In Focus: UNESCO’s International Initiative for Community Multimedia Centers
The computer and the Internet are surely some of today’s most vital technology tools. From being able to communicate instantly to having access to immeasurable amounts of information, the opportunities they afford students and teachers to improve their knowledge and better educate themselves are endless.
Still, the uses of more traditional Information and Communications Technology like the radio, phones, and television cannot and should not be totally disregarded especially when not everyone can afford or has access to a computer and the Internet.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognizes this fact and strives to find ways to maximize the uses of both new and traditional technologies. One fine example of this is the organization’s International Initiative for Community Multimedia Centers project. The UNESCO program seeks to combine older technologies with newer ones in the community multimedia centers (CMC) they set-up in poor, far-flung areas to educate and inform the people.
The CMC’s programs are divided into three categories:
- Radio-browsing programs
Radio listeners ask the community radio presenters questions on Math, Science, Health, current affairs, agriculture, or just about anything they want to know about. The presenters, all from the area, will then gather information from the Web using the CMC’s computer and Internet connection and then broadcast the answers over the radio for all their listeners to hear.
- Multimedia databases for development
Communities are encouraged to build-up its own database of information vital to their community by using the computers and their Internet connection.
- Open-learning
The CMCs hope to address needs on education, training, health, and livelihood.
Since its inception in 2002, 87 CMCs all over the world have been established. Evaluations of the program have revealed that the CMCs established have contributed to:
- Improving the ICT capacity of the communities with CMCs.
- Creation of local content
- Increasing the people’s knowledge of ICT
- Improving the people’s access to information and reference materials.
Basically, the UNESCO, through their CMCs, hopes to:
- Provide every member of the community with quick access to vital information
- Educate the people
- Promote individual and community empowerment through education
- Allow the communities to gather enough information to eventually create their own database
- Bridge the digital divide
Did You Know?
- The UNESCO CMCs is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
- Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, India, the Caribbean and Africa are just some of those that have benefited from UNESCO’s CMCs.
Sources:
UNESCO,http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=1263&URL_DO=DO_
PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTIonfiltered=201.html
Cravens, J. “Evaluation Report on UNESCO's Community Multimedia Centre Initiative”
http://mailman.edc.org/pipermail/digitaldivide/2006-May/005605.html
