[Telecentres] Identifying goals of the working group

[Cyrille Simard]

Hi everyone,

I certainly agree with comments made earlier by Barbara, Andy, Alejandra, 
etc, about the almost impossible task of setting up and updating a database 
like the one that was proposed on the list.

>But before I jump too far ahead, I think we as a group need to discuss 
>what our goals are. How can telecentres, as a movement, play a coordinated 
>role in meeting the WSIS plan of action and the MDGs? What role do we, as 
>a working group, want to play in WSIS discussions on funding mechanisms to 
>bridge the digital divide? What role do we want to play in Prepcom 
>meetings, as well as WSIS itself? As a working group, there are lots of 
>activities we could try to undertake; I think we should start by 
>brainstorming a list of some of these possibilities then  prioritize them.

Good point Andy...

One idea I am working on right now, and that might interest others, is to 
find a way to bridge together the best expertise (ideas, best practises, 
lessons, tools...) that the telecentre movement as brought up in the last 
few years with the expertise that as been the backbone of the Local 
community development movement. It seems like the telecentre movement as 
been looking for ways to better situate their work in the more general 
context of Community socio-economic development (mainly because of the 
sustainability issues they are facing) while the Community development 
movement as been looking for ways to better take ICT's into account  in 
their activities (mainly because they want benefit from the new 
opportunities that ICT might bring to them..).

It seems to me that there is a "niche" there that should be looked upon 
more closely. In terms of activity, this idea could lead to many things 
from the development of a multilingual toolkit to an international meeting 
to set-up a specific plan of action to adress this issue...

cyrille