The FRONTLINE/World iWitness interview about BarCamp Swaziland is now up.
Swaziland: The King and the Web
For much more of the story, such as how Swazis use Facebook, see envisionGood.tv, expert generalist, and YouthAssets.org. BarCamp Swaziland was sponsored by YouthAssets, which empowers youth heading households in Southern Africa.
MY BACKGROUND
My name is Tibusiso Msibi and I am an 18 year old Swazi girl. I live in Manzini with my mother, two sisters and my baby brother. I finished my matric last year at Mananga College and would like to study social media in the near future.
MY INTEREST IN TECHNOLOGY
I grew up dreaming of being a chartered accountant and working for Donald Trump one day. But when I was in ninth grade, I joined the magazine club and that is when i had my turning point. Joining the magazine club meant spending more time in the computer lab doing layouts, typing, learning the different formats, and posting pictures. We had to use the Internet for research and that really facinated me. In tenth grade, I chose to study information technology and from that day onwards, my interest in technology grew.
WHAT I LEARNED AT BARCAMP SWAZILAND
I was really looking forward to the barcamp. What got my attention was the fact that you had to SMS to register, which is something new. I learned that technology is a tool that is used to educate, entertain, warn, help, allow people to make friends, do business and have the world at your fingertips. It is used to express feelings, join and learn about different cultures and religions.
I knew about multimedia, but that day I learned about social media, Twitter and how to make my own blog, a skill that i never possessed before. I learned about YouthAssets.org, an organisation which helps people including us Swazis. I also learned about Real Image Internet, a company based here which wants to open a porthole where people can experience the Swazi rhythm.
WHO I MET
I met different people from all walks of life. Students, artists, CEO's, managers, teachers, tourist guides, technicians, NGO workers as well as a music producer. We all had one goal in mind: to share and learn more about technology and how to use technology to improve Swaziland. There are some people who did stand out -- a guy who wanted to learn how to draw people and form a club where people can showcase their artistic side using the Internet. Also a music producer who explained how is he is marketing Swazi music using technology and learning about different types of music to improve our own.
MY VIEW ON TECHNOLOGY IN SWAZILAND
Although we are viewed as the country with the highest HIV/AIDS death rate, we are developing where technology is concerned. 90% of Swazis are exposed to the cellphone. Cellphones here are like laptops to us. You can receive your mail and search the web using the cellphone. We have one university here, and it does have computer science and talks of introducing new courses. Organisations have been formed to donate computers to schools and teach people how to use them. The government has seen the importance of technology, hence there is a new minister of ICT. Facebook is the biggest social network in Swaziland, and there is annual Facebook party hosted every year. Slowly technology is developing in Swaziland.
A few weeks ago I took part as a videographer in "BarCampSwaziland" - an event aimed at bringing together local technology practitioners and enthusiasts for a day of learning and community building. I was impressed by the number of tech experts I met, along with the depth of knowledge each participant possessed in their respective tech fields.
It was not until I had a chance to tour around the country with Jennifer Sly, founder of YouthAssets, however, that I understood more fully how technology can make the most impact in people's lives. Case in point: as we drove enroute to visit the homestead of one of the youth advisors of YouthAssets, Jennifer explained the importance of her Google G1 Phone, along with the satellite maps that Google houses in its database. In a place like rural Swaziland where most people do not have physical addresses, Jennifer explained that the only way to find a homestead again is through maps and the technology of devices like mobile phones. I captured Jennifer's story on camera - to hear the amazing story yourself, please check out the video link above. Bravo to innovators everywhere who develop technology that makes people's lives better worldwide.
It was on the 27th of June, this year, in Swaziland, venue at one of the most beautiful places in Southern Africa that is House on Fire.
I am going to be writing mostly about how did i find the first Barcamp Swaziland, and the things I liked about the whole workshop. Although i was the youngest (20yrs) at the barcamp but i won't deny that I enjoyed it to the core.
First and foremost I'd like to congratulate you guys for bringing us something great and beneficial for the youth of Swaziland.The whole workshop was interesting, very educative, very live and clear, well organised, a super venue, good music and food (he he he yeah, how can i miss that 1), had open and very kind members, non-boring views and points and last very beautiful and good equipment, and thanx for the handouts!
All this listed above were the part of the experience I felt during that camp, but next time i would like to see more time added on our sessions -the 15 minutes wasn't enough for me, and the topics to discuss (e.g. Programming, Facebook, networking topics, etc) were too many at a time, like they were 5 at 15 to 30 time to discuss. Out of all 5 I would attend 2 leaving the other 1 stil processing, which I find it difficult. What i would love here is to pick 1 or 2 topic like programming and do it in 20 minutes, ask questions, add points and etc, then the next topic.... I dont know what you think.
Overall, I enjoyed being involved in such a event. I met a lot of outgoing, free and friendly guys there. Some of them even promise to work with me in the future, like helping me because I'm still new in the field of IT and a lot more. We even made suggestions and gave possitive ideas about improving the structure or the shape of IT in Swaziland as it's still new and not highly considered yet the community need it, the youth seriously need it, to be more specific.
I would like to see Barcamp Swaziland coming back to our shores with more energy. From the day i saw BCSWAZILAND on my newspaper I knew i would love it.
Thanx barcamp, for bringing us the future of IT in Swaziland.
Thanx again for especialy You (the reader of this Article), for reading all my words.
God blesssss!!!
[Pictures by Katrina Heppler]
In the verdant Ezulwini Valley, where you'll often pass King Mswati III's motorcade zooming down the road, Swaziland's first technology conference, BarCamp Swaziland, was held on Saturday, June 27th. It took place at the House on Fire venue, a fanciful, mosaic-encrusted amphitheatre which often hosts local performances. About sixty people attended, including local engineers, ISP's, artists, music promoters, software developers, and non-profits including the Grameen Foundation. BarCamp Swaziland was sponsored by YouthAssets.org, which empowers youths heading households in Swaziland. Other sponsors included Real Image Internet (Swaziland's leading ISP), Swazis Rock, i.t. solutions, PoeTree, SangoNet from South Africa, and Comparatio USA. Several rural youth who head households due to the loss of their parents attended and helped document the conference with Flip video cameras.
The IT guru at House on Fire, Mark Fulton, although he found out about the barcamp just the night before (suitably enough, in the actual bar where he was nursing a Windhoek), did a fantastic job of taking care of the attendees' wireless connectivity needs and managing the conference multimedia presentations. In addition, he gave Swazis a window into the truly geeky world of computer gaming - especially inspiring the youth. American bloggers Katrina Heppler and Shara Karasic helped document the conference.
1. There is a vibrant group of very smart geeks and creatives here who want to carry the barcamp torch forward.
2. There is lots of interest in blogging tools such as Twitter. Prediction: a year from now Africa watchers will have heard of some Swazi bloggers (will any attend Kelele?).
3. Local developers are developing software for the local business market - Wandile Nxumalo of Maestro IT showed off his new accounting software.
4. Technology coming soon to Swaziland includes wimax, mobile banking, and local mobile search - Ali Resting of Real Image Internet was a great resource for what's coming next.
5. There was interest in using social media to promote local artists and musicians.
6. There is a strong interest in using technology for social good - especially to help the many children orphaned because of HIV/AIDS.
How important is technology in our community and to the world at large.
There is a community out here of especially young people interested or involved in IT - I need to network with these people.
How to use Facebook and Twitter.
About open source software and online community development.
That programming is not a joke and I'm into it!
That there are other IT folks around.
There is a lot happening in the mobile development sector in Swaziland.
There is more happening in technology than what meets the eye! Women in Swaziland or around the world can contribute in technology.
Learning how we can develop IT in our community.
The discussions were very informative, everyone giving input was great.
I would try to bring something that I have made myself - like my own program.
Introduce barcamp to the community (friends and relatives).
If you would like to help organize future technology conferences in Swaziland, join the BarCamp Swaziland Facebook page.
BarCamp Swaziland, the first technology conference in the last absolute monarchy in Africa, is taking place in Mbabane, Swaziland, on June 27th, 2009. Swaziland recently created a new Ministry of ICT, and local technology is rapidly emerging. With 90% of the Swazi population within range of a mobile phone network, the first BarCamp Swaziland will be focused on mobile use. Local youth participate and report from the conference - conducting interviews and blogging. BarCamp Swaziland aims to encourage local technology by sharing best practices and building partnerships, as well as identifying Swazi technology interests and trends. YouthAssets, a non-profit focused on empowering youth in Southern Africa, is a main sponsor of the event.
BarCamp organizer Sabelo Dlamini, YouthAssets board member, says: “Organizing BarCamp Swaziland is quite an experience. Technology is just coming in to Swaziland. To have all the practitioners together in one place is going to spark new ideas – it will be a powerful event. The BarCamp will bring people together.”
For more info on the event, visit the BarCamp Swaziland blog, wiki, Twitter, or Facebook.
