Prof V. Baryamureeba addressed Ambassadors during their Annual Retreat and Conference, on January 5, 2015. The Conference run under the theme: Delivering on the Strategic Objectives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Uganda while the topic was: Effective Use of ICT Tools in Implementing Uganda’s Foreign Policy

1. Ambassadors Annual Retreat and Conference, January 5, 2015
Theme: Delivering on the Strategic Objectives of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Uganda
Topic: Effective Use of ICT Tools in Implementing Uganda’s Foreign
Policy
Professor Venansius Baryamureeba, VC UTAMU, barya@utamu.ac.ug

2. Overview
• ICT
• Social Media
• Public, commercial and economic diplomacy
• Virtual/Electronic communication
• E-Government
• Cyber Security
• How to protect your personal data

3. ICT
• ICT is an acronym for Information Communications
Technology. ICT is concerned with the storage,
retrieval, manipulation, transmission or receipt of
digital data.
• ICT is an umbrella term that includes any
communication device or application,
encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones,
computer and network hardware and software,
satellite systems and so on, as well as the various
services and applications associated with them, such
as videoconferencing and distance learning. ICTs are
often spoken of in a particular context, such as ICTs
in education, health care, agriculture, tourism,
manufacturing, etc.

4. Social Media
Social media refers to interaction among people
in which they create, share, and/or exchange
information and ideas in virtual
communities and networks. Social media
depend on mobile and web-based technologies
to create highly interactive platforms through
which individuals and communities share, co-
create, discuss, and modify user-generated
content. They introduce substantial and
pervasive changes to communication between
organizations, communities, and individuals.

5. Social media / Internet Communication
Social Media:
• Facebook www.facebook.com
• Twitter www.twitter.com
Internet Communication:
• Skype www.skype.com
• Viber www.viber.com
• Whatsapp www.whatsapp.com
Communication Equipment:
• Mobile phone
• Ipad / Laptop / Computer
Social Media: Two way communication with citizens / others

6. Public Diplomacy
Public diplomacy deals with the influence of public
attitudes on the formation and execution of foreign
policies. It encompasses dimensions of international
relations beyond traditional diplomacy; the
cultivation by governments of public opinion in
other countries; the interaction of private groups
and interests in one country with those of another;
the reporting of foreign affairs and its impact on
policy; communication between those whose job is
communication, as between diplomats and foreign
correspondents; and the processes of inter-cultural
communications. "Central to public diplomacy is the
transnational flow of information and ideas."

7. Commercial Diplomacy
Commercial diplomacy concerns an activity
conducted by public and private actors with
diplomatic status to support business promotion
between a home and host country. It aims at
generating commercial gains in the form of trade
and inward and outward investment by means of
business and entrepreneurship promotion and
facilitation activities in the host country

8. Economic Diplomacy
Economic diplomacy is the use of the full spectrum
economic tools of the state to achieve its
national interest. Economic diplomacy includes
all the economic activities, including but not
limited to export, import, investment, lending,
aid, free trade agreements etc. Economic
diplomacy deals with the nexus between power
and wealth in international affairs.

9. What is E-Government?
• “E-Government is an ongoing process of
transformation of Government towards the
provision of government services (information,
transactions) through electronic means,
including access to government information and
the completion of government transactions on
an ‘anywhere, anytime’ basis.”
• PricewaterhouseCoopers

10. What is e-government ?
It is the
transformation of government
to provide
Efficient
Convenient &
Transparent
Services
to
the Citizens & Businesses
through
Information & Communication Technologies

11. What is NOT e-Government ?
e-Government is not about ‘e’
but about government !
e-Government is not about computers & websites
but about citizens & businesses!
e-Government is not about translating processes
but about transforming processes !

12. What do leading nations aim in eGov?
• Interactive Public Services
• Public Procurement
• Public Internet Access Points
• Broadband Connectivity
• Interoperability
• Culture & Tourism
• Secure G2G Communications

13. The economic benefits of E-government
• Improve efficiency
and quality
• One-stop-shop
service delivery
• Cost effectiveness
• Promote wider
adoption of e-
commerce
13
Policy Objectives of E-Government

14. Web site for information dissemination
14
Electronic submission of information
Department-based interactive services
Integrated portal site to deliver one-stop shop
services
Road map to E-Government

15. To develop the necessary information infrastructure
To adopt proper IT management practices
E-government initiatives
Training Culture
15
Top level commitment
High level implementation mechanism
The E-Government Strategy

16. Government Online: Government
Information Portals
• Uganda National Web Portal: www.gov.ug
• South Africa Government Online: www.gov.za
• Official Website of the Government of Rwanda:
www.gov.rw
• Government of Kenya Web Portal:
www.kenya.go.ke
• Kenya e-government: www.e-government.go.ke

17. Key Weakness of Government of Uganda
Websites
• Lack updated information
• Not well structured – not easy to find
information
• Non functional contacts especially e-mails
• Dead links
• Not integrated with Uganda National Web Portal:
the Uganda National Web Portal for lack of a
better word is a national embarrassment!

18. Cyber Security
• While rapid technological developments have provided
vast areas of new opportunity and potential sources of
efficiency for governments, these new technologies have
also brought unprecedented threats with them.
• Cyber security – defined as the protection of systems,
networks and data in cyberspace – is a critical issue for all
businesses and governments.
• Cyber security becomes more important as more devices,
‘the internet of things’, become connected to the Internet.
• As the number of mobile users, digital applications and
data networks increase, so do the opportunities for
exploitation:
– Network outages, data compromised by hackers, data
comprised by naïve users, computer viruses & other incidents

19. PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA WITH THESE TIPS
• Don't join unknown WiFi networks. Hackers sometimes set up
WiFi networks to capture and store what users send, including
their IDs and passwords.
• Don't Assume Privacy on Social Media
• Don’t e-mail, Tweet, or post to Facebook anything you
wouldn't want made public.
• Don't Open Suspicious E-mail
• Be suspicious of any e-mail unless you know who sent it and
have reason to expect the e-mail. Hackers can make an e-mail
look like it came from anyone.
• Protect Your Credit/Debit Card
• Many financial institutions offer a feature where they will send
you an e-mail or sms whenever there is a large transaction
(charge, withdrawal, etc.) against your account. Consider
enabling that option. If someone illegitimately accesses your
account, you will learn about it quickly.

20. Protecting Your System: Network (Internet) Security
• The Internet is simply a worldwide connection of computers and
networks
• Protect Your Network from Outsiders
– Implement applicable security measures like encryption software, virus
scanners, remote access regulations, and passwords
– Isolate your network through the use of a firewall
– Locate equipment and information that is intended for external
users outside of the firewall
• Protect Transmissions Sent over the Internet
– Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Servers to secure financial and information
transactions made with a Web browser
– Authenticate messages through the use of digital signatures
– Authenticate messages through the use of time stamps or sequence
numbers
– Authenticate message "receivers" through the use of digital certificates:
– Encrypt all messages sent over the Internet

21. • I THANK YOU