[Telecentres] Re: Basic Telecentre Items - avoid open source debate

[Bevis England]

Greetings all,

First a brief introduction:  I've been studying and thinking about
"telecentres" (and helping implement them) since the late '80s.  A number of
key lessons have been learned over this time.  Two points are worth making
at this stage.

First, the important thing is not what equipment or software a telecentre
should or must have, and neither is it important to try and define precisely
what a telecentre is (or what it should be called).   It is more important
to recognise what a telecentre can be -- and it can be many things.
Everything else about the telecentre can be defined by the intended users --
not the implementers, the researchers, or theorists.  Unless the telecentre
matches what it is needed in its target community it will not be relevant,
it will not be used, and it will not be sustainable.

With this in mind, it will be impossible to define what a telecentre is --
it will take a different from in every setting.  And therefore trying to
list specific equipment or software will always be a sideshow to the real
issues.

For myself, a telecentre is simply somewhere where telework happens.
(Telework is defined, in this context, as doing it from a distance --
however the 'it' is defined: employment, information access, education,
health, etc.)  Starting from this perspective it is possible to identify the
12 major 'products' a telecentre can 'market', and evaluate each market in
any given location.  Every location then ends up with a different mix of
products, a different set of financial imperatives, and a different
sustainability equation.

Perhaps the question is not what makes up a telecentre or what it is, but
rather what market research has been done in each location and what specific
questions need to be asked or answered.

The second, but related, point is that telecentres are a means to an end,
not an end in themselves.  They are a 'tool' to be used when appropriate,
once the tasks are understood.  The practical implication of this, for me,
is that talking about telecentres and trying to insert them into
bureaucratic debates is a bit like trying to create a standard for a hammer,
regardless of the type and size of nail, and regardless of the building site
or factory.  As a consultant, I have found it much more useful and effective
to identify what the tasks are first, what does the community need.  Only
then can we know whether a telecentre will be useful and what it should
provide.

Regards,

Bevis England
Box 60-469, Titirangi, Waitakere City,  0-9-811 8024
Telework New Zealand  www.telework.co.nz
Work Raft Trust  www.workraft.org.nz


-----Original Message-----
From: telecentres-bounces at wsis-cs.org
[mailto:telecentres-bounces at wsis-cs.org]On Behalf Of Taran Rampersad
Sent: Sunday, 3 October 2004 08:37
To: telecentres at wsis-cs.org
Subject: [Telecentres] Re: Basic Telecentre Items - avoid open source
debate


ashish Saboo wrote:

>Anna, Taran, Toby
>   I share the recurring theme of making ICT ubiquitous & affordable to
all. Here I would like to draw your attention to a wonderful write-up
titled:
>License fees and GDP per capita: The case for open source in developing
countries by Rishab Aiyer Ghosh
>http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue8_12/ghos
>
Ashish,

I am familiar with this study, in fact I often quote it. However, I have
suggested that we avoid this debate about these things because at this time
we need to focus more on the abstraction of what a Telecentre is. Then we
need to decide what the software must do, and then - and only then - should
we evaluate the tools that will be needed and/or already exist. And then we
can speak of the licensing of the tools.

We're not there yet :)

To speak of all of this now can lead to discussion which can slow the
process down... While I'm a Free Software/Open Source advocate, if we start
this debate now I fear a lot of valuable time and energy will be lost before
we accomplish anything more concrete. When we get to that bridge, we'll
cross it... and we may find, if we are patient, that the Telecentres
themselves will define what will be used by the nature of what they are. ;-)

--
Taran Rampersad

cnd at knowprose.com

http://www.linuxgazette.com
http://www.a42.com
http://www.worldchanging.com
http://www.knowprose.com
http://www.easylum.net

" It requires greater courage to preserve inner freedom, to move on in one's
inward journey into new realms, than to stand defiantly for outer freedom."—
Rollo May


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