A girl from a rural village outside Mumbwa, Zambia, checks her mobile phone. © Georgina Smith

Whether it’s flicking through the virtual pages of a magazine on a touch-screen tablet outside a busy cafe, or shouting into a cheap mobile phone above the din of music on the commuter minibus, communication technology is everywhere in Lusaka.

Every day, archaic and modern worlds collide. The officer worker at his thick-set and heavy desktop computer eyes up his colleague’s ultra-thin and efficient tablet device, watching with envy as he taps the screen of his iPad effortlessly. In a more rural setting, one community phone is housed with great pride at the central bus station, as business entrepreneurs gather round to send that crucial message, one by one. Continue reading →