[email protected]

The Origins of Computing Technology in Africa

This film begins with a provocative question: 'Why speak of new technologies on a continent which wakes up and goes to sleep to the terrorism of poverty?' In other words, how can Africa escape the logic of poverty and unequal development by making sure that digital technology doesn't pass it by, become an agent of neo-colonialism or marginalize it still further? As Nigerian filmmaker Ola Balogun warns: "We must ask what is the purpose of this technology and what type of technology is most appropriate to us?...Technology is not a value in itself."

The documentary asserts that computing technology may in fact be indigenous to Africa. The new field of ethno-mathematics has discovered the oldest calculating tool in the world in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa. Named the 'Ishango bone' after its place of origin, it uses a base twelve system devised 15,000 years before the construction of the pyramids. Despite the relative scarcity of computers on the continent, the largest source of coltan, a product used in most microprocessors, is the Congo.

"Asks important questions about how digital technology is being utilized in Africa today and how it might be used in the service of African peoples tomorrow. I highly recommend it for courses in science, communications, anthropology and technology." - Michael Leslie, University of Florida

"[email protected] is an important film that undermines stereotypes of African primitivism and backwardness. Although African are increasingly connected to worldwide electronic networks, they are connected in ways that ensure and extend important African traditions?" - Paul Stoller, West Chester University