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Kenya opens its books in revolutionary transparency drive | Claire Provost | Global development. When violence erupted after the 2007 Kenyan elections, a team of activists produced Ushahidi – a digital open-source platform to monitor crises in near real-time. Taking its name from the kiswahili word for testimony, or witness, Ushahidi has since been deployed to monitor unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, track violence in Gaza, and gather global reports about the spread of Swine Flu.

Around the same time, a partnership between Vodafone and Safaricom, Kenya's largest mobile operator, produced M-PESA, the mobile banking system that has revolutionised the way many Kenyans manage their money. Projects from Ushahidi to M-PESA have put Kenya firmly on the map of ICT innovation in international development – a position and a trend the Kenyan government now seems eager to promote. The initiative, launched by the Kenyan government, aims to promote data-driven decision making and help improve government transparency and accountability.

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La récession favorise la digitalisation. Le "double dip", le rebond de la récession qui menace, pourrait fort bien entrainer une accélération de la digitalisation de nos modes de production et de vie. Cela vaut pour les entreprises (et les travailleurs) comme pour les consommateurs. Les entreprises d'abord: nombre d'entre elles en profitent pour accentuer leur recours aux technologies digitales (TD) en quête de gains de productivité.

C'est le genre d'approche encouragée par Dean Garfield de l'Information Technology Industry Council des Etats-Unis. Il s'appuie sur l'histoire: "Deux des récessions les plus importantes des 30 dernières années – 1981-82 et 1990-91 – ont été directement attenué par la naissance du PC et de l'internet". Le secteur se porte bien: les capital risqueurs financent les start-ups. La seconde approche - celle des utilisateurs et des consommateurs - est notre recours croissant aux TIC. En fait la récession s'accompagnera inévitablement d'une avancée de certains pays émergents ayant investi dans les TIC. Out in the Open (Scaling) Open Government Status Report. Publishes Qatar’s National ICT Plan 2015 | Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology. Qatar has made significant progress towards creating an innovative and vibrant ICT sector that will secure a thriving, diversified economy and enrich the quality of life for all members of its society.

Read Overview Browse full Report Download the Report To continue this momentum, the Supreme Council of Information and Communication (ictQATAR) developed Qatar’s National ICT Plan 2015: Advancing the Digital Agenda, which will guide their efforts through the end of 2015. The plan is aligned with the Qatar’s National Vision 2030, and its specific programs are aligned with Qatar’s National Development Strategy 2011-2016. In his introductory letter for Qatar’s National ICT Plan 2015, His Highness The Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani says, “Our visionary leadership understood that an advanced ICT sector was crucial to an innovative, diversified economy and a high standard of living for all of our people. The Heir Apparent serves as the Chairman of ictQATAR’s Board of Directors. Www.francenumerique2012.fr/pdf/081020_FRANCE_NUMERIQUE_2012.pdf. 2011_francenumerique2020objectifs.pdf. B-M South Korea digital landscape INFOGRAPHIC H1 2011. European commissioner calls for 'digital champions'

2 November 2011Last updated at 00:30 EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes: "There is so much at stake" Neelie Kroes, the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, has called on EU states to appoint digital champions similar to the UK's Martha Lane Fox. Ms Kroes said the lastminute.com founder was "doing a great job" at convincing UK adults who did not use the internet to change their minds. Talking to the BBC, Ms Kroes said it was vital to deal with the 30% of Europeans currently not online.

She said EU states needed ministers with specific digital portfolios. Ms Kroes made the comments at the inaugural London Conference on Cyberspace. She took the opportunity to emphasise the social benefits of being online. "It connects communities, friends and families, as I know when I Skype my grandchildren thousands of miles away," she said. Online activism The importance of connectivity was one of the recurring themes at the international event. Internet illegality. Remaking Government in a Wiki Age. Pour une nouvelle démocratie | Digital-In. Dans son édition du 30 juillet dernier, The Economist rapprochait avec beaucoup de perspicacité l’état actuel des Etats-Unis et de l’Europe de celui du Japon dans les années 90. Au moment où éclatait la bulle économique, les dirigeants japonais regardaient ailleurs, incapables de prendre la moindre décision, paralysés par les enjeux et la recherche d’un impossible consensus capable de les faire réélire.

Aujourd’hui, face aux tensions sur la zone euro et à la crise de l’endettement, leaders européens et américains se trouvent dans la même incapacité chronique à affronter les problèmes et à prendre les décisions qui s’imposent. Plus qu’un problème d’homme providentiel, génie absolu et doté de bravoure, c’est un système qu’il faut repenser dans sa globalité. Dans une société rentrée dans une phase de complexité, la marge de manoeuvre des politiques est de plus en plus réduite.