Thursday, March 19, 2009

First Southern Sudan ICT Policy Workshop

The first ever ICT Policy stakeholders' event is takes place in Juba, Southern Sudan, Home and Away Conference Hall. Follow the live tweets of the event by Henry Owera at the event at the URL: www.twitter.com/owerahbits

Government of Southern Sudan's Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services organised a three days envisioning workshop under the theme " Community Empowerment through ICT" to run from Wednesday 18th - Friday 20th March 2009. One the agenda were a) Government inter-linkages and roles of the ICT / telecom sector; b) presenting and elaborating on the policy and regulatory environment and c) preliminary consultations on "implementation plan " for the next 5-10years.

All the ten states ministers of Southern Sudan are invitees, and in attendance are the GoSS Ministers of Internal Affairs, Regional Cooperation and Telecommunications and Postal Services and Kenya's Minister of Information and Communications. The quest of honour was H.E Lt. Gen. Salva Kiir, the 1st Vice President of Sudan and President of GoSS who was represented by his Minister of Regional Cooperation. One member of the Legislative Assembly was in attendance!

Also in attendance are officials from Communications Commission Kenya (CCK), Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), and other consultants from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. Noteably is Dr. Shem Ochuodho, advisor to the GoSS Telecom Minister, Sub Saharan Africa Internet pioneer and first .ke ccTLD administrator; Dr. 'Tusu" Tusubira founding board of director of UCC, director of Directorate of ICT Makerere University and an international consultant consulting with Knowledge Consulting Ltd among others.

Notable absent were officials from the National Telecommunication Corporation and Sudan Internet Society all based in Khartoum, donor institutions, the academia, civil society, the media houses and you!