A knowledge economy begins at the grass roots

By Therese Burke, CTA; Koda Traoré, CTA

The telecentre movement is nothing new. As an effective service for improving the livelihoods of rural communities, it is a model which exists the world over. Picture a telecentre in Africa, and the image of a small building where people can go to get access to a computer, phone, fax, go online or charge a mobile phone springs to mind. This conventional scenario still exists in many areas, but in several parts of Africa, the telecentre concept is evolving into something much more..

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Une économie du savoir commence à la base

Par Therese Burke, CTA; Koda Traore, CTA

Le mouvement des télécentres n’est pas un phénomène nouveau. Service efficace pour améliorer les moyens de subsistance des communautés rurales, ce concept s’est développé dans le monde entier. En Afrique, l’appellation « télécentre » désigne communément un espace public grâce auquel des utilisateurs peuvent avoir accès à des ordinateurs, à l’Internet, à du matériel téléphonique (téléphone, fax) ou à d’autres services (recharge d’un téléphone mobile, par exemple). Les télécentres conventionnels existent un peu partout dans le monde et dans de nombreuses régions d’Afrique, le concept de télécentre a considérablement évolué...

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Innovating in sectoral governance and development with ICT: Conceptualising the ICT Roundtable process

ABSTRACT


By Nic Moens and Jacqueline Broerse

Although ICT clearly has the potential to contribute meaningfully to sustainable development and poverty alleviation, appropriate application of this technology is still very limited in many developing countries. However, participatory approaches to ICT development are quite promising for generating more appropriate ICT applications. In this paper we focus on a specific participatory approach, the ICT Roundtable process (RT process). Through the RT process relevant prototypes of ICT applications are generated and embedding of the innovation in the system is enhanced. The aim of this paper is to systemise the experiences of the trial-and-error process of developing the method of the RT process.

We identify the structure and crucial principles of the RT process by analysing case studies and intervision sessions. The identified principles include: system thinking; multi-stakeholder involvement; participation; ownership; dialogue; learning; facilitation and organisation; step-wise approach; and networking. The conceptualisation of the process will allow the development of an evaluative framework to test the results and to improve the RT process.

Read more: http://www.iiisci.org/journal/CV$/sci/pdfs/p738537.pdf

Aman-Iman: développer autrement...

MAASTRICHT, samedi 17 septembre 2011, il est environ 21 :30. La salle de ce local de fêtes, comme il en existe beaucoup aux Pays Bas, est comble. L’événement est de taille: une association au nom d’ «Aman-Iman » reçoit un don de la fondation Euroko Achmea. Le Consul Honoraire du Niger aux Pays Bas, Mr Poesiat , a rehaussé de sa présence l‘événement.

L’histoire d’Aman-Iman, est celle d'Abakoula Argalaless, un nigérien naturalisé Néerlandais, qui vit à Maastricht depuis bientôt deux décennies:

Au départ, il voulait d’un puits pour son village d'Inadougoum! Le hasard avait voulu qu’il croisât sur son chemin des hommes et des femmes ordinaires mais dont les motivations étaient exceptionnelles : sa femme Maddy, ses amis Fons Bus, Jo Koreman et … une armée de bénévoles. Aujourd’hui, grâce aux efforts conjugués de ces boute-en-train de développement, Aman-Iman est devenu un acteur de développement très apprécié de cette zone aride de la région de Tahoua, Niger. On peut citer à leur actif des appuis directs à des ONG locales, des forages, des banques céréalières, la construction de classes etc.

Ces quelques lignes écrites hâtivement sont destinées à rendre un vibrant hommage à ce bel exemple de volonté, de don de soi et d’innovation. Leurs projets résument de fort belle manière qu’il est possible d’apporter des solutions pratiques aux défis du développement avec de la volonté et des actions localisées et ciblées.

Pour plus d’information : http://www.aman-iman.nl/ (Néerlandais). Le site contient cependant, des photos et des vidéos qui résument bien l’action de l’association.

Analysis of opportunities and emerging issues in ICTs

By Koda Traoré and Kevin Painting
The most widely accepted vision for ICT4D, developed at the international level in 2005 through the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), is to move toward creating an inclusive Information Society, as detailed in the WSIS plan of action . Its implementation has met with differing levels of success across the world, largely reflecting the different stages of development and the issues being confronted by the countries. Ten objectives have been set which can grouped in the following three areas: (1) connect key sectors with ICTs including health, education, public information centres and libraries with a special focus on isolated rural areas; (2) ensure the insertion of ICTs to education including the development of adapted curricula at all levels; (3) facilitate the development and access to content in all languages. The section of the WSIS action plan dealing specifically with agriculture is “C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life”. (Commentators noted at the time that the technology focus was perhaps somewhat narrow and limited in scope of application) ...

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Innovation of Rural Information Systems - Using Telecentres in Improving Farming Practices in Africa

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Les TIC, une nécessité pour l'Afrique ?

... il est important que les Etats africains accentuent leurs efforts de promotion des TIC en détaxant d'avantage les matériels importés et en subventionnant massivement l'industrie des TIC. Les fonds d'accès universel devraient notamment servir à la création d'entreprise, à l'octroi de crédit pour les jeunes entrepreneurs qui voudraient se lancer dans cette industrie... [Koda Traoré, 2010]

Entretien réalisé par Mahéva Eholié

Lire l'intégralité de l'interview sur: Afrique et Tic

Community Informatics/TelecentresAfrica initiative

T. Burke: What is Community Informatics?
Koda: Community Informatics "is part and parcel of the use of information and communication technology (ICT) at the grassroots or community level as it supports social, cultural and economic development within grassroots communities. Community informatics, as a field of practice includes those concerned with ensuring ICT access and use at the grassroots level: development agencies that support and facilitate field practitioners, private sector suppliers of hard-software and governments that provide the regulatory, programme and financial framework that enables the process of grassroots based development. Perhaps most importantly, community informatics is all about supporting grassroots/community initiatives in self-organized and locally empowered development [cf. Michael Gurstein].

T. Burke: How does this link to the Telecentre project?
Koda: The TelecentresAfrica initiative was been launched by CTA and the InfoBridge Foundation with an initial emphasis on “Rural Community Service Delivery” involving social entrepreneurs in Africa active in rural areas. The achievement of this objective requires building integral links with other development sectors including a research component in the implementation framework. In this regard, the Community Informatics approach is a great opportunity as it refers to a multidisciplinary field of investigation and practice “concerned with principles and norms related to information and communication technology (ICT) with a focus on the personal, social, cultural or economic development of, within and by communities”.

T. Burke: How is CTA getting involved in the development of Community Informatics?
Koda: TelecentresAfrica operates mainly as a network facilitator and capacity building enabler. In this regard, the initiative will support the newly established NEPAD Community Informatics Network in setting up a multi-stakeholder dialogues and knowledge sharing platforms. Moreover, direct linkages will be established with higher education and research collaboration programmes of universities and centres of excellence in Africa and in Europe to develop training materials and curricula for young African ICT4D professionals within the framework of the proposed NEPAD Community Informatics Network.

T. Burke: What is the benefit to the community?
Koda: As far as developing countries are concerned, the time has come to go beyond discussions of the "Digital Divide" and move on to examine the effects of ICT strategy implementation and supporting the use of ICT by the most marginalised and underprivileged communities particularly those living in rural areas. This approach is specifically interested in the effective use of ICTs for different forms of community action, as distinct from pure academic study or research about ICT effects. So local communities in rural areas in Africa will directly benefit from the research activities within the framework of community informatics.

Interview by T. Burke, CTA