Communication and access to information are the lifeblood of universities. Increasingly, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are the channels through which this lifeblood flows. Extend the analogy, and one could say that African universities are suffering from a severe constriction of the arteries.

An Internet-based learning project in Uganda is bearing fruit — and may soon send new shoots south, to Rwanda.

In March 2004, Kiddhu Makubuya, Uganda’s Minister for Education and Sports, and Professor Romain Murenzi, Rwanda’s Minister for Education, Science, Technology, and Scientific Research, headed a delegation to see the launch and demonstration of CurriculumNet’s content and materials at Uganda’s National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) in Kampala. CurriculumNet is using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to provide instructors with multi-media materials they can use to teach their classes.

In Dakar, on December 2, 2003, His Excellency Mr Abdoulaye Wade, President of the Republic of Senegal, accorded Senegalese journalist Mame Less Camara an exclusive interview on the International Development Research Centre’s (IDRC) behalf. Mr Wade is coordinator of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) aspect of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The interview took place on the eve of the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), held December 9 to 12. President Wade considers the new technologies one of NEPAD’s eight priority sectors. In fact, he says, the new technologies “have shown the way for giving concrete application to NEPAD in partnership with developed countries.”

Mozambique’s forest wardens and wildlife scouts have a new tool with which to fight illegal loggers and poachers: wireless radio telephones. The phones are also helping to break their isolation. In addition, research supported by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is showing that the radios help to enlist villagers to the cause of sound resource management. Local and provincial governments profit in turn from the additional fines levied on illegal loggers.

A pioneer of the digital age in Africa, Dr Venàncio Massingue, Vice-Rector of the University Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), was a key player in bringing the Internet to Mozambique. From 1996 to 1998 he masterminded the development of the Mozambique ICT Policy and ICT Strategy that were approved by the Cabinet in 2000 and 2002 respectively. He emphasizes and supports the role of young people in his goal of making Mozambique a producer, not just a consumer, of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Dr Massingue spoke to IDRC Reports about his experience and the role of ICTs in development.

What should a telecentre look like? In Mozambique, researchers from the University Eduardo Mondlane turned to the community for an answer. The result was a one-stop shop with everything from telephones and photocopying services to computer training. The project is having spillover effects as women's organizations avail themselves of some of the services offered. But although the telecentres are valued by the communities, their future remains uncertain due to the high cost of Internet and the need to become self-sustainable.

SchoolNet Mozambique is a nationwide network to enhance learning opportunities for students, teachers, and the surrounding community via the Internet. Decision makers have high hopes that it can redress some of the problems endemic to Mozambique's education system, such as inequity in access to education, especially between urban and rural dwellers. Supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), SchoolNet is also seen as a way to prepare Mozambican students for work in the Global Information Society. Ultimately, however, SchoolNet may be the catalyst for systemic change in the way teachers teach and students learn.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) offer tantalizing possibilities for supporting — even hastening — Africa's economic and social development. Whether or not this potential is reached depends to a great extent on telecommunications policies. These policies cannot simply be imported: they must be based on an understanding of African realities. The aim of the Learning Information Networking Knowledge (LINK) Centre is to promote "made in Africa" research that will contribute to a "made in Africa" information revolution.

The introduction of cellular telephony has revolutionized Uganda's communication industry, increasing national teledensity by 350% since the first network went live in early 1995. Now the networks that brought remote villages their first voice connectivity are opening new doors for the delivery of health care.

Shafika Isaacs is executive director of SchoolNet Africa. An African nongovernmental organization (NGO), SchoolNet Africa uses information and communication technologies (ICTs) in schools to improve the quality, accessibility, and efficiency of education. It works with learners, teachers, policymakers, and practitioners, largely through national schoolnet organizations. Isaacs spoke to Reports magazine about her vision for using ICTs to fundamentally change Africa's education system. Africa is experiencing an education crisis because of the large number of children who lack access to good quality, basic education.

Cape Town is one of Africa's top tourist meccas as visitors come to enjoy the natural beauty of Table Mountain, the wine lands and white sandy beaches. But Cape Town is a tale of two cities. Not far from the modern skyscrapers and first world luxuries, lie the sprawling, impoverished townships of the Cape Flats. Townships are not just about poverty, though, as foreign tourists are learning. They are communities rich in cultural and ethnic heritages; and for those looking for something a little different, largely undiscovered. As part of a research project undertaken by the University of the Western Cape, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is assessing the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on small, medium, and micro enterprises and how these could be incorporated into the burgeoning tourism industry in the Cape Flats.

A project called DrumNet supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Kenya brings hope to rural farmers who have long been exploited by brokers and resellers. The smallholder producers can now depend on DrumNet's services to track market prices and make better-informed decisions about the sale of their produce. Additional services are planned to help improve farmers' productivity and incomes.

How can the pastoralists in the Sahel be helped to adopt more productive livestock management practices and to protect pastures that are threatened by drought and overgrazing? African researchers addressing this question have come up with an innovative answer — putting new information and communication technologies (ICTs) to work for herders. One result: a Web site named "cyber shepherd."