Electronic Community: West Africa

The Electronic Community, is an effort targetting the capacity in information technology, primarily in West Africa. However, with IT 'quick tips' and advice on everything from presentations to basic computer trouble-shooting, the EC site, however, is a valuable resource for civil society organizations anywhere. A 'hot leads' page highlight resource mobilization opportunities, and country gateways are in the works.

The Electronic Community uses a 'just do it' kind of attitude that is inspiring: encouraging organizations, large and small, to take advantage of the capacities and technologies available in information and networking efforts.

From the 'Net to the Radio to the People

SOMALIA
Radio Voice of Peace-Somalia (RVOP) began in the early 1990's as a radio program disseminating health and relief information to Somali's both in the country and to the Somali Diaspora in some 11 countries in Africa and the Middle East. In light of the level of illiteracy and the importance of oral culture and tradition, RVOP was initiated by InterAfrica Group, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as a humanitarian intervention that would work with existing structures of society and prepare for a stronger civil society with the movement of information. The hour-a-day program is non-political and broadcasts only community, peace and development messages. The program is staffed by Somali radio professionals.

In addition to broadcasting health messages and information for communities about the where and how of UN and other NGO interventions and programs, RVOP's broadcasts regularly include family re-unification messages, traditional Somali poetry, broadcasts of Somali weddings and sporting events and, in the last two years, tapes and letters from listeners.

RVOP has begun to utilize Internet information for broadcasts, particularly from the wide-range of on-line Somali sources, including Mogadishu newspapers and from Somali communities all over the world.

SRI LANKA
Kotmale Community Radio(KCR) takes web-content and adapts it for broadcast on community radio to villagers in Kotmale, a region in the mountains of Sri Lanka. KCR was established in 1989 by the government's Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC). It began then as a low-powered, community based radio service carrying development messages to rural communities in the region.

KCR staff and volunteers are well-educated youth, children of local famers and plantation workers. Literacy rates in the area are over 90 percent. Staff researches internet content for material to produce programs for broadcast. Programming includes a weekly broadcast on human rights, produced with cyber-information and complementing human rights clubs set up in schools. The human rights program is supported by the University of Colombo's Human Rights Centre. UNESCO funded a pilot project through a US$50,000 grant in 1998 to establish an Internet hub in Kotmale, which includes a local server and five computer terminals.

Sunil Wijesinghe, controller of KCR says, "This has motiviated the community to participate and express themselves freely and receive information without censorship." (IPS)

The NGO Working Group on the World Bank
The NGO Working Group on the World Bank / Africa Region is a network of African civil society organizations and NGOs engaging the World Bank in dialogue on issues of poverty alleviation in programs and policies.

At the 1998 annual meeting (in Bamako, Mali), only a handful of the 40-odd participants had reliable access to e-mail. At the 2000 annual meeting (Durban, South Africa), all 25 participants--and most of those members unable to participate--had some kind of internet access. This change in just a few years has led to improved networking and information sharing among members, between members and the secretariat (based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) and among the Africa NGOWGWB, the global NGOWGWB and other regional NGOWGWBs. More and better information is disseminated more quickly and efficiently.

At the 2000 meeting, members agreed to build on their information efforts with more concerted communication ("horizontally") among members and to form some kind of "e-group" to keep everyone updated of activities--by individual organizations and the NGOWGWB/Africa. The 2000 meeting focused on participation from national NGO networks, who have memberships or circles of between 15 and 1500 members to maximize outreach and community mobilization.