"Africa, the offline continent"

This excellent article, "Africa, the offline continent," discusses "Africa's struggle to get online."

I asked digital activist Ndesanjo Macha for his thoughts on this subject. Here are the key points from his reply:

"I think the future of internet and web in Africa will be on mobile devices. Mobile phone penetration is big and Africa is one of the fastest growing markets.

"The fiber optic thing along the Indian Ocean will be up soon, which will make internet faster and much cheaper. We are hoping everything goes well.

"But also there is the education part. It is not just about going online...to do what? Digital literacy is necessary. Literacy is getting a new meaning, not only the ability to read and write, but also the ability to use new technologies for production, fun, play and all that...

"Your question is tough. What to do to get more Africans online? There are policy issues, infrastructure, skills...I guess one has to choose an area and focus on it, depending on your capacity."

Ndesanjo Macha, Tanzanian blogger, journalist, lawyer, and digital activist

Ndesanjo Macha is a Tanzanian blogger, journalist, lawyer, and digital activist. He is the Sub-Saharan Africa editor at Global Voices Online, where he writes,

"I am interested in finding ways to amplify voices from non-English speaking parts of the world. Global voices, I believe, ought to be multicultural and multilingual.

"I am also interested in the relationship between ICT and development in the developing world, particularly Africa."

To learn more about Ndesanjo Macha at Global Voices Online, click this link.

J. Nambiza Tungaraza on Global Voices Online

J. Nambiza Tungaraza is a Swahili blogger and radio presenter. I discovered his writing on Global Voices Online, where I was reading news of Dar Es Salaam and Tanzania.

Click here to read Mr. Tungaraza's bio and columns at Global Voices Online.

Emmanuel Onyango and his blog, Knowledge Matters

Emmanuel Onyango writes his award-winning blog, Knowledge Matters, from Tanzania. I discovered Mr. Onyango's work at Global Voices Online, while reading news of Tanzania and Dar Es Salaam.

Mr. Onyango is a journalist based in Dar Es Salaam. Currently he is on assignment in the southern region of Tanzania, in Iringa town, doing research on tourism.

Mr. Onyango opens his May 8, 2009 blog post this way:

"TANZANIA is one of the unique destinations on the African continent that has yet to be discovered by many of its citizens who are still unaware of some attractive historical sites located in the country, probably this is due to the fact that tourist sites are far away from traditional media publicity. There are a lot to be explored in Southern Highland regions in terms of tourism for the historical and archaeological ventures in places like the Isimila stone age site where one can view wonderful stone pillars formed as a result of soil erosion on the land leaving the red standing pillars that occurred hundreds of years ago."

To read more of Emmanuel Onyango's blog, click this link to Knowledge Matters.