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<TITLE>RE: [Telecentres] RE: [Telecentre's] Basic Telecentre Items</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Oh! the rat traps again. In 1992 MSSRF had a dialogue on information technology and development. Prof. Swaminathan was thinking of the optimal ways of pressing ICTs into service in rural areas. He felt that these technologies have come to stay and if we did not take advantage of them, we would be pushed behind even further. After all, the developing countries of today were once colonised by other countries which were able to take advantage of the Industrial Revolution technologies quickly. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Some in the audience were not sure whether a developing country needed these new technologies, especially to bring about rural development. One of them said, it is difficult to set up nd maintain computers in villages. He sad, rats might chew the cables!</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Coming to the list making exercise: You can add anything and everything to such a list. What is important is to understand what a telecentre is and what roles it can play. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>All that a telecentre does is to reach information that is relevant to a community quickly using different technologies, both old and new. Techonology means much more than computers and Internet. Radio, public address system, different communication technologies, community newspapers, and much more.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>A telecentre is not set up in a vacuum. It is set up to serve PEOPLE, who live in a CONTEXT or SETTING. They HAVE NEEDS. And they can use information to meet those needs. Often the information is locale specific. And needs to be in local language. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Mere information is not enough though. We need to create livelihood opportunities. Which brings in training, capacity building, credit, setting up small scale enterprises, marketing, and so on. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Development is holistic and not piecemeal. We need to look at it as a comprehensive whole and then we will get a clear idea of what a telecentre is and what it can do. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>And, of course, we should learn to live with the rats in peace. </FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Arun</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>[Subbiah Arunachalam]</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>-----Original Message-----</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>From: Gopi Pradhan [<A HREF="mailto:gopi@apdip.net">mailto:gopi@apdip.net</A>]</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2004 2:12 PM</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>To: telecentres@wsis-cs.org</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Subject: Re: [Telecentres] RE: [Telecentre's] Basic Telecentre Items</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Andy and all,</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>On the issue of Basic Telecenter Items, let us compile the whole list at the </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>end.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>As Don said, and I agree that the list would depend from one type of </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>telecentre to another. But a long list would certainly enable us to </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>visualize a typical community telecenter.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>If allowed by decency, I would even add some "rat traps"?</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>gopi</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>----- Original Message ----- </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>From: "Don Cameron" <donc@internode.on.net></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>To: <cnd@knowprose.com>; <telecentres@wsis-cs.org></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2004 4:23 PM</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Subject: [Telecentres] RE: [Telecentre's] Basic Telecentre Items</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>>>> one of the things I am pursuing is that Hurricane shelters and such be</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Telecentre's, so that people are actually aware of where they are (snip).</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Opposite ends of the emergency spectrum Taran however I have been </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> advocating</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> for many years for the use of Telecentre's as EOC's (Emergency Operations</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Centre's) for major Australian bushfires in rural and remote locations -</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> There is much synergy in the roles, equipment and skills of EOC's and</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Telecentre's and sometimes duplication is unnecessary. Many of our</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Telecentre's are equipped with UHF radio on emergency operating channels,</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> map and resource allocation boards, GPS equipment and other items </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> essential</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> for the use of Emergency Planning or Logistics Teams - or even for the </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> vital</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> function of providing communications continuity for the whole community.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> I think the concept of compiling a list of items required by Telecentre's</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> has merit and the lists provided offer a good spread of generic items -</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> although in my experience equipment and software requirements do vary</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> considerably from Telecentre to Telecentre (and community to community).</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Rgds, Don</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
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