Amid all the hustle and bustle of Geneva, the grey high-rise buildings and up-market shopping malls, one is pleasantly surprised to come across a piece of Africa - a caramel-brown, camel-skin tent outside the entrance of one of the conference venues.

Out stumble Shindhouk Mohammed Lamine and his friend Bjibril Toure from Mali, ready and eager to show curious spectators the Malian way of doing things.

"Hello, please come in," shouts an enthusiastic Lamine. "Come in; go on, come in and have some tea."

It is not just any ordinary tea. It is a special brew, apparently found only in Timbuktu, and is meant to rejuvenate anyone who drinks it. The tantalizing smell of the brew, piping hot from the kettle, attracts many visitors who take off their shoes before entering the tent, which made its way across the Mediterranean Sea to the WSIS.

There are only two things one needs to do in this tent - have a cup of tea, which is free, and listen to Lamine lament the ICT situation in his home country.

"I myself only started using the Internet a short while ago," he says, "and even then I only use it to send and check mail - nothing else."

Lamine says Internet use is growing in his country, but unfortunately those who have access to the service are middle to upper class people who do administrative work. "Ten kilometres from the city there are still people who have no idea what a car is, let alone the Internet, and 20 kilometres away it is pretty much a scene from the Dark Ages."

His friend Toure has been listening quietly in the corner of the tent. He edges closer to the hot coals boiling the water, partly to get warm, but also to give his input to the discussion.

"It is very expensive to use the Internet in Mali," he says, shaking his head. "You have to pay every time, about 3000 Malian Francs for just one hour. Our people, and Africans in general, just do not have the same kind of access that people in First World countries have."

But the men believe things are changing, albeit slowly.

"Education about the Internet and technology at the moment is concentrated in the universities," explains Lamine. "One section in Timbuktu is being funded by a group from Switzerland and they have computers, but they are the only school that I know of."

Throughout the Summit, Lamine and Toure will sit in their tent and serve tea to whoever wants a free cup and is willing to listen to their story. They hope to raise awareness of the plight of African countries when it comes to accessing technology and how technology can be used to connect and promote cultures using local communities and local content.

"Maybe it will help, or maybe we will end up making a whole lot of tea," says Toure with a laugh.

They also have a bigger plan. They are showing a documentary film made in Mali of how members of the community are benefiting from access to technology. The film will be shown during the Summit at the ForuMeyrin Centre.

Source: Highway Africa News