Creating a participatory telecentre enterprise
2002, Raul Roman and Royal Colle, Cornell University
This paper looks at the obstacles to community participation in telecentre operations and suggests some approaches that have the potential to increase participation, especially that of women. Cultural barriers pose a serious problem to ICT access, and the authors cite their work in India on training women's self-help group members, as a worthwhile means of promoting their empowerment. This study also describes a strategic approach to participation taken as the foundation for the establishment and design of the telecentres run by TANUVAS in India. Relevance, awareness raising, and community leadership were the key prerequisites of the participatory telecentre, and the authors go on to explain the role of these elements in their telecentre project. They conclude that, while it is important to create services such as telecenteres and raise awareness in the community about the significance of them, this in itself is insufficient; social and economic divides hinder equal access to the information services provided, regardless of the content or the motivation of the users.