The Nata Village Blog , and a recent essay I wrote on blogging’s promise for democratic development in Africa, have both inspired me to look more closely at other websites aiding development. The Nata Village blog is refreshing because it focuses on a very small community and talks intimately about their lives. It is therefore something of a grass-roots site, able to serve its purpose simply and effectively. The personal nature of the Nata Village blog is probably one of the reasons it has had such an impact on viewers and therefore has been able to generate significant funds for their fight against HIV in the village.
Yet what about ICT development efforts on a greater national or perhaps global scale? I set out to find a site which shows a commitment to development around the world and constitutes something of a larger scale ICT-for-development success story.
And I think I found one… hurrah!
I found an organisation with a mission to “reduce poverty and enable change in developing nations through information technology” called The Development Gateway Foundation . It is an international non-profit organization providing web-based platforms to make aid and development efforts more effective around the world.
The organisation is working towards a world where: the digital revolution serves people everywhere and creates great opportunities for people due to increased access to critical information; where there is greater reliance on local capabilities; and more effective, better coordinated international aid.
So how is this site aiding African countries at a basic, accessible level? Well the Development Gateway Foundation aims to be exactly that – a gateway to issues and projects in developing countries around the world.
The organisation focuses on three ways in which even small investments in information and communications technology can make a major difference:
• Effective government
• Knowledge sharing and collaboration
• Local partner programs in nearly 50 countries – connecting developing country organizations into a global network to empower them to use information and communications technologies to bolster local development efforts.
This last point is important, because here is one of the reasons the site works so well: while it gives a global overview of issues and projects, it also has a strong local focus. The organisation has helped set up and hosts development sites for developing countries all over the world – including Africa.
One such example is Rwanda Development Gateway (RDG) . The RDG is a group of three “ICT for Development” initiatives under the Rwanda’s Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Scientific Research, being funded by the Government of Rwanda. This project is a national portal for information sharing and represents a one-stop-shop for information on Rwanda and the country's web interface to the rest of the world.
The Development Gateway Foundation acts as a portal – an oversight of and entrance to development issues globally. They are building online resources which enable development information and knowledge-sharing worldwide through bringing people and organisations together, all of whom are working to improve life in developing countries.
The site shows a fair balance between two extremes – a locally-orientated and driven site for development, and a large-scale organisation for development. All online websites for development should remember to keep a clear focus on the people whom they are hoping to assist. If they remember to do this, it seems their priorities, and their site will be pointing in the right direction.
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6 comments:
I've always believed that the best development schemes involve the public taking part in helping themselves.
Do any of these sites allow the public to participate at any level?
I still have issues with the modernist notions around development and prefer the term emmpowerment - are these sites empowering individuals in Africa? Who are running these sites? Is it a case of First world reaching out to Third world?
For development to work, you need participation at the local level. The country gateways that are given seed money from Development Gateway Foundation are locally owned public-private partnerships. Each one has its own strategy for promoting the use of information and communications technology for development and they are having an impact on lives of ordinary people. For example, the one in Tanzania helped an entrepreneur set up a Web site to market her textiles. Business increased thanks to her online presence and she has since hired 18 people. To find more gateways, visit http://www.developmentgateway.org/cg.
I believe communities are the ultimate masters of their destiny. Development and success can be realised when locals get involved, and its not with billions of dollars that development occur.
Take the case of Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Muhammad Yunis (though not related to ICTs)famous for his efforts to create economic and social development from below by helping women within local communities who suffer from poverty to set up businesses. This shows the power of unity within communities.
Thanks for all your comments and discussion everyone! The issues you raise are exactly what i was trying to address: how do you reconcile local development with international organisations (which have been known at times to forget people at the grass-roots level and adopt a top down rather than a bottom-up form of development). I am a strong supporter of internal development, and organisations playing a role in initiating such sustainable types of development.
Elizabeth - thanks for your info about Development Gateway. Its good to hear what the organisation is doing at the local level to encourage participation and long-term development.
Like Galen and Meg, I am still worried about how well initiatives like these filter down to the common man.
I am glad Elizabeth Corley came through to gives us an example of how well some projects have worked at the community level.
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