Nancy Hafkin

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Nancy Hafkin
Nancy Hafkin 2013.jpg
Hafkin in 2013
Alma mater Brandeis University
Boston University
OccupationComputer scientist
Known forInducted into the Internet Hall of Fame
SpouseBerhanu Abebe
ChildrenTwo

Nancy Jane Hafkin is a pioneer of networking and development information and electronic communications in Africa, [1] [2] spurring the Pan African Development Information System (PADIS) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) from 1987 until 1997. [3] She also played a role in facilitating the Association for Progressive Communications's work to enable email connectivity in more than 10 countries during the early 1990s, before full Internet connectivity became a reality in most of Africa. [4]

Contents

Work

Hafkin studied history and anthropology at Brandeis University in Boston from 1960 to 1965. She then studied at Boston University from 1965 to 1967. There, she found a mentor in Professor Ruth Morgenthau, [5] [ failed verification ] who encouraged her to intensively study African history during her graduate studies from 1967 to 1973. At the time it was a young field in which many women were active. Hafkin received her doctorate with a thesis on Trade, Society and Politics in Northern Mozambique from 1753-1913.

Move to Ethiopia

Hafkin moved to Ethiopia in 1975 with her husband, Berhanu Abebe, an Ethiopian classmate at Brandeis, and they lived in Addis Ababa for nearly 25 years, until 2000. [6]

When Hafkin worked for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Internet did not yet exist. While her efforts with UNECA were focused on economic development in every African country, she noticed that information was basically inaccessible on the continent with data being shared by fax and postal delivery. [4] There wasn't even one public library in the country so she decided to address the information crisis by launching the Pan African Development Information System (PADIS) in 1986. [6] [4]

In addition to her role with PADIS, she worked as a visiting professor at the University of Addis Ababa as the Chair of History from 1980–1981.

Through her time with PADIS, was able to help establish the first electronic communications networks in ten African countries and actively convinced many African government officials of the importance of the Internet. [7]

Over the years Hafkin significantly contributed to "sharpening global awareness of developments in the context of gender and information technology as well as enabling fast and inexpensive access to information technology and thus information and networking on the African continent." Through the efforts of PADIS, new African networks have broadened access to information resources while reducing the isolation of African students. [6] [4]

Return to the U.S.

In 2000, she left her position with the U.N. and returned to the United States with her husband so she could continue her work improving information access for women, one of her initial goals as a young researcher. [4]

Since retiring from academia, Hafkin still acts as a keynote speaker and gives lectures on the empowerment and participation of women in information technology. [4]

Writing

Nancy Hafkin edited Cinderella or Cyberella?: Empowering Women in the Knowledge Society, which was published in 2006 - a collection of essays discussing ways that information and communications technologies empower women. [6]

Awards

The APC (headquartered in Johannesburg) established the annual Nancy Hafkin Prize for innovation in information technology in Africa which recognizes outstanding initiatives using information and communications technology (ICTs) for development. [1]

In 2012, Hafkin was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame by the Internet Society. [7]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, human rights, protection of the environment, and sustainability. Pioneering the use of ICTs for civil society, especially in developing countries, APC were often the first providers of Internet in their member countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Economic Commission for Africa</span> United Nations continental organization formed in 1958

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its member states following a recommendation of the United Nations General Assembly.

Central Statistical Agency Ethiopian agency responsible for the census and related statistics

The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. The Director General of the CSA is Samia Zekaria. Before 9 March 1989 the CSA was known as the Central Statistical Office (CSO).

Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) is Ugandan non-governmental organization dedicated to aiding women and women's organizations in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as tools to share information and address issues collectively. WOUGNET is a member of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) since January 2005, Girls Not Brides since 25 March 2012, The Global Network Initiative (GNI) since 2019 and Digital Human Rights Lab since 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ungana-Afrika</span>

Ungana-Afrika, Swahili for "connect africa", is a non-governmental organisation based in Pretoria, South Africa that provides a wide range of ICT services for civil society within and outside of Africa. It aims to better empower civil society organisations, networks and related stakeholders, in terms of ICT capacity and resources, so they may more efficiently achieve their unique social missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophia Bekele</span> Ethiopian-American businesswoman

Sophia Bekele Eshete is an international entrepreneur, and corporate executive, governance and risk management specialist, policy advisor on ICT, commentator and philanthropist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K M Baharul Islam</span>

K M Baharul Islam is presently the Chairperson of Centre of Excellence in Public Policy and Government at Indian Institute of Management Kashipur. He served as the Dean (Academics) during 2019-2021 at the same institute. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland on 18 March 2020. In October 2021, he was invited as a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics.

Rebecca Amuge Otengo is a Ugandan politician. As of 2017, she was appointed as Uganda's Ambassador to Ethiopia and Djibouti with residence in Addis Ababa. This position also makes her Uganda's Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) as well as UNECA She is the former State Minister for Northern Uganda in the Cabinet of Uganda. She was appointed to that position on 27 May 2011. Rebecca Amuge was an elected Member of Parliament as Alebtong District Women's Representative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yetnebersh Nigussie</span> Ethiopian lawyer and disabled rights activist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meaza Ashenafi</span> Ethiopian lawyer and judge

Meaza Ashenafi is an Ethiopian lawyer. In November 2018, she was appointed by the Federal Parliamentary Assembly as President of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia.

Karen Banks is a British computer networking pioneer who was inducted to the Internet Hall of Fame in 2013 as a "Global Connector".

Ruth Schachter Morgenthau, was a professor of international politics at Brandeis University and an advisor to President Jimmy Carter on rural development in poor countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anriette Esterhuysen</span> South African human rights defender and computer networking pioneer

Anriette Esterhuysen is a human rights defender and computer networking pioneer from South Africa. She has pioneered the use of Internet and Communications Technologies (ICTs) to promote social justice in South Africa and throughout the world, focusing on affordable Internet access. She was the Executive Director of the Association for Progressive Communications from 2000 until April 2017, when she became APC's Director of Policy and Strategy. In November 2019 United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Esterhuysen to Chair the Internet Governance Forum’s Multistakeholder Advisory Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Radloff</span>

Jennifer Radloff is a South African feminist activist and a pioneer on Information and communications technology (ICT) for social justice. She works for the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) in the Women's Rights Programme and is a board member of Women's Net.

The digital divide in Ethiopia refers to inequalities between individuals, households, and other groups of different demographic and socioeconomic levels in Ethiopia in access to information and communication technologies ("ICTs") and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information gained from connecting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chat Garcia Ramilo</span>

Chat Garcia Ramilo is a feminist activist. She has over twenty years experience in different activities with Information and communications technology (ICT). Since April 2017, she leads the Association for Progressive Communications (APC). She is the Board Chair of the Center for Migrant Advocacy in the Philippines and a Board Member of the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID).

Dinah Musindarwezo is a Rwandan feminist and pan-African women's rights activist. She is director of policy and communications at Womankind Worldwide, and the former Executive Director of the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Jensen (internet pioneer)</span> Internet Hall of Fame member for his work in developing connectivity for the non-profit sector

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Sandra Nyaira was a Zimbabwean investigative journalist and communications and public information officer at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Nyaira worked for Voice Of America (VOA) in Washington DC and her work also featured in the London Times, The Guardian and The British Journalism Review. Nyaira rose to fame after she became the first woman in Zimbabwe to take a leadership role in the newsroom at the age of 26 and also became more popular after she got arrested for exposing corrupt officials through an article she published.

The African Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF) is a multistakeholder forum that facilitates dialogue on Internet governance issues. It is one of the 19 regional IGF initiatives and aims to address and discuss the issues of all 54 nations in Africa.

References

  1. 1 2 "Press Releases from the APC Networks". APC. 23 April 2001. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "Award for Namibia schools project". BBC. 10 November 2002. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  3. ↑ "WIGSAT Associates". WIGSAT. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mitroff, Sarah (2012). "Nancy Hafkin Brought Internet to Africa, Now She's Tackling the Tech Gender Divide" . Retrieved 31 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ "Dr. Nancy Jane Hafkin". IT History Society. 21 December 2015. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Nancy Hafkin | Internet Hall of Fame". www.internethalloffame.org. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  7. 1 2 2012 Inductees, Internet Hall of Fame website. Last accessed April 24, 2012
  8. ↑ "Lynne Rienner Publishers - Cinderella or Cyberella Empowering Women in the Knowledge Society". www.rienner.com.
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