Md. Badruddozza Mia

1. Introduction

Non-availability of required information blocks people to move towards better social and economic lives. It can be termed as Information Poverty. Billions of people have been living in this information poverty in the South. With the advent of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and its massive development movement unprecedented dissemination of knowledge and information has been going on. But the benefit of ICT is being enjoyed by only a few percent of world population. This technology has been acting again as a divider in the people of South and North, and making a digital divide in the globe.

To address this problem, an unprecedented assembly of people's representatives held in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, December 2003. Representatives declare the common desire and commitment to build a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society [1]. It took the challenge to harness the potential of ICT to promote the development goals of the Millennium Declaration, namely the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; achievement of universal primary education; promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women; reduction of child mortality; improvement of maternal health; to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and development of global partnerships for development for the attainment of a more peaceful, just and prosperous world [2]. But the scenario is that less than 2 percent of the world's population has the access to the Internet and more than 80 percent has never made a phone call in their life [3]. In this reality, attaining the objectives of WSIS is very challenging, and it is planed to achieve the objectives by 2015 with strong participation of all the stakeholders [4].

2. People, Information Access and Development Organizations in Bangladesh

Bangladesh, a densely populated poor country in South Asia having around 75 percent rural population who has no access in the information and communication infrastructure, and has been living in the information poverty for ages. Even in the urban, less than 1 percent people has access to the Internet. Every sector of economic and social lives of the people is driven by the intuition, traditional beliefs and emotions, not by the information.

It would not be an exaggeration if someone refers Bangladesh as a land of NGOs (Non-Governmental Development Organizations). Since independence in 1971, a tremendous movement of NGOs has been going on in this land. A number of large NGOs have been working as a development partner throughout the country. Development organizations have been working closely with the rural and urban grassroots people for decades. They have access to the people, and know the needs, strengths and weaknesses of them. These organizations have been organizing grassroots people and implementing different types of economic and social development programmes but, until now, no organization provides information and communication services to the grassroots people using Internet so far.

3. The Model

Traditionally Bangladeshi people like to lead community live. The development organizations work with the people in a community approach for decades. Thus, the community approach in providing information and communication services by the development organizations could be an effective way to meet the objectives of WSIS. Establishing Community Information and Communication Centres (CICC) with active participation of the community people could be an effective step towards achieving the goals of WSIS. A brief outline of the proposed model is given here.

3.1. Services from the CICC

a. Information Services

The proposed centres would provide information services for the community people to be used for their economic and social lives. Major areas of information could be on i) production and marketing of all kind of agricultural crops, fisheries, poultry, livestock, forestry etc., ii) public health, iii) legal, iv) rights, v) education, vi) jobs, vii) grassroots news, and viii) other information as per requirement of the people.

Region specific information will need to be provided from the centres on the basis of regular assessments of information needs of the region using the proper methodology.

b. Communications Services

The communication services to be provided from the centres are i) e-mail, ii) Internet Telephony, iii) Internet Relay Chat (IRC), and iv) Video Conferencing Systems.

3.2. User End

Community is the user end of the system and services. Community people would be the targeted audience of it.

One or more computers with Internet connectivity and other related equipments would be in the centre. Information would be downloaded from the Web Portal, and be disseminated using different channels such as notice board, printed form, human channel, loudspeaker etc. depending on the type of information and the user of it.

3.3. Development and Maintenance End

The system for the services would be developed and maintained in the country or regional office of the development organizations. Well-organized user-friendly resourceful dynamic Web Portal with strong support from powerful database engine from the back-end would be developed, maintained and hosted by the organizations.

A multi-disciplinary team consists of people from Information System, Information and Communications Technology, and Research Methodology would be working for the services. Information needs of the community people would be assessed in a regular basis in order to provide required information in right time.

3.4. Major Processes

Major processes would include:

1. identifying the information needs of the community people;

2. identifying the sources of information; and

3. collecting and providing the information in an understandable form to the community people.

4. Conclusion

Community Information and Communication services by the development organizations can bring a new dimension in the development efforts in the countries like Bangladesh. It is absolutely a development programme. The economic and social benefit to be obtained by the community people would be higher than the cost it will incur. In that sense, the programme is economically viable if not financially. Involving multi-stakeholders partnership and community participation in a win-win situation the programme can even be financially viable in future. It is still an evolving concept. For the effective use of the potential of ICT for the community people piloting and through research on different aspects of it is very much essential.

Reference:

[1] WSIS-03, "Declaration of Principles", Geneva, December 2003.

[2] United Nation, "United Nation Millennium Declaration" 55/2, General Assembly, September 2000.

[3] Saadi, Mir, "View from Bangladesh: The New Literacy", Ubiquity, ACM, Vol. 4, Issue 46, January 2004.

[4] WSIS-03, "Plan of Action", Geneva, December 2003.

Md. Badruddozza Mia
PROSHIKA, Bangladesh