New information and communications technologies (ICTs), the Internet and mobile telephony in particular, are greatly transforming how we work, organize and communicate with each other. New communication technologies and new ways of handling information radically change relationships between individuals and groups in organizations and societies. Indeed, along with the introduction of the printing press and the telephone, new ICTs are having a fundamental influence on the world.
However, in some areas the ICT revolution has served only to widen existing economic and social gaps. Therefore, if opportunities are to be realized, poor people must be active determinants of the process, not just passive onlookers. Solutions that simply connect people to each other cannot solve complex institutional and policy issues and failure to properly address ‘who’ has access to and control over technologies can exacerbate existing inequalities.
In 2001, FAO compiled a desk-based literature review of the ICT scene and asked whether poor communities and groups had taken ownership or appropriated ICTs for their own use. This was in part a reaction to heavily financed donor initiatives being carried out at that time but also partly because of the lack of evidence of impact, owning to the newness of ICT projects. Other research studies at the time began to raise concerns about the absence of analytical tools, indicators and evaluation methodologies that should have been integral components of ICT-based pilot projects, but were sadly lacking. Most of the ICT-literature to date has focused on documenting case studies and this book is no exception. However case studies tend to be one off snapshots of a community’s use of certain technologies at a given time and few research projects return to these case studies to document change. This was the primary driving force behind this book - to take a snapshot from the past and revisit it two years on and at the same time, to document some new case studies in the hope that others will take this evidence and return to it in a few years. Thus, over time we should build up a body of knowledge that tracks the lifecycle of ICT projects and documents the benefits these interventions bring to peoples’ lives.
The Communication for Development Group of the Extension, Education and Communication Service (SDRE) of FAO has over 30 years of experience in communication projects, methodologies and media, particularly in pioneering the use of community-based and traditional media like drama, video and community radio. FAO has also emphasized the critical role that participatory communication plays in involving communities as active participants in rural development. In the mid 1990s attention turned to the potential role that new and increasingly cheaper ICTs could play in rural development, including the seminal publication ‘The First Mile of Connectivity.’1 The use of the term ‘first’ mile is taken from the perspective of the rural communities looking to connect with external information sources and communication channels and to strengthen their own existing channels and locally generated content. There have been many publications, workshops and conferences since then that have focused on the use and adoption of ICTs by rural people.2 These include the study, ‘Discovering the Magic Box: Local appropriation of ICTs’.3
Local appropriation of ICTs broadly means that rural communities are able to make use of, adapt, sometimes own, but certainly benefit from information and communication activities brought about by ICT based interventions. Two years later this publication, ‘Revisiting the Magic Box’, is another contribution to this evolving debate.
We hope that you enjoy this short investigation into local appropriation of ICTs. We welcome feedback on this publication and hope that other researchers will take up the challenge to revisit these cases in the years to come.
Ester
Zulberti
Chief
FAO Extension, Education and Communication
Service
