[Telecentres] WSIS Papers Newsletter - July 2005 No. 9 - Telecentres: a new model for social appropriation of ICTs

[Andy Carvin]

fyi... ac

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WSIS Papers Newsletter - July 2005 No. 9
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In this issue: TELECENTRES: A NEW MODEL FOR SOCIAL APPROPRIATION OF ICTs

Content:

- Telecentres lessons and experiences
- Evaluation and sustainability
- Telecenters in developing regions
- Introducing gender in telecentre analysis
- Telecentres as a tool for rural development
- Beyond access: Not only telecenters
- Commonalities and differences between telecentres and cybercafes
- Related Choike's in-depth reports


Available online at:

      http://wsispapers.choike.org/

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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).


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 Telecentres lessons and experiences
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* Lessons from the field: ICTs in telecenters 
Source: The Digital Dividend Project - World Resources Institute
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. 
--> http://www.digitaldividend.org/pubs/pubs_02_tele.htm

* UNESCO: Community Multimedia Centres
Source: UNESCO
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). 
-->
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=1263&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SE
CTION=201.html

* Telecentres experiences, lessons and trends
Sonja Oestmann, Andrew C. Dymond
Source: The Commonwealth of learning
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.
--> http://www.col.org/telecentres/chapter%2001.pdf

* ICTs, telecenters and community development
Royal D. Colle
Source: Cornell University
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.
--> http://wsispapers.choike.org/ict_telecenters_dev.pdf

* Rethinking telecenters: knowledge demands, marginal markets,
microbanks and remittance flows
Scott S. Robinson
Source: Internet Society (ISOC)
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.
--> http://www.isoc.org/oti/articles/0401/robinson.html

* Telecentre literature review
Isabella Rega
Source: Center for International Development & Conflict Management -
University of Maryland
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.
-->
http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/ICT/telecentres/index_of_literature_review.htm

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 Evaluation and sustainability
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* Telecentres sustainability: what does it mean?
Klaus Stoll
Source: Chasquinet
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.
--> ftp://chasquinet.org/pub/docs/politicas/sostenibilidad.htm

* Comparing approaches: telecentre evaluation experiences in Asia and
Latin America
Ricardo Gomez, Katherine Reilly
Source: Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing
Countries (EJISDC)
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.
--> http://www.is.cityu.edu.hk/research/ejisdc/vol4/v4r3.pdf

* Telecentre evaluation: a global perspective
Source: Chasquinet
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.
--> ftp://ftp.chasquinet.org/pub/docs/wrkshp2.pdf

* Themes and issues in telecentre sustainability
Raul Roman, Royal D. Colle
Source: University of Manchester
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.
-->
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/NISPAcee/UNPAN0155
44.pdf

* Sustainable telecentres? Two cases from India
Roger Harris
Source: Development Gateway
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.
-->
http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/sdm/previewDocument.do~activeDo
cumentId=442648

* The community telecentre cookbook for Africa: recipes for
self-sustainability
Mike Jensen and Anriette Esterhuysen
Source: UNESCO
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.
--> http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001230/123004e.pdf

* Telecenters and telecommunications development: options and strategies

David N. Townsend, Daniel Espitia, Sonia N. Jorge, Christopher B. Lee
Source: DNTA
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.
--> http://wsispapers.choike.org/options_strategies.pdf

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 Telecenters in developing regions
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* African experience with telecenters
Peter Benjamin
Source: eOTI
Telecenters have been seen as a means 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.
--> http://www.isoc.org/oti/articles/1100/benjamin.html 

* Wondering about telecentres: can they contribute to sustainable
development in Latin America?  
Ricardo Gómez, Patrik Hunt, Emmanuelle Lamoureux
Source: IDRC
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.
--> http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-4343-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

* Lessons from community telecentres in Latin America and the Caribbean
Karin Delgadillo, Ricardo Gómez, Klaus Stoll
Source: Chasquinet
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. PDF format.
--> ftp://ftp.chasquinet.org/pub/docs/sinimagenesi.pdf

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 Introducing gender in telecentre analysis
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* Telecenters and the gender dimension: an examination of how engendered
telecenters are diffused in Africa
Kelby S. Johnson
Source: Soul Beat Africa
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.
-->
http://www.comminit.com/redirect.cgi?r=http://cct.georgetown.edu/thesis/
KelbyJohnson.pdf

* Gender analysis of telecentre evaluation methodology
Rebecca Holmes
Source: APC WNSP
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. 
--> http://www.apcwomen.org/resources/research/telecentre-gender.html

* Telecentres for universal access: engendered policy options 
Sonia N. Jorge
Source: Women in Action
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.
--> http://www.isiswomen.org/pub/wia/wia202/telecentres.htm

* Creating a participatory telecenter enterprise 
Raul Roman and R. D. Colle
Source: Cornell University
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.
--> http://wsispapers.choike.org/creating_participatory_telecenter.pdf

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 Telecenters as a tool for rural development
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* Telecenters and rural communities
Source: Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT)
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. 
--> http://www.ciat.cgiar.org/inforcom/info_networks.htm

* School-based telecenters: an approach to rural access to ICTs
Source: Women of Uganda Network
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.
-->
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/IARW/SchoolBasedTelecenter_MMayanja.pdf

* Comparing urban and rural telecenters costs
Hani Shakeel, Michael Best, Bruno Miller, Sam Weber
Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
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.
--> http://www.is.cityu.edu.hk/research/ejisdc/vol4/v4r2.pdf

* Information nodes in the rural landscapes
Source: Information for Development (I4D)
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
--> http://www.i4donline.net/issue/may03/aditya_full.htm

* Telecenters for socioeconomic and rural development in Latin American
and the Caribbean
Francisco J. Proenza, Roberto Bastidas-Buch, Guillermo Montero
Source: Inter American Development Bank (IADB)
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.
--> http://www.iadb.org/sds/itdev/telecenters/fullrep.pdf

* Integrated rural development and universal access
Source: ITU
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.
--> http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/univ_access/telecentres/papers/guelph.html

* Telecentres in Rural Asia: Towards a Success Model
Roger Harris
Source: UNPAN (United Nations Online Network in Public Administration
and Finance)
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.
-->
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN006304
.pdf

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 Beyond access: Not only telecenters
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* Thoughts on the telecenter as a model for ICT deployment in the rural
"South"  
Ted Byfield
Source: SSRC (Social Science Research Council)
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.
-->
http://www.ssrc.org/programs/itic/publications/knowledge_report/memos/by
fieldmemo1.pdf

* The lamp without a genie: using telecentres for development without
expecting miracles
Ricardo Gómez, Angélica Ospina
Source: IDRC
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.
--> http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-11973-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

Prometheus riding a cadillac? Telecentres as the promised flame of
knowledge 
Alfonso Gumucio Dagron
Source: Cornell University
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.
--> http://wsispapers.choike.org/prometheus_riding_cadillac.pdf

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 Commonalities and differences between telecenters and cybercafes 
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* Telecenter sustainability-myths and opportunities
Francisco. J. Proenza
Source: FAO
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.PDF format.
-->
http://www.fao.org/Waicent/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/ags/Agsp/pdf/ProenzaTelecent
er.pdf

* Commercial cybercafés: A useful weapon against the "digital divide"?
Ana María Fernández-Maldonado
Source: eLearningeuropa.info
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. 
-->
http://www.elearningeuropa.info/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=5077&doclng=4

* Public telephone & Internet services in Africa - The rise of
telecentre & cybercafe
Mike Jensen
Source: APEC Telecenter Workshop
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.
-->
http://telecenter.rdec.gov.tw/tel30_telecenter/tele_02%20Public%20Tel%20
n%20Internet%20Svcs%20in%20Africa.pdf

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 Related Choike's in-depth reports
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* The right to communicate
--> http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/1215.html

* World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
--> http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/703.html


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- "WSIS Papers" and "Choike" are projects of the
Instituto del Tercer Mundo (ITeM) -  Third World Institute

- "WSIS Papers" is supported by the
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) / PanAmericas
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