A telecentre is a public place where people can access computers, the Internet, and other digital technologies that enable people to gather information, create, learn, and communicate with others while they develop essential 21st-century digital skills. While each telecentre is different, their common focus is on the use of digital technologies to support community, economic, educational, and social development—reducing isolation, bridging the digital divide, promoting health issues, creating economic opportunities, and reaching out to youth for example. Telecentres exist in almost every country, although they sometimes go by different names (e.g., village knowledge centers, infocenters, Community Technology Centers (CTCs), Community Multimedia Centers (CMCs), Multipurpose Community Telecenters (MCTs), Common/Citizen Service Centres (CSCs), or school-based telecenters). Telecentres may be run as nonprofit ventures or as for-profit businesses. They may be established by businesses, social entrepreneurs, nongovernmental organizations, governments or development donor organizations. You can learn more about telecentres on the telecentre.org web site.
Additional information about concept of community telecentres can also be found in the online book From the Ground Up: the evolution of the telecentre movement.
Definición de la Wikipedia
Lo que fue evidente desde la primera visita etnográfica al Ravalnet y a XarxaAntoni es que el telecentro se relaciona con su entorno de una forma muy poco virtual. Mejor dicho, el telecentro, además de ser un lugar situado en un barrio concreto, tiene una relación muy fuerte con las características y las necesidades del propio barrio que lo acoge. Éster, la chica que nos enseñó el espacio del Ravalnet y que nos contó un poco de su funcionamiento en la visita que hicimos en el mes de mayo, nos contó también que al telecentro las personas llegan sobre todo por el boca a boca de opiniones que circulan en el barrio. Además, desde las actividades que se desarrollan hasta la decoración de los espacios físicos nos hacen pensar en esta relación estrecha entre barrio, entorno físico y telecentro.
En mi opinión, esta relación es la parte más interesante de la cuestión. Ver e investigar cómo un telecentro se moldea alrededor de las exigencias del barrio y de la gente y responde a estas. Desafortunadamente, creo que este tipo de relación difícilmente puede quedar reflejada en una investigación que tenga su parte más consistente desarrollada a través de una etnografía virtual. Y, como hemos visto visitando los telecentros, parece que los observadores no son bienvenidos. Sin embargo, por lo que concierne a los barrios del Raval y de Sant Antoni, me encuentro personalmente en una relación de cierta familiaridad con el entorno (por haber paseado y pasado por sus calles y haber podido observar qué tipo de atmósfera se respira) y consigo captar algunos hilos que estoy segura de que se me escaparían si no tuviera la oportunidad de tener una impresión del espacio que rodea y nutre el telecentro.
Por esta razón, quizás, encuentro en este primer factor el límite más grande de la etnográfia virtual que no esté acompañada de un conocimiento profundo del entorno en el que el telecentro nace. La necesidad del antropólogo de contextualizar las exigencias que pueden encontrar su desarrollo dentro del telecentro me parece un punto fundamental de la cuestión.
Saber que el barrio del Raval se caracteriza por la presencia de población inmigrante en su interior nos hacen evidentes algunas de las necesidades que se desarrollan dentro del telecentro del Ravalnet como, por ejemplo, el uso del los ordenadores para comunicarse con los países de origen. Lo mismo se podría decir de los servicios que ofrecen en XarxaAntoni para los ancianos.
De todas formas, es interesante observar que, tanto en la pagina web del Ravalnet como en la de XarxaAntoni hay una continua y fuerte referencia al barrio. Primero la necesidad de insertar entre las informaciones que se encuentran a la izquierda una referencia directa al Barri antes de las actividades y proyectos. Véase para el Ravalnet la referencia al Barri y lo mismo para el barri de Sant Antoni.
Para comprobar esta intuición me he ido muy lejos.
He encontrado esta referencia a los telecentros en el Congo:
Congo Brazzaville: Telecentres reject sporadic development
BRAZAVILLE, Congo -- The first telecentres in Congo with internet access date back to 1999-2000, also offering a range of other services such as computerisation of documents, printing, photocopying, document scanning, CD burning, telephone calls and training in various areas. This was the case for telecentres managed by public authorities, such as the Congolese Informatics Office (Office congolais de l’informatique) and associations such as the Young Enterprise Forum (Forum des Jeunes Entreprises), which distinguishes them from cybercafés, whose main objective is commercial.
A telecentre is defined as a physical site where members of the community have access to information and communications technologies (ICT) equipment.
The role of telecentres in local development
Brought together at a three-day workshop in Brazzaville with the financial support of telecentre.org, telecentre leaders identified the priority focal points of their action in bringing the advantages of information and communication technologies to the Congolese people.
They emphasised an appropriate methodological approach so that telecentres would be capable of meeting the needs of their target group in terms of information and training. Examples of telecentres which disseminate information on HIV/AIDS, agriculture and livestock production were cited, amongst others, such as those offering services to entrepreneurs.
Moreover, the need to evaluate the impact of the telecentres on the people, especially marginalised groups, was highlighted by the participants. At the request of the network of Congolese telecentres, there was a presentation of the Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM) tool, developed by the Association for Progressive Communications Women’s Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP), and which will be adapted for the telecentres.
The self-financed establishment of telecentres in Congo, as opposed to other countries
As opposed to other countries, telecentres in Congo were started with their own funding. Very few have received donor support. This explains in part why these telecentres, which have had to survive using their own means, have not managed to overcome the difficulties that confront them. The most striking constraints which they face are the high cost of computer equipment; the lack of qualified human resources; the absence of an effective ICT promotion policy; instability of electricity supplies and the high cost of connection to the internet.
In order to mitigate such difficulties, a Congo Community Telecentres Network (Réseau des Télécentres Communautaires du Congo) was created in 2006. The members of the network have rejected sporadic development, convinced that there is strength through unity.
Favouring globally innovative solutions over individual telecentre initiatives
It is true that electricity is a real headache for telecentre managers who no longer know to which saint to pray. The sector’s electricity from the National Electricity Company (SNE - Société Nationale d’Electricité) is subject to frequent drops in voltage and wirings are faulty. Fuel prices mean that generators are not a satisfactory alternative. Digital converters, equipment that is intended to convert electrical voltage, therefore constitute an alternative source of power that can provide electricity for five days. This is supplied by storage batteries that automatically recharge with electric current, generators or solar panels. This solution has been extensively presented and the idea is to replicate it in all regions where there are telecentres.
The project of interconnecting the telecentres in the Congo is, moreover, coming at the right time. All the telecentres will be connected to each other via a common access point, using wimax technology. Access to the internet will be through dedicated bandwidth via a parabolic antenna (VSAT). The signal will then be evenly distributed to all the telecentres.
A realistic action plan which emphasises capacity building
The Congo Community Telecentres Network has developed its action plan around building the capacities of the telecentre leaders and establishing a technical assistance office. The network is henceforth working at mobilising the necessary resources for the implementation of this action plan. An appeal is launched to development partners to support this initiative.Descubrimos entonces que las necesidades locales que el telecentro desarrolla en Brazzaville son difundir información sobre el Sida y sobre agricultura y responden a unas necesidades altamentes localizadas.
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