Appfrica reports a Translate@thon at Makerere University in which students worked on translating Firefox3 into Ugandan langauges. (2008-8-14) http://appfrica.net/blog/archives/241

• Orumuri (in Runyakore/Rukiga) - http://www.orumuri.co.ug/

b) National, indigenous / Nationale(s), autochtone(s) :

• The New Vision company http://www.newvision.co.ug/visioncorporate/ has several indigenous language newspapers online:
  • Bukedde (in Luganda) - http://www.bukedde.co.ug/
  • Etop (in Ateso) - http://www.etop.co.ug/
  • Orumuri (in Runyankore) - http://www.orumuri.co.ug/
  • Rupiny in (in Luo) - http://www.rupiny.co.ug/

The Latin alphabet is used. A few languages use some additional modified letters (extended characters) or diacritics. A chart showing the extended Latin characters and diacritics used in some Ugandan languages is available at http://www.bisharat.net/A12N/UGANDA-table.htm .

IICD, "Ndere supports Arrin in empowering farmers," http://www.iicd.org/articles/ndere-supports-arrin-in-empowering-farmers

• Agricultural Research and Information Network (ARRIN) - (set up information centres, called InfoPops, throughout Uganda)

The Global Learning Portal (GLP) has apparently had a project for providing information online to teachers in Uganda.

The issue of Swahili as an official language of Uganda is somewhat complex. It is not indigenous to the country and is apparently spoken by fewer people than English. The decision seems to be based largely on concerns of optimal regional integration in the East African Community (EAC) - Swahili has official status and is widely spoken in two other EAC members, Kenya and Tanzania.

The issue of Swahili as an official language of Uganda is somewhat complex. It is not indigenous to the country and is apparently spoken by fewer people than English. The decision seems to be based largely on concerns of regional integration with [Kenya]] and Tanzania in the East African Community (EAC) - Swahili has official status and is widely spoken in the latter two countries.

Language policy / Politique de langue

Five institutions "involved in or responsible for African Language research" in Uganda (UNESCO 1985). Updated information is needed:

UNDP (2006) gives a literacy figure (without reference to which language[s]) of: 66.8%

UNESCO (1985) reported the following periodicals (name, frequency of publication, circulation, language). Updated information is needed:

"The Ugandan government recognises ICTs as a tool for social and economic development. This includes: reforming government service delivery; achieving transparency, accountability and credibility; providing effective access to information; broadening public participation and promoting democracy; facilitating research and development; and enhancing competitiveness in the global economy (NRM, 2006). ... The political will behind ICT development in Uganda has been manifested through numerous ICT-related government policies, programmes and laws since the 1990s. Recent reforms in the sector include the licensing of mobile phone companies and the separation of postal from communication services. Telecom markets have been deregulated, ICT trade liberalised, and taxes on computers abolished." (Torach et al in GISW 2007)

A Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF) has been set up by the government under the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). (Torach et al in GISW 2007)

ICT Policy / Politique de TIC

"The Ugandan government recognises ICTs as a tool for social and economic development. This includes: reforming government service delivery; achieving transparency, accountability and credibility; providing effective access to information; broadening public participation and promoting democracy; facilitating research and development; and enhancing competitiveness in the global economy (NRM, 2006). ... The political will behind ICT development in Uganda has been manifested through numerous ICT-related government policies, programmes and laws since the 1990s. Recent reforms in the sector include the licensing of mobile phone companies and the separation of postal from communication services. Telecom markets have been deregulated, ICT trade liberalised, and taxes on computers abolished. The setting up of the Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF) under the UCC was another notable change." (Torach et al in GISW 2007)

• En français: http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21849e_1

Torach, Julius, Dorothy Okello, and Goretti Amuriat. "Uganda." Global Information Society Watch (GISW) 2007 Report http://globaliswatch.org/en/node/606

Wikipedia, "Communications in Uganda," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_Uganda

______, "Languages of Uganda," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Uganda

• Ugandan Chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC)

Uganda - Ouganda (UG) http://www.PanAfriL10n.org/wikidoc/flags/UGA.GIF

The Africa Source II meeting, "Free and Open Source Software for Local Communities" was held in Kalangala on 8-15 January 2006

The APC page, "ICT Policy in Uganda" has some information and links:

• In English http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21849e_1
  • En français: http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21849e_1

APC, "ICT Policy in Uganda," Africa ICT Policy Monitor, http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21849e_1 ("Politiques de TIC en/au Uganda," Observatoire des politiques des TIC en Afrique, http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21849e_1

• Internet cafés, whose number is growing, are still very rare in rural areas" (Towards an African e-Index)

• IICD indicates that its projects are implementing "a total of 65 telecentres upcountry" http://www.iicd.org/countries/uganda/

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is the regulator of the communications industry in Uganda. http://www.ucc.co.ug/

IICD has a page on Uganda at http://www.iicd.org/countries/uganda/ . It has 17 projects in the sectors of education, good governance, health and livelihoods. Highlights include:

• Training in partnership with TechnoBrain and Uganda Institute for Communication Technology (UICT)
• DistrictNet
• Information & Data Management for Rural Health Units
• Improve competence for rural micro and small scale enterprises using ICTs
• ICT maintenance facility for Rural Uganda
• Arrin

Ganda (Luganda), Luo/Acholi/Lango, Runyakitara (includes Nyoro), Luyia, Teso/Turkana, Swahili

• A Mozilla web browser was localised in Ganda by ICT Translations - Uganda under the name of "Kayungirizi"

The following map illustrates the distribution of languages in Uganda (it was created August 19, 2005 by Mark Dingemanse and is licensed & released under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License): \\

• The Ugandan District Information Portal has a partly localised version of its site in Ganda at http://www.dip.go.ug/luganda/

• A web browser in Ganda

• ICT Translations - Uganda (projects for Ganda and Runyakitara currently on hold 4-2007)

Localisation policy / Politique de localisation

English. Swahili was made a second official language in 2005 (Wikipedia).

• Ngabo, weekly, -, Luganda
• Musizi, monthly 30,000 Luganda

< Tunisia | Countries | Zambia >

• East African Centre for Open Source Software (EACOSS) (based in Kampala)
• Uganda Institute of Information and Communcations Technology http://www.uict.ac.ug/

• ICT Translations - Uganda
• Kompyuta Africa Ltd.
• Kompyuta ne Yuganda http://www.kizito.uklinux.net

English. Swahili was made a second official language in 2005 (Wikipedia).

Ganda, Luo/Acholi/Lango, Runyakitara (includes Nyoro), Luyia, Teso/Turkana, Swahili

Wikipedia, "Languages of Uganda," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Uganda

Uganda - Ouganda (UG) http://www.PanAfriL10n.org/wikidoc/flags/UGA.GIF

(:toc:)

Language information / Références

Languages spoken / Langues parlées :

a) Official / Officielle(s) :

b) National, indigenous / Nationale(s), indigène(s) :

c). Relevant pages in the Major Languages section of this report / Pages appropriées dans la section de ce rapport sur les Langues principales :

Policy / Politique

a) Laws/legislation / Lois/législation :

b) Agencies / Agences :

c) Languages in education/literacy / Langues dans l'éducation/l'alphabétisation :

UNDP (2006) gives a literacy figure (without reference to which language[s]) of: 66.8%

Writing in national/indigenous languages / Ecriture en langues nationales/indigènes

a) Orthographies / Orthographes :

b) Print publications / Editions imprimées :

Other comments / Autre commentaire

ICT situation / Situation des TIC

Infrastructure / Infrastructure

a) Telephones / Téléphones :

b) Radio stations / Stations de radio :

c) Connectivity / Connectivité :

Computer & internet access / Accès aux ordinateurs et à l'internet

a) Computers & points of access / Ordinateurs et lieux d'accès :

• Number of computers / Nombre d'ordinateurs: 3.1 per 1000 people (APC)
• Cybercafés / Cybercafés:
• Project telecentres / Télécentres de projets:

Internet cafés, whose number is growing, are still very rare in rural areas" (Towards an African e-Index)

b) Internet / Internet :

c) Other / Autre :

• Digital Opportunity Index (DOI): 0.15 (ITU 2006)

Policy / Politique

The APC page, "ICT Policy in Uganda" has some information and links: http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21849e_1

ICT4D/E & ICT training / TIC pour le développement/éducation, et formation en TIC

Resources / Ressources

Localisation situation / Situation de localisation

Country web content / Contenu web du pays

Web content in indigenous languages / Contenu web en langues indigènes

Software localisation / Localisation de logiciel

Projects & organisations / Projets et organisations

References / Références

APC, "ICT Policy in Uganda," Africa ICT Policy Monitor, http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21849e_1

International Telecommunications Union (ITU). 2006. World Information Society Report 2006. Geneva: ITU. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2006/wisr-web.pdf

UNDP. 2006. ''Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. Human Development Report 2006.'' New York: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). [Human development index Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) (HDI) http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/indicators/3.html ]

Wikipedia, "Uganda," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda

• Kompyuta ne Yuganda

http://www.kizito.uklinux.net

Uganda is instituting a new bilingual education policy to begin primary education in maternal languages and transition to English after the 3rd year ("early exit" bilingual).

Uganda - Ouganda (UG)

The following map illustrates the distribution of languages in Uganda:
http://www.PanAfriL10n.org/wikidoc/maps/565px-Languages_of_Uganda.png
This map was created August 19, 2005 by Mark Dingemanse and is licensed & released under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

Uganda - Ouganda

Five institutions "involved in or responsible for African Language research" in Uganda (UNESCO 1985). Updated information is needed:

• Department of Languages, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7052 - KAMPALA
• National Institute of Education, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7052 - KAMPALA
• Curriculum Development Centre, P.O. Box 7002 - KAMPALA
• OAU Bureau of Languages, P.O. Box 7284 - KAMPALA
• Uganda Linguists and Authors Association, KAMPALA

UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa. 1985. African Community Languages and Their Use in Literacy and Education: A Regional Survey. Dakar: UNESCO.

UNESCO (1985) reported the following periodicals (name, frequency of publication, circulation, language). Updated information is needed:

• Ngabo, weekly, -, Luganda
• Musizi, monthly 30,000 Luganda

Tusubira, F.F. 2005. "Uganda." In Gillwald, Alison (ed.), Towards an African e-Index: Household and individual ICT Access and Usage Across 10 African Countries. (Research ICT Africa!, http://www.researchictafrica.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=504 )

UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa. 1985. African Community Languages and Their Use in Literacy and Education: A Regional Survey. Dakar: UNESCO.

2.e. Resources / Ressources

Organisations:

• ICT Translations - Uganda
• Kompyuta Africa Ltd.

• Fixed lines: 71,056 (Towards an African e-Index)
• Mobile subscriptions: 1,040,127 (Towards an African e-Index)

• Internet users / Utilisateurs de l'internet : 200,000 Internet users as of Sept/05, 0.7% of the population, per ITU (Internet World Stats)

Internet World Stats: Africa. 2006. http://internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

Bernsten (1998) discusses some aspects of Ugandan language policy.

• International internet bandwidth / Bande passante internationale d'internet :
• ISPs / FSI :
• Geographic coverage / Couverture géographique :

• Dial-up subscribers / Abonnés par ligne téléphonique :

Internet cafés, whose number is growing, are still very rare in rural areas" (Towards an African e-Index)

Bernsten, Jan. 1998. "Runyakitara: Uganda's 'New' Language." Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 19(2): 93-107. http://www.multilingual-matters.net/jmmd/019/0093/jmmd0190093.pdf

Ganda, Luo/Acholi/Lango, Runyakitara (includes Nyoro), Luyia, Teso/Turkana

"The mobile market is the biggest and has proved to be the fastest-growing market in Uganda during the past six years. There are currently 1,040,127 mobile customers against 71,056 fixed customers (Uganda Communications Commission, November 2004)." (Towards an African e-Index)

"The current and overwhelming conclusion from the survey is that mobile voice telephony is the exclusive means of communication for the typical Uganda citizen, and that there are hardly any fixed line services in peoples’ homes." (Towards an African e-Index)

Public payphones are also important. (Towards an African e-Index)

"The spread of mobile phones has created a synergy with the spread of private FM radio stations, with more than 100 operational stations in Uganda providing near total national coverage in local languages. Where radio used to be a passive tool for development information dissemination, it has become an interactive public tool and discussion forum through the popular phone-in programmes. Daily programmes range from political debates and other topical issues to health issues, agriculture, education, gender issues and the environment." (Towards an African e-Index)

"In terms of the overall population, ..., there is almost no access to and utilisation of computers and the Internet, especially outside the major urban centres." (Towards an African e-Index)

"Considering the liberal regulatory environment, the growth of the Internet and data market has remained below expectation. ...
"The low level of utilisation to date is largely attributed to a lack of awareness combined with high costs, limited points of access, lack of content relevant to the needs of the majority of the citizens and the high rate of illiteracy." (Towards an African e-Index)
One might also add another factor - lack of content and user interfaces in the first languages of the people.

"Internet cafés, whose number is growing, are still very rare in rural areas" (Towards an African e-Index)

"Uganda’s relatively liberalised telecommunications sector has a number of positive attributes. These include good regulation; a fairly competitive and vibrant market; declining prices, dominated by the mobile platform; and a potentially successful rural communications development programme, which has recently been launched. The sector still faces a number of key challenges, including limited access and competition, relatively high prices (despite the downward trend), and hardly any Internet penetration." (Towards an African e-Index)

"The national ICT policy framework defines the entry points for ICTs into the national development process by supporting the development targets and processes in other sectors, and being an economic sector in its own right. The national telecommunications policy and the infrastructure targets similarly respond to the national ICT policy framework. Proposed infrastructure needs and the rate of rollout have, therefore, been dictated by the planned rate of progress in sectors like education, health, agriculture and governance. Human development impact is expected to be the defining measure of success, with the extent of infrastructure only being an indicative measure." (Towards an African e-Index)

Tusubira, F.F. 2005. "Uganda." In Gillwald, Alison (ed.), Towards an African e-Index: Household and individual ICT Access and Usage Across 10 African Countries. (Research ICT Africa!, http://www.researchictafrica.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=504 )

• Cybercafé-like telecenters that mix community development and commercial objectives (e.g., UgaBYTES Initiative)

1. Language information / Références

1.a. Languages spoken / Langues parlées :

1.a.1. Official / Officielle(s) :

1.a.2. National, indigenous / Nationale(s), indigène(s) :

Indigenous languages are not specifically noted by name in law [verify] but their importance is recognized.

Ethnologue lists 43 living languages at http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=UG

1.a.3. Relevant pages in the Major Languages section of this report / Pages appropriées dans la section de ce rapport sur les Langues principales :

1.b. Policy / Politique

1.b.1. Laws/legislation / Lois/législation :

1.b.2. Agencies / Agences :

1.b.3. Languages in education/literacy / Langues dans l'éducation/l'alphabétisation :

1.c. Writing in national/indigenous languages / Ecriture en langues nationales/indigènes

1.c.1. Orthographies / Orthographes :

The Latin alphabet is used. A few languages use some additional modified letters (extended characters) or diacritics. A chart showing the extended Latin characters and diacritics used in some Ugandan languages is available at http://www.bisharat.net/A12N/UGANDA-table.htm .

1.c.2. Print publications / Editions imprimées :

1.d. Other comments / Autre commentaire

2. ICT situation / Situation des TIC

2.a. Infrastructure / Infrastructure

2.a.1. Telephones / Téléphones :

• Fixed lines: 71,272 (2004) (Balancing Act)
• Mobile subscriptions: 987,456 (2004) (Balancing Act)

2.a.2. Radio stations / Stations de radio :

2.a.3. Connectivity / Connectivité :

• International internet bandwidth / Bande passante internationale d'internet : Up 6.128Mbps, down 9.5Mbps (Sept 2002) (Balancing Act)
• ISPs / FSI : 18 (June 2004) (Balancing Act)
• Geographic coverage / Couverture géographique : 40 cities have dial-up POPs (Balancing Act)

2.b Computer & internet access / Accès aux ordinateurs et à l'internet

2.b.1. Internet / Internet :

• Dial-up subscribers / Abonnés par ligne téléphonique : 8,000 (June 2004) (Balancing Act)
• Internet users / Utilisateurs de l'internet : ?

2.b.2. Cybercentres / Cybercentres :

"250 mostly in major towns" (Balancing Act)

2.b.3. Project telecentres / Télécentres des projets :

According to Balancing Act, there are several telecenter models used in Uganda:

• Community telecenters
• School-based telecenters
• Cybercafé-like telecenters that mix community development and commercial objectives (e.g., UgaBYTES Initiative)

2.c. Policy / Politique

The government's policy objectives include providing access to basic communication to all communities with population >5000 by 2005. (Balancing Act)

2.d. ICT4D & ICT training / TIC pour le développement et formation en TIC

3. Localisation situation / Situation de localisation

3.a. Country web content / Contenu web du pays

3.b. Web content in indigenous languages / Contenu web en langues indigènes

(See also specific language pages.)

3.c. Software localisation / Localisation de logiciel

(See also specific language pages.)

4. References / Références

Balancing Act Africa. 2005. African Internet Country Profiles, Part 2, East Africa. London: Balancing Act.

1. Language information / Références

a. Languages spoken / Langues parlées :

i. Official / Officielle(s) :

ii. National (indigenous, often with legislated status other than official) / Nationale(s) (indigène ; souvent avec un statut légal autre qu' "officielle") :

iii. Other indigenous / Autres indigènes :

iv. Relevant pages in the Major Languages section of this report / Pages appropriées dans la section de ce rapport sur les Langues principales :

b. Policy / Politique :

i. Laws/legislation / Lois/législation :

ii. Agencies / Agences :

iii. Languages in education/literacy / Langues dans l'éducation/l'alphabétisation :

c. Writing in national/indigenous languages / Ecriture en langues nationales/indigènes :

i. Orthographies / Orthographes :

ii. Print publications / Editions imprimées :

d. Other comments / Autre commentaire :

2. ICT situation / Situation des TIC

3. Localisation situation / Situation de localisation

4. References / Références

Ganda, Luo/Acholi/Lango, Nyoro, Luyia, Teso/Turkana

Ganda, Luo/Acholi/Lango, Nyoro, Luyia

English

Over 40 languages spoken, and while they are not specifically noted by name in law [verify] their importance is recognized.

Ethnologue has a list at http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=UG

The site L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde has a page on Uganda at http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/ouganda.htm

The Latin alphabet is used. A few languages use some additional modified letters (extended characters) or diacritics. A chart showing the extended Latin characters and diacritics used in some Ugandan languages is available at http://www.bisharat.net/A12N/UGANDA-table.htm .

Leclerc, Jacques. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, "Ouganda," http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/ouganda.htm

SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Languages of Uganda," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=UG

1. Language information

a. Languages spoken:

i. Official:

ii. National (indigenous, often with legislated status other than official):

iii. Other indigenous:

Ethnologue has a list at http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=**

iv. Relevant pages in the Major Languages section of this report:

b. Policy:

i. Laws/legislation:

The site L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde has a page on * at http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/*

ii. Agencies:

iii. Languages in education/literacy:

c. Writing in national/indigenous languages:

i. Orthographies:

ii. Print publications:

d. Other comments:

2. ICT situation

3. Localisation situation

4. References

Leclerc, Jacques. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, "**," http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/**

SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Languages of **," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=**