Information Ethics in Africa: - Africa Information Ethics Portal

ForewordForewordSince the first African Conference on Information Ethics was held in February 2007, various academicinstitutions, government departments and private sector stakeholders have contributed to theexpansion of the work and objectives set by the conference. These objectives not only included thegrowth of an awareness about Information Ethics in Africa, but also aimed to formally research thetopic and teach the new knowledge in formal courses at universities. In support of the mentionedacademic objectives, the Africa Network for Information Ethics (ANIE) and the Africa Centre ofExcellence for Information Ethics (ACEIE) were structured to further support the UNESCO activities inWSIS on the African continent.The ACEIE synchronises research and coordinates academic activities to enhance the awarenessand knowledge of all stakeholders and role players on the matter of Information Ethics. The activitiesinclude workshops, conferences and public lectures, as well as books and articles. The ACEIEenvisaged the compilation of this Information Ethics in Africa: Cross-cutting Themes to form animportant part of the research activities on Information Ethics in Africa.Information Ethics in Africa: Cross-cutting Themes was compiled by internationally recognisedresearchers and academics. These acclaimed researchers contributed chapters to the book on topicsthat are both practical and theoretical in terms of Information Ethics in an African context. Thecontributions were peer reviewed by two independent researchers (as well as members of theeditorial committee) and authors were given the opportunity to revise their contributions based on thesuggestions of the reviewers.Information Ethics in Africa: Cross-cutting Themes is primarily aimed at researchers, but can also beused at postgraduate level (and some chapters even at senior undergraduate level).We envisage this to be the first volume in a series of books on topics related to Information Ethics inAfrica.We thank the authors and all the ANIE conference participants who contributed to the dream andreality of this book. We also trust that both researchers and students will benefit from this source.Professor Theo BothmaACEIE Management Committee and HOD of Information Science University of PretoriaJuly 2013Page iii