A seminar discussion with the editor of (Sokari Ekine) and a contributor to (Ken Banks) a new edited book – SMS Uprising: Mobile Activism in Africa (Fahamu, 2009) – which is the first of its kind to explore how and the extent to which new communications technologies are changing public action in Africa, and the impact of this on governance and people’s well-being.

Sokari Ekine is an activist with a multidisciplinary background in technology, education and human rights. She is the author of the blog Black Looks (www.blacklooks.org).

Ken Banks is the founder of www.kiwanja.net and the developer of FrontlineSMS (www.FrontlineSMS.com). He specialises in the application of mobile technology for positive social and environmental change in the developing world and previously lived and worked throughout Africa for 16 years.

This talk is part of the Centre of Governance and Human Rights Events series.