Mapping ICT accross Sub-Saharan Africa: iMentors

What level of connectivity, types of networks, data infrastructures, e-tools, and projects etc.are currently available for researchers  in Sub-Saharan Africa?  One European FP-7 funded project is starting to map this knowledge in a virtual observatory. 

The idea behind the i-Mentors project was first conceived by the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences at Stockholm University and Gov2u.  Although Sub-Saharan Africa has witnessed dramatic growth in Information Communications Technology (ICT) access since the mid-1990s, there are still gaps in the knowledge around the status and findings from past and ongoing e-infrastructure projects. iMentors now plans to map the entire e-infrastructure landscape accross Sub-Saharan Africa recording key developments over the past five years. Their goal is to provide valuable insights to policy makers, international investors, educators and researchers. Any gaps and/or progress will be recorded and collated in order to enhance ICT initiatives in the region.

Our project, e-ScienceTalk, is delighted to have just signed an Memorandum of Understanding with iMentors. We are hoping to help increase the visibility of the project's findings and success stories. Check out their Facebook page here and Twitter stream (@i-mentors). 

The project's first step is to gather valuable stakeholder feedback to define the most appropriate criteria in evaluating e-infrastructure projects. So please do help them by filling in their survey (http://bit.ly/YF5GBV).