Strengthening information networks around the world: APC brings together social justice content specialists from over twenty countries
The workshop, attended by participants from APC member and partner organisations, was held from the 21st to the 25th of March 2002.
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Building on the needs expressed by APC members and partners using the Internet to promote development and social justice in an online consultation undertaken in early 2001, APC brought together twenty six information specialists from around the world to a meeting in South Africa to strengthen the information community within and beyond APC, and identify and develop resources to promote effective online content work.
"The most valuable thing for me was learning about the kinds of work in the field of ICT development being done the world over and finding answers to some specific questions I had," said Ambika Sharma of Development Alternatives, India, a non-profit that sets up multimedia kiosks and content projects with communities in rural areas in three states in India. The experience was echoed by Graciela Selaimen, information coordinator at Brazil's popular Third Sector Information Network (RITS), "I learned that although we were people from all over the world, with different realities and cultures, we have much to share and collaborate with each other".
Ambika found that Development Alternatives' work has many areas of overlap with Kazanka Comfort's organisation in Nigeria, the Fantsuam Foundation. The Foundation administers a micro credit scheme in rural Nigeria where one of the possibilities for women lenders is the chance to get some IT experience. The computer training centres are in areas where there is no electricity and the computers run on car batteries. Ambika and her organisation call their ICTs for development work "technology in a sachet". "It is not necessary to have massive infrastructure to get started," she stressed, "you just need to get *something* done and then develop it".
The workshop, attended by participants from APC member and partner organisations, was held from the 21st to the 25th of March 2002. Areas covered included strategic planning for online communications, writing for the web and evaluating the usability of Websites, developing database-driven web sites, and using data transmission by radio and satellite to reach non-connected people (including talks and demonstrations by organisations using radio to transmit information in East and South Africa). Training materials from the workshop will be integrated into the ItrainOnline site, and participants will form the core of a ongoing network of information workers in civil society and development-focussed organizations.
ItrainOnline: http://www.itrainonline.org
Some participating organisations:
Development Alternatives, India: http://www.dainet.org
RITS, Brazil: http://www.rits.org.br
Fantsuam Foundation, Nigeria: http://www.fantsuam.com
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