Technologising the village agora: how tele-centres set-up in rural areas insert the global in the local
This article is based on a study conducted against the backdrop of ongoing national ICT policy formulation in Zimbabwe. One point of consensus in the national debate captured in the E-readiness Report (2005) was the all too evident urban/rural digital divide across all sectors of the economy ranging...
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Journal of Global Mass Communication
2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11408/1884 |
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| author | Mugari, Zvenyika E. |
| author_facet | Mugari, Zvenyika E. |
| author_sort | Mugari, Zvenyika E. |
| collection | DSpace |
| description | This article is based on a study conducted against the backdrop of ongoing national ICT policy formulation in Zimbabwe. One point of consensus in the national debate captured in the E-readiness Report (2005) was the all too evident urban/rural digital divide across all sectors of the economy ranging from Education, Agriculture, Commerce, Health etc. The fact that country statistics for most countries in Africa show the rural populations as greater than urban populations logically justifies prioritizing the concerns of the rural population in any pro-people policy. However, most debates on the digital divide articulate the divide in terms of levels of communications infrastructure and tele-density differentials between rural and urban areas or between developing countries and the developed world. Questions of how these new technologies tend to
reconfigure communities across new spatio-temporal boundaries, resulting in new forms of presences and absences, inclusions and exclusions call for more rigorous action research of many different ICT initiatives already on the groundin many parts of Africa. Drawing empirical evidence from the work of the Open
Knowledge Network's ICT project in Zimbabwe this paper draws lessons with policy implications for dealing with the digital divide between the rural and urban areas within developing countries in terms of the nature and volume of content, language and direction of information flow. |
| format | Article |
| id | ir-11408-1884 |
| institution | My University |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Journal of Global Mass Communication |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ir-11408-18842022-06-27T13:49:06Z Technologising the village agora: how tele-centres set-up in rural areas insert the global in the local Mugari, Zvenyika E. digital divide, e-readiness, glocalisation, ICT, intermediaries, local language, Openknowledge Network, telecentres, Zimbabwe This article is based on a study conducted against the backdrop of ongoing national ICT policy formulation in Zimbabwe. One point of consensus in the national debate captured in the E-readiness Report (2005) was the all too evident urban/rural digital divide across all sectors of the economy ranging from Education, Agriculture, Commerce, Health etc. The fact that country statistics for most countries in Africa show the rural populations as greater than urban populations logically justifies prioritizing the concerns of the rural population in any pro-people policy. However, most debates on the digital divide articulate the divide in terms of levels of communications infrastructure and tele-density differentials between rural and urban areas or between developing countries and the developed world. Questions of how these new technologies tend to reconfigure communities across new spatio-temporal boundaries, resulting in new forms of presences and absences, inclusions and exclusions call for more rigorous action research of many different ICT initiatives already on the groundin many parts of Africa. Drawing empirical evidence from the work of the Open Knowledge Network's ICT project in Zimbabwe this paper draws lessons with policy implications for dealing with the digital divide between the rural and urban areas within developing countries in terms of the nature and volume of content, language and direction of information flow. 2017-03-03T14:21:59Z 2017-03-03T14:21:59Z 2009 Article 1933-3218 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/1884 en Journal of Global Mass Communication;Vol. 2, Nos. 3/4; p.74-87 open Journal of Global Mass Communication |
| spellingShingle | digital divide, e-readiness, glocalisation, ICT, intermediaries, local language, Openknowledge Network, telecentres, Zimbabwe Mugari, Zvenyika E. Technologising the village agora: how tele-centres set-up in rural areas insert the global in the local |
| title | Technologising the village agora: how tele-centres set-up in rural areas insert the global in the local |
| title_full | Technologising the village agora: how tele-centres set-up in rural areas insert the global in the local |
| title_fullStr | Technologising the village agora: how tele-centres set-up in rural areas insert the global in the local |
| title_full_unstemmed | Technologising the village agora: how tele-centres set-up in rural areas insert the global in the local |
| title_short | Technologising the village agora: how tele-centres set-up in rural areas insert the global in the local |
| title_sort | technologising the village agora: how tele-centres set-up in rural areas insert the global in the local |
| topic | digital divide, e-readiness, glocalisation, ICT, intermediaries, local language, Openknowledge Network, telecentres, Zimbabwe |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11408/1884 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mugarizvenyikae technologisingthevillageagorahowtelecentressetupinruralareasinserttheglobalinthelocal |