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>> Not being a techie,
my view of a Telecentre is fairly simplistic. I see it as a point/place in a
community for interactive (two way flow) dissemination of information. I
view Telecentre’s as interactive libraries (snip) Hi Elizabeth, all, The other perspective that probably best defines a Telecentre is that
of the business developer / entrepreneur (neither strictly technical nor
strictly social). Telecentre’s are first and foremost a community business
constructed by community entrepreneurs for the purpose of enhancing community
development and potential. This is achieved through the promotion and sale of a
range of ICT-based services combined with a mix of community-building
interactions. The major skill-set required of Telecentre administrators is that
of business acumen with a lesser mix of social and technical capability. Most libraries
do not charge for services; most Telecentre’s do charge. Most libraries
are partially or fully sustained by taxpayer funds; most Telecentre’s are
independent of Government support albeit some funds may have been provided for
start-up purposes (noting that Governments often provide start-up funds for a variety
of new businesses in support of CED so Telecentre’s are not overly
advantaged in this respect). The Internet itself is inherently a ‘user-pays’
system so while some similarities between Telecentre’s and libraries may
exist, I think the fundamental differences probably outweigh any commonality of
purpose or function. The purpose of a library is to provide access to
information. The purpose of a Telecentre is to aid community development. Continuing in this vein of detailing exactly what comprises this
concept we call ‘a Telecentre’ is probably beneficial to those new to
the concept (or yet to walk through the door of a Telecentre), however I wonder
how much time we should devote considering that: a) We will undoubtedly have to revisit this topic when presenting to
WSIS as delegates can be expected to share similar misconceptions about just
what a Telecentre is (or opinions about what a Telecentre should be). Perhaps at
this point it would be prudent to point any further questions concerning “what
is a Telecentre” to the numerous and excellent web resources that explain
the concept. For an Australian perspective I recommend the offerings of our two
major Telecentre networks available at: http://www.ctc.nsw.gov.au/about/ and
http://www.telecentres.wa.gov.au/telecentres/ Perhaps a few other
Telecentre practitioners might provide similar references so anyone with
further questions can easily gain an international perspective. b) We are yet to address the fundamental issue that brought us together
and several key questions remain unanswered. Is the purpose of this forum to
offer a mechanism for the Telecentre movement to provide input into WSIS, or is
the intent for WSIS to use the Telecentre movement as a vessel for promotions and
to achieve a stated set of aims and objectives? (hopefully both!). If the
former I think we really need to establish our bona-fide representation (to
ensure that input is coming from Telecentre’s and not from other parties
with interests of merit however not necessarily in accord with the interests of
Telecentre’s), and ascertain just what input we wish to promote to WSIS on
behalf of the Telecentre movement. If the later (to provide services and
functions on behalf of WSIS), to determine just what we can provide and what
degree of investment is being asked of us by WSIS. If as I hope the approach is
two-fold (to be partners with WSIS in providing input and helping to achieve collective
objectives), what formalities need to be addressed so we are both representative
as well as participative in the process? Rgds, Don |
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