Information and Communication Technologies for Development in Africa

In 1997, IDRC launched its Acacia initiative in an effort to empower sub-Saharan African communities with the ability to apply new information and communication technologies, or ICTs, to their own social and economic development. Now, 7 years later, the Acacia initiative presents this unique and groundbreaking three-volume collection of original research on this important and timely issue.

VOLUME 1: Opportunities and Challenges for Community Development

Volume 1 looks at the introduction, adoption, and utilization of ICTs at the community level. In various contexts – geographical, technological, socioeconomic, cultural, and institutional – the book explores the questions of community participation. It looks at how communities in sub-Saharan Africa have reacted to the changes brought about by the introduction of these new ICTs and, in detail, presents both the opportunities and the challenges that ICTs present for community development. The book will be useful for both researchers and development practitioners active, or just embarking upon, an “ICT for development” program. It will also be a very useful reference tool not only for academics but also for policymakers, decision-makers, and development professionals interested in the issue.

VOLUME 2: The Experience with Community Telecentres

Volume 2 examines the setting, operations, and effects of community telecentres. It describes the telecentre experiences of a variety of local and often rural communities, exploring the management structures and mechanisms that have been established to support these telecentres. The book provides profiles of telecentre usage and discusses the potential and challenges of setting up and maintaining community telecentres in the context of poor information infrastructure and limited human capacity. It will be useful for researchers, policy- and decision-makers, and development practitioners and professionals with interests or active programs in the area of "ICT for development," particularly those with a focus on universal access and universal-service or public-access centres. It will also be a very useful reference tool for scholars, students, and academics.

VOLUME 3: Networking Institutions of Learning -- SchoolNet

Volume 3 documents the processes used, and institutions created, to bring computers and connectivity into schools, as a means of enhancing the use and integration of ICTs in teaching and learning. A range of project, administrative, and cultural settings are explored as are a wide variety of technical solutions. The results, observations, and conclusions presented in this book will be useful for policy- and decision-makers in education and ICTs. The book will also be useful for teachers, researchers, and development practitioners and professionals with interests or active programs in the area of “ICT for development.” Information technology professionals looking to service the potential education market will also find this book valuable.