U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale and ambassador Michael Ranneberger announced the launch of the“Apps 4 Africa” contest on 1st July 2010.The regional competition seeks to harness the power of African software developers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda and leverage the power of digital technology to improve the lives of ordinary people in East Africa and worldwide."Apps 4 Africa" will bring together local developers and local civil society organizations (CSOs) to build technology tools to solve regional problems.

 

 

The voice of Kibera through its video channel, the Kibera News Network recently (14th June, 2010) recorded a demonstration in Kibera against an Administration Officer for allegedly extorting them of money. It is also alleged that the same officer is key to the increase in crime, especially in Olympic Area in Kibera.

This month’s issue of www.shujaaz.fm, uses the story of Maria Kim,to illustrate the power of technology in enabling access to information on bursary and other Constituency Development Funds data. When her efforts to obtain information from the authorities fail, a friend helps Maria Kim learn about Open Governance by visiting www.opengovernance.info.

Participants at the latest Social Watch Coordinating Committee (CC) meeting held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 24-26 March 2010 discussed their views on the global crisis and the role of the network ahead. The upcoming UN High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly (‘MDG Summit’) to take place September 2010 in New York is a key moment and all efforts should point to strengthen the voice of civil society and that of Social Watch in particular.

The Budget Tracking Tool received a mention on Technology for Transparency Reivew at  http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/04/27/technology-for-transparency-review-part-ii/ in the second of three-part series that aims to add more context to the case studies and project listings on the Technology and Transparency Network.