Telecentres
This issue of The Soul Beat focuses on telecentres in Africa, delving into a growing body of literature related to telecentres and their role in development. This newsletter primarily features project descriptions and experiences and strategic thinking documents that highlight the development, use, and access to telecentres in Africa. It also includes links to a few fundamental support resources.
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1.Community Multimedia Center (CMC) Scale-up Project – Senegal
This project aims to promote community empowerment and addresses the digital divide through establishment of CMCs in disadvantaged communities. The CMCs aim to help people access information on health, HIV/AIDS, agriculture, the environment, business and commerce, training, culture, local governance, etc. The CMCs combine community radio by local people in local languages with community telecentre facilities (computers with internet and e-mail, phone, fax and photocopying services).
Contact: Fatoumata Sow f.sow@unesco.org OR Ndella Ndiaye me.ndiaye@unesco.org
2.UgaBYTES - East Africa
This is a non-profit organisation that seeks to promote effective use and integration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for sustainable rural development in East Africa. It does this by supporting a network of telecentres across the East Africa region focussing mainly on rural and disadvantaged community groups. Support consists of capacity building and mentoring, sharing of information, research, and the promotion of ICTs for development.
Contact: secretariat@ugabytes.org
3.Chinkokolola - Malawi
Now completed, this was a rural-focused ICT campaign that aimed to promote social and economic transformation in Malawi through the generation of employment opportunities, through the provision of core knowledge resources, and through the enabling of business between firms and people in distant places. Chinkokolola activities fell into 6 categories: advocacy programme, entrepreneurship drive, local access points project, mentorship programme, role of the youth in the information society programme, and World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) participation.
Contact: Kenneth Harry Msiska kennethmsiska@yahoo.com
4.Youth Association for Dissemination of Development Information (YADDI) - Rwanda
Launched in January 2005, YADDI is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that aims to address ICT issues in Rwanda through the creation of community telecentres. Focusing especially on young people, YADDI facilitates access to development information through the internet and other ICT tools by providing computer and internet training and services. Specifically, the organisation has established both a Centre for Dissemination of Development Information (CDDI) and a multipurpose telecentre that provides ICT services.
Contact: Cléophas Kanamugire kacleophas@yaddi.net OR administration@yaddi.net
5.Pésinet and Saint Louis Net - Senegal
Pésinet and Saint Louis Net are social-development-focused organisations operating in Saint Louis, Senegal that share an intranet site as well as related infrastructure (e.g., basic telephone service). Pésinet is a non-profit organisation focused on preventative health care, and Saint Louis Net is a for-profit business that intends to offer a range of information technology (IT)-based services to the community. Though the focus is on technology, the strategy often involves community participation.
Contact: François Jay fjay@afrique-initiatives.com
See also:
6.School-Based Telecentres - Uganda
7.Suitcase Radio for 'Radio Browsing' - Mali
8.Nakaseke Community Multimedia Centre (CMC) - Uganda
9.World Starts With Me (WSWM) - Uganda
10.Evaluation of UNESCO's Community Multimedia Centres
by Heather Creech, in collaboration with Ousmane Berthe, Ana Paula Assubuji, Indira Mansingh, and Maja Anjelkovic
This independent evaluation examines the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s Community Multimedia Centre (CMC) initiative, which was conceptualised as a potential solution to mitigate the digital divide in marginalised communities around the world. Launched in 2001, this initiative promotes sustainable local development through community-based facilities that combine traditional media like radio, television, and print with new ICTs such as computers, the internet, and mobile devices. At the time of this evaluation, UNESCO had established more than 87 CMCs in over 22 developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. A series of recommendations for this particular programme (which may be applicable to other telecentre-focused efforts) is included in this evaluation.
11.Rethinking Telecentre Sustainability: How To Implement A Social Enterprise Approach
Lessons From India And Africa
by Meddie Mayanja
This article examines telecentre sustainability using experiences from India and Africa to review 3 telecentre sustainability models. The author's premise is that combining financial and social sustainability of telecentres remains a key challenge more than a decade after the establishment of telecentres as a social, cultural, and economic development experiment. The author analyses the strengths and weaknesses of each of 2 approaches and then makes an argument for a new approach - one that will ensure financial sustainability and high social capital leading to expanding community usage.
12.A Rural-Urban Digital Divide? Regional Aspects Of Internet Use In Tanzania
by Bjørn Furuholt and Stein Kristiansen
Presented at the 9th International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, this document looks at the digital divide within Tanzania. Based on a survey among Tanzanian internet café users in rural, semi-urban, and central regions of the country, authors find that the divide is mainly a question of finding venues with technology to access the internet. The internet users and usage at the different sites are more uniform than anticipated, with, however, a few significant differences.
13.African Community Telecentres: In Search of Sustainability
by Meddie Mayanja
Here Meddie Mayanja examines the definition of sustainability, how to achieve it, and methods for measuring it in the context of multi-purpose community telecentres in African countries. "After almost three years of bold telecentre pilot projects, concerns about sustainability of such initiatives are growing day by day." From the community telecentres reviewed, almost all are donor-funded including: Namaacha and Manhica in Mozambique, Timbuktu in Mali, Sengerama in Tanzania and Nakaseke, Buwama and Nabweru Community Telecentres in Uganda.
See Also:
17.Information and Communication Technologies for Development in Africa (Volume 1)
18.Information and Communication Technologies for Development in Africa (Volume 2)
19.Community Telecentre Cookbook for Africa
20.Connectivity Africa Infobook
21.How To Get Started And Keep Going: A Guide to Community Multimedia Centres
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To view other issues of The Soul Beat newsletter that contain information on telecentres and ICTs, see:
The Soul Beat 84 - Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Education
May 9 2007
The Soul Beat 69 - ICTs for Development in Africa
August 23 2006
The Soul Beat 31 - ICTs and Agriculture
January 12 2005
To view archived editions of The Soul Beat Newsletter click here.
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PLEASE NOTE:
Soul Beat Networks, the NGO which has been responsible for operating Soul Beat Africa, has decided to discontinue operations as of February 29 2008. This decision has resulted in a number of changes in the operations at Soul Beat Africa which may result in some disruption of the kind of service you have come to expect. A new partnership relationship is being explored to continue The CI’s African-developed, -focused, and -managed processes. In the meantime, we hope to keep any inconvenience to a minimum, but if you have any concerns or questions please contact:
Chris Morry
Director – Special Projects and Coordination
The Communication Initiative
cmorry@comminit.com
or
Deborah Heimann
Director – Editorial Policy and Content
The Communication Initiative
dheimann@comminit.com
Soul Beat Africa
c/o The Communication Initiative
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Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8Y 2C4
Tel: 250 658 6372
Fax: 250 658 1728
info@comminit.com
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The Soul Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.
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