Kabissa – Space for Change in Africa is a volunteer-led non-governmental organization that promotes Information and Communication Technology to empower and connect people and civil society organizations for positive change in Africa. Kabissa members are active throughout Africa, working on a range of crucial tasks including Advocacy and Policy, Arts, Culture, Conflict Resolution, Humanitarian Services, Economic Development, Poverty Reduction, Education, Environment, Gender, Governance, Health, Human Rights, Democracy, Media, Journalism, Microfinance, Technology, Training, and Capacity Building. Kabissa headquarters are on Bainbridge Island, WA in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, although the organization operates mostly online and boasts contributors from all over the world. The founder of the organization is Tobias Eigen who led Kabissa together with Kimberly Lowery from 2002-2007.
Introduction
Kabissa, meaning complete in Swahili, helps African civil society organizations put Internet and Communications Technology to work for the benefit of their communities. Founded in 1999 by Tobias Eigen, Kabissa initially provided domain hosting services, then capacity-building through a custom training curriculum and manual, and is currently dedicated to connecting people and organizations for Africa via the social media platform.
Membership
Anyone interested in Africa can create a free account, subscribe to newsletters and participate in groups. Nearly everyone in the Kabissa network is involved in organizations working on the continent that are listed in the Kabissa Organization Directory and displayed on the Kabissa Map. Kabissa's member organizations are extremely varied in nature and are thus an excellent indicator of overall African civil society sector. These members range from newly established localized organizations working in human rights and social justice to large, well established organizations doing far-reaching environmental work. Currently Kabissa's member organizations categorize themselves into the following focus areas:
Kabissa operates under the following charter: Mission
Kabissa’s mission is to help African civil society organizations put Internet and Communications Technology to work for the benefit of the people they serve. Vision
Kabissa’s vision is for a socially, economically, politically, and environmentally vibrant Africa, supported by a strong network of effective civil society organizations. Principles
Kabissa seeks to adhere to the following principles in its operations and governance:
To work in close cooperation with partner organizations that can provide local expertise, support, and resources wherever possible
To make its operations transparent to the Kabissa community and the general public
To employ the services of companies that share Kabissa’s vision whenever possible. In all cases, the organizations will show professional integrity and provide the best value, so that Kabissa can pass on high-quality, affordable services to the Kabissa community
To avoid any source of income derived from activities which indisputably conflict with our vision
To be a highly-efficient organization, keeping overhead costs to a minimum
To develop, use, and promote software and content that is freely available under open source licensing agreements
To embrace a diversity of perspectives in our member community, our staff, and our board
History
Kabissa was founded in 1999 by Tobias Eigen with the idea that Internet and Communications Technology could revolutionize the work of African civil society. Building on the years of consulting experience Tobias Eigen had with African civil society, Kabissa began by providing African organizations with accessible, affordable, and secure internet services. During the next three years Kabissa showed strong growth and gained increasing recognition. In June, 2002 Kabissa won the ICT Stories Competition, an initiative of infoDev and the International Institute of Communication and Development which sought to capture the learning process that accompanies the introduction and implementation of ICTs for development. In September, 2002 Kabissa added a part-time Program Manager, Kim Lowery, to its staff. By November, 2002 Kabissa was awarded its first major grant from the German Agency for Technical Cooperation for the pilot phase of Kabissa’s Time To Get Online training initiative. They went on to set up an office at Dupont Circle in Washington DC where for the next five years three employees and dozens of interns and volunteers worked on its programs with funding from major foundations including the Ford Foundation, Open Society Institute Information Program, the Hurford Foundation, National Endowment for Democracy, Yahoo Employee Foundation, and Lonely Planet Foundation. They also trained hundreds of activists and development practitioners in end user and training of trainers workshops and distributed thousands of copies of the Time To Get Online manual. In partnership with Tanmia in Morocco, the Time To Get Online manual and training program was localized into French and Arabic. From April 2005 through March 2008, Kabissa administered the PanAfrican Localisation Project, which was funded by the International Development Research Centre of Canada. In 2007, Kabissa followed its founder, Tobias Eigen, to Bainbridge Island, WA in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and became a volunteer organization with no employees. In 2009, Kabissa announced a new focus on social media in Africa. At the same time, Kabissa streamlined its internet services and shut down the server hosting websites for its member organizations. As of May, 2010 Kabissa had 1504 member organizations representing over 50 African countries, and included internationally renowned human rights groups, charities, development organizations and orphanages.
