Inclusive Development and a Smarter Nigeria

Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) is a renewed collaborative effort of internet stakeholders in the country to help provide a coordinated mechanism for domestic stakeholder’s participations in the local, regional and global internet governance dialogues. The effort has culminated into partnerships, coalitions and dialogues that redefine Nigeria position at the internet governance meetings. The 2013 edition took advantage of the NIGF multi-stakeholder platform to empower Nigerian youths.

The Forum has recorded so far a combined attendance by over 1,000 stakeholders since its inception in 2012. It has attracted active participation from public institutions, private sector groups, civil societies, professional bodies, trade associations, academia, students and youths, military and para-military organizations, security and law enforcement agencies, government, law makers, ICT industry, internet users, and the public, as well as media groups from print, electronic and online, scholars and research scientists.

The Forum is expected to Connect stakeholders with emerging policies and opportunities with impact on the Nigeria Internet Community, to generate Multi-stakeholders’ output on Internet governance for sustainable and inclusive development in the country, to stimulate government and stakeholders’ commitment to the adoption and implementation of outcome documents, to strengthen stakeholders’ partnership for the improvement of local IG process and crystallize the local multi-stakeholder positions, input and contributions into the regional and global Internet Governance Forum.

The Local Multi-stakeholders Advisory Group (LMAG) of the Nigeria Internet Governance Forum, comprising of the Ministry of Communications (FMoC), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), Internet Society (ISOC) Nigeria, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Global Network for Cybersolution (GNC), Creative Technology for Development Initiative (CTDI) and DigitalSENSE Africa (DSA) in collaboration with other local stakeholders, is organizing a two (2) day Nigeria Internet Governance Forum 2016.

The objective of the NIGF 2016 is to facilitate stakeholders input into the National Internet Governance policy dialogue on inclusive development intervention and Smart-City initiatives in Nigeria.

The Forum is scheduled to hold at Shehu Musa Yar'adua Center, Abuja, on the 1st & 2nd of June, 2016. The first day, powered by Google Nigeria is devoted to the Youths as a pre-event to encourage, empower and ensure that Young Minds are equipped to improve the skills that can be acquired using the internet as a platform of growth and development. The Second day will witness dignitaries and experts to deliver papers on the theme of the event.

Registration is ongoing and free for all. NIGF has come to stay and hope that Nigerians embrace the annual event to ensure inclusiveness in the Global Debate, Growth and development of the Internet Community.

http://www.nigf.org.ng/

Kenya to Host ICANN's African Regional Engagement Office

Nairobi, Kenya… The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has launched its first African regional engagement office in Nairobi. ICANN made the announcement today at a press briefing during bilateral engagements with the ICT Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Joe Mucheru. Tarek Kamel, Senior Advisor to the President and Senior Vice President, Government and IGOs Engagement, Sally Costerton, Senior Advisor to The President & Senior Vice President, Global Stakeholder Engagement, and Pierre Dandjinou, VP Global Stakeholder Engagement for Africa were present at the briefing. The office located on 17th Floor of ICEA building will be officially unveiled at an event at the Intercontinental Hotel later in the evening, with various industry stakeholders present to witness the momentous occasion.

The move by ICANN to select Kenya as its African home is a stamp of approval to Kenya's increasingly important role in the Internet ecosystem. The regional presence will further deepen ICANN's engagement with African Governments as well as the private sector players.

Statistics by Communications Authority estimate that Kenya's mobile phone penetration stands at over 88% while Internet penetration stands at 82.6%, reaching about 35.5 million people making Kenya among the most connected population in the world. Kenya also boasts one of the most active online populations on the continent with users increasing every day. The growing reach of the Internet coupled with the rapid spread of mobile phones and the wide diffusion of social media have immensely contributed to Kenya's socio-economic development growth.

source:

https://www.icann.org/resources/press-material/release-2016-05-24-en

Redefining Disability, Inclusion and Access

Why are there lights in every room? Is it because we all need lights or because, we don’t want to exclude people who need lights to see? We all need bathrooms, can we always assume that there will be a bathroom for us to use in every building? If you are an able bodied cis person you likely can but... What if you’re are disabled? Who as a society do we expect to show up? Who have we designed our spaces to include? Who is being excluded? This feature topic will explore the social model of disability and how the environment shapes and constructs understandings of disability.

Big Ideas Summary

When disability is discussed in current society it is often thought of as a medical issue. The discussion of disability usually becomes about impairment or illness. While, there is a bodily component to disability that is not its only dimension. Disability can be theorized through a collection of models.

The Medical Model

This refers to the medical or health based component of disability as discussed above. This is typically the way disability is constructed or thought of through the language of diagnostics. This model often places the problem on the person. This model suggests that there is a default way of being and that anything that is not that requires fixing. The medical model seeks to cure or fix.

The Social or Environmental Model of Disability

The social or Environmental model explores how the built environment or social organization creates or constructs disability as a problem or issue. For example: The social model dictates that if there was change to structures and the way we did things disability would become an identity without stigma. For example the Social or environmental model would ask that every building be accessible rather than cure all who cannot stand.

The Cultural Model of Disability

The culture model subscribes to the same philosophies as the social model but, also identifies that people with disabilities have useful and interesting knowledge and perspective. That moving through the world with a disability produces a story or narrative. The cultural model seeks to understand disability on the same parallel as a gender identity or a race identity. For example the culture model believes that a life with a disability can produce interesting and valuable commentary about society.

Websites

The Inclusive Design Research Centre: http://idrc.ocadu.ca/ - A great resource for work on inclusive design

Books

Disability rights and wrongs revisited, by Tom Shakespeare, London, Routledge, 2013

Tom Shakesphere is one of the first authors to write about the social model of disability a great read for someone looking to learn more about the topic. This book is a Contemporary work and not his original theory.

Don't call me inspirational: a disabled feminist talks back, by Harilyn Rousso, Philadelphia, PA, Temple University Press, 2013

A personal memoir of growing up with a disability. The author holds in tension her individual struggles with the ones created by a society made for able bodied people. She also delves into life as a disability rights activist and the intersections it has with other forms of activism

Titchkosky, T. (2007). Reading & writing Disability Differently: The Textured Life of Embodiment. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

This book explores representations of disability as well as the social position of disability in Canadian society.

Michalko, R. (2002). The difference that disability makes. Temple University Press.

This book is a great example of the cultural model as it explores moving through the world with a disability from a critical perspective.

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