kafui.com

The heat is on…the teams are running….the energy is constantly being depleted and replaced for the 10-day Wireless Training - http://simpasummits.net/eventsmain.php !

Thanks to all who are making this workshop a success. Notably the team at Djursland International Institute of Rural Wireless Broadband - http://diirwb.net/ led by their Educational leader, Mr. Bjarke Nielsen. The have air-frighted 5 boxes of wireless equipment including Linksys WAP11 Access Points with cables, biquad antennas,CD with Instructions, etc. to us yesterday. They should be here in the next 6 days. John Kibuuka who was a former student of Djursland International Institute has blogged up some information that might be of interest you here - http://kjohnah.blogspot.com/ with extra pictures here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/kjohnah/

Through the help of Jeff Burdrer, OVF-USA is supporting the project also with a generator to forstall the power-cut problems during and after the project.

Arrow Networks - www.arrownetworks.net - is also providing two technical staff to support the set-up. The CEO, Mr. Kwaku Boadu has promised to be present on the first day; what a commitment!

The University of Education is supporting our trainers with accommodation and feeding.

We’are on…but funds quiet a hitch to purchase electric cables, antenna cables, switches, hubs, and other network accessories. Let’s do this together by donating some resource or funds.

We are OPTIMISTIC; the Winneba Open Digital Village Wireless Network will be up soon!

A few weeks ago, OVF-USA team sent one indoor and two out door Meraki Wireless Network units to the WODiV. Today, we have with great joy successfully mounted and tested the indoor unit. We fed the indoor Meraki with a dial-up internet access which cost us about US$1 per hour - very expensive. This means we cannot leave the access on 24h/7as we wish. Thus ware working hard at securing a more reliable internet access for the WODiV and the Winneba Community Mesh Network. We have some basic funds for the network set-up and we’ll be glad to receive your inputs in how we could strike an affordable VSAT internet for the WODiV and the Winneba community. Partners, collaborators and funders are welcome!

I am sending this mail over the Meraki Wireless equipment we set-up as a commitment to develop our region through real action oriented capacity building sessions - and not a talk shops - at the WODiV.

Thanks to Gideon Amoah of Wireless Ghana (our close pal), Godfred Prebbie (OVF-Ghana Project and Finance Manager); together we set up the equipment and wireless network. In the coming weeks, we hope to receive some more equipment for the the Community Network.

Watch out for the WODiV in the next 1 year on the African continent….prepare for the first in at he series of Simpa Open Summits, the 10-day Wireless Network Training…details will be up soon at www.simpasummits.net

We are close to a Winneba, Ghana and an Africa without borders.!

Kafui.

The Winneba Open Digital Village (WODiV) will be hosting a ten day summit on wireless development in Africa. At the summit discussions will center on the role of wireless ICT to bridge the Digital Divide.The event in Winneba, Ghana from Aug 1-10 will be focusing on hands on training. This will include opportunities to set up a small wireless network in Winneba that will be part of the WODiV.

Venue: Winneba Open Digital Village (WODiV)

Date: AUGUST 1 – 10, 2007

Objectives:

1. Introduce wireless technologies into community project managers as a means to effectively deploy and utilize expensive internet access;
2. Discuss available and appropriate wireless technologies available for Africa;
3. Develop start-up expert groups with specific wireless technology skills in the creation of Wireless Networks;
4. Design effective local strategies to build local capacity in wireless technology on propriety and open source platforms;
5. Train experts to build routers with local materials and build a mesh network in Winneba;
6. Foster collaboration between community information centers to effectively deploy wireless technologies to increase outreach and address the problem access in Africa;
7. Publish content and proceedings from the workshop on www.simpasummits.net.

Duration: Ten (10) days, August 1 – 10, 2007

Participants: Fifty (50)

Partners:

• oneVillage Foundation, Ghana (OVF-Ghana)
• Ghana Information Network for Knowledge Sharing (GINKS)
• Wireless Ghana

Event Content (Proposed):

1. Setting up and configuring wireless local area networks (LANs)
2. Open source on wireless technologies
3. Network security
4. Troubleshooting
5. Bandwidth optimization
6. Managing your network
7. Building local wireless routers
8. USB WiFi and how they work
9. Installing Open Source Software, etc.

Pre-requisites:

1. Computer Literacy skills
2. Speak English or French
3. Possess a laptop with Wireless card

Who attends:

• Community Information Center/Telecentre Managers
• Computer Science students with interest in Wireless Networks
• Consultants
• Wireless enthusiasts
• Linux User Groups members
• IT Professionals
• NGOs, Government/Public service workers, etc.

Cost:

• Package A (Accommodation, Lunch, Snacks, Certificate)
  • Students, Individuals, etc. US$150
  • Corporate US$25o
• Package B (Lunch, Snacks, Certificate)
  • Students, Individuals, etc. US$100
  • Corporate US$200

Accommodation: At Students’ hostel on the South Campus of the University of Education in Winneba.

Inquiries: For further inquiries and registration, please send an email to the VF Ghana Administrative Assistant, Miss Shine Agbevivi at: admin-ghana@onevillagefoundation.org or applications@simpasummits.net