It is widely agreed that for all intents and purposes, the Industrial Revolution is over and Africa missed out on this revolution. The developed world has now embraced the so-called Information Revolution. Many countries have come up with focused strategies to move their people into the Information (and Knowledge) Society I (K) S. The belief is that knowledge is power. In fact, there is widespread talk of the 'information haves' and the 'information not-haves'. This is sometimes code-named the 'digital divide'. Just like the North-South divide of the Industrial Revolution, the Information Revolution seems to emerge with similar characteristics. The rich developed countries have all it takes to create an Information society for their people, while the poor developing countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa seem to be, once again, the last in the race to transform their societies to embrace this new revolution. Yet, unlike the industrial Revolution, it is widely believed that this time round, if poor countries do the necessary groundwork, they can leapfrog and catapult their people right into the Information Age. They only need to come up with the right strategies (commonly known as e-strategies), create the right enabling environment, which can for example, attract foreign direct investment, and facilitate the training of human capacity.

This report presents the key outcomes and recommendations of an online discussion that was held between July 20 and August 21, 2005 to raise awareness of the critical issues around Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for Africa. The discussion, hosted by the Centre for International ICT Policy for West and Central Africa (CIPACO) and the Collaboration for International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) attracted a wide range of individuals and organisations. These included; policy makers, academicians, private sector representatives from the entertainment and creative industries, artists, journalists, lawyers and the general public interested in IPR issues in Africa.

There is increasing debate on the role and potential benefits of free/open-source software (FOSS), particularly in supporting developing countries in their attempts to increase the use of information and communication technology (ICT). And as a result, governments around the world are investigating whether and how they can integrate FOSS into their strategies for social and economic development. This document provides information to governments that are considering designing and implementing FOSS policies to support national development goals.

Before now there was no single place where all the basic facts about Africa's participation in ICANN could be found. So learning about the issues required a lot of Internet research, and some savvy to find the best online sources -- which isn't simple because connectivity is so costly in Africa. This document brings it all together, and tells you where to find out more.