Presentation ICT for Dev

8/2/2019 Presentation ICT for Dev

1/10

The Complex Position

of the Intermediary inTelecenters andCommunity Multimedia

CentersBy Savita Bailur and Silvia Masiero (2012)

Main research question of the article:

How do the network-based settings shape the roles

of telecenter intermediaries?


2/10

Main objectives of the research:

Understand the role of the intermediaries in telecenters

and community media centers focusing on a thirdperspective.

In the literature the intermediaries were understood aseither positive or negative

Positive: Center managers are necessary as socialconnectors and should ensure equitable access to ICTs

Negative: Replicate hierarchies or can be unwilling to

help.

Third perspective: Their roles are constantlynegotiated in dynamic networks


3/10

Overview (Heeks,1999) the intermediary should be like a

tutor to teach poor people how to use ICTs,bridging the social gap.

Their mission should be to raise awareness of the

information and services offered in the center.

Requirements:

promote equitable participation

be trustful

are local

technically proficient


4/10

Intermediaries on development

The study focuses on how intermediaries create spaces ofdevelopment, both economically and socially.

Brief chronology about their role:

1964Top-down approach: Create a modernized societyas a channel between the sources (government) and thereceivers (citizen/community). Eg: agriculturalofficers/educationalists.

Criticism: just a simple channel to transmit a message

1970Paulo Freire approach: Community participation- intermediary would work with the oppressed to freethem. Criticism: too simplistic, the oppressed washomogenized and the intermediary was seen with no power.


5/10

1990Post-development literature: Began to questionthe position of intermediaries.

Criticism: Intermediaries are merely replicating top-down

policy.

Third perspective: Deconstruction of how developmentpolicy is interpreted by intermediaries.

- Analogy with the librarians: Intermediaries constructtheir roles depending on those with whom they interact, aswell as on those networks within which they are situated.

- dealing with the day to day realities of the project, despitethe rhetoric of participation of the donors.

- they are not a simple executor of plans. They can interpretthe policies which can be influenced by their beliefs andstereotyping.

Examples: teachers, health care workers


6/10

The intermediary in ICTD

Claim: an intermediary is important to facilitate access toinformation and ICTs.

Positive: Intermediary can take pictures of a crop diseaseand show them to the agronomist that will help the

farmers.

Negative: Censorship on internet content, regulatingaccess. Risks: weak connection with the marginalised andthey can become unwilling to help.

Third perspective: Depends on the networks where theyare embedded in. Concept of the network: contacts andpeople through which the information flows.


7/10

Case study

Name: Voices in an Indian village (6 months)Main objectives: Telecenter to provide information about

employment, better farming techniques, and health, whichwould lead to sustainable job opportunities and improvedquality of life.

Reality check: There was no Internet access, the peoplejust learnt how to use Office programs and the communityradio played for roughly an hour daily.

Intermediaries: 1 IT teacher and 4 CRPs, the bridgebetween the centre and the people. Recruited volunteers

that were never there.Events that shaped the networks:

- Camera was stolen

- One of the staff left under complicated circumstances

- Cables were cut and loudspeakers also stolen


8/10

Findings(through interviews and narrative analysis)

Justification of the methods: Understand how peoplecome to terms with what ICTD means to them.

Affiliation with the donor: Adoption of the samediscourse. Eg: I am just a facilitator. I link developingvillagers with facilities (Guru).

Distancing from the others: The villagers are seen asother, rural or uneducated and should be spoon fed. Eg:Guru sees the center as educating uneducated people

Paternalistic attitude: NGO is like a god to them. Eg:Before the centre, the village people did not know how totalk, how to behave(Divya), implying that now they do.

Apart from the networks: They are not part of thedonors group. Eg: They tell us what to do, they come

from outside (Guru)


9/10

ConclusionSpaces of development: Development policy is interpreted

by intermediaries, they create those spaces for themselves.

Main achievements in development

New economic perspectives: A person that learnt videoediting intends to use the camera to cover weddings and

make money, taxi drivers doing more jobs, committeemember earns money providing food for visitors.

Challenges

The goals were not achieved: They were disrupted by

the committee members actions. Intermediaries are considered outsiders: By both

NGOs/donors and the community

Evaluate development is not simple: Actors areconstantly attempting it, defining it and questioning it.


10/10

Discussion What does development mean in ICTD?

How development is individually interpreted?Does it depend only on the intermediaries?

Regarding the case study, the achievementswere mainly economic. Do social aspects matter?

Who these intermediaries are and how are they

socially constructed?

Documents

Presentation ICT for Dev