The Internet welcomes Kumbo to the information super highway

By Peter Musa, Director Musa Heritage Gallery (Mus’Art Gallery)

Country correspondent (Cameroon) Computers + Telecommunications in Africa Magazine.

Now that Kumbo has gone into the information superhighway (information society) with the arrival of the Internet, it becomes very obvious for the inhabitants of this growing urban town to be informed on what the Internet is all about. As guest editor for this edition of Nso Voice, I bring to light what the Internet is all about and what opportunities are in store for the Kumbo inhabitants as they start acquainting themselves with the Internet.

Internet is about modern communication. We are living in an age of communication, an era where communication technology has developed with a lot of rapidity until we have finally arrived the age of digital communication. "Internet, among other services is the center of modern digital communication. In particular, the World Wide Web (WWW) has become one of the most popular ways of communication around the world" according to the Korea UNESCO Youth center.

Before I Proceed, there is one point, which I want to bring to light. Lots of names refer to the Internet and are being used over the world today. These include the information super highway, Cyber world, digital world, the net, World Wide Web, virtual world etc. these names all refer to the same thing. As Kumbo is getting set to receive the Internet, let us not get confused by these many names.

In actual fact that there are countless opportunities waiting to be explored on the Internet. "The digital world of information networks opens up many opportunities. There is every reason to be optimistic. The new technologies are eliminating borders between cultures" as expressed by H.E Ms Suvi Linden, minister of culture Finland during the Asia- Europe Forum on Culture in the Cyber age in Kwongju Korea.

With the emergence of modern communication and the wind of globalization blowing across frontiers, the world has come to be known as the global village. Internet has traveled the very long and hard way to arrive Kumbo (all of you who knew what it meant to Internet offers vast opportunities for everyone. Look at practical examples:

Students will have a lot of educational resources at their disposal; opportunities to obtain scholarships for further education; the chance to make friends abroad, e-pals (pen pals), thereby learning from new cultures and contributing to world peace, and promoting cultural diversity, etc.; teachers will be able to have additional material to make teaching interesting and rich curriculum wise as well as the possibility to communicate with colleagues, be part of electronic discussion groups, or participate in conferences online. Research and career advancements will be wide open for you. Businessmen will be able to search for new market opportunities while producers (artisans and farmers) will be able to find markets for their products in what is known today as electronic commerce (e-commerce.). Professionals such as doctors, nurses, clergy, accountants, engineers, journalists, jurists, etc. will be able to get access to vital information of interest, the possibility to communicate with colleagues, be part of electronic discussion groups or even participate in conferences online. The opportunities in store are numerous and fascinating. You will be marveled!

Researchers, holidaymakers and tourists will have reason to choose to spend some time out here in Kumbo with the availability of the Internet. Travelers passing through Kumbo will surely stop by to check and reply to mails from family members and friends and loved ones. Kumbo stands to derive economic benefits.

If we were to conduct a statistical survey of how many Kumbo residents travel out of this country each year, with the entry of the Internet into this town, you will be puzzled, as the present figure will double or triple and this trend will continue in an upward ladder. Kumbo is also bound to receive more and more visitors when residents of this growing town start using the Internet in developing personal friendships, business and professional contacts.

For instance, your community newspaper, The Nso Voice, shall be able to have an online presence. This means that readership of The Nso Voice shall in the near future not be limited to Kumbo or Cameroon in general, but with the creation of an Internet site (online or web presence) shall be opened up to a wider readership spanning the entire globe. At the moment, two of Kumbo based organizations OFFICE PRO, CIG (Information Technology) and Mus’Art Gallery (Arts and Culture NGO) already have Web sites of theirs. This implies that these organizations are already taking great advantage of the new information and Communications Technology (ICTs) of our times as provided by the Internet while promoting their activities and services to a global or international audience. As soon as organizations in Kumbo start developing websites of theirs, Kumbo will be positively contributing to the globalization process, which has become the order of the day. The people in this growing town have a commitment to work very hard to promote Kumbo-based organizations and our town to a wider audience for the common good of our community through the Internet.

To conclude, there is every reason for the people of Kumbo both young and old to embrace the coming of the Internet. What else could open up Kumbo to the rest of Cameroon and the world than the Internet? H.E president Paul Biya in recent times has talked on the importance of the Internet. Multimedia centers are being installed in some schools for Cameroonian children to take advantage of the countless opportunities the Internet offers. The head of state personally went out to inaugurate the first two of such centers in the nation’s capital. Who then says a modern satellite Internet facility is not a big development to a growing urban town like Kumbo with no tarred roads, an analog phone network (old), a cellular phone network which is quite expensive for the ordinary man, poor nature of roads linking Kumbo to Bamenda, Foumban, or Nkambe etc.

Internet is at your doorsteps. Inhabitants of Kumbo this is the time to exploit your potentials. Everyone should embrace the Internet. Once you take advantage of the Internet and use the services it offers, you will be amazed how you ever managed to live without it. The coming of the Internet into Kumbo is a big partner to the development process of our town. It will not be fair for me to end this Guest Editorial without stating that every one living in Kumbo should be grateful to Mr. Edwin Binfon, the promoter of this mammoth project which has linked our town to the information super highway.