<nettime> NairoBitsNews # 3

[NairoBitsNews <newsletter@nairobits.org> (by way of Josephine Bosma)]

- - - - - - - -  N A I R O B I T S N E W S  - - - - - - - -

# 3 - 10 March 2000

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C O N T E N T S

1 - Kenyan and Dutch DigiFriends create a virtual island
* an interview with Arjenne and Sebastiaan

2 - Kenya online...

3 - What's happening next!


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1 - Kenyan and Dutch DigiFriends create a virtual island
* an interview with Arjenne and Sebastiaan

Currently, the MYSA youth from Nairobi and youth from the Comenius College
in Amsterdam are taking part in a virtual exchange program called
DigiFriends, which is part of the NairoBits project. The youth build a
virtual village on a deserted island together. The Dutch and the Kenyans
work in small groups. The groups all choose their own spot on the island,
where they can create a virtual hotel, shop, cinema or whatever they can
think of. Each Kenyan group is linked to a Dutch group, so they can
exchange ideas about the design of each other's spots. 

Arjenne (15) and Sebastiaan (17), pupils of the Comenius College, both
take part in DigiFriends, which in the Netherlands is co-ordinated by
Danae Interactive Education.  Sebastiaan and Arjenne are already
experienced in using computers. This is not only because they followed
information science lessons at school: both Arjenne and Sebastiaan have a
computer at home, which they use for typing reports and for surfing the
internet. Arjenne especially likes to chat. Sebastiaan likes to chat as
well, but he also uses the internet to search for information on music. In
the future, he would like to work in the music scene. 

Arjenne and Sebastiaan both like the exchange very much and think it is a
good way of getting more knowledge.  Sebastiaan is member of the group
Sebrick, which created a beach cafe on the island, where people can eat
and drink a bit and can get in contact with each other. Arjenne is member
of 2blonds. This group made a fashion store, surrounded by a beach
volleyball field and places to drink on the beach. In the store, African
as well as Dutch clothes are sold. Arjenne thinks Africans often wear long
skirts, with many different colors. What Arjenne likes about DigiFriends
is to communicate with people on the other side of the world. Sebastiaan
likes to get in contact with other cultures through the exchange. 

The only thing Arjenne and Sebastiaan know about Kenya is that it is
situated in Africa. They both would like to go to Africa one day. Arjenne
wants to become an ambulance nurse and after her training, she would like
to go to Africa for one year as a development-aid worker. Sebastiaan wants
to sample the African atmosphere and to get acquainted with people, but he
doesn't know exactly what he would like to do in Africa. 

Amsterdam, 7 March 2000


Come and visit the island:
http://www.nairobits.org/island
More info on the exchange:
http://www.nairobits.org/getthevibes
More info on Danae:
http://www.danae.nl

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2 - Kenya online...

NairoBits is all about computers and the internet. In Kenya, the use of
computers is not as widespread as it is in e.g. the Netherlands, but, as
elsewhere, the number of people using computers and the internet is
rapidly increasing. Deven, director of DNS Office Systems Ltd, dealing in
customised PCs, computer hardware, accessories, etc., based in Nairobi,
tells more about the subject. 

Currently, the average Kenyan cannot afford to buy a PC.  But, according
to Deven, there is a growing market in the last two years for low cost
desktop PCs. These are mainly being purchased by small business, home
owners and some academic institutions. Most buyers are from urban areas
like Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru. 

Deven feels the internet is grossly under utilised in Kenya, due to the
high cost of PCs and the high monthly internet charges by internet service
providers.  Furthermore, the Kenyan telephone line connections are at best
very ordinary. For many Kenyans, the only affordable internet gateway is
via cybercafes, which you can find on almost every corner of the street in
Nairobi. But even these have prohibitive costs ranging from KSHs 5/= to
10/= per minute for internet surfing. This is way above what the average
Kenyan earns per hour. 

Despite all these problems, Deven has a positive outlook on the future: "I
think in the next five years e-commerce will play a major role in the
lives of most Kenyans and shall be a gateway for young intelligent people
to be successful without resorting to 'connections' or underhand deals." 

Nairobi, 29 March 2000

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3 - What's happening next!

In every newsletter, we will pay attention to upcoming events, which can
be visited physically or followed online via the website. 

  * 29 March 2000: Festive closing of the Dutch part of
  DigiFriends
  The Dutch participants in the exchange program
  DigiFriends will give a presentation of their
  activities on a location somewhere in Amsterdam.
  Furthermore, photos will be exhibited which were made
  during the exchange lessons at the Comenius College in
  Amsterdam. For more details, please contact Danae:
  info@danae.nl .

  * 30 March 2000: Opening NairoBits exhibition
  In the National Museum in Nairobi, an exhibition will
  be held on NairoBits. Beside the website, you can see
  pictures, photographs and other creations made by the
  MYSA youth during the workshops in February and March.
  The opening will be broadcast live on internet by De
  Digitale Stad. If you're in Nairobi and you would like
  to receive an invitation for the opening in the
  National Museum, please send an e-mail to
  info@nairobits.org .
  De Digitale Stad: http://www.dds.nl

In the next issues of NairoBitsNews, you will find more
detailed information about place, date and time of these
activities.

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C O L O F O N

NairoBitsNews is the newsletter of the multimedia project NairoBits, and
is sent about once a month to those who are on our mailinglist. More
information on NairoBits can be found on http://www.nairobits.org . If you
have any questions about the project, you can send an e-mail to
info@nairobits.org or write a letter to NairoBits, Rustenburgerstraat
405/1, 1072 GW Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 

Editor: Maaike Fekkes, maaike@nairobits.org .
Archive: All issues of NairoBitsNews can be found on
http://www.nairobits.org/newsletter .

Comments: If you have any comments or suggestions regarding NairoBitsNews,
or if you want to contribute to NairoBitsNews, please write an e-mail to
newsletter@nairobits.org . 

Subscription: If you want to subscribe or unsubscribe to NairoBitsNews,
please send an e-mail to newsletter@nairobits.org . 

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