[afro-nets] Announcing ICT-Africa 2008

ICT-Africa Conference 2008
Sustaining Africa's Socio-economic Renaissance December 19-21, 2008; Yaounde, Cameroon http://www.icitd.com/ictafrica2008/

Dear Colleagues:

"Africa missed the industrial revolution, we can't afford to stand aside and let the communication revolution go by too" Felix Houphouet Boigny

This statement, a warning since 1987 from former Ivory Coast President Felix Houphouet Boigny, to his countrymen, points to the fundamental need for African Nations to make every effort to be part of today's information age.

With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) and The Louisiana Board of Regents, we are pleased to announce ICT Africa 2008 scheduled for DECEMBER 19-21, 2008 IN YAOUNDE, CAMEROON. Cameroon is known as "Africa in Miniature," hence an opportunity to experience "a little bit of" much of Africa.

ICT-Africa 2008 will bring together a fine mix of practitioners and academicians in the area of ICTs for sustainable development. There is a growing body of research that point to the critical role of information and communication technologies(ICT) in improving the socio-economic and political status of developing nations in general and sub-Saharan
Africa(SSA) in particular. Such technologies have indeed been penetrating the SSA region at an exponential rate. For example, SSA has the fastest growth rates in mobile telephone penetration. Other examples include:

TeleMedicine: Hospitals in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Rwanda now use information technologies to offer medical services in cases where the physician and patients are in different geographic locations.

TeleEducation: Universities such as the African Virtual University use telecommunications networks to offer online education for many African students based in countries with just 1 or 2 universities.

TeleDemocracy/E-Government: Countries such as Tanzania and South Africa now use ICTs for accountability, tracking corruption and promoting freedoms of speech and association.

Paper Submission
We will only accept 5 pages extended abstracts. The papers should be submitted online at http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ictafrica2008
. Accepted abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings.
Outstanding abstracts will be later considered and invited for full submission to the African Journal of Information Systems (http://www.ajisonline.com/).

Information about the conference can be found at:
http://www.icitd.com/ictafrica2008/

Important dates

Submission Deadline: October 1st, 2008
Notification to Authors: November 1st, 2008 Deadline for Final Papers (Extended Abstracts): November 15th, 2008 Deadline for early registration: November 30th, 2008 Conference dates: December 19-21st, 2008

Venue

Djeuga Palace
- 2008 ICT-AFRICA Conference Hotel
- Located in downtown Yaounde with 153 rooms and suites.
- Offers Free airport shuttle.
- Other services includes :car rental, exchange counter, business center, Wi-Fi system, discotheque, casino, swimming pool, fitness area, meeting rooms (up to 250), cocktail lounge, buffet restaurant, a la carte restaurant (French chef).
Yaounde Hilton Hotel
- Recommended as an alternative hotel in the event where one cannot book a room at Djeuga Palace.
Conference Chair
Victor Mbarika, Ph.D., Southern University

Conference Co-Chairs
Peter Meso, Ph.D., Georgia State University Roland Kwemain, Executive Director ADCOME, Cameroon

Submission Co-chairs
Alemayehu Molla, Ph.D., School of Business Information Technology, RMIT University, Australia.
Mathieu Kourouma, Ph.D., Department of Computer Sciences, Southern University

--
The Program Committee
ICT-Africa 2008
http://www.icitd.com/ictafrica2008/
mailto:victor@mbarika.com