Revolutionised learning I've never participated in distance learning and am fairly sceptical about whether it is as beneficial a tool as traditional learning methods. Feedback from those who have tried distance learning through locally based institutions has been more negative than positive - so where does online learning fit in? Lyndi Lawson looks at distance learning and the internet and weighs up how the internet has revolutionised the education sector in a two-part series. The internet is not just changing our learning methods but also revolutionising to suit our needs. Google Translate now supports nine new languages that includes Afrikaans, a widely spoken language in South Africa and Namibia, as well as Swahili - a language spoken among various groups in Southern and Eastern Africa. It seems the relationship people have with technology is a mutually beneficial one. It improves our lives to many degrees and with technology there are never-ending advancements making it easier to use and access information. So, on that note, here's to the digital age - may it bring more prosperity to its African users. Cheers! Sindy Peters, Content manager Send all your Africa marketing news to africanews@bizcommunity.com. Top stories
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[Issa Sikiti da Silva] Ranked Africa's second most peaceful and stable nation after Botswana, Southern Africa's Malawi is a relatively poor nation but a ‘golden mine' flooded with untapped economic opportunities waiting to be explored and exploited by potential investors. Not even the global recession could manage to shake the modest but well-organised economy of this ‘overlooked' but magical country. Read more >> Digital
 Friday 28 August 2009 saw the launch of Google Translate in nine new languages included Afrikaans and Swahili. Read more >> SEACOM, Uganda Telecom (UTL) and Rwandatel SA (RTL) announced yesterday, 25 August 2009, a partnership to extend the reach of international broadband capacity across eastern Africa. UTL and RTL, both subsidiaries of the Libyan Africa Portfolio LAP Green Networks, have purchased a large amount of international broadband capacity from SEACOM. Read more >>[Amy Lieberman] When one woman living near Gulu, a city in northern Uganda, found her mushrooms would not grow, she was left befuddled and desperate. She was a widow with five children in school, and the mushrooms were the only source of income for the impoverished family. After approaching neighbours and family for ultimately ineffective advice, the woman turned to a seemingly unlikely source in the rural, agriculture-based landscape: the internet. Read more >> Reports have revealed that Egypt's overall economy expanded by 4.7% in the fiscal year through June, driven by the expansion of its ICT sector which grew by 14.6%. Read more >>Education and Training
 [Lyndi Lawson] Something that we e-marketers often forget is that it is not only marketing that's been revolutionised by the web. The internet has changed many things for many people and has caused a fundamental shift in many industries. Education is one of them. Read more >>Inter Press Service (IPS) Africa is hosting a training workshop for journalists and plans to produce a conference newspaper in Maputo, Mozambique, where approximately two hundred government officials, professors, farmers and researchers from southern Africa are meeting next week to discuss agriculture and economic development. Read more >>Eventing
 NAIROBI: MTV and Zain have announced the nominees for the 2009 MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain. The nominees were revealed by Alex Okosi, senior vice president and managing director, MTV Networks Africa and Mwambu Wanendeya, Zain Group communications director - Africa, at an event at The Loft in Nairobi, Kenya. Read more >> The fourth World Summit on Arts and Culture, a project of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa from 22 - 25 September 2009, hosted by the National Arts Council of South Africa. Mike van Graan, programme director for the summit and head of the Arterial Network's Secretariat will address issues to be debated at the event. Read more >> Apex-Brasil, a Brazilian trade and investment promotion agency, will host a trade mission to Africa from 1 - 3 September 2009 in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa. Apex-Brasil president, Alessandro Teixeira, will be in attendance. Read more >>Exhibitions
JOHANNESBURG: ABB's Longmeadow green office building and factory will host Automation and Power World Africa from 11 - 12 November 2009. The facility, which began its phased-in move from June 2009, will be inaugurated by ABB Group CEO, Joe Hogan on the final day of the event. Read more >>Media
 The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), cautiously welcomed recent announcements made by the coalition government in its effort to turn over a new leaf on six years of intimidation and stifling of independent journalists. Read more >>Highway Africa 2009 will be hosting a seminar on "Re-thinking how we report on HIV and AIDS in Africa". The program aims to provide journalists with new tools and approaches to overcome media fatigue. The seminar will take place on Tuesday, 8 September 2009 at Eden Grove Blue, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. Read more >> Sytech Supplies has compiled an e-book explaining how the internet and especially social media can be used to increase marketing effectiveness in the signage and graphics industry. Sytech will present a talk on "Social Media for the signage industry" at Sign Africa 2009 on Friday, 4 September 2009. Sign Africa takes place from 2 - 4 September 2009 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa. Read more >>The assassination of a journalist in the Democratic Republic of Congo has increased concerns among media activists about press freedom in the country. An investigation has been launched into the murder of Bruno Chirambiza, a reporter from Radio Star in the Bukavu district, who was stabbed by eight men in an apparently premeditated attack on Saturday, 22 August 2009. Read more >>MOGADISHU: The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has strongly condemned mounting suppression and violation of media rights in Gedo region of southwestern Somalia by the Al-Shabaab Islamic group. Read more >>Mobile
 OSLO, NORWAY: Opera's State of the Mobile Web report for July 2009 examines the link between downloads and usage in determining some of the places Opera Mini users might vacation during the summer. The report, published monthly, provides information on global trends affecting the mobile web. Read more >>[Issa Sikiti da Silva] Global mobile advertising revenues are set to total US$24 billion by 2013, according to ABI Research. A recent Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council survey conducted by Epsilon has revealed that 63% of marketers plan on increasing their mobile marketing budget in 2009. Read more >> According to the MTN Group, it has reached satisfactory financial results for the six month period ended 30 June 2009 amid the economic downturn. The group's reported revenue and EBITDA results, when compared to the prior six month period ended 30 June, were not materially impacted by movements in currencies in the majority of countries in which it operates against the ZAR. Read more >>HELSINKI: Nokia plans to launch a service enabling people to make financial transactions with their cell phones, the Finnish telecoms giant said. The service, available 24 hours a day, will be rolled out from early 2010. Read more >>SOUTH AFRICA Nokia World Day 2009 in Germany via webcastNokia is hosting Nokia World Day in Stuttgart, Germany, 2 - 3 September 2009. The event includes keynote speakers, interactive sessions, the Nokia World Experience lounge and open discussions to encourage the exchange of ideas in the mobile industry, which may be viewed live via webcasts. For more info, go to http://events.nokia.com/nokiaworld/.  MTN Group advised on Tuesday, 25 August 2009 that it expected an increase in its basic headline earnings per share (HEPS) of between 19.8% and 24.8% and attributable earnings per share (EPS) for the six-month period ended 30 June 2009 against the previous period. Read more >>[Issa Sikiti da Silva] Mobile marketing connects businesses and customers during the right time at the right place with the right message. Optimised mobile marketing forms part of one's overall marketing strategy and objectives, and requires the customer's explicit permission and active interaction, according to Alexander Gregori, of myMobworld. Read more >>  [Gregory Gondwe] Zain Malawi has launched a sim-operated payphone which its managing director, Fayaz King, has hailed as "everything a mobile phone is, without being mobile". Read more >>Newspapers
[Gregory Gondwe] For the first time in Malawi's media history, an evening newspaper hit the streets on Friday, 28 August 2009. The newspaper called The Weekend Times becomes the fourth publication after the Daily Times, Malawi News and the Sunday Times published by Blantyre Newspapers (BNL). Read more >> WINDHOEK: The executive director of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), Phil ya Nangoloh, threatened to sue the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation's (SWAPO) mouthpiece, Namibia Today, for N$250,000 (US$31,250) in defamation after the paper called him a “pathological liar”. Read more >>Online Media
 Discovery Networks has relaunched its Discovery press website which provides registered users with access to programme information, video, photography, press releases, highlights and network information. Read more >>Production
Basic Lead, the organisers of Discop Africa, a TV content trade show and conference in Africa investigated the phenomenon of audiovisual piracy in Africa and whether anything can be done to decrease it on the continent. In partnership with Balancing-Act Africa, a qualitative survey was conducted to identify film piracy issues. Balancing-Act interviewed Cherise Barsell, head of audiovisual sector Africa. Read more >> IRIN Films has announced the launch of Heroes of HIV - series of short films on HIV/AIDS. Heroes of HIV profiles people involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Read more >>Radio
GABORONE: The chief executive officer of Gabzfm radio station has banned all political broadcasts on the station. In an announcement on 24 August 2009, Kenneth Moeng said, “All political, politically motivated discussions, commentary or opinions” , are banned from being broadcast on the radio station. Read more >>Retail
[Amy Lieberman] Modified irrigation practices have decreased water usage for crops by 40% in the Beni Mellal region of Morocco, while increasing wheat crop yields by 50% to 80% since 2004. Read more >> NAIROBI: Following below-average harvests in 2007 and 2008, Kenya's grain farmers need seed and fertiliser support to enable them to make use of El Niño rains, expected between October and December 2009, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says. Read more >>[Hopewell Radebe] China's expansion programme into the African market is helping its companies grow their presence on the continent. Read more >> [Tania Ghosh] Major donors including the US now acknowledge sub-Saharan Africa needs investment in agriculture to beat food shortages. The policy was underlined at the G8 meeting in July 2009 and during US Secretary of State, Hillary's Clinton's recent seven-nation tour of the continent. Read more >> TV
 Big Brother Africa: Revolution will launch on 6 September 2009. M-Net has officially confirmed the name of the BBA 4 host as Nigerian television star IK Osakioduwa. The launch show will also feature Somalian musician K'Naan. Read more >> CNBC Africa and the Liliesleaf Trust, have announced a partnership in documenting the story surrounding Liliesleaf and the role it played as a headquarters of the newly-formed MK (Umkhonto we Sizwe, translated "Spear of the Nation") during the height of apartheid. Read more >>Branding
 Not all marketing to your customers needs to be done through TV, radio, magazines or billboards. Engaging directly with consumers at an event is becoming an extremely popular way to pitch your offering to potential customers. Read more >>
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