Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2001 13:31:20 -0500
From: Michael Gurstein <mgurst@vcn.bc.ca>
Reply-To: communityinformatics@vcn.bc.ca
To: communityinformatics@vcn.bc.ca
Subject: [CI]: Fw: Comments

This was, I believe directed toward our discussion.

MG

----- Original Message -----
From: "Uganda National Council for Science and Technology"
<uncst@starcom.co.ug>
To: "Open Forum on Telecentres and Development"
<telecentres-l@lyris.idrc.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2001 4:37 AM
Subject: Comments


>
> I wish to contribute to two issues that have recently appeared in the
"Open
> Forum on Telecentres and Development".
>
> First, the pilot trials of rural telecentres in Uganda disapproves the
> observation that interest and support of telecentres is passing.  To the
> contrary, the establishment of pilot rural telecentres was quite timely in
> that they became focal institutions through which the decentralized local
> governments could access information which they badly require for district
> based decentralized planning and policy making.  Rural telecentres are
> close to communities such that local administration use them to
communicate
> policies and policy decision to the communities.
>
> If anything, the rural telecentres in Uganda are conceived to have been
> necessary to fill the gap that exists in information access and delivery.
> The national Parliament support the idea of rural telecentres and the
> government sees them as potential mechanisms of agricultural technology
> extension and market information centres, education centres and
> institutions that will play a central role in improving governance and
> health service delivery at community level.
>
> The other issue I should respond to is that of Scott and Roy on criticism
> of the current approach as building "unsustainable cadillac's" in poor
> communities.  We need to separate the questions we are attempting to
address.
>
> The primary question is whether the telecentres are useful to the
> vulnerable poor communities.  The answer is yes.  Because they are
entitled
> to information.  The fact that they don't get does not negate the fact
that
> they need it.
>
> The issue of communicating information to them and whether the means of
> doing so are economic, affordable and sustainable is another matter we
> should address and help to come up with answers to sustainability.
>
> Dr. Z.M. Nyiira
> National Acacia Programme Co-ordinator
>
> Uganda National Council for Science and Technology
> Plot 10, Kampala Road
> Uganda House, 11th Floor
> P.O. Box 6884
> Kampala, Uganda
>
> Tel: (256) 41-250499
> Fax: (256) 41-234579
> E-mail: uncst@starcom.co.ug
> Website: http://www.uncst.go.ug
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to telecentres-l as: [mgurst@vcn.bc.ca]
> To unsubscribe, forward this message to
leave-telecentres-l-40882P@lyris.idrc.ca
>

_______________________________________________________________________
This listserve is a free service offered by the Vancouver CommunityNet
For more info on services offered by VCN see http://www.vcn.bc.ca/groups/