This CD-ROM was developed by Imfundo* and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) along with some of the BBC's local African partners in order to give access to free and easy use of information and communication technology (ICT) training materials, so that economically poor people are able to make full use of the potential of computers and the internet.

According to the developers, this CD-ROM builds on the BBC’s extensive experience in developing educational resources. To ensure that the CD-ROM was reversioned in the most appropriate way, Imfundo and the BBC felt it was crucial for African stakeholders to be involved in the process. Such involvement also supported Imfundo’s wider remit to help develop and build capacity and understanding of ICT in Africa.

The Webwise for Africa is designed to provide interactive, hands on and easy to use information for people in Africa about how to use a computer to gain access to the internet. It includes a step-by-step interactive introduction to the use of computers, covering everything from what a "mouse" is and how to use it, to the various components of a computer, to health and safety issues. The main menu has four options:

• Introduction: providing a short guide to the internet, its history and uses;
• Taster session: providing interactive sessions that help users understand the World Wide Web, e-mail and searching;
• Getting online: providing information on connecting to the internet and online communities; and

There is also a section on jargon, which provides simple definitions of commonly used terms such as "spam", "hardcopy", "HTTP" and "WAN".

Webwise for Africa is freely available from the Imfundo team for use in Africa; see contact details below.

*Imfundo is an initiative of the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) which works together with African governments and educational institutions to provide training and ICT-based resources to African countries in order to support to achievement of gender equity and universal primary education for all people.

English

Imfundo website and Imfundo newsletter [PDF] on November 2 2005.