leading producer and marketer of shea butter and other shea products. Last year, it won prizes for innovation for its local farm products, including a jam based on shea fruit.

An Information Society for successful national e-strategies — by admin — last modified 2007-04-10 12:22

Bénin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have adopted their national cyber strategies. To help them with implementation, a regional training workshop entitled “COBIT - Balanced Score Card - Project Management” was held from 30 January to 5 February 2007 at the distance education centre of Ouagadougou. The workshop, attended by experts from Burkina Faso, Benin, Mali and Niger, was co-organised by the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Canadian e-Policy Resource Centre (CePRC) and the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD).