ICTs

Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, will deliver the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture at the University of Pretoria’s Mamelodi campus on 17 July 2016, the eve of Mandela Day.
 
The lecture is one of the foundation’s flagship programmes to honour founder Mandela and raise topical issues affecting South Africa‚ Africa and the rest of the world.
 

The South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) says people in South Africa and the rest of the world are increasingly going digital, be it for business or leisure.

SAIRR states that the Internet users are growing in number in spite of relatively slow broadband speeds and high costs.

It says the largest single share of Internet users among the four population groups, are people who gain access via cellphones or mobile networks.

Studies conducted by the University of Johannesburg's Centre for Cyber Security show that South Africa is the most affected by cybercrime in Africa.

Director, Professor Basie Von Solms, points out that the study has found that South Africa is the most affected by cybercrime in Africa, adding that cybercrime is costing the country in excess of R3 billion per annum.

Von Solms states that, “There are some international statistics proving that South Africa is third on the international list of the number of cybercrime victims, we are then number one in the African continent.”

The information and communication technology (ICT) summit in Bloemfontein is trying to fast-track access to information by South Africans.
 
Communications Minister, Faith Muthambi, says good progress is being made, adding that: "We are told as a country that we are at 48.7 percent … that also relates to the Free State and Limpopo is at 32 percent, with Gauteng at 59 percent and the Western Cape leading."
 

Microsoft Corp made its popular Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications available for free on Android tablets, marking the latest step in its drive to get as many mobile customers as possible using its software.

The company also released an app for its popular Outlook email program to run on Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad, hoping to attract the millions of users familiar with Outlook from their work desktops.

After launching its service in seven African cities and hitting a few hitches, especially in Kenya, Uber is exploring the use of mobile money services.

The service has been launched in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria in South Africa; Lagos in Nigeria; Cairo; and Nairobi, Kenya. Uber offers a cashless service, mainly targeting credit card holders, but the low penetration rates of cardholders outside South Africa has affected uptake.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will participate in the launch of the Gauteng paperless education system at seven schools in Tembisa on Gauteng's East Rand on Wednesday, 14 January 2015.

Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Ronnie Mamoepa, says the deputy president will be joined by among others the minister for basic education, Angie Motshekga, and the Gauteng Premier, David Makhura.

The launch of the pilot project, ‘the Big Switch On’, takes place within the backdrop of the opening of inland schools for the 2015 academic year.

The Western Cape provincial government intends to offer universal access to the internet to all its residents as it drives public access Wi-Fi.
 
MEC for Economic Opportunities in the Western Cape, Alan Winde, points out that, "By 2030 all households in high, medium and low priority wards should have access to the internet by means of various technologies such as public WiFi access, and/or mobile network connectivity."
 

The Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT) has urged civil society organisations to claim back its power, during the National NPO Summit on Service Delivery.

Speaking during the summit, SANGONeT Board chairperson, Tebogo Makgatho, used the theme ‘Making Service Delivery Work for the People’, to remind delegates that civil society should always put communities first in their activities.

In addition, she urged NGOs represented to take advantage of the information and communication technology services offered by SANGONeT.

Eight young innovators from developing countries will showcase their award-winning digital solutions to development challenges at an event run by the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union.
 
The winners of the Young Innovators Competition will present their projects to the audience of the International Telecommunication Union Telecom World 2013, a networking and knowledge-sharing event, which starts tomorrow in Bangkok, Thailand.