Question 5: What are the challenges and priorities for telecentre networks in the next five years? And what role can telecentre.org Foundation play?

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Permalink Reply by Shipra Sharma on November 25, 2009 at 2:21am

Thanks Meddie for informing about this 'Network Management Guide'. This would be an asset for the telecentre community, where networks play a critical role. I hope it will provide solutions to many of the challenges faced by telecentre networks across the world.

Permalink Reply by Jimmy L. Calata on November 19, 2009 at 6:14pm

1. Increase the number of key players and stakeholders joining the networks
2. Work for greater government support

- TCF to initiate global action, and sponsor advocacy efforts.

Permalink Reply by Jimmy L. Calata on November 23, 2009 at 8:53pm

In the Philippines, most of the telecentres are local government-based. As such, the centers' continued existence and sustainability also depend much on the support of the local chief executives, although the local telecentre knowledge workers play a major role in sustaining the operations of their respective telecentres. Concrete steps have already been undertaken in this regard, like the participation of our network leaders in the conventions of local chief executives. These strategies should be continued and expanded further including the supporting role of the TCF in local efforts in lobbying for national policy regarding the important role of telecentres in community building and development.

Permalink Reply by Jimmy L. Calata on November 19, 2009 at 6:15pm

Strengthening of the networks, individually and collectively

- TCF to initiate global action, and sponsor capacity building activities.

Permalink Reply by Jimmy L. Calata on November 19, 2009 at 7:56pm

Integration into the telecentre fabric the principle that telecentres do have global perspective though local in spirit, and respect socio-cultural values amidst diversity.

- TCF to initiate move towards global understanding and application of this guiding principle.

Permalink Reply by Polly Gaster on November 20, 2009 at 9:57am

Challenges and priorities in the next 5 years:
1. The implications of technological convergence for national networks and local telecentres - new opportunities for community ICT initiatives, the coming together and combining of computer, radio, Internet, mobile phone and hopefully improved connectivity (more widespread, reliable and cheaper) through better infrastructures, the new undersea optical fibre cables.
2. The need to ensure that community initiatives get the benefits of these opportunities, including financial benefits such as preferential tariffs, duty-free imports, etc.
3. Giving priority to content, information-sharing, improving skills in a development context, and making sure that government and others understand that installing a few computers will not by itself promote development; consolidating the national network.
4. Strengthening the economic viability of the network and each member, while not losing the social component of "social entrepreneurship". Of course this and my previous point take us back to the old discussion about cybercafes and telecentres - maybe it is enough to put down the computers and the rest will look after itself in accordance with the market??
5. Participating in new initiatives such as the Telecentre.org Academy, developing new levels of cooperation and networks with Brazil and the African Portuguese-speaking countries in particular, and maintaining links with the African and global networks.
6. Facilitating more research into the real impact of the networks, and of the telecentres and other ICT initiatives within their communities.

Permalink Reply by Niranjan Meegammana on November 20, 2009 at 12:59pm

One major challange I see is designing new forms of Telecenter Networks, taking into consideration of their sustainability; and need knowledge of each telecenter as each one is unique, to bring them to a network that deliver benefits to members. People don't stay long if benefits are not delivered.

Some Solutions:
From what I have experienced "knowledge is a good network builder; but alone keeps some excluded. However money even in little amounts induce people and influence building networks with knowledge plus a monitory benefits.

I see "Telecenter Networks are hybrid a living organisms; where social, economic, policy and ICT factors blend for human development with the most influential people (human) factor" being most influential and people first approach will help network.

Bring people first approach in building networks will require institutional base when up scaling network structures, therefore the networks need to find formal ways to integrate with existing institutional bases.

One idea I would like to suggest is to form a Telecenter Leaders Network inviting local, provincial, National, Global Leaders at all levels to form an open participatory network, which I call "Telecenter Sustainability Network" (TSN) in my working research on this area.

TCN is a human network, joining in together to sustain Telecenters in a voluntary manner and works towards a common goal. A TCN is a future based people involves in research at all levels, develop common tools, services and implement them through telecenters to develop communities and sustain them.

TCF can give leadership to form a TCNs globally.

Niranjan Meegammana
Shilpa Sayura Foundation
http://www.shilpasayura.org

Permalink Reply by Kiringai Kamau on November 20, 2009 at 10:48pm

In my view, the movement has been too electronic. Whatever is shared needs to move to the ground, to the soil, to offices, to learning institutions in more ways. I therefore posit that the challenges that the networks face include:
1. Collaborating more with local governments like what Rwanda and Sudan are doing and what India has ably done
2. Linking achievements with the grassroots with successes in other countries through more franchising like what Drishtee has done in India
3. Promoting content that makes sense to the poor
4. Quantifying knowledge which is the tool in trade for the networks so that they are valued at national and international arenas
5. To achieve all that, there is need to identify ways to support knowledge innovators so that they can spend more time innovating on thoughts that change the world

Permalink Reply by Niranjan Meegammana on November 21, 2009 at 2:38pm

Dear Kiringai
In Sri Lanka we have 600 Telecenter Network, who are on ground and also quite learning to be electronic. I think telecenter movement need to be more electronic than now, integrating voice, video and enabling more communications for grass roots to enable efficient knowledge delivery which is the fundamental reason for the existence of Telecenter movement.

One major draw back we have is lack of a good knowledge base of good projects , case studies. I think TCF needs a Telecenter best practices knowledge base and a Jounal for research publications.

I agree with you on supporting innovators. One problem is finding best innovators, most innovations look good on paper but seldom has impact. While we should supporting innovation, the world in general should take up Successful Telecenter Innovations, up-scale and replicate them in other places (with localization).

This is where good research and leadership network would be needed by the Telecenter Movement,

Niranjan Meegammana
Niranjan Meegammana
Shilpa Sayura Foundation
http://www.shilpasayura.org

Permalink Reply by gunadasa rathnayaka on November 22, 2009 at 9:56am

The grass root telecenter operators are considered as those who have very law level about the relevant subject.
the ideas of the the conversation are good.for example I agree with the facts that Mr niranjan meegammana has Introduced . I appreciate the Ideas that he has forwarded about national,local and global exchang programmers Although we were in very law level about ict knowledge in year 2002 now it has increased in 25% rate.there are about 600 nenasala center (telecenter or knowledge Center) all over the countrY(sri lanka).now the knowledge of ict has Increased satisfactorily the classes are conducted by the the government for giving ict knowledge to the government servants,school children as will as those who engage in Agricultural purposes to give the knowledge two projects are being implemented by Mr Niranjan meegammana.therefore as on experienced person Mr meegammana has introduced very valuable ideas for the Developament of telecenter.org Foundation

Permalink Reply by Cleopa Timon Otieno on November 23, 2009 at 2:34am

Specifically, KenTel’s priority in the next three years include, On-Line Support, Capacity Building, Partnership Development, Local Content development and documentation, Resource mobilization, More networking forums at country level amongst telecentre practitioners, telecentre services development and support for grassroot telecnetres to attain sustainability and reduce donor dependency as well as linkages with the government to support and compliment their/our efforts.
Some of the challenges include institutional and human resource development, need to reach and work with grassroot telecentres in order to get them to realize the need to share information through use of various mediums not necessarily technological, build their capacity to grow with technology being a dynamic and ever changing field, working with the government and building partnerships as well as collaborations with existing networks.

TCA can come in handy by building the capacity of network leaders through the telecentre academy, support with resources to undertake activities, exposure/exchange visits for both the network leaders and telecentre practitioners to inspire and encourage their work, establish working relations with various governments and ensuring that the networks are in sync and in cordial relationship with their governments since this will ensure good will and support with policy among other resources.

Permalink Reply by Sulah Ndaula on November 23, 2009 at 5:20am

The telecentre movement in the next three years will be tested mainly in the impact it creates to the telecentre end users as well as tactical interventions that will increase telecentre user numbers, cash in flow, end user opportunities through appropriate services - and for all networks will be at the heart of the process.

But the challenge is that developing these services could mean to be costly as well as a process that needs time and expertise complementation. Additionally, needs analyses and feasibility of the services to address telecentre gaps should have been rightly addressed. So in this lays what telecentre.org foundation can help network do better. It could for example;

# start an Innovative competitive grant for networks that develop a community drive, economically feasible service, which grant comes with technical support services/ expertise when even needed.

#It could develop an applied module within the academy to train network leaders in developing franchise services with each trainee network developing a real time needs drive project that could be funded.

# it could develop a support team with business service development expertise to support networks in tools developments, methodologic approach, data analysis and concept completion so that to emerge new services.

Secondly networks are going the trapped into the narrow thinking of telecentres "rural development telecentres are the only telecentres" - thus ignoring the cybercafes and village phones that are addressing similar gaps and by nature of their placement and management are by far sustainable. This trap could result into disconnect between the urban poor and the rural poor thus limiting further the movement of relationship, services and money among these two related communities that are only separated by geography. Networks, will be required to think broad and integrate every public access venue into their network of communication and knowledge sharing. To this is a survey of the numerous of telecentres in different countries (using the broader view) will be neccessary making TCF a good funding companion. TCF could be also a good companion in accepting this broader view as well as standardising the forms for documenting the the number of telecentres so that the information can be consolidatable in future.


Thirdly, mobile telephony technology will also be the icon of accelerating telecentre services, integrated with social networks and the telecentre as a grassroots organizing institution. But while this can still go on naturally, TCF can play a catalytic role in getting everything work for telecentres better. First by getting the success stories where mobile phone technology has been integrated with database driven websites to address community needs e.g http://www.souktel.org/About.htm, by having in house teams of experts that can support networks to get this service started at local level and may be to document about all the possible software and hardware that could make the services possible. For example mobile money and banking services could be supportive to telecentre coordinated urban-rural community interface.

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