From Friday, November 1, Nnenna Nwakanma commenced work with the World Wide Web Foundation’s growing international network as Africa Regional Coordinator for the organization.
Reputed as an experienced technology and development professional, Nnenna, according to information available to ITRealms, would be based in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
Nnenna, ITRealms reports will work to develop cutting-edge collaborations which will advance the aims and reach of the Web Foundation’s work across Africa, including the Alliance for Affordable Internet project and the Web We Want campaign for human rights on and through the Web. ITRealms recalls that Nnenna is an experienced development professional has worked in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) field on the continent over a decade.
“As well as leading a highly-regarded consultancy platform, Nnenna has in recent years co-founded The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa, and served as a board member of the Open Source Initiative,” official statement from the foundation revealed.
She had worked closely with a range of civil society organisations, including the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) and has worked on the United Nation (UN) Africa Information Society Initiative.
Just penultimate week, she was invited to speak to over 2,000 participants from 111 countries at the opening ceremonies of the Internet Governance Forum in Bali on behalf of civil society.
Confirming this appointment, the chief executive officer (CEO), World Wide Web Foundation, Ms Anne Jellema, noted that securing someone with Nnenna’s background and talent is a real coup for her foundation.
“Nnenna will play a vital role in helping us to achieve our vision: an open Web which is a global public good and a basic right. We are delighted to welcome Nnenna onboard,” she said.
Reacting, Nnenna told ITRealms that the growing digital divide is a global issue that could only be tackled collaboratively.
“An open Web that is available, usable and valuable for everyone is crucial for Africa’s future. I look forward to working with the team at the World Wide Web Foundation to make affordable and open internet access a reality for all,” she said.
ITRealms recollects that Nnenna has lived in five different African countries, speaks English and French, as well as three other African languages.
ITRealms recalls that Nnenna Nwakanma is an Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) activist, community organizer, development adviser and development consultant originally from Nigeria in Africa.
She is the co-founder of the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) which she also co-chairs. Nnenna was elected as a board member of the Open Source Initiative in April 2007. She also co-founded the Africa Network of Information Society Actors, and the African Civil Society for the Information Society, which she serves on.
She is also a Vice President of the Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) and previously, served as the Information Officer for Africa of the Helen Keller Foundation.
Nnenna also has spoken at numerous conferences on Open Source and Free Software and other topics including O’Reilly’s OSCON, the Free and Open Source Developers European Meeting (FOSDEM) and Yale University’s Access to Knowledge Conference, the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, the Open World Forum and the Internet Governance Forum.
In the framework of her Consultancy platform Nnenna.org, she offers development advisory and consultancy services to governments, development organisations, donors, non-governmental agencies and business.
Fluent in English, French and a handful of African languages, based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, having lived in at least 5 different African countries, she normally introduces herself as ‘African’.
As for the WWW Foundation established in 2009 by web inventor, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, to tackle the fundamental obstacles to realizing his vision of an open web available, usable, and valuable for everyone.
Berners-Lee had opined that the web is the most powerful tool for communication in the history of humanity, creating the potential for all people to participate in building a more peaceful and equitable world.
WWW Founder had lamented that only a small minority of people mainly in urban, male, and affluent – are part of the Web’s global conversation. Adding that despite the recent surge in mobile internet access, nearly two-thirds of the world’s people mostly in the developing world are still not connected at all. And once connected, what people are able to do on and with the Web is increasingly threatened by government controls, as well as by certain commercial practices.
As said by him, WWWF seeks to establish the open web as a global public good and a basic right, ensuring that everyone can access and use it freely. The foundation which is unendowed relies on charitable donations and partnerships to carry out its work. Thus, a registered charity in Switzerland and the USA, we have offices in Washington DC, Geneva, and Cape Town.
“Our success will be measured by how well we foster the creativity of our children. Whether future scientists have the tools to cure diseases. Whether people, in developed and developing economies alike, can distinguish reliable information from propaganda or commercial chaff. Whether the next generation will build systems that support democracy and promote accountable debate. I hope that you will join this global effort to advance the Web to empower people,” says Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web and Founder , World Wide Web Foundation.
As part of efforts at continued this launched in 2013 by the Web Foundation, the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) which is a global coalition of more than 35 members committed to driving down the cost of internet access in less developed countries. A4AI focuses on creating the conditions for open, efficient and competitive broadband markets via policy and regulatory reform.
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