SIRCA Member Presence at CPRafrica2012/CPRsouth7

CPRafrica2012/CPRsouth7 (CPR stands for Communication Policy Research) conferences were held in the University of Mauritius this year. They provided a space for communication scholars gather to exchange ideas on ICT policies and regulations in the South, especially Africa and Asia. As this year’s topic “Connecting Africa and Asia: ICT Policy Research and Practice for the Global South” was relevant to SIRCA members’ work, previous and current members, Achille Tefong (SIRCA II PI, Africa), Kathleen Diga (SIRCA II Programme Officer, Africa), Sri Ranjini Mei Hua (SIRCA I Programme Officer) and Roxana Barrantes (SIRCA II Regional Coordinator, Latin America) were present at the event. If you would like to find more details on CPRafrica / CPRsouth, please check out the link.

Following is the reflection from Kathleen Diga. Thank you Kathleen for your report!

 

CPRafrica / CPRsouth 7 – Africa and Asia collide in ICT policy research in Mauritius

By Kathleen Diga

As I flew over the recently cut sugar cane fields of the KwaZulu-Natal, a most vivid image when leaving this East Coast, it was hard to imagine that other regions would match in similar flora scene.  But this along with the familiar smell of burning cane then made me realize that Mauritius and Durban are not at all two worlds apart.  Despite being a small island, Mauritius pushes forward as a leader in telecom reform in Africa, yet shares many challenges of the global South, such as lowering broadband costs and using the fibre optic infrastructure to enhance economic growth, making it an ideal venue to bring Asia and Africa together for the first time for the Communication Policy Research conference.

CPRafrica 2012/ CPRsouth 7 are two conferences which have joined forces in the month of September 2012 to discuss the latest research around ICT policy and issues surrounding regulation, content and applications which are affected by the policy choices of Asian and African countries.  The workshop panels discussed some of the latest research work around broadband prices, spectrum allocation challenges and migration of digital TV.  Along with the panels, the stage was shared by the various academics of the global South showing that the regions are getting closer at understanding and speaking the same languages on telecom reform despite the heterogeneity of our contextual issues and that the research continues to improve in our regions .

Speaking of improving research in the global South, one highlight of the conference is the two day pre-conference young scholar seminar. SIRCA II members (past and present) were visible at both the young scholar seminar as well as the conference.  At the pre-conference, SIRCA members were part of the delegation including SIRCA II Africa PI  Achille Tefong, SIRCA Programme Officer (Africa) Kathleen Diga, SIRCA Latin America Regional Coordinator, Roxana Barrantes, and past SIRCA Programme Officer, Sri Ranjini Mei Hua.  Roxana shared with the young scholars the latest work in Latin America in regards to the high prices of broadband amongst a region with the highest inequality in the world.   Along with this, the young scholars had the chance to become more familiar with the issues of the South on telecom research as well as discuss their own research with senior academics.

Photo:  Kathleen Diga and Achille Tefong at CPRafrica / CPRsouth 2012 Photo Credit:  Kathleen Diga

During Day One at the CPR conference, Paul Plantinga presented a paper written by him, Kathleen Diga and Fortune Nwaiwu, which examined the extent of telecom policy including issues of poverty in three African countries.  Substantial feedback was then given by Roxana to the paper as the discussant on this panel.   On Day Two, Ranjini presented a paper on behalf of her team which included SIRCA II Asia PI Ezmerelda Melissa, on reviewing e-governance websites in Indonesia.  Ranjini said that the SIRCA Director, Arul, helped to link the two of them (who have never met before) and work together on this research.

Clearly, capacity building amongst scholars of the global South is an effort that will bring more voice to the regions which have in the past been neglected.  Programmes such as SIRCA and CPRafrica/CPRsouth play an instrumental role in ensuring a research community continues to grow in the region and allows for policy and impact to occur by the people most affected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo:  CPRafrica / CPRsouth young scholars, Photo credit:  Christoph Stork