FROM AFRICAN VILLAGE TO GLOBAL VILLAGE:
LESSONS IN BRIDGING THE AFRICAN DIGITAL DIVIDE

Heather E. Hudson

"L'information est la clJ de toutes les portes."
-- Telecentre user in Timbuktu


Abstract:

Access to telecommunications facilities and services is almost nonexistent in much of rural Africa. The poorest African countries rank at the bottom of the global list in teledensity and PC density, and rural access to the Internet is extremely limited even in wealthier nations such as South Africa. Several initiatives are attempting to extend access through community based telecentres and innovative universal access and pricing policies. Major sponsors of these initiatives include the World Bank, the ITU, UNESCO, the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and USAID. Internet access is now being introduced in urban townships, rural community centres and schools on a pilot basis, typically based on the assumptions that installation of information infrastructure will lead to social and economic development and that the facilities and services themselves will be sustainable.

This paper examines the assumptions underlying these initiatives, and identifies findings from field research and lessons learned in both policy and practice that are relevant not only in Africa but in other rural and developing regions. The paper is based on research carried out during the author=s extensive field work and policy research in Africa on her sabbatical in 1999 when she served as Coordinator of Evaluation and Learning Systems for IDRC=s Acacia Program.


Professor and Director of the Telecommunications Management and Policy Program, School of Business Administration, University of San Francisco. During 1998-99, Dr. Hudson served as Coordinator of Evaluation and Learning Systems for IDRC's Acacia Program. Contact information: Phone: 415-422-6642; fax 415-422-2502; email hudson@usfca.edu.