Ushahidi: Nurturing Africa's Silicon Savannah

How a group of bloggers is using technology to make governments more accountable and rescue operations more effective, while also fostering the ICT sector in Africa.

The barbecued spare ribs were piled high and the beer was flowing a couple of months ago at P.A's Ribhouse in the Liberian capital of Monrovia. To an outsider, it might look like an unlikely setting for a meeting that could represent one of the best hopes for pulling off a fair and peaceful election in October, when Liberians go to the polls to pass judgment on the tenure of President Ellen John-Sirleaf.

The guests at P.A's included an unusual mixture of local IT specialists and election monitors who were learning ways that the Internet and web-based software could help document and communicate independent poll results in a country still recovering from 14 years of civil war.

"We wanted to introduce them to ways to grow Liberia's online presence at a critical time in history, when so many Liberians want to encourage democratic elections at home but may not know how many tools are out there for sharing perspectives locally and abroad,” blogged Internet activist Kate Cummings, who organized the meeting.