 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
| |||||||||
On March the 17th, 2009, a group of young professionals, area politicians and local leaders converged at the Islands Club on Bugala of the Ssese Islands to discuss the use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to bridge the information gap on the island district of Kalangala.
Ms. Natalie Kimbugwe of BDE Consult conceived the idea of involving, training and sensitising local leaders to the value of ICT after discovering that the only Internet provider and Information Centre on the island was underutilised.
Kalangala District MP Ruth Kavuma discussed the needs and challenges of a district comprising 84 islands to include communication, administrative and social aspects coupled with the nature of the population that consists largely of subsistence farmers and fishermen, to whom ICT is a vague concept. Furthermore, with underdeveloped infrastructure and no central supply of electricity, powering any information and communication technologies is that much more difficult.
Mr. Edward Kasule of Data Fundi, an ICT consultancy based in Kampala, demystified ICT to the participants. ICT is often perceived to be “computers and internet”, but from mobile phones to radios, the power and reach of ICT, if used effectively, is enormous. Mr. Kasule outlined the possibilities for ICT in a rural area such as Kalangala, listed the barriers and challenges involved, and charted a possible way forward with regard to breaking those barriers. Individual mindsets, national policy inadequacies and skewed global funding came out strongly as barriers to the development of ICT in Kalangala and Uganda as a whole, which sits her firmly on the wrong side of the global divide. Mr. Kasule’s conclusion aptly noted: There is nothing mystical about ICT, except, perhaps, the speed at which it develops. 
The final presentation from Emmanuel Ediau, senior lecturer at Uganda Institute of Information and Communication Technology, was on ICTs and the education sector. He outlined the potential of ICT to transform the education sector into effective learning for all, anytime and anywhere. From radio education broadcasts to online courses to virtual classes, ICT has an effective method to cater for all teaching needs. One participant recalled that during the 1970s, Radio Uganda aired school lessons on the Education Broadcasting Services.
A video on an ICT success story in tiny villages in Bolivia was on hand to hammer the point home. Farmers in third world Bolivia were getting first hand information on market prices, learning which goods were selling in the larger markets and even getting farming training via ICT technologies like radio and the internet. The video resonated with participants, who could immediately see solutions to local problems such as fish pricing.
The workshop drew to a close with participants dividing themselves into 3 group discussions on the way forward. The questions each group tackled were:
1. Mention key economic sectors in Kalangala and how ICT can play a role in developing the region
2. How can decision makers get involved in spreading ICT working hand in hand with the civil society?
3. What would limit Kalangala from using ICTs and how can these limitations be overcome?
During the Q and A sessions and the subsequent group discussion, the participants brought up what they believed to be the major stumbling blocks to ICT: An archaic or unfavourable national policy framework, no central power supply and lack of appropriate technology for an island environment.
With the workshop as phase one of a larger sensitisation project, the positive response of decision makers on that cold and rainy Tuesday was an encouraging sign for the prospects of ICT in Kalangala District.
Original compilation: - Angela Kintu
Plot 106, Kanjokya Street, Bukoto | P. O. Box 7843 Kampala, Uganda
Tel. +256-41-4252888 | +256-31-2262822 | +256-75-2262822
Copyright © Data Fundi(U) Ltd 2009 | Home |
Plot 106, Kanjokya Street, Bukoto | P. O. Box 7843 Kampala, Uganda Tel. +256-41-4252888 | +256-31-2262822 | +256-75-2262822 |
||||||||||||||||||||