African Information Society Youth Network

An electronic web-based network with the African Information Society framework database as its core. The website has link-ups with other youth networks and databases, such as those on health, careers, youth livelihood, etc. This network also host a youth ICT journal. Also, a range of Internet linked community telecenters, where youth volunteers receive interactive training in technical and social skills.

The Aims and objective of AISYN include to:

• provide young people in all parts of Africa with easy access to information and knowledge resources;
• facilitate further education and training, especially career and health related training and guidance for youth;
• develop, coordinate, and extend electronic, economic and other networks and databases that can empower and develop young women and men;
• develop a workforce capable of creating and sustaining a knowledge -based economy;
• enforce the fundamental human right to communicate, and to participate in society through equitable access, and use of, ICTs;
• promote access to local content and the use of local language through appropriate systems for capturing; sharing and exploiting local information and knowledge resources for community development;
• promote access by youth to global knowledge resources through ICTs, and customize it to local social economic, and cultural priorities;
• promote sustainable youth livelihood in the knowledge creation and capture, access, packaging and dissemination industry (information economy);
  Ensure effective access by youth to the international and regional institutions that influence global development and trends in the ICT sector;

AISYN involvements include information audits, further development of its web site as an interactive information resource, an electronic journal that will report ICT activities in Africa and beyond, youth exchange programmes, an African youth information society trust, and a Pan African youth information society conference.

AISYN activities include:

• African youth information society trust



The YBKS-Africa has recognised the need to mobilise resources on a sustainable basis and distribute them equitably across the continent. Robert Nkuna (South Africa) and Andrew Ndiretu (Kenya) have been mandated to facilitate the establishment of a trust, which will include nominated development activists drawn from organisations like the IDRC, UNECA, and AYISN. The trust will mobilise, manage and disburse resources to projects at national, sub-regional and regional level of which 60% of the resources will go to AYISN based projects given their regional scope.


• AISYN website



An interactive youth managed website is being established to promote the activities of the AYISN and the African youth information society projects in general. The interim web address is AISYN website but there are plans to get a sponsor to support the site's further development.

• Electronic journal
  
  • The AYISN electronic journal, that has been named YouthNet @frica journal, will report on youth ICT activities in Africa and beyond. Youth organisations from the continent and the world will be invited to send articles based on their experiences in the use of ICTs to promote sustainable youth education, entrepreneurship and livelihoods.
  • Current issue
  • Previous issues
• Information audit
  
  The past few years have seen the establishment of various youth based information society projects across the continent. These include the IDRC Acacia, Ytech in South Africa, Schoolnet, etc. To ensure the success of the conference and to promote youth exchange programmes, the AYISN will conduct an information audit at the national, sub-regional and continental level in collaboration with the IDRC and other organisations involved in similar projects. The audit will focus on identifying resources and youth projects aimed at promoting youth education, entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods. The information gathered will be disseminated to various youth organisations and prospective donors through the AYISN website and the electronic journal.
• Pan African youth information society conference
  
  The AYISN is planning to host a Pan African Youth Information Society Conference soon. While a lot of groundwork is yet to be done prior to the conference, we expect it to emerge with a concrete programme of action, which we will implemented at the AYISN level. Some of the issues we hope to deal with in the conference include:
  • Youth and the local and global information and communication policies
  • Exchange Programmes
  • Youth Entrepreneurship, education and livelyhoods
• Youth exchange programmes
  
  Today we live in an era where young Africans get information about each other from Europe and the US of America, as a result there is an urgent need to promote youth exchange programmes that will eradicate the status quo. Furthermore the exchange programmes will also be South-South and South-North on an equitable basis. The development and implementation of the exchange programmes will be informed by the information and resource audit. As soon as this document is adopted, a note will be sent to to the e-conference participants to explore youth exchange opportunities.

Youth, Political Development.

The aim of the network is to create an integrated and interactive youth network that will not only facilitate increased communication between youth, and between them and youth-serving organisations, but also make existing global knowledge/information resources directly available to young men and women in Africa.

The aim of the network is to create a growing pool of youth volunteers equipped with skills to enable them to catalyse and guide community action in line with the AISI framework. A global youth E-conference was held in Feb-Mar. 2000. Regional discussions focused on developing a concrete action agenda to mobilise African youth to actively participate in the global information society agenda.