NetDiploma: Network for Digital Public Library of Modern Africa

非洲迅速增长的人口要求：1。教育和培训与-à-vis爆炸性增长的非洲青年人口的就业；和2。对人类（文化融合与和平共处）和自然资源的可持续管理。教科文组织旗舰计划5和6 （http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002244/224489e.pdf）的行动建议：-“改善非洲普遍获取信息和知识的机会，并在信息和通信技术使用领域建设能力”（第11页）-“促进普遍获取和保存信息和知识”（第13页）-“将文化（各种形式的遗产和当代创意）纳入公共发展政策的主流”（第13页）-“使年轻人认识到文化的价值。并动员起来保护它。”（第13页）对联合国主要决议和政策文件的分析表明，获取和共享信息对于实现可持续发展目标（sdg）的重要性（Chowdhury & Koya, In Press）。但是，非洲的新闻服务面临着一些挑战：- -共同的信息传递渠道，即大众传播媒介；信息服务（图书馆）；教育和培训计划，包括会议、研讨会等，只惠及一小部分社会（受过教育的和城市/城市居民），而生活在农村地区的大多数人口无法获得或使用这些信息服务（Uzuegbu, 2016）——非洲的图书馆缺乏资金来建设ICT基础设施、订阅在线信息资源和培训人员(Chisenga，2015年)-管理数字内容仍然是公共部门的一个巨大挑战，因为没有技术基础设施来适当地管理和提供对数字信息的访问；因此，数以百万计的数字化档案文件仍然无法访问。研究还表明，欧洲对文化遗产信息服务的移动访问正在迅速增加（Nicholas et al ., 2013; Liew, 2014）。移动电话的使用通过互联网银行、小额贷款、微型企业、市场一体化、社会流动性、卫生等促进了非洲的发展，特别是在农村地区（Cibangu, 2016）。事实上，移动银行已经给非洲带来了一场革命，国际货币基金组织的一份报告（https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2016/afr/eng/sreo0416.htm）建议“在撒哈拉以南非洲的其他国家复制肯尼亚的经验具有巨大的潜力”。74]。我们打算探索这种方法是否可以应用于数字信息的传递，包括文化遗产信息。我们将汇集由学者、研究人员和专业人士组成的联盟，以及三个非洲国家（埃塞俄比亚、肯尼亚、马拉维）的国家图书馆、国家档案馆和大学等主要当地合作伙伴，以及包括国际图联、联合国教科文组织、联合国非洲经济委员会和非洲联盟在内的国际组织，努力了解非洲的历史、文化、语言、技术和跨区域挑战，为建设非洲数字公共图书馆（DPLAf）的研发议程提供信息。将采取自下而上的方法来探索和优先考虑各种用户需求，以补充非洲正在进行的活动，如非洲获取科学和社会经济知识项目（http://askia.uneca.org），以便在为实现非洲可持续发展目标的DPLAf准备蓝图的同时匹配信息的需求和供应。该网络将提供一种协作工具，将开发需求传达给承担研究和设计所需的多个学科。它将为政策和战略制定提供信息，以便为非洲人民提供数字和尽可能移动的信息获取渠道，以促进任何部门的教育和可持续发展。因此，它将有助于实现联合国可持续发展目标16.10（公众获取信息）。

The rapidly growing population of Africa calls for:1. Education and training vis-à-vis employment of an exploding African youth population; and 2. Sustainable management of human (cultural integration and peaceful coexistence) and natural resources.UNESCO's actions for Flagship programmes 5 and 6 (http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002244/224489e.pdf) propose:- "Improve universal access to information and knowledge as well as build capacity in the field of ICT use in Africa" (p.11)- "Promoting universal access and preservation of information and knowledge" (p.13)- "Culture (heritage in all its forms and contemporary creativity) is mainstreamed into public development policies" (p.13)- "Young people made aware of the values of the heritage and mobilized to protect and safeguard it." (p.13)Analysis of the key UN resolutions and policy documents shows the importance of access and sharing of information for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Chowdhury & Koya, In Press). However, information services in Africa face a number of challenges:- common information delivery channels, viz. mass media; information services (libraries); education and training programmes including conferences, workshops etc., benefit only a small section of society (educated and city/urban dwellers) while the majority of the population who live in rural areas cannot reach or use these information services (Uzuegbu, 2016)- libraries in Africa suffer from lack of funds to build an ICT infrastructure, to subscribe to online information resources, and to train personnel (Chisenga, 2015)- management of digital content remains a huge challenge in the public sector as there is no technological infrastructure to manage and provide access to digital information properly; hence millions of digitised archival documents remain inaccessible.Research also shows that mobile access to cultural heritage information services is rapidly increasing in Europe (Nicholas et al, 2013; Liew, 2014). Use of mobile phones is contributing to development in Africa, especially in the rural areas, through internet banking, micro-loans, micro-enterprises, market integration, social mobility, health etc (Cibangu, 2016). Indeed mobile banking has brought a revolution in Africa, and an IMF report (https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2016/afr/eng/sreo0416.htm) recommends that "there is significant potential to replicate the Kenyan experience in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa" [p. 74]. We intend to explore whether this approach can be applied to the delivery of digital information, including cultural heritage information.Bringing together a consortium of academics, researchers and professionals, key local partners such as the national libraries, national archives and universities in three African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi), and international organizations including IFLA, UNESCO, UNECA and the African Union, we will seek to understand the historical, cultural, linguistic, technological and transregional challenges to inform the research and development agenda for building a Digital Public Library of Africa (DPLAf). A bottom-up approach will be taken to explore and prioritise various user needs to complement the ongoing activities in Africa, like the Access to Scientific and Socioeconomic Knowledge in Africa project (http://askia.uneca.org), in order to match the demand and supply of information while preparing a blueprint for the DPLAf for achieveing SDGs in Africa.The network will provide a collaborative vehicle to communicate development needs to the multiple disciplines required to undertake the research and design. It will inform policy and strategy development for providing digital, and wherever possible mobile, access to information for African populations to facilitate education and sustainable development in any sector. Hence it will facilitate the achievement of UN SDG 16.10 (public access to information).