Source:
UNESCAP
The Telecentre Online Database collects existing research, evaluation reports, project documents and other information available in English on the Internet that are related to telecentre projects in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as information gathered from websites of the telecentres, donor institutions and agencies that implement telecentre projects. April 2008.
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In recent decades, an exponential increase has been registered in the creation and development of new technologies, particularly those related to information and technology. However, the present global configuration in terms of availability of these technologies evidences the continuation of an unequal distribution of power and wealth, so that the so-called "digital divide" becomes a sub-dimension of the economic gap existing between more developed and less developed countries. These inequities are also registered to the interior of societies, particularly in the poorest ones, where the access and property of new technologies is concentrated on the highest socio-economic levels.
In this context, several action plans have been brought forward aiming at breaking the digital divide and contributing to the construction and strengthening of the information society in all regions of the world. Among these initiatives is the installation of telecentres. Although these telecentres are classified into several groups - according to their public character, type of management, services offered, etc. - there is certain consensus in defining them as "physical spaces that provide individuals, community groups and organizations with public access to the information and communication technologies in order to contribute to their educative, personal, social and economic development". The sole provision of free or low-cost access to ICTs is not the essential characteristic of telecentres, being such characteristic their community dimension. It is a fact that the successful realization of telecentre projects depends mainly on carrying out their installation and development with and for the community, thus respecting its specific demands. Telecentres then turn out to be spaces for the promotion of digital inclusion, social equity and local development, through mutual learning and exchange, particularly in areas and social sectors with poor access to ICTs. In this sense, for example, the potential of telecentres for strengthening communities in rural areas has been stressed. The reduction in the gender gap, which is especially related to the role of women in the production, access and use of new technologies, has also been pointed out as one of the potential benefits of telecentres, for example, through the design of policies that would favour the use and management of such spaces by women.
One of the main dangers posed to the survival of telecentres is their transformation into "cybercafe-type" facilities. That is to say, to stop being focused on human development and democratisation of technologies, and being instead turned into spaces just aimed at consumption and entertainment. A number of studies have stressed the role played by cybercafes in providing access and connection at low prices, which would thus contribute to a wider dissemination of ICTs. However, those who work on the promotion of ICTs for development usually make a clear distinction between both type of facilities. As they indicate, that which differentiates telecentres from cybercafes is the explicit purpose of the first ones to become instruments for human development, to channel local needs and to contribute to a change in community reality. For this purpose, it is necessary to implement long-term training programmes aimed at users and managers, in order to achieve a real social appropriation of technologies, given the fact that they do not promote development by themselves, but by means of the capability and purposes for which they are used.
The financing problem also affects the feasibility of this kind of projects. Since at first telecentres appear as initiatives that are scarcely or no profitable at all, external financing - either from public institutions or foreign donors - is needed for their operation. The issue of self-sustainability is turned then into an imperative since foreign investment is generally not granted for long periods of time. In this sense, the potential adaptability of telecentres has been pointed out as a factor that may contribute to their successful development without making them lose their characteristic community dynamics by means of the implementation of self-financing or complementary financing strategies based on the provision of additional services to the community (such as PC repair services, photocopy services, etc).
This paper provides a brief introduction to telecentres, critically examines the experiences to date, particularly in developing countries and emerging markets, delineates the key issues, and points to new directions and possibilities for telecentre development. Central elements are a discussion of financing, ownership and operating models, and a consideration of private sector involvement. PDF format.
This article explains how Technology Access Community Centres (TACC) project was launched in the Governorate of Sharkeya, marking the first telecentre in Egypt. It demonstrates that TACC users have become more active in community involvement and have improved their quality of life. (February 2007)
This report commissioned by the World Bank gives a description of telecentre activities from all around the world. Particular focus is placed on telecentres and telekiosks in the rural areas of Pakistan, and the key players involved in these interventions. The report concludes by highlighting the necessity of rural broadband policies to precede urban availability, and the inclusion of civil society, political and other stake holders in the decision-making process. October 2006.
The telecentre.org is a service currently being developed to support community telecentres (also known as community technology learning centres) around the world. This service is hosted by the information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) program area of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
Telecenter research offers tremendous opportunity to understand the role of communication and information in development. More importantly, a participatory research approach provides the tools to meet community needs, foster participation, and monitor the financial viability of the telecenter. Accordingly, this is a paper about the particular challenges of research in telecenter development, and what is hopefully the beginning of a practical literature on responses to these issues. PDF format.
The purpose of this essay is to describe a different strategy of development and social change than has been pursued in recent decades, informatization, which may hold great promise for certain nations. Informatization has potential for bringing about needed social change. Unfortunately, the informatization strategy often results in greater socioeconomic inequality in society due to differential access to computers. This digital divide may be overcome in the long range through public access provided by telecenters. PDF format.
This paper identifies ten key issues that go beyond the connectivity dimension of ICTs. Focusing especially on community telecenters, the main idea is that a variety of social, economic, and political factors influence the potential of ICTs as successful tools for development. Addressing those factors is an important step in building demand-driven local communication institutions such as telecenters. PDF format.
Telecenters are one of the most rapidly growing applications of ICTs in the developing world. This article argues that their rationale lies in shared-access models that allow provision of a wide range of services to more users at lower cost than privately-owned home or office computers which are often out of financial reach of poor people.
UNESCO's International Initiative for Community Multimedia Centres (CMCs) promotes community empowerment and addresses the digital divide by combining community broadcasting with the Internet and related technologies. A CMC combines community radio by local people in local languages with community telecentre facilities (computers with Internet and e-mail, phone, fax and photocopying services).
This article proposes a novel use of information and communication technology (ICT) to link the First and Second worlds, that is, the creation of telecenters using satellite or local Internet service provider (ISP) Internet connections linked with microbanks providing digital remittance services while offering a set of generic financial, communication, education, informational, and even e-commerce resources.
An annotated
literature review on telecentres. Articles, chapters and books reviewed are presented in a table, where each document is associated with a set of main topics. It provides a very useful and comprehensive resource of information on telecenters.
The Telecentre Online Database collects existing research, evaluation reports, project documents and other information available in English on the Internet that are related to telecentre projects in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as information gathered from websites of the telecentres, donor institutions and agencies that implement telecentre projects. April 2008.
Telecenters have been seen as a mean of addressing the lack of ICTs throughout Africa and of assisting in providing universal access, to both telephony and other forms of ICTs. This article reviews various initiatives throughout Africa and looks at two telecentre type: type A microenterprise telecenters; and type B, bigger, donor-funded telecenters.
Telecentres are now the focus of much attention in international development discourse. Hailed as the solution to development problems by providing desperately needed access to ICTs, telecentres are springing up in Africa, Latin America and Asia. This paper examines the notion of telecentres under a critical light, suggests a typology to describe the diversity of experiences emerging, calls attention to the need for assessment of their impact on communities, and describes some telecentre efforts in Latin America.
This document is the result of several years of research into community telecentres in Latin America and the Caribbean, coordinated by Fundación Chasquinet of Ecuador and supported by the PAN Americas program of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada.
Recent spread of the Internet, cellular phones and other new ICTs in developing countries offers exciting opportunities for better linking R&D organizations with information networks in rural communities. One approach to seizing those opportunities involves community telecenters, where individuals and organizations can learn to use ICTs for development.
The school-based telecenter (SBT) approach developed out of a combination of motivational factors. In Uganda’s rural communities like most parts of Africa, there is general lack of basic ICT infrastructure. By the end of 1998, Multi-purpose Community Telecenters (MCT) pilot projects had been launched with the support of IDRC/ITU/UNESCO at three different sites in Uganda. The broad mission of the MCTs was to study the efficacy of use of ICTs to promote rural community development. PDF format.
If deployed in both urban and rural areas, telecenters can decrease the gap in social services and economic opportunities that often exist between the two. However, establishing and operating rural telecenters is perceived to be more costly than urban ones. This paper presents a cost comparison of establishing urban and rural telecenter in Costa Rica. It shows that
telecenter operations in rural areas disconnected from the power and telecommunication grids may not be significantly more expensive than those of an urban telecenter. PDF format.
This article critically examines digital development in order to reveal the larger impact that ICTs could have on rural economies and societies, and it goes further to identify Information Kiosks as the most effective vehicle for digital development.
The report examines some of the main telecentre experiments in Latin America (especially Central America and the Caribbean). Survey results provide a characterization of users; help identify the main uses of cabinas publicas in Peru and their needs; and perceived notions as to the quality of service received. Investment opportunities are identified, and design recommendations made. PDF format.
The document contains the methodology currently being developed to evaluate the pilot multipurpose community telecentre projects by the ITU and partners as part of the Buenos Aires Action Plan adopted by the World Telecommunication Development Centre 1994. The multipurpose community telecentres (MCTs) introduced in the pilot projects provide facilities and support for a wide range of services and applications responding to the needs of the local communities.
This report describes five telecentre projects that are concerned with bringing about social and economic development in rural communities in Asia. A success model for telecentres is derived and applied to this five projects. Results indicate that earlier research offers promise in understanding what leads to a successful community telecentre. In particular, the characteristics of communities emerge as the most potent influence on the success of community telecentres, yet are probably the least manageable. PDF format.
Commonalities and differences between telecentres and cybercafes
Shared models access to information and communication technologies (ICTs), e.g., telecenters and cyber cafes, have been considered as one means to reduce the digital divide. This paper questions the prevailing emphasis on the “cyber” characteristics of access, and attempts to refocus the conversation by considering computing and access in the context of the "café". This analysis is based on extant literature and direct ethnographic research in several public places in six countries.
This article focuses on telecenters's financing issues. The autor states that is an unfortunate but common mistake to disregard cybercafés, because they are "not development oriented". He argues that people working in telecenters projects should take the example of cybercafes, as they can teach important lessons about policy and managerial approaches that contribute to sustainability.
In some countries of the developing world, cybercafés are by far the main way to connect to the Internet and to interact with computers. This is the starting point of this interesting analysis on the role of Internet in less developed countries.
Two different groups can be distinguished among the community access projects that are now in process of formation in a number of African countries: a) those that are emerging from entrepreneur driven initiatives or through expansion of services at existing public 'telephoneshops' and in other businesses, and b) national or international development programmes to support non-profit telecentres driven by NGO, government entities or international organizations.PDF format.
The concept of community-based telecenters has recently gained widespread attention as a strategically vital response to the perpetual lack of access to information and communications technologies and services in economically deprived areas. While telecenters are not an entirely new idea, the strong emphasis on this new policy option offers an intriguing and encouraging approach to overcoming the wide disparities of access in the Information Society, and to provide opportunities for developing societies and historically disadvantaged populations to participate in the newly emerging social and economic order. PDF format.
This paper argues that telecentre sustainability cannot been viewed on the basis of financial sustainability alone. In order to reach the goals of community development and financial sustainability, community-based telecentres have to integrate social, political, cultural, and technical sustainability as vital elements into the planning and operation of the telecentre.
This paper reports on some of the experiences of International Development Research Centre, a key player in the telecentre movement in developing countries. Their analysis provides useable guidelines for telecentre evaluation and provides a common framework for assessing individual telecentre experiences. PDF format.
The contributions in this volume are the result of an international working meeting on telecentre evaluation, held at Far Hills, Quebec from September 28-30, 1999. The main aim of this meeting was to explore in depth the challenges and opportunities of telecentre evaluation in Latin America, Asia and Africa. PDF format.
Based on data collected from Australia and South Africa to Hungary and Canada, this paper describe some of the strategies being used to sustain telecentres. The discussion is focused in the context of developing nations because of the intense interest in the early 21st century in incubating telecentres in places where individual connectivity to information access is most problematic. PDF format.
While small-scale experiments have supplied ample testimony to the benefits that poor people can derive from ICTs, the financial sustainability of telecentres remains contentious, and attempts at large-scale replications suffer from economic uncertainty. This article shows two initiatives from India that point to mechanisms for sustainable rural telecentres that involve the private sector.
Most of the existing introductory texts, guidelines and manuals have been written for telecentre operators in developed countries and there is a shortage of knowledge on how to establish and sustain them in developing regions. The aim of this manual is to draw upon existing knowledge and materials and adapt them to the African context. PDF format.
This article states that most of telecentres projects difficulties result from the lack of gender analysis and training to address the specific needs and demands of women and girls. So, it is crucial to invest in gender analysis and training to ensure that telecentres can appropriately respond to women’s needs and demands. From a gender perspective, telecentre projects must make an active effort to consider the disparate needs of women and men in the communities they serve.
This paper looks at the obstacles to community participation in telecenter operations, and it suggests some approaches that have the potential to increase participation, especially that of women. PDF format.
This paper explores the complex relationship between the diffusion of ICTs, telecenter design and women's access to new technologies in the African context. The argument formulated is based on the contention that sustainability of ICTs in Africa is dependent upon moving away from a gender-neutral approach to telecenter design and towards a more engendered one that is tailored to the diverse needs of women (and men) users. PDF format.
Based on experiences with the APC WomensNet in South Africa, the autor states that effective and viable telecentres must incorporate the needs of women. A gender-based approach to evaluation would allow for questions to be asked concerning design, development, and management of the telecentre. For instance, policy processes need to be interrogated (were women involved in decision-making?), and questions need to be asked about the selection, ownership, and management of telecentres.
Telecentres – public locations for accessing ICTs – have formed an important part of "e-development" strategies for donors, NGOs, governments and the private sector in recent years. At one time, they were a centrepiece of such strategies but more recently have somewhat fallen from favour. This short paper summarizes where do we stand today on telecentres. October 2005.
This paper uses the example of telecenter projects to illustrate the application of a stakeholder perspective, selecting the specific case of the Gyandoot telecenters in Madhya Pradesh, India. It finds stakeholder analysis can be used both as a best practice template to assess what has been done with stakeholders on an ICT4D project and as an analytical tool to understand who stakeholders are, their behaviors, and the ways in which they are managed. However, it also finds there are problems with applying a stakeholder perspective that must be understood including lack of openness among stakeholders, the problems of identifying who stakeholders are, and the subjectivity of stakeholder classifcation. Spring 2006.
The author criticizes the idea that knowledge, coming from the North of the world, is the solution for development. He challenges the effectiveness of telecentres claiming that only one out of every one hundred telecentres are really useful for the local community where they have been set-up, in terms of supporting development and social change. PDF format.
The autor of this paper argues that the success of the telecenter approach to ICT interventions, particularly in the rural "South", comes at the expense of less efficient or rational research and projects that are context-specific and, perhaps,
irreproducible. As a model, its current formulation is becoming more responsive to the needs of funders, development agencies, and, possibly, investors, and less responsive to the needs of local beneficiaries. PDF format.
Authors state that telecentres initiatives have demonstrated the importance of participatory strategies that allow community involvement in the process of adoption and implementation of ICTs for development but they criticize the assumption of the intrinsic benefits of the new information economy and of the role of telecentres in it. They conclude stressing that promoting development involves more than facilitating access to needed devices and services. It also implies an effort to shape broader structures of opportunity in ways that further social and economic progress. PDF format.
