Africa – metaLAB

Digital Doorways

A South African joint initiative between the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the CSIR that has as its vision to make a fundamental difference to computer literacy and associated skills in Africa. We envisage this happening through the innovative approach of minimally invasive education (MIE).

MIE differs fundamentally from other ICT provision interventions in that it holds that everyone has the inherent cognitive ability to teach themselves, provided computers can be made easily accessible to potential learners and an environment can be created in which they can learn through experimenting.

Between 2003-2009 metaLAB worked with the Project Team to create a replicable and sustainable Business model that will support the roll out of up to 35,000 units across the country within 5 years. Now in 6 other African countries.

Research Africa

metaLAB was responsible for putting together a consortium and securing significant funding from DFID for this project to improve African science and technology human capacity across the board. Research Africa provides services to meet the practical and professional needs of principal researchers and consultants, young researchers, research and innovation administrators and managers.

The original vision for Research Africa was a viable and practical approach to strengthening pan-African research support services in ways that will ultimately yield tangible contributions, generated in Africa, to the goal of poverty alleviation.

Wireless Africa

A unique pan-African initiative led by the Meraka Institute of the CSIR, has named three reference sites (in Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda) to lead the first phase of the project in setting up and studying community-owned information networks to benefit poor and rural African people.

National Accessibility Portal (NAP)

The National Accessibility Portal (NAP) is a five-year research & development project aimed at addressing the marginalisation of people with disabilities from the mainstream economy and society. The project was conceptualised and developed by the CSIR in partnership with a representative group of Disabled Persons’ Organisations (DPOs) and the Office on the Status of Disabled Persons (OSDP) in the Presidency.

Approximately 4 million people in South Africa are disabled and access to information, services and the ability to effectively communicate is a key need. Significant technological challenges exist in making services accessible to people with different forms of disabilities in an affordable way. Existing devices and software that allow people with disabilities to interact with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems are prohibitively expensive and have not been designed with South African context in mind. Technical challenges that are being tackled include; research and development in Text-to-Sign-Language, support for South African Languages, development of quality Open Source technologies including Text-To-Speech screen reader and measures to enable DPOs to operate the portal. The Institute will also explore R&D collaboration with South African Universities and Industry as well as partnering with International peers in Europe and the developing world.