Launch of telecentre.org to Strengthen The Global Telecentre Movement
TUNIS, Tunisia — 17 Nov 2005 — Today at the World Summit on the Information Society, Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Microsoft Corp and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) announced the launch of telecentre.org, a CAN$21 million collaborative initiative with the aim of strengthening the capacity of tens of thousands of community-based telecentres around the world.
Telecentres and other public-access computing initiatives bring the benefits of the information economy to isolated villages and communities on every continent. They provide a community gathering place where people can access computers, use the internet, learn new skills, tackle local social issues, face common challenges and empower their neighbours.
"Telecentres provide communities with the opportunity to participate in the knowledge economy on their terms," said Maureen O’Neil, IDRC’s president. "There are examples of telecentres helping people to overcome isolation and poverty, access medical and government services, and create new economic opportunities. All telecentres want to have this kind of community impact. telecentre.org will give people working in local telecentres the tools they need to make this happen."
Based at IDRC's offices in Ottawa, the telecentre.org programme will invest in grassroots telecentre networks. Operating at the national or regional level, these networks will help provide people managing telecentres with the raw materials they need to succeed and scale up: training, support, marketing and technology. They will also help telecentre people to learn and innovate together, ultimately leading to the development of better community services in the places where telecentres are located.
"Networks are the key to strengthening telecentres," said Pamela Passman, vice president of Microsoft Global Corporate Affairs. "Working together through networks, people in local telecentres will be able to learn new skills, develop new social enterprise models and create innovative, knowledge-driven services for their communities. With the help of telecentre.org, telecentres will get stronger and better, together."
At its core, telecentre.org is built around collaboration and partnership — connecting telecentres, networks, innovators, social investors and others who see the potential of locally driven technology initiatives. IDRC, Microsoft and SDC have stepped forward as founding social investors with the aim of promoting a widespread collaborative effort that will strengthen the telecentre movement globally.
"Telecentres and other grassroots technology initiatives can only scale up through partnership," said Ambassador Walter Fust, director general, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. "We see telecentre.org a platform for all types of partners — big and small, private and public, global and local. The point is that we need to work together if we want to realise the promise of local, bottom-up technology."
telecentre.org will offer two things to grassroots telecentre networks — social investments and support services. Social investments include funding for the development of telecentre network workshops, training programmes, online information sharing services and innovative new community services. Support services include business planning, meeting planning and facilitation and an online community platform, all of which are designed to help telecentre networks succeed more quickly.
"It's important to emphasise that all of these investments are guided by core set of social values and a deep belief in the network culture of the internet," said Mark Surman, managing director of the telecentre.org programme at IDRC. "In everything we do, we look at issues like social mission, free knowledge sharing, transparency, collaboration and learning. We've also made a firm commitment to technology neutrality. Telecentres should use the technology that they believe is most appropriate for the communities they serve."
A first round of social investments was announced at today's telecentre.org launch in Tunis. They included financial support for telecentre networks in India, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Mozambique, South Africa, Chile and the Americas. Investments should be made in the Non-profit Enterprise and Sustainability Team (NESsT) and TakingITGlobal (TIG), two global organisations that will play a key role in providing support services to telecentre networks.
"After 20 years of telecentres helping communities to gain access to the knowledge economy, it's great to see something like telecentre.org emerging," said IDRC ICT4D Director and telecentre pioneer Richard Fuchs. "There is so much innovation and learning that can come from working together. We look forward to welcoming other corporations, governments, NGOs and telecentre networks to join us in this exciting endeavour."
About IDRC
Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is one of the world’s leading institutions in the generation and application of new knowledge to meet the challenges of international development. For more than 30 years, IDRC has worked in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies. IDRC is a pioneer in the field of Information and communications technologies for development and was one of the earliest champions of this initiative.
About The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is Switzerland’s international cooperation agency within the Swiss Foreign Ministry. Together with other federal offices, SDC is responsible for overall coordination of development activities and cooperation, humanitarian aid and cooperation with Eastern Europe
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