Abstract
The Internet Connectivity Project is sponsored by Michigan State University (MSU, through the H-Net Humanities and Social Sciences On-Line and the African Studies Center) and the West African Research Association (WARA, headquartered at Howard University). It seeks to facilitate the development of electronic connectivity for the stimulation of teaching, research and collaboration in African higher education. In 1997 and 1998 the project is focusing on workshops designed for "training trainers" from Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana. These trainers will work for this facilitation in their universities, institutes and governments and be part of an electronic network of the West African Research Center (WARC, partner to WARA and the first American overseas research center in Sub-Saharan Africa). The project will support the WARC network wherever possible with equipment and consultation.
This report deals with the first workshop held in the summer of 1997: 3 weeks at Michigan State and 1 week in Washington.
The project is funded by the USIA Office of Citizen Exchanges and Michigan State University.
Introduction
From July 28 to August 22, MSU and WARA hosted the first workshop of the Internet Connectivity Project. The aims of the workshop were:
Planning
The recruitment of the participants to the workshop was carried out through several steps, including the identification of the most suitable institutions in the targeted countries and the pre-selection of a list of people to invite. The local WARC committees and the USIS representatives in the different countries provided invaluable contribution in this process. After the compilation and analysis of background information, the 11 librarians, academics, and archivists mentioned above (for more details, see Appendix 1).
After analysis of the background information on the individuals and the resources available at MSU, a program was prepared by Mary Duff-Silverman, instructor for the Internet Seminar, and David Bailey, professor of history responsible for the American Studies Seminar. Two notebooks of materials for these activities were prepared for each participant. Guest lecturers from MSU and other institutions were invited to participate.
Implementation at MSU
The time at MSU was divided into several different activities: 1, Internet training sessions coupled with special computer-related sessions; 2, an American studies seminar correlated with educational excursions; and 3, roundtables which brought together issues of connectivity and African studies.
Internet training sessions. Weekday mornings were devoted to the Internet sessions, divided about equally between computer work and special sessions designed to show examples of Internet applications in the library and teaching. Special meetings were arranged between MSU staff and some of the guests according to their area of interests (for more details on the program of the Internet training sessions see Appendix 2).
These sessions gave the participants an overview of the technical skills necessary for successful use of the Internet and provided training in specific pedagogical and research uses of the Internet. The participants learned the use of computer equipment to access databases. They were trained to design and develop WWW sites. The sessions on electronic mail and mailing lists provided them with the skills to manage and distribute information both locally and globally. The special sessions devoted to the concrete use of the Internet in library and teaching allowed participants to acquire key techniques to be trainers once back at their home institutions.
The seminar in American studies was organized for two hours each afternoon and coupled with excursions to selected sites in Michigan. The different themes were introduced by David Bailey with the support of guest lecturers from MSU and other institutions. The first week was devoted to the discussion of the emergence of the capitalist world with special emphasis on the American system. The guests also visited the Michigan Library and Historical Center and the State Archives in Lansing.
Week two focused on the development of 19th century capitalism. Participants discussed the Constitution of the US, the role of the government in US capitalism, the development of the transportation system, and the migration of labor. A trip to Dearborn, to visit Greenfield Village, which portrays US society in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the Henry Ford Museum, gave a concrete illustration of the evolution of US economy.
In week three, the workshop discussed the capitalism and democracy with special emphasis on reform and unionization. The group visited an Oldsmobile plant in Lansing for demonstration of the factory system and the automobile assembly line (for further details about the American studies seminars see Appendix 3.)
The roundtables allowed fruitful exchange of viewpoints between MSU staff from the library, the computer center and African Studies Center and the participants to the workshop. David Wiley, Director of the African Studies Center, gave a presentation on the "State of the African Studies in the United States". He identified domains for future collaboration between MSU and the different institutions involved in the workshop and explored with them the opportunities offered. The WARA/WARC meeting chaired by Jeanne M. Toungara, professor of history at Howard University and David Robinson, professor of history at MSU, focused on the evaluation of the level of connectivity in each of the countries represented and discussed follow-up to the workshop. Sheilla Desert, law librarian at the University of Pittsburgh, gave a lecture on "The Internet and legal issues".
With Paul Hunt, Vice-Provost for Academic Computing, and Cliff Haka, Director of the MSU libraries, the participants discussed the impact of the Internet on today's university and how the Internet can help to enhance the quality of teaching in African universities by allowing access to recent publications and to databases. The meeting also was an opportunity to discuss the positive effects of the Internet in the development of democracy and the challenges for developing countries who wish to participate in the global exchange of information.
Implementation in Washington
The Ralph Bunche International Affairs Center of Howard University, in its role as headquarters of WARA, hosted the 11 participants from August 16 to 22. The week in Washington concentrated on current applications of electronic data preservation and information at major US-based data collection centers. This week was a necessary complement to the portion of the workshop held at MSU. The activities in Washington consisted of round tables, demonstration of techniques of electronic data preservation, and visits to area data collections.
At Howard the participants had discussions and demonstrations with Mohamed Mekkawi of the Founders Library and with Dr. Battle, the Director of the Moorland-Spingarn Library. They engaged in debates on the importance of librarians in the promotion of democracy and civil society with Howard University faculty and librarians; they heard lectures from political scientists Alvin Thornton, Mae King, and Lorenzo Morris. They met with specialists from US agencies who are now actively pursuing Internet connectivity programs in West Africa.
At a concluding panel on "Democracy and Technology: What Role Do I Play?", the visitors engaged in discussion on information collection, dissemination and use with Sybil Moses, Professor of Library and Information Science at The Catholic University, and John Mack, Director of the Leland Initiative and International Communications and Information Policy at the Department of State.
The visits to area data collection centers put the visitors in direct contact with specialists in the information process. Marietta Harper gave an introduction to the Library of Congress, including the National Digital Library, the On-Line Thomas System for congressional staff, and the Handbook of Latin American Studies on CD-ROM.
Mayda Riopedre at the Smithsonian Institution described the special collections on North America and means of disseminating documents, while Martin Kalfatovic showed how ethnographers and technicians had collaborated to produce web pages used by researchers around the world. Janet Stanley of the National Museum of African Art described the Art Index Project funded by the Getty Foundation.
The National Archives II at College Park introduced the participants to the Center for Electronic Records and the NARA Internet Access program; this was hosted by Walter Hill and Kenneth Heger. Steve Dorsey of the National Demonstration Laboratory of the Academy for Educational Development demonstrated uses of distance learning programs, including a current pilot project in Ghana for K-12 teachers. Some member of the group were able to discuss distance learning with officials at the University College of Maryland (for more details on the Washington program see Appendix 4)
Follow Up
The Internet Connectivity Project will continue with its second training workshop at MSU, Howard and Washington for the summer of 1998. We are also seeking USIA support, in the form of another proposal to the Office of Citizen Exchanges, to bring in key players from Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa for the 1998 event and another workshop in 1999. We are exploring a variety of opportunities for funding to continue and strengthen connectivity, communication, teaching and research both in West Africa, through WARA and WARC, and in Africa as a whole, through cooperation with the Association of African Universities and CODESRIA (the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa). Project staff will be visiting West Africa early in 1998 to work on recruitment for the 1998 workshop, conduct training sessions, and measure the progress of connectivity, especially in the areas of higher education. MSU continues to provide very significant financial as well as technical support for the activities.
In order to provide the 1997 participants with ongoing communication, an electronic discussion list (AFRLINK) has been established through H-Net. This is a first step toward the creation of H-West Africa, which is intended as a forum of discussion among students, teachers, scholars, officials and others about important themes related to West Africa. H-Net already maintains one regional discussion list, H-South Africa, and a number of other African lists. These electronic discussion groups have had great success in enhancing the quality and quantity of communication in higher education among Africanists in Africa, the United States and across the globe.
Laboratory Sessions
Special sessions
Roundtable discussions
Lectures
Excursions
Roundtable Discussions
Visit to Collections