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Prix Ars Electronica 2004 : Award ceremony in New York
Tonga.Online
July 10, 2004

Visit the Tonga.Online website at www.mulonga.net

The Tonga.Online project was honoured to be recognized by this prestigious electronic arts festival, which was presented in the USA. The project was represented by Peter Kuthan (AZFA), Dominic Muntanga and Penny Yon, and some considerable interest was sparked by our attendance, and a wonderful video documentary by Thomas Schneider, which was shown during the awards ceremony, along with other winners. The ceremony was held on the eve of the opening of the UN Global Compact Summit, and an exhibition of the price winner projects was opened at the UN Headquarters in New York City.

NYC is one of the biggest cities of the world, throbbing with energy and thousands of people, cars, trains and buses moving constantly, and 'sky-scraper' buildings reaching far up into the sky. Everything is computerised in their society, and it soon became obvious that the 'digital divide' of which we speak is much bigger than we realize. The visit inspired the team to work harder to start bridging the divide and helping people of Binga to have access to Information Technology.

Syanzyundu & Siachilaba ITCs
Back in Zimbabwe, the two new satellite ITCs which were successfully set up in May at Siachilaba and Syanzyundu have been operating smoothly, in the care of Theo and Noty Sianyuka respectively. Although all stakeholders were immediately given access to a one-day-hands-on exposure to the computers, settling down to registrations for first level training is slow. In their infancy, these new ITCs are embarking on a long learning curve, and are trying to adjust to the needs of the school and community, while generating enough to be as self-reliant as possible. Fortunately they can learn a lot from their peers at Binga ITC which is smoothly running its third year now.

AlphaSmart Donation
We are pleased to announce the donation of another 25 AlphaSmart 2000 computer companions (keyboards) for Tonga.Online extension by AlphaSmart Europe Ltd. Mr Dirk Foch from AlphaSmart Europe wrote to Peter Kuthan/AZFA: " We would be happy to accommodate you with 25 AlphaSmarts 2000 to support your outreach program if you can arrange for transportation to Tonga (area). We would be happy to deliver to any point in the UK, and prepare the units for export." This is excellent news indeed and with our partner World Links we are now preparing for the shipment of the consignment to Zimbabwe and Binga.

Binga ITC 5th Stakeholders Seminar : 3 Sep 04
It is planned to hold the 5th Stakeholders Seminar for the Binga ITC during the annual visit of Peter Kuthan of Austria-Zimbabwe Friendship Association. All local authorities will be invited to attend, closer to the time. The Binga ITC needs the support and involvement of the larger Binga community and its authorities, to run efficiently and as effectively as possible. Similar meetings of the donor with relevant management committees and stakeholders will be held in Siansundu and Siachilaba respectively on 2nd September 04.

Mulonga.Net ngoma buntibe festival : 4 Sep 04
The official opening of the Siachilaba and Syanzyundu ITCs will take place on 04 Sep 2004, at Syanzyundu Secondary and Siachilaba Primary School. The festive celebrations are planned to take the form of a traditional ngoma buntibe gathering under the huge Baobab tree at Siachilaba Primary School, since the project was born out of Tonga cultural exchange activities between the group Simonga and the Austrians, in the last ten years. Chief Sinazongwe and his group of 80 musicians from Sinazongwe, Zambia, have already received, welcomed and accepted the invitation to travel to Zimbabwe in September and perform with Siachilaba group 'Simonga' (40), and Pashu group 'Kwabaana' (20). The Governor has been invited through the DA's office, to officially open the centres. Preparations have already begun, and local authorities and government departments are requested to assist where possible. Fund-raising is being carried out by P Yon and Keith Goddard in Harare specifically for the celebrations, but support of any kind is welcomed.

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